Amendments

This chapter was added to the manual in November 2024.

This chapter was updated in November 2024 to note that if a young person in a Staying Put arrangement dies up to and including the age of 24, notifications should be made in accordance with the Death or Serious Injury to a Child (Looked After, Child in Need or Care Leaver Up to and Including the Age of 24) Procedure.

This chapter was refreshed in November 2024.

This chapter was refreshed in November 2024.

In November 2024, this chapter was revised in line with Working Together to Safeguard Children.

In November 2024, this chapter was refreshed.

In November 2024, information on Ofsted checks was added into Section 4.1, Checks.

In November 2024, information was added in relation to family group decision-making in Sections 1, Introduction and Time Limits, and Section 5, Pre-Proceedings, and a link was added to the Family Networks and Family Group Decision Making.

In November 2024, information was added in relation to Ofsted and CQC Joint Registration Guidance: Children’s Homes and Health Care.

In November 2024, this chapter was revised in response to Working Together to Safeguard Children (December 2023), and includes the ongoing development of the strategic leadership roles of Virtual School Heads (VSH) in promoting educational outcomes for children aged 0 to 18 who have, or previously had a social worker, and children in kinship care arrangements.

In November 2024, a link was added in Section 4.1, Age Assessment to BASW Age Assessment Practice Guidance. In Further Information, a link was added to Operation Innerste Process: Caseworker Guidance. Links to sources of further information were also updated.

In November 2024, this chapter was updated in line with Working Together to Safeguard Children. New Section 3, Death of a Care Leaver Up to and Including the Age of 24 was added.

This chapter was added to the manual in November 2024.

In November 2024, Section 4.2, Procedural Fairness was updated in line with case-law.

This chapter was refreshed in November 2024.

In November 2024, information was added to Section 3, Stage One-The Pre-Assessment Process, with details on how to request information about an applicant from Ofsted.

This chapter was refreshed in November 2024.

In November 2024, this chapter was updated in line with Working Together to Safeguard Children, to note that notifications should also be made of the death of a care leaver up to and including the age of 24.

This chapter was updated in November 2024.

This chapter was refreshed in November 2024.

In November 2024, a link was added to Ofsted and CQC Joint Registration Guidance: Children’s Homes and Health Care.

In November 2024, this chapter was replaced with an updated PDF.

This chapter was updated in November 2024. Information was added into Section 17, Special Guardian Duty on the Death of the Child, that the relevant local authority should be notified if the child was previously a looked after child.

In November 2024, this chapter was added to the manual to replace 'Local Contacts'.

This document was added in May 2024.

This chapter was amended in May 2024 to include information from Special Educational Needs and Disability: Improving Local Authority Decision Making - Report of the Administrative Justice Council’s Working Group on Special Educational Needs and Disability.

In addition Section 15, Resolving Disagreements was updated to include information on Guidance: Carry Out an Order in Special Educational Needs Cases.

This chapter was updated in May 2024.

This document was updated in May 2024.

In May 2024, Section 10, Use of Inherent Jurisdiction to Authorise a Placement Involving a Deprivation of Liberty was updated throughout in line with Revised Practice Guidance on the Court’s Approach to Unregistered Placements (October 2023) and Revised National Listing Protocol for Applications that Seek Deprivation of Liberty Orders Relating to Children under the Inherent Jurisdiction.

Section 3, Section 20 Accommodation was updated in line with case-law in November 2023.

In November 2023 this chapter was updated to include information from Guidance - Placing Children: Deprivation of Liberty Orders - guidance for providers, social workers and placement commissioners on placing children, subject to a deprivation of liberty order (DoL), in unregistered settings and President of the Family Division Practice Guidance: Placements in Unregistered Children’s Homes in England or Unregistered Care Home Services in Wales.

In November 2023 information was added into Section 4, Care Orders and Supervisions Orders on a Care Plan of the Child Remaining at Home in relation to Supervision Orders, in line with Public Law Working Group (PLWG) Recommendations to Achieve Best Practice in the Child Protection and Family Justice Systems: Supervision Orders.

This chapter was updated in November 2023. Information was added into Section 15, Resolving Disagreements in relation to legal aid for foster carers and prospective adoptive parents in First Tier Tribunal appeals.

This chapter was updated in November 2023. Information was added in to Section 4, Assessment in relation to the National Age Assessment Board.

In November 2023, Section 10, Use of Inherent Jurisdiction to Authorise a Placement Involving a Deprivation of Liberty was updated to include information from Guidance - Placing Children: Deprivation of Liberty Orders - guidance for providers, social workers and placement commissioners on placing children, subject to a deprivation of liberty order (DoL), in unregistered settings and President of the Family Division Practice Guidance: Placements in Unregistered Children’s Homes in England or Unregistered Care Home Services in Wales.

In November 2023 information was added into Section 6, Diet, Nutrition and Allergies, in relation to allergies and additional information was also added about online safety.

In November 2023 amendments were made to reflect case-law in relation to assessing legal capacity.

In November 2023, Section 2, Ordinary Residence was updated in line with case law.

This chapter was updated in November 2023.

In November 2023 information was added into Section 4, Health Plans in relation to allergies.

In November 2023 to note that with effect from 1 April 2023, the leaving care allowance increased from £2,000 to £3,000. 

In November 2023 this chapter was refreshed and a link added (above) to National Early Permanence Practice Standards (Coram Centre for Early Permanence). 

In November 2023 this chapter was reviewed and updated.

This chapter was added in November 2023.

This chapter was updated in November 2023 and should be re-read.