Quick Guide |
Manual Version, September 2011
Welcome to this new version of the Luton Children and Family Care procedures.
This manual was updated in September 2011 to take account of the Case Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations and Associated Guidance 2010. For a full list of the changes see Section 4, Amendments. A second phase of amendments for Fostering and Adoption will take place in the Autumn.
This 'Quick Guide' must be read before accessing the body of the manual.
Contents
- Display and Browser Options
- Structure of the Manual
- How to find a Chapter
- Amendments
- Terminology
- Keywords
- Compliance
- Contact us
- Copyright
- Printing and Retaining Copies
1. Display and Browser Options
People with a visual impairment may have difficulty accessing this Manual.
To change the size of the text/layout - please use these accessibility buttons
which are on menu bar on the left side of every screen. Click a larger button to increase your text size, the very largest being high visibility mode.
2. Structure of the Manual
This manual contains the policies, procedures and guidance for Luton Children and Family Care.
All Luton Children and Family Care Policies, Values and Principles are located in one Chapter, which users are required to familiarise themselves with before proceeding to the main body of the Manual.
These Policies, Values and Principles are located in a Chapter called 'Values' - available from the left hand side of the screen.
Procedures
The manual contains 7 parts:
- Introduction
- Family Support- Assessment and Planning
- Service Provision and Reviews- Children in Need
- Services to Looked After Children
- Generic
- Guidance
- Appendices
In an attempt to keep procedures succinct, procedures and more detailed guidance are separated - with links provided as appropriate.
- 'Procedures' summarise how Managers and Staff must act in given circumstances.
- 'Guidance' provides direction or advice to a decision or course of action.
3. How to find a chapter
Procedures and guidance are located in individual 'Chapters' which are available from a 'traditional' Contents List - on the left hand side of the screen.
3.1 Using the Contents List
Chapters are categorised or grouped together as follows:
PARTS: The manual contains procedures categorised under a number of Service Sectors, like 'Looked After Children',
SECTIONS: Within each Service Sector e.g. 'Looked After Services', you will find a Section (group of procedures) like 'Adoption and Permanence'.
CHAPTERS: Under each Section, you'll find individual Chapters/Procedures e.g. 'Adoption Case Records'
4.2 You can search for a Chapter
If you aren't sure which service or section to look in, try 'Search' which will help you identify specific Chapters and sub headings within Chapters.
4. Amendments
This manual contains a number of amendments to existing Chapters and some new Chapters. All the significant changes are listed on the table in this section.
If a Chapter is new or amended, it is shown in the Contents List (either 'New' or 'Amended' next to the Chapter title).
- If the Chapter is new, staff must familiarise themselves with the whole Chapter.
- If the Chapter is amended, we have summarised the amendment at the start of the Chapter - staff must familiarise themselves with the amendments.
| Chapter Name | Note |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Education of Looked After Children | This chapter was significantly amended in September 2011 to take account of the changes in the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010 and should be read in its entirety. |
| Absent Children | This chapter was slightly amended in regard to A child who is absent without consent |
| Advocacy | This chapter was slightly amended in regard to change of DfE and acknowledging a separate chapter for Independent Visitors. |
| Behaviour Management - Use of Restrictive Physical Intervention | This chapter was amended in regard to Physical Interventions. |
| Behaviour Management Plans | This chapter was slightly amended in regard to the term Sexual exploitation. |
| Care Plans | This chapter was significantly amended in September 2011 to take account of the changes in the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010 and should be read in its entirety. |
| Children's Bedrooms | This chapter was slightly amended in September 2011 in regard to children sharing bedrooms. |
| Children's Reviews Guidance | This chapter was amended in September 2011 in regard to Timing of Reviews, Who should attend Reviews and Invitations and Exclusions. |
| Decision to Look After | This chapter was significantly amended in September 2011 to take account of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Reviews (England) Regulations 2010 and should be read in its entirety. |
| Education of Looked After Children | This chapter was slightly amended in regard to the Personal Education Plan being initiated as part of the Care Plan. |
| Emergency Placements | This chapter was slightly amended to take account of the changes in the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010 in regard to emergency placements with Local Authority approved foster carers outside the terms of approval can be made for up to six working days. |
| Emergency Reviews | This chapter was slightly amended in regard to the Independent Reviewing Officer attending and contributing to the review. |
| Health Care Assessments and Health Care Plans | This chapter was slightly amended to take account of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Reviews (England) Regulations 2010. |
| Independent Visitors | This chapter was slightly amended to take account of the changes in the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010 in regard to the appointment of an Independent visitor. |
| Leaving Care | This chapter was amended in regard to Pathway Plans. |
| Looked After Reviews | This chapter was amended in regard to Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010 and should be read in its entirety. |
| Physical Intervention | This chapter was slightly amended in regard to Who may use Physical Intervention and Criteria for using Physical Interventions. |
| Placement in Supported Housing/Lodgings | This chapter was amended in regard to Schedule 2 to the Care Leavers Regulations 2010 and Schedule 6 of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010. |
| Placement Plan Reviews | This chapter was slightly amended in regard to recording of review outcomes. |
| Placement Plans | This chapter was amended in regard to additional information to be included where the child is placed with foster carers, in a children’s home or in other arrangements. |
| Placement with Parents | This chapter was significantly amended to take account of the changes in the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010 and should be read in its entirety. |
| Placements in Residential Care | This chapter was significantly amended to take account of the changes in the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010 and should be read in its entirety. |
| Placements in Secure Accommodation | This chapter links to the YJB Protocol, for Court Ordered Secure Remands |
| Placements with Connected Persons | This chapter was significantly amended to take account of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review Regulations 2010 and should be read in its entirety. |
| Relative Carers | This chapter was significantly amended to take account of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review Regulations 2010 and should be read in its entirety. |
| Social Worker Visits | This chapter was significantly amended to take account of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review Regulations 2010 and should be read in its entirety. |
| New Chapters | |
| Appointment and Role of Independent Reviewing Officer | This is a new chapter in regard to the appointment of an Independent Reviewing Office for every Looked After Child. |
| The Sufficiency Duty in Relation to Accommodation for Looked After Children | This is a new chapter in regard to the ‘Sufficiency Duty’. |
| Out of Area Placements | This new chapter applies to any placement of a Looked After Child outside the area of the local authority. |
| Short Breaks | This is a new chapter to take account of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010 |
| Family and Friends Care Policy | This chapter was added to the manual in January 2012. |
5. Terminology
The following terms are used in this manual:
| Term | Definition |
| 'Home' and 'Resource' | this is a generic term which means Children’s Home, Foster Home |
| 'Child' or 'Young Person' | both these terms are used to mean any child under the age of 18 |
| 'Staff' or 'Carer' | means all Staff and Carers (including) whether employed or not |
| 'Manager' | means Team Manager, it also means YOS Team Manager |
| 'Line Manager' | means the first Line Manager of a team/service |
| 'Parent' | means person with Parental Responsibility |
| 'Regulatory Authority' | Regulatory Authority is the generic term used in this manual to describe the independent regulatory body responsible for inspecting and regulating services e.g. Ofsted. |
| 'Social Worker' | This means the worker allocated to the child/family. If there is no allocated worker, the Duty Social Worker or Team Manager is responsible. |
| 'Placing Authority' | Placing Authority means the local authority/agency responsible for placing the child or commissioning the service (usually Children's Services - see below). |
| Children's Services', Children's Social Care Services' | All these terms are used in this manual. In effect they mean the same thing. In some areas, Children's Services still exist but, in most areas they have been replaced Children's Services or Children's Social Care Services - which normally provide children's social care and education services within the local authority. |
| ICS | This manual uses terms such as Referral and Information Record to ensure compliance with ICS |
6. Keywords
The manual is accessed by practitioners from varying agencies, who may find terms that they are not familiar with. Therefore, a large glossary (Keywords) of terms such as Significant Harm (Try it: click on the highlighted text). We call them 'Keywords'. Once clicked, the definitions will appear in a new window or tab, depending on your browser. You can leave it open for reference, or close it using the "close" button at the bottom.
Many Keywords are highlighted in the body of procedures, but you can search for the Keyword you need: Go to the Keywords Index, on the left hand side of the screen. Or, use 'Search' on the left hand side of the screen.
7. Compliance
7.1 Regulatory Compliance
Every effort has been taken to ensure regulatory compliance. If you discover any errors or mistakes, please alert your manager or contact us.
7.2 W3C Compliance
This manual meets the double A Standards of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), for example, it can be accessed by people with high levels of visual impairment. To find out more, click on 'Display Options' on the left hand side of the screen.
8. Contact us
If you have any comments or suggestions to make about this manual please contact us by using the button on the left hand side of the screen, from anywhere within the manual.
9. Copyright
The content of this website can be accessed, printed and downloaded in an unaltered form, on a temporary basis, for personal study or reference purposes. However any content printed or downloaded may not be sold, licensed, transferred, copied or reproduced in whole or in part in any manner or in or on any media to any person without the prior written consent of Tri-X-Childcare Ltd and Luton Borough Council.
10. Printing and Retaining Copies
The Manual should normally be viewed on line but can be printed, for reference only.
To print a chapter, click on the 
icon which is in the top right hand corner of the relevant procedure.
Please note, the Manual will be updated regularly, so staff should avoid retaining printed versions - hard copies are only valid for 72 hours.
End