Keeping Records of Child Protection and Welfare Concerns

Guidance for Early Years Settings, Schools and Colleges

July 2017

This guidance is for early years’ settings, schools maintained by the Local Authority, free schools, academies, independent schools, sixth-forms and further education

colleges.

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Standards and Learning Effectiveness Service

Document nameKeeping Records of Child Protection and Welfare Concerns: Guidance for Early Years Settings, Schools and Colleges

Document owner Standards and Learning Effectiveness ServiceAuthors Sandi ButtreyDate approved by LSCB 20th July 2017Version Version 1 – 2017Current document Version 2 - 2014 – updated from version 1 - 2014

This replaces:Version 1- LSCB Keeping Records of Child Protection and Welfare Concerns: Guidance for Early Years Settings, Schools and Colleges January 2014

Contents

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This guidance includes the following areas of practice with exemplar forms as appropriate. This document and forms are available on Czone at https://czone.eastsussex.gov.uk/safeguarding/support-for-safeguarding-in-schools/

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1 Introduction 42 The Designated Safeguarding Lead’s role 63 Induction and training 7 4 Establishing a standard recording process 8 5 When and how to start a stand-alone child welfare/protection 10

concerns file6 What records should be included in a stand-alone child 12

Welfare/protection/ concerns file?7 Evidence-based recording 138 Safeguarding Risk plans 169 Secure storage, retention and disposal of records 1610 Transfer of child welfare/protection concerns records 17 11 Alternative School Placements/Arrangements/Dual Registration or 20

educated offsite (including schools-to-school placements),Elective Home Education

12 Information sharing 2013 Quality assurance of safeguarding and welfare concern records 2214 Children’s and parents’ access to child protection files 23

15 AppendicesAppendix A: Front SheetAppendix B: ChronologyAppendix C: Welfare Concern formAppendix D: Aide MemoireAppendix E: Frequently asked questionsAppendix F: Safeguarding Risk PlanAppendix F1: Guidance for Safeguarding Risk PlanAppendix G: Audit ToolAppendix H: File Transfer Receipt

1 1 Introduction

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1.1 This guidance is ratified by the Local Safeguarding Children Board. It should be followed by all educational establishments to children and young people up to the age of 18 years. These establishments include early years’ settings, schools, maintained by the Local authority, Free Schools, academies, special schools, independent schools and sixth form and further education colleges.

1.2 In this document a child is defined as anyone who has not yet reached their 18th birthday.

1.3 In this document “pupil” refers to any child registered with an early years setting, schools maintained by the Local authority, Free Schools, academies, special schools, independent schools and sixth form and further education colleges.

Record keeping is an essential part of child protection in all educational establishments, including early years settings.

1.4 It is vital concerns are recorded and reported accurately, as soon after the concern arises as possible and as a maximum within 24 hours. This should be recorded using the Welfare Concern Form (Appendix C). The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) must make a professional judgement about any action that needs to be taken and ensure information is managed carefully and securely.

1.5 Working Together to Safeguard Children (2015) reminds us that safeguarding children is everyone’s responsibility. Well-kept records essentially underpin good professional practice, enabling effective work across agency and professional boundaries.

1.6 Promoting the welfare of and safeguarding children is the responsibility of all school staff. Staff members are advised to maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’.

1.7 Serious case reviews including the high profile enquiry into the death of Daniel Pelka aged 4, (Coventry LSCB 2013), Kyra Ishaq aged 7 years, (Birmingham LSCB 2010), Child G aged 14, (East Sussex LSCB 2013) and Child BS aged 2 years 1 month, (Unnamed LSCB 2016) have repeatedly highlighted the importance of clear child welfare and child protection record keeping.

1.8 However small or apparently insignificant the concern may seem at the time, the importance of recording and reporting cannot be underestimated when considering welfare and child protection. Often it is only when a number of seemingly minor issues are viewed as a whole, that a safeguarding or child protection concern becomes clear.

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1.9 In relation to children and young people, safeguarding and promoting their welfare is defined in ‘Working together to safeguard children’ 2015 as:

protecting children from maltreatment preventing impairment of children’s health or development ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent

with the provision of safe and effective care taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

Keeping Children Safe in Education (September 2016) states:

I. No single professional can have a full picture of a child’s needs and circumstances. If children and families are to receive the right help at the right time, everyone who comes into contact with them has a role to play in identifying concerns, sharing information and taking prompt action. (Para 3)

II. All concerns, discussions and decisions made and the reasons for those decisions should be recorded in writing. If in doubt about recording requirements, staff should discuss with the designated safeguarding lead. (Para 29)

III. It is important for children to receive the right help at the right time to address risks and prevent issues escalating. Research and Serious Case Reviews have repeatedly shown the dangers of failing to take effective action. Poor practice includes: failing to act on and refer the early signs of abuse and neglect; poor record keeping; failing to listen to the views of the child; failing to re-assess concerns when situations do not improve; sharing information too slowly; and a lack of challenge to those who appear not to be taking action. (Para 30)

Early years Foundation Stage statutory requirements 2017 (3.7) state:

Providers must have regard to the government's statutory guidance ‘WorkingTogether to Safeguard Children 2015’and to the ‘Prevent duty guidance forEngland and Wales 2015’. All schools are required to have regard to theGovernment’s ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ statutory guidance, andother childcare providers may also find it helpful to refer to this guidance. Ifproviders have concerns about children's safety or welfare, they mustnotify agencies with statutory responsibilities without delay. This means the local children's social care services and, in emergencies, the police.

1.10 This guidance has been written to assist educational establishments to comply with the guidance referred to above, and to meet recommendations from serious case reviews undertaken in East Sussex and nationally. In addition, to support compliance with Inspecting Safeguarding in Early Years

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Education and Skills (Ofsted August 2016) with specific reference to ‘signs of successful safeguarding arrangements’.

1.11 Good record keeping is an important part of schools’ evidenced-based accountability to children and their families and will assist designated safeguarding leads in meeting their key responsibility to respond appropriately to welfare concerns about children.

1.12 For some children a one-off serious incident or concern may occur and staff will have no doubt that this should be immediately recorded and reported. More often however, it is the accumulation of a number of small incidents, events or observations that can provide the evidence of harm being caused to a child.

1.13 Records should be factual, accurate, relevant, up to date and auditable. They should support monitoring, risk assessment, planning, intervention and review for children and enable informed and timely decisions about appropriate action to take.

1.14 A child’s record may become an essential source of evidence for investigations, inquiries and court proceedings.

1.15 Frequently asked questions (Appendix E) may answer some of the questions staff may have.

2 The Designated Safeguarding Lead’s (DSL) role

2.1 The DSL should ensure that all staff members are given appropriate induction and training

2.2 Ensure all staff members know when and how to record concerns about a child’s welfare, however small or apparently insignificant.

2.3 Ensure all staff members, whatever their designation or role in the school, receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection training which is regularly updated. In addition all staff members should receive safeguarding and child protection updates (for example, via email, e-bulletins and staff meetings), as required, but at least annually, to provide them with relevant skills and knowledge to safeguard children effectively. East Sussex Standards and Learning Effectiveness Service recommend a three hour face to face training delivered every two years.

2.4 Ensure all staff has access to and understand the Continuum of Need.

2.5 Ensure all staff know where to locate key documents such as welfare concern forms, access Keeping Children Safe in Education 2016 Part 1 and annex A, the (Model) code of conduct, Child Protection Policy, What to do if you are worried a child is being abused 2015 and recording aide memoire (Appendix D).

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For Early Years settings, all staff should know where to locate the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage 2017, section 3 Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements,

2.6 Oversee that all welfare concern forms are accurately completed with all relevant information, signed and dated by the member of staff.

2.7 Analyse all information relating to a child and record what action needs to be taken in response to reported incidents or welfare concerns. This information must be explicit and signed by the staff member to confirm this on the welfare concern form.

2.8 Start and maintain a stand-alone file for children with child protection or welfare concerns.

2.9 Ensure that all visitors to the establishment know how to report concerns about other adults or for the welfare of any child.

3 Induction and training

3.1 As part of their induction, all new staff members must be given training on how to recognise welfare and child protection concerns and how and when to report and record those concerns.

3.2 All staff must know how and when to report a concern about another staff member or adult in the school – see Managing Allegations procedures outlined within the schools’ child protection policy.

3.3 Induction must include raising staff awareness of systems within the establishment which support safeguarding including how to record and report welfare and safeguarding concerns and to whom. This would include understanding the early help process, identifying emerging problems, and the referral process to children’s social care.

3.4 All education establishment staff should have read and understood Keeping Children Safe in Education 2016 part one and annex A. For Early Years’ providers including schools with early years providers, staff should have read Early Years Statutory Framework for Early Years Foundation Stage 2017 both of which provides information of what the establishments staff should know and do and inform their record keeping. This should be read alongside a copy of the establishment’s child protection policy, staff behaviour policy (sometimes called code of conduct). A record should be kept by the DSL once this is completed.

3.5 Ensure staff understand their duties under Section 5B of the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 (as inserted by section 74 of the Serious Crime Act 2015) which places a statutory duty upon teachers, (this includes persons

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employed or engaged to carry out teaching work) to report to the police where they discover that FGM appears to have been carried on a girl under 18.

3.6 Should any member of staff have a concern that a female child may be at risk of FGM they should complete a welfare concern form and report this directly to the designated safeguarding lead as a child protection concern.

3.7 Any staff member who has a concern about a child being radicalised should understand their duties in place since July 2015 under the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism, known as the Prevent duty. They need to complete a welfare concern form and report this to the designated safeguarding lead.

3.8 All welfare concern forms should be given to the designated safeguarding

lead at the earliest possible opportunity and as a minimum within 24 hours as recommended by East Sussex Standards and Learning Effectiveness Service. Staff must consider the need for immediate safeguarding.

3.9 It is essential that all supply staff and visitors to the establishment understand the need to report concerns and complete the welfare concern form prior to leaving the establishment that day.

3.10 Establishments must ensure that all their staff members are aware of their legal responsibilities under the Data Protection Act 1998 for data processing, including accuracy, retention, disposal and subject access rights.

4 Establishing a standard recording process

4.1 All staff members, irrespective of their role in the educational establishment, should use the standard welfare concern form (Appendix C) and the aide memoire to assist in its completion (Appendix D) to record their concerns. Any contemporaneous notes should be firmly attached to the form.

4.2 The establishment should use a single form for the recording and reporting of all welfare concerns, whether low level concerns or serious child protection concerns requiring immediate response.

4.3 All staff members should be aware that details of their concerns may be shared with the child, family members and other professionals, for example at child protection conferences. In exceptional cases, they may be submitted as evidence in court proceedings or at a serious case review. It is essential that recordings are completed in an objective professional manner which differentiates between fact, allegation, observation and opinion.

4.4 It is essential that professionals from other disciplines and agencies visiting the establishment, e.g. ISEND services, CAMHS, Social Workers, etc. who may have their own systems for recording their ongoing work with children

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and families, also adopt the establishment’s standard recording process when in the establishment, if they have the need to report a concern.

4.5 The welfare concern form and aide memoire should be easily accessible to all staff and, depending on the size and type of establishment, should be available in a range of places, e.g. in the staff room, school or main office and in the offices of the establishment’s manager, head teacher or principal, the designated safeguarding lead and pastoral care staff.

4.6 The importance of understanding concerns for a child in the context of history and other known information cannot be underestimated in informing safeguarding decisions and assessing potential risk. Chronologies (Appendix B) are central to this process and it is strongly recommended that these are started when there is more than one welfare concern form by the designated safeguarding lead.

4.7 In addition to informing assessments, a chronology will serve as an important record of the establishment’s actions and provide supporting evidence when attached to an inter-agency referral.

4.8 It is the role of the designated safeguarding lead to analyse the information in light of history, context and all available information and make decisions in the best interests of the child and record these on the same form.

4.9 Many schools employ a range of staff that hold specific pastoral care responsibilities and may have separate recording systems recording their ongoing work with families. It is essential that any pastoral work is coordinated by the designated safeguarding lead and this is reviewed regularly and triangulated with any welfare or safeguarding concerns to inform safeguarding decisions.

4.10 A record should be kept of anything that gives staff a cause for concern about a child as well as any disclosure of allegation made. Even if the information does not appear to be significant on its own, it may contribute to a picture of concerns that should not be ignored. This might include observations about changes in behaviour, attendance or presentation or concerns about parental presentation. Not all welfare concerns result in a referral to children’s social care.

4.11 It is important that the designated safeguarding lead informs the staff member reporting a concern how they intend to respond to it whilst maintaining appropriate levels of confidentiality. Staff need to feel empowered to seek clarification on why concerns may not have been reported to statutory agencies.

4.12 Staff concerned that action is not being taken to protect a child should be empowered in the first instance to discuss their concerns with the DSL. If this is not resolved, discuss their concerns with the headteacher and if this does not resolve their concerns they should discuss the issues with the Chair of Governors. Should the concerns persist the staff member should consider

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whistleblowing through either discussions with Local authority Designated Officer Amanda Glover 07825 782793 amanda.glover@eastsussex.gov.uk or the NSPCC Whistleblowing Advice Line 0800 028 0285 help@nspcc.org.uk

Early years settings need to ensure all staff are aware of the line management system of escalating concerns. Should the concerns persist the staff member should consider whistleblowing through either discussions with the Local Authority Designated Officer Amanda Glover 07825 782793 amanda.glover@eastsussex.gov.uk or the NSPCC Whistleblowing Advice Line 0800 028 0285 help@nspcc.org.uk

Looked After Children

4.13 KCSiE 2016 has been amended to reflect the importance of the designated teacher working with the virtual school head on how funding can best support the progress of a Looked After Child (LAC).

4.14 The designated safeguarding lead should also have details of the child’s social worker and the name of the virtual school head. The designated teacher will ensure that the educational achievement of children who are Looked After is promoted and this person must have appropriate training.

4.15 The designated safeguarding lead will work closely with the designated teacher in recognition that children may have been abused or neglected before becoming looked after and the need to ensure their ongoing safety as well as supporting their education and development. The designated safeguarding lead should be consulted by the designated Teacher in respect of welfare and safeguarding concerns as the person with lead responsibility for safeguarding and child protection.

4.16 The school will need to have a pupil file that contains Looked After Child activity including LAC review minutes, LAC plans and Pupil Education Plans and a separate welfare concern file that documents safeguarding information.

Early Years Settings should ensure that they maintain a record of the contact details of the social worker and any activity related to the child where there is an allocated social worker or the child is Looked After.

5 When and how to start a stand-alone child protection/welfare concerns file

5.1 Once a welfare concern form has been passed to the designated safeguarding lead, it must be kept securely.

5.2 An effective method for storing one or two welfare concern forms for an individual child is to file them together in an alphabetically divided ring binder file. It may be helpful for larger or busier establishments to use separate files for each year group. This system is particularly recommended for primary

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schools since this will assist at the end of the academic year with meeting the responsibility to transfer records when children leave the establishment.

5.3 This file must be kept separate from the child’s other records. Child protection/welfare concern files must be created separate from the general child file regardless of whether formal child protection procedures have been initiated. For some children, this single record will be the only concern held for them over their time in the establishment. For others, further information may well be accumulated, often from a variety of sources, over time.

5.4 At the point a child protection/welfare concern file is started, a marker should be placed on the child’s pupil file to indicate to staff that there is further information about the pupil held securely by the designated safeguarding lead. A sticker is one method of doing this, or a flag on the pupils’ electronic record.

5.5 An individual file should be started:

I. When there is a clear child protection incident or allegation made and a referral or consultation has been undertaken with children’s social care.

II. When there are two or more welfare concerns forms indicating there is an increasing level of concern for the pupil such as additional school based intervention, agency involvement or external early help interventions are in place.

III. Where the establishment has identified the child requires ‘pastoral’ input such as nurture group, THRIVE, or welfare and attendance are jointly raising concerns.

IV. The child’s previous establishment has transferred a child protection file they maintained.

V. The establishment is participating in multi-agency work or information sharing to safeguard the child, this would include ensuring a welfare concern form is completed when social care make enquiries about a child.

VI. This should contain clarity about the basis for the enquiry and how any outcome of the enquiries will be shared.

VII. The child becomes Looked After in what may be emergency circumstances.

5.6 If concerns relate to more than one child from the same family at the establishment, a separate file for each child should be created and cross-referenced to the files of other family members. Common records, e.g. child protection conference notes, or family assessments should be duplicated for each file.

5.7 Many establishments are using commercial electronic child protection information management systems such as CPOMs and MyConcern. It is essential that either:

a) All paper documents are scanned and uploaded. The electronic file would need to indicate this is the case and the paper file would need to be securely kept with a closing summary identifying where all new

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information is held. If the child transfers school both files would need to be transferred. Or;

b) If the decision is taken not to scan and upload paper files the electronic system would need to indicate there is a separate safeguarding file held separately and there would need to be sufficient information transferred to the electronic system in a summary to inform future decision making. All new information will then be recorded on the electronic system. This would need to be clear on both files and the date that the electronic file started. The paper file would need to be securely kept with a closing summary identifying where all new information is held. If the child transfers school both files would need to be transferred.

5.8 Establishments that no longer maintain paper records must ensure that they keep the electronic record of child protection/welfare concerns separate from the child’s general educational record.

5.9 The designated safeguarding lead ensures all staff are confident in recording and reporting welfare concerns on any new system and have access to the appropriate equipment to easily report to the designated lead.

5.10 Any electronic recording system must be secure, have restricted access, with adequate file back up. The system must be fully auditable, including having trackable access and data entry. East Sussex Standards and Learning Service do not recommend schools try to develop their own recording systems for the reasons above.

6 What records should be included in a stand-alone child protection/welfare concerns file?

6.1 Files should be well organised with the use of clearly marked headed sections.

6.2 The following information must be kept in the individual stand-alone file, whether paper or electronic:

Front sheet (Appendix A proforma) Chronology (Appendix B proforma) Welfare concern forms (Appendix C proforma) Referrals - to Children’s Social Care, other external agencies or

education-based services Records of discussions – telephone/parent/professional consultations not

recorded on welfare concern form Plans – Child Protection/Family Support/Early Help Risk assessments, including Appendix F proforma

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Minutes of meetings - strategy meetings, child protection conferences, core group meetings, etc., copied to the file of each child in the family, as appropriate

Legal documents Correspondence - Letters sent and received, e mails relevant to

welfare/child protection Intervention/Pastoral work – such as Thrive/counselling/attendance

interventions Previous educational establishment child protection file File audit records (Appendix G)

6.3 Documents in each section should be filed in date order, oldest at the bottom for ease of use.

6.4 Documents contained in the file should be identified on the chronology on the date they were received noting any actions or reviews alongside their location.

7 Evidence-based recording

7.1 All safeguarding analysis and decisions made should be recorded in detail. All too often whilst due consideration to relevant information may have been given by the DSL, there is no evidence of this recorded on file. The welfare concern/child protection file needs to stand the test of time and evidence to the reader what the concern was, what informed the decision, what analysis of the risk/need was made and actions taken, detailing reviews and outcomes. The file needs to contain explicit information which does not require the reader to seek inference or deduction.

7.2 Front sheet (Appendix A)

a) Should be fully completed using full names and all sections where applicable

b) Should be regularly updated with current information for all family members and professionals

c) Changes in carer or status should be recorded and current, noting any changes

d) Professional contacts should be recorded and updated as they change.

e) Legal Orders, any restrictions or actions and evidence noted

f) Contact arrangements and any restrictions can be central to safeguarding and must be explicit and current.

Details of any plans current or ended.

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7.3 Chronology (Appendix B)

a. The chronology must be maintained in the child’s stand-alone file and updated on an ongoing basis as incidents or events occur.

b. The chronology must list all concerns and significant incidents, events and actions taken in relation to the child and, where appropriate, their family. The Chronology should include a brief explanation or cross-referenced to the relevant record and where it is contained within the file. This will include beginning and ending of child protection plans and specific safeguarding activity with any agency.

c. The chronology should record any planned early help intervention, beginning and ending and intended outcome with review dates.

d. The chronology should record unexplained absence and a record of action taken.

e. The chronology should record what actions have been taken to gather the child’s views and wishes where this is appropriate.

f. In addition to recording incidents and events, the chronology must record all significant and relevant contacts between the establishment and parents, whether it is face-to-face, by email or telephone, with a record of what was discussed and action taken in response.

g. The chronology should record attendance at meetings and actions to be taken forward

h. The chronology should record professional visits to see the child

i. The chronology should record the DSL’s review of progress of interventions, reassessment of risk and outcomes for the child

j. The chronology should also record file scrutiny audits.

k. The chronology must be stored at the front of the child’s safeguarding file, alongside the front sheet, where it can be easily accessed.

7.4 Welfare concern form (Appendix C)

a. The welfare form should be completed with full names, factual information of the concern, separating fact from opinions and being clear how the opinion is substantiated. The author of the welfare concerns form should use the child’s own words where there has been a disclosure or verbalised concern, all

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actions taken should be noted and the document signed by the person completing the form.

b. For detailed information on how to complete a welfare concern form refer to Recording Aide Memoire for staff (Annex D)

c. Welfare concern forms must be passed to the designated safeguarding lead at the earliest opportunity and in all cases within 24 hours.

d. Contemporaneous notes should be kept securely on the file. Where the file is electronic these can be scanned and uploaded. Contemporaneous hand written notes and drawing that may be required as evidence should be kept securely.

e. There should not be separate recording formats for welfare concerns; this will lead to fragmentation of information and possible delay or omission in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of pupils.

f. Welfare concern forms should be readily available to all staff and placed in identified areas.

g. Paper clips and post-it notes should not be used

h. The designated safeguarding lead should record their analysis based on the information on the welfare concern form and any other information known about the child with clear actions and decisions explicitly recorded, including who is responsible for actions

i. The designated safeguarding lead should also record how the impact or outcome of any interventions will be reviewed and with clear timescales.

7.5 It is recommended that the designated safeguarding lead introduces a system of Assess, Plan, Intervene and Review (APIR) on a cyclical basis when managing the welfare needs of a child and recording this on the welfare concern file. This would be evidenced by the use of a system of pre-planned and timely review of progress that identifies the impact and outcome of any safeguarding activity with the child or their family. A suggested method of achieving this is, when completing the welfare concern form, the designated lead sets a date for review and this is recorded on a confidential safeguarding calendar that only members of the safeguarding team can access. This should also record all future meeting dates and be a process carried on whilst the file is active and concerns remain.

7.6 The use of APIR should not prevent the earlier re-assessment of risk or need with new information emerging.

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8 Safeguarding Risk Reduction Plans

8.1 The identification of risk and the subsequent management and reduction of risk is a vital part of safeguarding activity within any educational establishment. This includes the identification of risk a pupil may pose to themselves or others, including other pupils and staff, both directly and indirectly by circumstances specific to the individual. This may be related to emotional or mental health difficulties, behaviours including sexual, physical, emotional and self-harming or other contributing factors.

8.2 The educational establishment should take a proportionate and evidence- based response to risk, guided by information gathering and informed decision making. The attached risk plan (Appendix F) is designed for pupils where there are identified and significant risks that are not adequately covered in other plans and risk assessments and should be used in consultation with all agencies involved with the young person, their family and where appropriate the young person themselves. This may for example include Social Care, CAMHS, Youth Offending, Police, ISEND and other specialist services.

8.3 Risk plans should be developed in line with the attached guidance contained in (Appendix F1).

9 Secure storage, retention and disposal of records

9.1 Child Protection/Welfare concern records must be kept separate from all other records relating to the child in school or setting.

9.2 Child Protection/Welfare concern records should be stored in a locked cabinet, preferably within the DSL’s office with access only to those with direct safeguarding responsibilities.

9.3 It is essential to ensure that the leadership team know the arrangements for access to records in the absence of the DSL. This should form part of the establishment’s general child protection policy in respect of how welfare concerns for children will be managed if the designated safeguarding lead is not available. A member of the leadership team must be nominated to be responsible for holding the key to the locked cabinet in the absence of the DSL.

9.4 All establishments have a duty to protect personal information under the Data Protection Act 1998. The eight principles of the Act must be adhered to when processing information about children. Schools using electronic recording systems should ensure this is incorporated in their privacy notice.

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9.5 In the case of early years settings, child protection records may be securely stored off the premises, with prior agreement from Ofsted.

9.6 If the child protection/welfare concerns file is a commercial software electronic file, the establishment must ensure that access privileges to this confidential file are limited to only those with safeguarding responsibilities in the establishment.

9.7 In line with the Batchelor Retention Schedule, when a child with a child protection file reaches statutory school leaving age, the last school or FE College attended should keep the child protection file until the child’s 25 th birthday. It should then be securely destroyed. Arrangements must be made to ensure the secure storage of the child protection files for this period.

9.8 Whether the establishment hold paper or digital records, when it is time for destruction of the file to be compliant with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the DATA Protection Act 1998 the following guidance should be followed.

The establishment should maintain a list of records which have been destroyed and who authorised their destruction. Members of staff should record at least:

File reference (or other unique reference number) File title (or brief description) Number of files The name of the authorising officer Date action taken

This could be kept in an excel spreadsheet or other database

Further information about the retention method, storage and destruction of child protection records should be sought through Information governance advice.

10 Transfer of child protection/welfare concerns records

10.1 When children transfer between primary, secondary schools or colleges and records of child protection/welfare concerns exist, these should be sent to the receiving establishment as soon as possible and within 5 days. This transfer should be arranged separately from the main educational file in line with Department of Education guidance. All files must be transferred securely.

When a child transfers from one early years setting to another or to primary school, their child protection/welfare concerns records should be transferred to the new setting or school as soon as possible and within 5 days.

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10.2 The responsibility for initiating the transfer rests with the originating school and should be completed within 5 days of confirmation the child has started at the new school.

10.3 Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) advises that a reason is needed to disclose personal information, so the originating establishment should wait until the other establishment has formally accepted the pupil before transferring child protection files. However, these files could be transferred earlier if, for example, the child’s parents give permission.

10.4 Records of child protection/welfare concerns must be passed directly to the designated safeguarding lead or another authorised person in the receiving establishment under confidential cover.

10.5 Whether child protection files are passed on by hand or posted, there should be written evidence of the transfer. An exemplar form is attached (Appendix H). This receipt should be retained by the originating establishment for 6 years.

10.6 If a child subject of a child protection plan leaves the establishment and the child’s new placement is not known, the child’s key worker from Children’s Social Care must be contacted to discuss safeguarding and how records should be transferred.

10.7 If the child is the subject of a child protection plan at the time of transfer and the new school is known, the designated safeguarding lead must speak to their counterpart at the receiving establishment before arranging for the records to be transferred. This is to ensure continuity of safeguarding.

10.8 Where records of child protection/welfare concerns have been kept, and details of the receiving primary or secondary school are not known, schools should follow the East Sussex Children’s Services Children Missing Education Procedure. Schools should also use the ‘Lost Pupil Database’ section of the ‘School to School’ secure data transfer service, which can be used to track missing children and trace previous schools. Also refer to Children Missing Education, statutory guidance for local authorities September 2016.

10.9 Where a child is to Electively Home Educated discussions should take place between the school and Teaching and Learning Provision (TLP) to share safeguarding concerns and agree where the file will be held and ensure professionals within the TLP have sufficient information to continue to safeguard the child. The same would apply for any other service working with a child who is not attending school for any reason.

When notifying of a student off rolling to be electively home educated, schools are obliged to complete the off roll form on Czone: https://czone.eastsussex.gov.uk/student-management/attendance-behaviour/off-rolling-and-cme/off-rolling/

Schools should ensure that as much detail as possible is added to this form. Any safeguarding or educational concerns should always be followed up with a

telephone call to the local TLP Area coordinator on 01273 336888

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10.10 An establishment cannot refrain from passing on child protection files to a new establishment, even at the request of a parent. This is because the new establishment needs access to all relevant information about the child to inform its own child protection practices.

10.11 There may be occasions when it is not appropriate to transfer information as it may pose a risk to the child or their family such as when they are fleeing domestic abuse; are subject of a witness protection programme or the child has been adopted. This list is not exhaustive and decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis and discussed with relevant parties, for example, the police or a social worker or Children Missing in Education Team who may be able to assist in managing the information sharing..

10.12 Settings must adopt a safe and secure method for the transfer of child protection files.

a) Transferring files by post

If an establishment is sending child protection files by post, it should ensure it sends them to the correct address by recorded delivery. The establishment should identify a named individual to send the package to, such as the other establishment’s designated safeguarding lead who should sign to confirm receipt.

If files are sent by post, they should be sent with an accompanying list of the file/s. The receiving establishment should sign a copy of the list to say that they have received the files and return that to the originating establishment.

The Information and Records Management Society (IRMS) has published a records management toolkit for schools. It includes advice on what information primary schools should transfer to their pupils' next schools and how they should do this

b) Transferring files electronically

The records management toolkits, referred to above, add that schools should also transfer electronic documents relating to pupils’ files, or destroy them if they are duplicated in a master paper file.

The ICO advise that if the setting is transferring information by email, it should use encryption software to lessen the risk of an unknown third party gaining access to the files to ensure secure electronic transfer.

c) Common Transfer Files

The common transfer file (CTF) holds information about a pupil that is usually recorded on the school’s information management system, and may include child protection or safeguarding records.

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The DfE has published a guide to CTFs. This explains that maintained schools are required to send the CTF to the pupil's new school, and academies are "strongly encouraged" to do so. This would also be recommended independent schools.

It adds that the information should be transferred to a new school via the DfE’s secure School to School (S2S) transfer system.

For more information on transferring data securely see https://czone.eastsussex.gov.uk/safeguarding/support-for-safeguarding-in-schools/

11 Alternative School Placements/Arrangements/Dual Registration or Educated Off Site (including school to school placements)

11.1 Where a decision is made for a temporary placement for a child at alternative educational establishment information of any safeguarding concerns or potential risks should be verbally conveyed to the DSL at the host school by the originating school DSL; this should occur prior to the placement starting. This is to facilitate the assessment of risk and need for that pupil and other pupils in the school.

11.2 Where a pupil is subject of dual registration the chronology, a brief synopsis of history and the other relevant information in the child’s concern file should be copied and passed to the DSL of the host establishment (Pupil Referral Unit, Academy, Other Learning Centre, subject of a School to School placement or shared care arrangement between early years settings) within 5 days.

11.3 Because of the nature of such bespoke arrangements for individual pupils it will be important that the DSLs of each establishment agree on which one of them will keep the chronology updated and how best to communicate to each other significant events and issues in relation to that pupil. There will need to be clarity which DSL is taking the lead in safeguarding decision making and this should be recorded on the chronology and signed by both DSL’s.

11.4 The DSL from the originating establishment should maintain regular contact and review progress and future planning for the pupil with the host establishment DSL.

12 Information sharing

12.1 When there is a concern that a child is at risk of significant harm, all information held by the establishment must be shared with Children’s Social Care, police and health professionals. Section 47 of the Children Act 1989 and sections 10 and 11 of the Children Act 2004 empower all agencies to share information in these circumstances. If designated safeguarding leads are in doubt, they should consult East Sussex Children’s Social Care Single Point of Advice.

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12.2 Information sharing Advice for practitioners providing safeguarding services to children, young people, parents and carers (March 2015) provides guidance on information sharing and states:

The principles set out below are intended to help practitioners working with children, young people, parents and carers share information between organisations. Practitioners should use their judgement when making decisions on what information to share and when and should follow organisation procedures or consult with their manager if in doubt. The most important consideration is whether sharing information is likely to safeguard and protect a child.

12.3 On occasions when safeguarding concerns exist for a child in the context of a family situation and siblings attend other establishments or the children are known to other agencies, it may be appropriate for the designated safeguarding lead to consult with, on a confidential basis, their counterpart from other establishments or other agencies to share and jointly consider concerns.

12.4 It is good practice to seek consent from the child or their parent before sharing information. Children over the age of 12 years are considered to have the capacity to give or withhold consent to share their information, unless there is evidence to the contrary; therefore it is good practice to seek their views. If the young person is over 16, they should be involved in decision-making about information sharing, unless they do not have the capacity to give consent.

12.5 However, consent should not be sought, or the child or family informed that

their information will be shared, if doing so would: place a person (the child, family or another person) at risk of

significant harm, if a child or serious harm, if an adult; or prejudice the prevention, detection or prosecution of a crime; or lead to unjustified delay in making enquiries about allegations of

significant harm to a child or serious harm to an adult.

Consent should not be sought if the establishment is required to share information through a statutory duty, e.g. section 47 of the Children Act 1989 as discussed above, or court order.

12.6 Information from records may be shared at child protection conferences and for serious case reviews.

12.7 Staff members’ access to information on the child protection file should be on a need-to-know basis and decided case by case. Generally, the closer the staff member’s day-to-day contact with the child is, the more likely that they would need to know an outline of the child’s case. The establishment should have a well-understood policy about who should have direct access to the child’s records and what other staff members need to be aware of an outline

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of the case. The child’s and family members’ confidentially should be respected as far as possible, but the child’s welfare is paramount.

12.8 Cases of alleged abuse that result in court proceedings may require the establishment to disclose their records, either through the police or Children’s Social Care.

12.9 In all court cases where a requesting solicitor or other third party is requesting information without a court order it is strongly suggested that legal advice is sought.

12.10 The establishment should share only the information necessary for the purpose and understand the limits of any consent given, especially if the information has been provided by a third party.

12.11 Records, suitably anonymised, may also be requested for use in disciplinary proceedings.

12.12 Under no circumstances should the establishment’s governors or trustees be given details of individual cases. Governors or trustees may, however, be provided with safeguarding reports at governing body/proprietor meetings, outlining the number of cases dealt with and other statistics which do not identify individual children and the anonymised copies of file audits (Appendix G).

12.13 The Chair of Governors may in exceptional circumstances require access to a child’s file when considering a child specific complaint this would need to be under specific agreement and supervision. Any access to the file by the governor should be recorded on the file chronology.

13 Quality assurance of safeguarding and welfare concern records

13.1 East Sussex SLES recommends that where possible the headteacher is not the designated safeguarding lead; this is so that the headteacher can undertake review and auditing of practice, including holding the designated safeguarding lead to account for decisions and file maintenance.

13.2 However, where the headteacher is the DSL, it may be more appropriate for a reciprocal arrangement to be made with the DSL of a neighbouring school to undertake this task. This would also provide positive peer support. Alternatively, audits are undertaken by members of the senior leadership team who have undertaken Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) training and who therefore have the knowledge and understanding of safeguarding and recording requirements.

13.3 The purpose of review is to ensure appropriate child-focussed decisions are

made by the designated safeguarding lead and there is evidence of review of

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actions and follow up by the designated safeguarding lead with accurate evidence based recording. The use of the Audit Tool (Appendix G) should be used, fully completed and kept on the child’s file.

13.4 An anonymised copy of completed audit Tools can be shared with the Safeguarding Link Governor for the purposes of scrutiny and challenge.

13.5 For Early Years Settings and Childminders the ESCC Early Years Support and Intervention Officers will regularly undertake a review and auditing of practice, including holding the designated safeguarding lead to account for decisions and file maintenance. The purpose of review is to ensure appropriate child-focussed decisions are made by the designated safeguarding lead and there is evidence of review of actions and follow up by the designated safeguarding lead with accurate evidence based recording. The Audit Tool (Appendix G) should be used and a fully completed copy kept on the child’s file.

13.6 For Early Years settings operating as a `chain’ of nurseries it may be appropriate for a reciprocal arrangement to be made with the DSL from another nursery within the chain.

13.7 An anonymised copy of completed audit Tools can be shared with the Owner/ Management Committee for the purposes of scrutiny and challenge.

14 Children’s and parents’ access to child protection files

14.1 Under the Data Protection Act 1998, any child who has a file has a right to access it. The Education (Pupil Information) (England) Regulations 2005 give parents the right see their child’s school records. However, neither the child nor the parent has an automatic right to see all the information held in child protection records. Information can be withheld if disclosure:

could cause serious harm or is likely to cause serious harm to the physical or mental health or condition of the child or another person; or

could reveal that the child or another person has been a subject of or may be at risk of child abuse, and the disclosure is not in the best interests of the child; or

is likely to prejudice an ongoing criminal investigation; or the information about the child also relates to another person who could be

identified from it or the information has been given by another person who could be identified as the source, unless the person has consented to the disclosure or the person providing the information is an employee of the establishment or the Local Authority.

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14.2 It is best practice to make reports available to the child or their parents unless the exceptions described above apply. If an application is made to see the whole record, advice should be sought from the child’s social worker, if they have one, and the Information Commissioners Office (https://ico.org.uk).

14.3 Sometimes third party information can be redacted so that the child’s record can still be released and the third party remains unidentifiable. If this is possible, this option should be considered ahead of withholding the whole document.

14.4 Any establishment’s report to child protection conference should be shared with the child, if old enough and parent at least two days before the conference.

14.5 When disclosing information, all third-party information must be removed, or consent sought for its disclosure from the person concerned. For example, all identifying information about other children or members of the public who have shared information about the child must be removed before disclosing information.

14.6 Educational establishments should always seek advice from Information Governance on any request for access to the child’s file under either Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the DATA Protection Act 1998

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Legislation and Guidance Documents

Working together to safeguard children 2015https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children

Keeping children safe in education; statutory guidance for schools and colleges 2016https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education

What to do if you are worried a child is being abused https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/what-to-do-if-youre-worried-a-child-is-being-abused .

Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Requirements 2017 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/596629/EYFS_STATUTORY_FRAMEWORK_2017.pdf

Information sharing Advice for practitioners providing safeguarding services to children, young people, parents and carers March 2015https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/419628/Information_sharing_advice_safeguarding_practitioners.pdf

Inspecting safeguarding in early years, education and skills settings (August 2016)Guidance for inspectors undertaking inspection under the common inspection framework

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inspecting-safeguarding-in-early-years-education-and-skills-from-september-2015

Information Commissioners Office

https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/education/

Information and Records Management Society

http://www.irms.org.uk/groups/public-sector/resources/134-records-management-toolkit-for-schools

Common Transfer File; CTF 13 guide, version 1.0 June 2013

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https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/270497/ctf_13_guide_v_1_0.pdf

Children missing education, statutory guidance for local authorities September 2016https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/550416/Children_Missing_Education_-_statutory_guidance.pdf

Pan Sussex Child Protection and Safeguarding Procedures Manual. https://sussexchildprotection.procedures.org.uk/

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