• home
• full contents
• keywords & contacts
• contact us
• search

Contents

1.	Policy
2.	Introduction
3.	Procedure
	3.1	Initial Action
	3.2	Conducting the Enquiries
	3.3	Strategy Meeting
	3.4	Investigation and Action
	3.5	Concluding the Investigation and Timescales

1. Policy

All children are entitled to the same level and standard of protection from harm including those receiving services from statutory or other agencies. For this reason, enquiries and investigations relating to children in receipt of such services must be dealt with under the principles, policies and procedures laid down by the Bradford Safeguarding Children Board Procedures.

Child Protection Procedures

Allegations or suspicions that a foster carer has caused Significant Harm to a child will be investigated thoroughly, speedily and sensitively under those procedures and will involve open and honest communication with and support to all those affected.

Clear timescales will be integral to the procedure and those involved must avoid delay unless there is good reason.

It is important to note that, although there may be insufficient evidence to support a Police prosecution, this does not mean that action cannot be taken to protect a child nor that the termination of a foster carer’s approval cannot be considered.

It should also be noted that it may be necessary to consider during an investigation what action, if any, should be taken with regard to other children with whom foster carers against whom allegations are made have contact, including their own children.

2. Introduction

The expectation is that:

1. At the time of a child’s placement, foster carers will be provided with detailed information as to the child’s background and in particular the context of any abusive experiences of and/or previous allegations made by the child.
2. All foster carers will receive preparation, training and guidance to help them provide a safe environment for the child and all members of the foster family.
3. All foster carers will have received information about this procedure and the Bradford Safeguarding Children Board Procedures.
4. All foster carers will be familiar with and adopt the procedures for recording on a daily basis the progress of children placed with them, including any incidents or complaints, and understand that these procedures have been made to protect all those involved in the child’s placement, particularly at times of high stress, and will provide important evidence if an allegation is made.
5. If an allegation is found to be malicious, the details re the allegation, subsequent enquiries and outcome will be recorded in the foster cares file and will be available if another fostering agency requires details of the foster carers history.  

3. Procedure

3.1 Initial Action

Any person who receives information or suspects that a child has suffered or is suffering Significant Harm in a foster placement must immediately inform the child’s social worker (or in their absence their line manager or duty social worker).

On receipt of any such information, the child’s social worker must immediately:

• Inform his or her Senior Care Manager or Duty Manager
• Inform the supervising social worker (based at the Adoption & Fostering Unit) linked to the foster carer or their Manager/Duty Manager.
• Inform the social workers for any other child/ren in the placement
• Inform any other local authority with a child in the placement.

A Strategy Discussion instigated by the fieldwork manager responsible for the child will take place between all the social workers and their Managers, in consultation with the Child Protection Unit, which will make the decision about whether the concerns are to be treated as a child protection matter (i.e. whether a Section 47 Enquiry is to be pursued) or whether treated as concerns regarding standards of care which do not meet the thresholds for a Section 47 Enquiry. See Bradford SCB Procedure 3.4 Section 47 Enquiries and Core Assessments.

When a Section 47 Enquiry enquiry is indicated there must be consultation with the Police to determine the conduct of the enquiry.

If the foster carer also has involvement with children, either as an employee or volunteer with another organisation, consideration should be given as to whether, at this stage, the relevant manager of that organisation should be informed.

The decision to proceed under Section 47 Enquiries, or otherwise, can be revisited at any point in the light of new information.

If a Section 47 Enquiry is not indicated the pursuit of the broader concerns regarding the care offered will be the joint responsibility of the fieldwork staff responsible for the child and the fostering staff.

Where Section 47 Enquiries are necessary, a degree of independence is required. The Assessment team for the area in which the carers reside will take responsibility for undertaking the enquiries. They will also initiate the Framework Assessments of all of the children in the household (including the child who is the subject of the Section 47 Enquiries). These assessments should, however, be in conjunction with the allocated social workers of those children in the household who receive a service from Children’s Division.

This discussion will also consider if, due to the nature of the allegation, a strategy meeting needs to be held prior to commencing any enquires.

Consideration will be given to whether any of the children within the household should be removed to safeguard them during the course of the investigation.

3.2 Conducting the Enquires

Whenever Section 47 Enquiries are undertaken there is an expectation that at the start of the process appropriate information will be provided to enable foster carers (as with parents) to understand the nature and substance of the concerns there may be restrictions imposed by the police). This would be the responsibility of the social workers undertaking the investigation; the supervising social worker from the Fostering Unit may also be present whilst this information is shared, in order to support the foster carer.

The child’s social worker has a duty to inform anybody with parental responsibility for the child/ren subject to the Section 47 Enquiries (again subject to restrictions by the police).

Each Local authority is required to identify a Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) to whom all allegations in respect of staff, volunteers or carers should be notified. In the Bradford District this role is allocated to the Service Manager, Safeguarding and Reviewing Unit, Bradford Safeguarding Children Board. Notifications should be made to the Safeguarding and Reviewing Unit direct and followed up in writing using the relevant pro forma.

The supervising social worker for the foster carers, in consultation with the investigating social worker and the relevant fostering manager will be responsible for informing the foster carers in writing of:

• Whether they are to be suspended during the enquires and will provide details of the financial arrangements that have been agreed
• Who in the fostering service will be responsible for keeping them informed about the process and offer assistance in communicating with the investigating workers
• Discuss plans for their support including their right to independent support. (This would usually be the Bradford’s Association of Foster Carers and Adopters.
• Inform them of their right for legal advice and representation and ensure they have the details of Fostering Network
• The responsibility of all social workers and foster carers to report to the local authority, the Police and in some circumstances to the Court if any information relevant to the investigation comes to their attention.

The supervising social worker will also ensure that a separate record of the Section 47 Enquiry is made on the foster carers file with evidence of management involvement and oversight and added to chronology. The Service Manager Adoption and Fostering is to be informed.

Where the carer lives outside the Bradford District the relevant care management senior care manager responsible for the Section 47 Enquiry should discuss with the relevant Children’s Services’ Authority how the enquiry will be conducted. In this eventuality the home authority may ask Bradford Children’s Services to investigate the matter or conduct the investigation jointly. Both the Bradford Child Protection Unit (CPU) and the CPU for the area where the carers reside will need to be kept informed regarding the progress of enquiries and assessments.

The responsible social work team will then complete a Section 47 Enquiry and undertake any action required to protect the child or children involved in accordance with the Bradford Safeguarding Children Procedures.

A record of the strategy discussions and decisions about action will be held on the child’s electronic file.

The supervising social worker will record on the carers file a brief summary of the concerns and the actions to be taken in respect of the carers.

3.3 Strategy Meeting

If a Strategy Discussion is to take place prior to the investigation this should take place within 2 working days of the referral. The timing of the strategy meeting will be determined by the level of immediate risk to any of the children in the household. See West Yorkshire Consortium Procedure 3.3b Strategy Discussions in Bradford.

Any action to protect the child in question or other children should not be delayed because of a Strategy Meeting.

The Chair of the meeting will usually be a member of Bradford’s Safeguarding and Review Unit in line with the guidance about investigations concerning adults in position of responsibility for children.

The Strategy Meeting must consider:

• The current allegation made and how it is to be investigated, including who is to be interviewed.
• Whether there should be a concurrent police investigation
• Any previous allegations or concerns about the foster carers and the outcome of previous investigations
• Any previous allegations made by the child in question and the outcome of previous investigations
• Whether the children should remain in placement whilst the investigation is carried out should be considered in the context of the best interest of the child.
• The safety and well-being of other children living with, or having contact with the foster carers.
• Who will inform the foster carers of this meeting. (See West Yorkshire Consortium Child Protection Procedures, Allegations Against Persons Who Work With Children).

The foster carers may also need to be informed that the investigation, may include the possibility that a sec47 enquiry may be initiated into the situation of their own children and an Initial Child Protection Conference may be convened.

The Chair should complete a decision sheet at the end of the meeting summarising the actions to be taken and the date of the next meeting within one working day. Copies of the decision sheet and the minutes should be held on the child’s file and a copy kept on the carers file. The documentation may need amending to protect the identity of third parties or other third party information if it access to the file is requested.

3.4 Investigation and Action

Where the Section 47 Enquires have concluded that the allegations are unsubstantiated the investigating manager discusses this conclusion with the managers involved in the initial strategy discussion to agree that no further investigative action should be taken.

The foster carers must be informed of the decision by the investigating team ,preferably in the presence of their supervising social worker or their representative.

The child’s social worker and foster carers supervising social worker should consider whether further actions may be required to address concerns about the carers practice.

The Adoption & Fostering Unit, and the foster carers, will receive a copy of the completed core assessment as a record of the enquiries made and conclusions. This record may have been amended to protect the identity of third parties or other third party information. Foster carers have the right  to access their own file.

Foster carers must receive independent support and payment whilst they are under investigation.

If the foster carer also has other involvement with children as an employee or volunteer with another organisation, and this organisation was advised earlier about the investigation, then the manager of that organisation must be informed of the outcome.

3.5 Concluding the Investigation and Timescales

Where the concerns have been substantiated a Strategy Meeting will be convened, to consider the outcome of the enquiries made by the responsible team.

The purpose of this meeting is to determine what steps need to be taken to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child. The meeting will consider how the outcomes of Section 47 Enquiries will be shared with the foster parents.

Persons attending should be the same people who attended the previous Strategy Meeting.

The same person will chair the meeting. The conclusions of this meeting, together with the Core Assessment will subsequently be required by the Fostering Panel when reviewing the status of the foster carers. All documentation may need amending to protect the identity of third parties or other third party information. The issue of referral to the Independent Safeguarding Authority may need to be (re) considered.

All documentation including the recommendations will be sent to the fostering service, and the child/rens’ social workers.

Consideration will be given to how the outcome to the meeting will be communicated to the child, the child’s parents, and other relevant agencies.

If the foster carer also has involvement with children as an employee or volunteer with another organisation, the manager of that organisation must be informed. It is that organisation’s responsibility to advise the foster carer of any further action that might be taken regarding the foster carer’s role in that organisation.

Prior to the reports being presented to the Fostering Panel, a Foster care review is required. All the documentation from the Review and the documentation produced at the conclusion of the investigation which had been provided to the foster carers, would be presented to the Panel meeting Consideration should be given to referring the carer to the Independent Safeguarding Authority along with the recommendation form Panel.

The procedure to be adopted for the Fostering Panel will be the same as in the Review of Foster Carers Procedure.

All relevant documents in relation to the investigation, whatever the outcome, must be retained on the child’s file and the foster carer’s file. The version that has been retained on the foster carers file must be the one that has already been given to them (i.e. with third party information removed as appropriate).

In the event that the investigation finds no evidence of harm but there are concerns about standards of care, the matters should be dealt with separately.

3.5.1 Timescales

The target for dealing with allegations is that:

• 80% of all other allegations should be resolved within 1 month of the allegation being made.
• 90% of allegations should be resolved within 3 months
  
  and
• All but the most exceptional allegations should be dealt with within 12 months of the allegation being made.

End