1.1.1 Children's Policy Values and Underlying Principles of Recording, Confidentiality and Consultation |
SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER
This chapter provides the context for all procedures.
It contains the overall policy and strategy for the provision of services to children and families. It also sets out underlying values and principles for recording, confidentiality and consultation.
AMENDMENT
A Guide to ensuring data security from relevant Council Procedures was added at Section 3, Confidentiality Values and Principles in February 2012.
Contents
- Policy and Strategy
- Recording Values and Principles
- Confidentiality Values and Principles
- Consultation Values and Principles
1. Policy and Strategy
1.1 Introduction
This Policy sets out the framework within which children in need and their families receive services from the London Borough of Newham.
The Policy is consistent with the legislation and associated regulations and guidance as listed below:
- The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
- Children Act 1989
- Human Rights Act 1998
- Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000
- Minimum Care Standards Act 2000
- Adoption & Children Act 2002
- Children Act 2004
Additional legislation may also be relevant e.g. that relating to disability and discrimination etc.
The Policy is consistent with the Council’s vision and plans for the future of the residents of Newham.
Newham Council’s vision is that by 2010 Newham will be a place where people will choose to live and work. In order to achieve this vision, the Council has six aims. When the vision has been achieved, Newham will be a place:
- Which is attractive, clean and well maintained
- Which is safer and where people feel safer
- Where young people are healthy, educated, safe, have high aspirations for employment and good self-esteem
- Where the diversity of its people is celebrated, where people live harmoniously, respect each other and play a full part in the life of their community
- Which is thriving economically and socially and where all people share in the growing prosperity
- Where health and well-being and the quality of housing continues to improve, where people are active, have greater independence and where the most vulnerable are supported
Work with Newham’s children, young people and their families is carried out in partnership with all sectors of Newham Council and with other statutory and voluntary agencies.
1.2 Policy Statement
The Mayor, Members and Officers of the London Borough of Newham share high ambitions for all children in the Authority. This is reflected in a commitment to develop services around children that maximise achievement and minimise risk. Education and children’s social care have been and will remain the Mayor’s highest of seven priorities and this is reflected throughout the Council’s planning processes, in the use of challenging targets, robust programmes and effective use of resources with an emphasis on consultation leading to high quality, accessible and coherent services.
Being Healthy
All Newham’s children have a right to be healthy. Services are targeted to reduce health inequalities and to ensure that children have access to good quality health services. Newham is committed to the promotion of healthy lifestyles and of programmes to facilitate this.
Being Safe
All Newham’s children have a right to be safe from harm and neglect. Where children become Looked After, it is policy to promote their well-being robustly and to facilitate, wherever possible, their return to their family of origin. Where this cannot be achieved for reasons of safety, children are placed wherever possible with permanent substitute families.
Enjoying and Achieving
All Newham’s children should be provided with good quality education that is able to meet their needs. Where a child is disabled, education, wherever possible, will be delivered in local schools. Newham’s children will be provided with a range of leisure and sports activities as well as extensive programmes to develop their general cultural and leisure pursuits.
Making a Positive Contribution
In Newham, children and young people, including those that are vulnerable, are well supported in making a positive contribution. The inclusion agenda ensures continuing commitment to innovative practice and challenging the status quo. Children, particularly those from vulnerable groups, are well supported at times of change and the right of children to a voice is central to the delivery of both social care and health services. The Authority is committed to intensive provision to deflect children from crime and anti-social behaviour.
Economic Wellbeing
The London Borough of Newham is committed to improving the economic well-being of children. In this borough, many children live in households where adults are dependent on benefits. Services are targeted to promote income maximisation and the borough’s wider policies in relation to regeneration and planning are geared to promoting the well-being of the locality and residents including children and young people.
1.3 Underlying Values and Principles
Newham’s Services to Individual Children and Young People will work to ensure the above outcomes by maintaining children within their own families wherever possible. Where this is not consistent with a child’s safety and well-being, strenuous efforts will be made, firstly to identify carers from within the wider kinship network of the child. If this is not possible, we shall identify suitable permanent alternative carers that reflect the child’s ethnicity, religious, cultural and linguistic background wherever possible and appropriate. We will always seek to place children in or near the London Borough of Newham in order to maximise the potential for access to health and mental health services and to ensure that the child has educational and social continuity.
It is Newham’s policy to ensure that no child under the age of 10 is placed in residential care and that all children who become Looked After have a Permanence Plan at their second Looked After Review. The Permanence Plan may include a Parallel Plan, either for a return to the birth family or alternative placements but it should contain detailed milestones of how either will be achieved.
If a child remains Looked After, it is our policy to ensure that their planning is consistent, thorough, appropriate and sensitive to their needs. It is our policy to reduce, wherever possible, changes of carers and social workers for the child.
It is our policy to consult with children, their parents and any other significant adults about the plans for that child’s future. The plans will be subject to independent review that is held within statutory timescales. We shall promote an open-door culture for all children who access our services, which encourages them to express their views, wishes and feelings. We shall then do all we can to ensure that these views are taken into account when decisions are made about the child. If their wishes cannot be pursued because it is not in their best interests, the child will be provided with clear and adequate explanations as to why their wishes cannot be acceded to.
We will provide general consultation experiences for children who access our services, so that they are able to participate in service development and to meet senior managers in order to address directly those who are responsible for the overall management of the services.
1.4 Resources
The London Borough of Newham is committed to the delivery of cost-effective services in order to maximise resources for children and families.
When children who are Looked After leave care, they will be supported and assisted until they are 21 or 24 if they are in full-time education. The level of financial support to these young people will be reviewed annually. Young people will be provided with clear information about the services to which they are entitled and in particular, the level of financial support they can be expected to receive and in what circumstances this will be provided.
Services that are provided to children, young people and their families will be provided by skilled staff, committed to meeting children’s needs. The London Borough of Newham is committed to providing good quality training and support to staff in order that they can deliver high quality services.
Where children and young people or others acting on their behalf are dissatisfied with services, we shall take steps to resolve the dissatisfaction and to provide opportunities for them to make formal complaints if they wish.
All children accessing London Borough of Newham services will be treated with respect and afforded privacy in relation to confidential issues surrounding their lives. We will promote meaningful contact between Looked After children and their families and community of origin unless particular circumstances indicate that such contact would not be in their best interests.
1.5 Equal Opportunities
The London Borough of Newham and its employees will not discriminate against or disadvantage any child or family on the grounds of race, ethnicity, religion, language, disability, gender or sexuality. All policies, procedures and practice will reflect this intention.
2. Recording Values and Principles
Each of the following values is summarised below, click on title
- Records Must be Kept on all Children
- The Design of Records and Forms Must be Approved
- Children and Their Families Must be Informed About Their Records
- The Member of Staff Primarily Involved Should Complete the Record
- All Relevant Information About Children and Their Families Must be Recorded
- Children and Their Families Should be Involved in the Recording Process
- Information About Children/Their Families Should be Shared With Them
- Managers Must Monitor Information Held in ’Third Party Information’ Sections
- Records Must be Legible, Signed and Dated
- Records Must be Kept up to Date
- Records Must be Written in Plain English and Prejudice Must be Avoided
- Records Must be Accurate and Adequate
- Managers Must Oversee, Monitor and Review all Records
- Records Should be Kept Securely
- Removal of Records Must be an Exceptional Occurrence
- Records Moved to a new Location Must be Monitored
- Records Must Usually be Retained After Closure
- Use of Computers at Home
1. Records Must be Kept on all Children
Each child must have his or her own case file from the point of referral: records may be in the form of paper files and computer records; audio or video recordings may also be kept. Information held in electronic records must accurately reflect the corresponding information recorded within paper files. Records held on paper may extend to more than one volume. Where more than one volume exists, the dates covered by each volume must be clearly recorded on the front cover.
2. The Design of Records and Forms Must be Approved
Records and forms must be designed to fit their purpose and used consistently across the organisation. The Children’s Management Team and the Children’s CareFirst Group must approve the design of all records and forms before they come into use.3. Children and Their Families Must be Informed About Their Records
See Section 3, Confidentiality Values and Principles.
Information must be provided in a form that children and their families will understand - in their preferred language or method of communication. An interpreter will be provided if needed.
4. The Member of Staff Primarily Involved Should Complete the Record
The practitioner primarily involved, that is the person who directly observes or witnesses the event that is being recorded or who has participated in the meeting/conversation, must complete records. Where this is not possible and records are completed or updated by other people, it must be clear from the record which person provided the information being recorded. Preferably the person with first hand knowledge should read and sign the record. Records of decisions must show who has made the decision and the reasons for which it has been made.5. All Relevant Information About Children and Their Families Must be Recorded
The front cover of every child’s case file must be completed with details of the child’s full name, date of birth, CareFirst identification number and volume number. Every child’s case file must include, at the front of the file, a basic information sheet, risk assessment and a transfer/closing summary (where appropriate). These documents should be produced through CareDocs. Every child’s case file must include, in the Key Information section, a properly maintained chronology. All other relevant contacts with children, their families, colleagues, professionals or other significant people must be recorded in the same way, i.e. who was present or seen, the relevant discussions, actions or decisions taken and by whom, and the reasons for decisions.
6. Children and Their Families Should be Involved in the Recording Process
Children and their families must be routinely involved in the process of gathering and recording information about them. They should feel they are part of the recording process. They should be asked to provide information, express their own views and wishes, and contribute to assessments, reports and to the formulation of plans. Generally, they must be asked to give their agreement to the sharing of information about them with others - but there are exceptions.
7. Information About Children/Their Families Should be Shared With Them
Information obtained about children and their families should be shared with them unless:- Sharing the information would be likely to result in serious harm to the child or another person, or
- The information was given in the expectation that it would not be disclosed, or
- The information relates to a third party who expressly indicated the information should not be disclosed
See also Access to Files Procedure
8. Managers Must Monitor Information Held in the ‘Third Party Information’ Sections
Managers must monitor information held in the Third Party Information section of files, ensuring that the reason for holding it there is valid; if not, it should be shared with the child and/or moved to another section of the file. However, before sharing any such information, the manager must take all reasonable steps to consult the originator and take account of their views and wishes. See also Access to Files Procedure9. Records Must be Legible, Signed and Dated
If possible, manual records should be typed or handwritten in black ink and all records must be signed and dated. Those completing computerised records must show their name and the date when the recording was completed. Any handwritten records must be produced so that readers not familiar with the handwriting of the writer can read the records quickly and easily. It must be possible to distinguish the name and post title or status of the person completing the record. If there is any doubt of the identity of the writer from a signature, the name should be printed.10. Records Must be Kept up to Date
Records should be updated as information becomes available or as decisions or actions are taken as soon as practicable or, at the latest, within 24 hours. Where records are made or updated late or after the event, the fact must be stated as a ‘Late Entry’ in the record, and the date and time of the entry should be included.11. Records Must be Written in Plain English and Prejudice Must be Avoided
Records must be written concisely, in plain English, and must not contain any expressions that might give offence to any individual or group of people on the basis of race, culture, religion, age, disability, or sexual orientation. Use of technical or professional terms and abbreviations must be kept to a minimum; and if there is likely to be any doubt of their meaning, they must be defined or explained.
12. Records Must be Accurate and Adequate
See Section 3, Confidentiality Values and Principles.
13. Managers Must Oversee, Monitor and Review all Records
The overall responsibility for ensuring all records are maintained appropriately rests with managers with day-to-day responsibility, delegated to other staff as appropriate. The manager should routinely check samples of records to ensure they are up to date and maintained as required and, if not, that deficiencies are rectified as soon as practicable.
14. Records Should be Kept Securely
All records held on children must be kept securely. Children’s files in paper form should normally be stored in a locked cabinet, or a similar manner, usually in an office which only staff/carers have access to. Other day-to-day records, such as Contact or Daily Records, should also be kept securely in a manner authorised by the manager. These records should not be left unattended when not in their normal location.15. Removal of Records Must be an Exceptional Occurrence
Paper records should not normally be taken from the location where they are normally kept. If it is necessary to remove a record from its normal location, a manager should approve this and should stipulate or agree how long it is necessary to remove the record. The manager must also be satisfied that adequate measures are in place to ensure the security of the record(s) whilst they are removed. For example, records must never be left in unattended vehicles. The authorisation for a record to be removed must be recorded and those who may have need to see the records should be informed of their removal. The manager must then ensure the record is returned as required/agreed.16. Records Moved to a new Location Must be Monitored
Where records are moved to a new location, the date of transfer should be clearly recorded on CareFirst. The sender should check that the records have arrived at their intended destination.17. Records Must Usually be Retained After Closure
Files should be retained for the period set out in Archiving and Destruction of Files Procedure. The member of staff responsible for the case when the case is closed is responsible for ensuring that the file to be retained is in good order and that unnecessary items have been removed, for example, compliment slips, duplicate copies etc.18. Use of Computers at Home
Staff using computers at home for council purposes must transfer any material to an office PC on the next working day. All material must then be deleted from their personal PC hard drive and/or floppy disc, memory stick, personal device or CD. This procedure also applies to staff using laptop computers, unless authorised by their manager to retain material for longer. Such authorisation must only be given on a case-by-case basis and specific timescales must be recorded. Where authorisation is given, no information should be retained that can identify any service user.
3. Confidentiality Values and Principles
Each of the following values is summarised below, click on title.
- Legal Duty of Confidence
- Disclosure of Confidential Information in Exceptional Circumstances
- Informing Children about Disclosure
- Disclosures and Sharing Information With Colleagues and Agencies
- Freedom of Information Act 2000
1. Legal Duty of Confidence
Please also see Guide to ensuring data security from relevant Council Procedures.
Personal information held about children is subject to a legal duty of confidence and should not normally be disclosed without the consent of the subject. The exceptions to this are set out in 2 below. The legal framework for confidentiality is contained in the common law duty of confidence, the Children Act 1989, the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Data Protection Act 1998.
2. Disclosure of Confidential Information in Exceptional Circumstances
Whilst the general principle is that information obtained about children must be shared with them and not with others, there are exceptions.
The public interest in child protection overrides the public interest in maintaining confidentiality and the law permits the disclosure of confidential information necessary to safeguard a child or children. Disclosure should be justifiable in each case, for example to provide information to professionals from other agencies working with the child, and where possible and appropriate, the agreement of the person concerned should be obtained.
Those working with children must make it clear that confidentiality may not be maintained if the disclosure of information is necessary in the interests of the child. Even in these circumstances, disclosure will be appropriate for the purpose and only to the extent necessary to achieve that purpose. There may also be situations where third parties have a statutory right of access to the information or where a Court Order requires that access be given. The circumstances in which information held in records on children and families can and should be disclosed and shared with others with or without consent are set out in the following sections.
In all other cases, where third parties such as advocates, solicitors or external researchers request access to information, this should only be given if written consent is given by the person concerned.
3. Informing Children about Disclosure
Children should be informed of the circumstances in which information about them will be shared with others. It should be made clear that in each case the information passed on will only be what is relevant and on a ‘need to know’ basis.
4. Disclosures and Sharing Information With Colleagues and Agencies
Sharing information promptly with others working with the same child, or who may need to know, is invariably the key to safeguarding the child’s interests. Therefore, relevant information about children must be shared with colleagues, other professionals or agencies that may have a role to play in their care. However, the general principle is that information may only be shared on a ‘need to know’ basis. For example:
- Where professionals are undertaking a Child Protection Enquiry in relation to a child
- Where the Police are investigating a criminal offence or require information to help them find a child who is Absent without Authority, Missing or Absconded
- Where information is requested in the furtherance of an inquiry or tribunal, or for the purposes of a Serious Case Review
- Where the Court directs that records be produced or a Children’s Guardian is appointed
- Where information is requested by Inspectors of the OFSTED (who have specific statutory powers that permit access to records)
5. Freedom of Information Act 2000
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 came into force on 1 January 2005. Under the Act anybody may request information from a public authority (which includes all local authorities). The Act confers two statutory rights on applicants:
- To be informed in writing whether or not the public authority holds the information requested; and if so
- To have that information communicated to him/her
One exemption relates to personal information
This means that an application for personal information under the Act is exempt and will not therefore be dealt with under the Act. A person’s right of access to such information must still be dealt with in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. The procedure is set out in. Another category relates to information provided in confidence where disclosure would involve an actionable breach of confidence, see Access to Files Procedure.
This would include information provided by a member of the public about a child protection issue where the provider has provided the information on the basis that anonymity will be maintained. The Act therefore does not change the legal position into the principles of confidentiality set out in paragraphs 1 to 4 above in this section.
4. Consultation Values and Principles
1. General Principles of Consultation
Everyone involved in the receipt and delivery of services should be consulted about decisions, which may affect them. This includes children, their advocates, their parents, other significant family members and those charged with providing the service; including managers, staff, carers and professionals or colleagues from other agencies.
This means that people’s views should be sought and taken into account in relation to all decisions, which are likely to affect their daily life and their future.
The older and more mature the child is, the more weight can and should be given to their wishes and feelings (often referred to as a Gillick Competent child.
Unless there are exceptional circumstances, reasonable steps must be taken in all cases to consult the parents. Exceptions will include where older children with an appropriate level of maturity specifically request that their parents are not consulted and a decision is made to respect their wishes. Detailed guidance on this is set out in Consents Guidance. Whether consents have been given should be recorded on CareFirst.
Consultation should take place on a regular and frequent basis with those who need to be consulted and assumptions should not be made about the inability or lack of interest of those who should be consulted.
Where people have communication difficulties of any sort, suitable means must be provided to enable them to be consulted, including arranging access to advocates or representatives who may speak on their behalf.
Consultation should be undertaken in a creative manner.
If consultation is not possible or is restricted for whatever reason, steps should be taken to ensure those affected are informed of decisions as soon as practicable after they are made, and an explanation for the decision given, together with the opportunity to make a comment and express their views.
If it is then felt that a different decision may have been appropriate, steps should be taken to reconsider the decision.
If decisions are made against people’s wishes, they should be informed of the decision and the reasons should be explained. In these circumstances, the person should be informed of any rights they have to formally challenge the decision, and of the availability of the Complaints or Grievance Procedure.
Children should also be informed of their right to appoint an advocate, and if an advocate is appointed, he or she must be consulted in accordance with the principles set out in this section.
2. Management Consultation
Unless otherwise stated in specific procedures in this manual, it is assumed that people working in this organisation will take reasonable steps to keep their managers informed of their actions; and will consult and seek their approval where they do not have decision making responsibility delegated to them.
In order to facilitate this, managers must ensure that effective lines of communication are established and maintained.
If procedures in this manual require that managers are informed within specified timescales or their approval is sought before actions are taken, this must be complied with.
3. Legal Consultation
It is assumed that, in following these procedures, social workers and/or their managers will seek legal advice as appropriate before taking any action and/or making decisions, which will, or may, change the legal status of a child, or decisions which do not have parental consent. This is particularly so in cases where emergency action is being considered.
In order to facilitate this, managers must ensure that effective lines of communication are established and maintained between Children & Families and Legal Services, and that workers are aware of who may authorise contact, who may have contact and how contact should be made.
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