Child Protection Enquiries - Section 47 Children Act 1989

The social worker together with their manager must decide at what point and whether to seek parental permission to undertake multi-agency checks. If the manager decides not to seek permission, they must record the reasons why, for example it may:

• Be prejudicial to the child's safety and wellbeing;
• Have serious concern about the behaviours of the adult;
• Have serious concern that the child would be exposed to immediate risk of harm.

Where permission is sought from parents and carers and denied, the manager must determine whether to proceed, and record the reasons for the decision they make.

Each agency has a duty to assist and provide information in support of child protection enquiries. When requested to do so by Children's social care, professionals from other parts of the local authority such as housing, schools and those in health organisations have a duty to cooperate under Section 27 of the Children Act 1989 by assisting the local authority in carrying out its Children's social care functions. The social worker must contact the other agencies involved with the child to inform them that a child protection enquiry has been initiated and to seek their views. The relevant agency should be informed of the reason for the enquiry, whether or not parental consent has been obtained and asked for their assessment of the child in the light of information presented.

The social worker must contact the other agencies involved with the child who have not been involved in the Strategy Discussion to inform them that a Section 47 Enquiry has been initiated and to seek their views. The checks should be undertaken directly with involved professionals wherever possible.

The relevant agency should be informed of the reason for the enquiry, as well as whether or not parental consent has been obtained, and asked for their assessment of the child in the light of information presented.

Agency checks should include accessing any relevant information that may be held in other parts of the United Kingdom or in any other country. See also Cross-border Child Protection Cases: The 1996 Hague Convention.

See Information Sharing Procedure.

Urgent requests for a strategy meeting must be via 101. The Police call handler will create an incident log and provide the caller with the number. The call handler will contact the Police Strategy Team or the relevant Safeguarding Detective Sergeant who will call the referrer back and arrange a meeting at a mutually convenient time.

Non urgent requests for a strategy meeting must be via e-mail. A Child Protection Strategy Meeting Request (non-urgent) form (misc 314) must be completed and e-mailed to resolutionteam@durham.pnn.police.uk. A police incident log will be created and the log reference number will be e-mailed to the referrer. The referrer will be contacted by the Police Strategy Team Support Officer and a mutually convenient time will be agreed on which the strategy meeting can be held.

Police will attend strategy meetings virtually via video link. However face to face strategy meetings will always be held in the following circumstances:

• Strategy meetings where a child is in hospital and the strategy meeting is held at the hospital so that the paediatrician can attend;
• Fabricated and induced illnesses (FII) meeting due to the numbers of people who attend and the complexity of the chronological information that needs to be understood to inform risk assessment;
• Complex abuse cases.

Police intelligence and confidential information which is discussed in strategy meetings and conference meetings must not be recorded in the minutes of the meeting due to the confidentiality of the information discussed.

Professionals participating in strategy discussions/meetings must have all their agency's information relating to the child available to be able to contribute to the discussion/meeting, and must be sufficiently senior to make decisions on behalf of their agencies.

The Strategy Meeting should establish whether a Network Meeting has been held and if not, agree this as an action following the Strategy Discussion.

Some examples of circumstances where a strategy discussion/meeting should be convened:

• Any new referrals in respect of a child where there are concerns that a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm;
• When new information on an existing case in Children's social care indicates that a child is likely to suffer significant harm;
• Unexplained injuries (where the child is in hospital, the Strategy Meeting should take place at the hospital);
• When an adult or young person assessed as presenting a risk to children has moved into, or is about to move into, the child's household or such a person is regularly visiting or about to have sustained contact with the child;
• When the likelihood of significant harm to an unborn child may be such as to indicate the need to develop a Child Protection Plan before birth;
• When a child lives in, or is born to, a household in which resides another child who is currently the subject of a Child Protection Plan;
• When a child who is currently the subject of a Child Protection Plan in another area moves into Durham unless the other authority is to retain responsibility for the case;
• When a child has sexually assaulted another child or there is a risk of such an assault occurring to another child in the same household or in regular contact with the household. For children over the age of 10 years see Harmful Sexual Behaviour Procedure;
• When a case of domestic abuse has been determined by the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) as potentially presenting a risk of significant harm to children.

This is not an exhaustive list.

A strategy discussion/ meeting should be used to:

• Share available information;
• Agree the conduct and timing of any criminal investigation;
• Decide whether an assessment under Section 47 of the Children Act 1989 (Section 47 Enquiries) should be initiated, or continued, if it has already been initiated following an earlier Strategy discussion/meeting;
• Consider the assessment and the key action points, if already in place;
• Plan how the Section 47 Enquiry should be undertaken (if one is to be initiated), including the need for any medical assessment, and who will carry out what actions, by when and for what purpose;
• Agree what action is required immediately to safeguard and promote the wellbeing of the child, and/or provide interim services and support. If the child is in hospital, decisions should also be made about how to secure the safe discharge of the child;
• To determine whether a Complex Planning Meeting is required;
• Where interim therapeutic support for children subject to ongoing Police investigations is identified to be in the best interests of the child, prior consultation should take place, if possible, with the Officer in the Case, and potentially the Crown Prosecution Service, to agree appropriate parameters for such support with the aim of avoiding compromising the criminal investigative process. The child's safety and wellbeing would always be the priority;
• Agree, in particular, when the child will be seen alone, if appropriate for the child, by the social worker during the course of these enquiries and agree the methods by which the child's wishes and feelings will be ascertained so that they can be taken into account when making decisions;
• In the light of the race, ethnicity, beliefs and culture of the child and family, consider how these should be taken into account and to establish whether an interpreter will be required;
• Consider the needs of other children who may be affected (e.g. siblings and other children, such as those living in the same household, and/or in contact with alleged abusers);
• Determine what information from the strategy discussion/meeting will be shared with the family, unless such information sharing may place a child at increased risk of significant harm or jeopardise police investigations into any alleged offence/s;
• Determine if legal action is required.

It is the responsibility of the chair of the strategy discussion/meeting to ensure that the decisions and agreed actions are fully recorded. Any information that is confidential, e.g. Police intelligence should not be recorded by anyone present during this meeting. All agencies attending should take notes of the actions agreed at the time.

The Chair of the Strategy Meetings is responsible for ensuring that the minutes are distributed to all Strategy Meeting members within two working days of the meeting.

Further details can be found in the briefing note for Teleconferencing Facilities at Strategy Meetings (see Local Documents).

Strategy discussions/meetings should be convened as soon as possible [1] bearing in mind the needs of the child and must take place within two working days of child protection concerns being identified. There are occasions where the assessed risk is deemed to be high to the child and in such instances the meeting should be convened on the same day as the receipt of the referral. Examples of high risk circumstances include:

• Allegations/concerns indicating immediate risk of harm to the child (e.g. serious physical injury or serious neglect);
• Allegations of acute sexual abuse;
• Where the concerns are particularly complex (e.g. fabricated/induced illness/ organised abuse), the strategy discussion/meeting must be held within a maximum of five working days, but sooner if there is a need to provide immediate protection to a child.

The plan made at the strategy discussion/meeting should reflect the requirement to convene an Initial Child Protection Conference within 15 working days of the strategy discussion if this is the outcome of Section 47 Enquiry. When Children's social care have concluded that an Initial Child Protection Conference is not required but professionals in other agencies remain seriously concerned about the safety of a child, these professionals should seek further discussion with the social worker, their manager and/or the safeguarding lead. The concerns, discussion and any agreements made should be recorded in each agency's files. This should be actioned within a timescale commensurate with the need to safeguard the child and in accordance with the Managing Professional Differences Policy.

In exceptional circumstances, enquiries may be more complicated and may require more than one strategy discussion/meeting. If the strategy discussion / meeting concludes that a further strategy discussion / meeting is required, then a clear timescale should be set and be subject to regular review by the social work manager bearing in mind the safety of the child at all times. Where there is more than one Strategy Meeting it should be noted that any Initial Child Protection Conference should be held within 15 working days of the Strategy Meeting, which initiated the Child Protection Enquiry.

If the conclusion of the strategy discussion/meeting is that there is no cause to pursue the Section 47 Enquiry then consideration should be given to continuing a multi- agency assessment to meet the needs of the child for any early help support services or to provide family support services to them as a child in need.

Where the decision from the Strategy Discussion is that an initial child protection conference is not required but professionals in other agencies remain seriously concerned about the safety of a child, these professionals should seek further discussion with the Team Manager/Social Work Consultant and agencies should record their concerns in their agency files.

If concerns remain, the professional should discuss with a designated/lead person or senior manager in their agency. The agency may formally request that Children's social care convene an initial child protection conference. Children's social care should convene a conference where one or more professionals, supported by a senior manager/named or designated professional requests one.

If the matter remains unresolved, the Managing Professional Differences Policy should be used.

For information on electronic and digital recording of meetings, see related guidance in the Child Protection Conferences Procedure, Membership of Child Protection Conference.

_{[1] Working Together to Safeguard Children does not set a specific timescale for when a strategy discussion must take place.}

Children who are the subject of Section 47 Enquiries should always be seen and communicated with alone by the social worker. In addition, all children within the household must be directly communicated with during Section 47 Enquiries by either the police or Children's social care or both agencies, so as to enable an assessment of their safety to be made. It is important that the child's lived experiences are understood.

The children, who are the focus of worries, must be seen alone and their views and wishes recorded, subject to their age and willingness, preferably with parental permission. Practitioners need to ensure that they speak to the children specifically about the worries.

Legal advice should be sought where appropriate

Children's social care and the police should ensure that appropriate arrangements are in place to support the child through the Section 47 Enquiry. Specialist help may be needed if:

• The child's first language is not English;
• The child appears to have a degree of psychological and/or psychiatric disturbance but is deemed competent;
• The child has a physical/sensory/learning disability;
• Interviewers do not have adequate knowledge and understanding of the child's ethnic, faith, religious and cultural background;
• It may be necessary to provide information to the child in stages and this must be taken into account in planning the Section 47 Enquiries.

It may be necessary to provide information to the child in stages and this must be taken into account in planning the Section 47 Enquiries.

Explanations given to the child must be brought up to date as the assessment and the enquiry progresses. In no circumstances should the child be left wondering what is happening and why.

If the whereabouts of a child subject to Section 47 Enquiries are unknown and cannot be ascertained by the social worker, the following action must be taken within 24 hours:

• A discussion with the police;
• Agreement reached with the Children's social care manager responsible as to what further action is required to locate and see the child and carry out the enquiry.

If access to a child is refused or obstructed, the social worker, in consultation with their manager, should co-ordinate a discussion including legal representation, to develop a plan to locate or access the child/ren and progress the Section 47 Enquiry.

In most cases, parents should be enabled to participate fully in the assessment and enquiry process, which must be explained to them verbally and also in writing by providing the DSCP leaflet re Child Protection Enquiries. If a parent has a specific communication difficulty or English is not their first language, an interpreter should be provided.

The social worker has the main responsibility to engage with parents and the family's identified network at the earliest opportunity to ascertain the facts of the situation causing worries and to assess the capacity of the family to safeguard the child.

Parents must be involved at the earliest opportunity unless to do so would prejudice the safety of the child. The needs and safety of the child will be paramount when determining at what point parents or carers are given information. Parents must be kept informed throughout about the enquiry, its outcome and any subsequent action unless this would jeopardise the safety and wellbeing of the child and/or Police investigation.

The assessment must include both parents, any other carers such as grandparents and the partners of the parents.

Where a parent lives elsewhere but has contact with the child, arrangements should be made for their involvement in the assessment process.

Appropriate, checks should be completed on a parent or connected persons, who assumes the care of a child during a Section 47 Enquiry.

An explanation of their rights as parents/carers including the need for support and guidance from an advocate whom they trust should be provided, including advice about the right to seek legal advice.

Any objections or complaints expressed by parents/carers during a Section 47 Enquiry, and the response to these objections or complaints, must be clearly recorded.

The following may give consent to a medical assessment:

• A child of sufficient age and understanding (Gillick competency/Fraser guidelines);
• Any person with parental responsibility, providing they have the capacity to do so;
• The local authority when the child is the subject of a care order (though the parent should be informed);
• The local authority when the child is accommodated under s20 of the Children Act 1989, and the parent/s have abandoned the child or are assessed as lacking capacity to give such authority;
• The High Court when the child is a ward of court;
• A family proceedings court as part of a direction attached to an emergency protection order, an interim care order or a child assessment order.

A child of any age who has sufficient understanding (generally to be assessed by the doctor with advice from others as required) to make a fully informed decision can provide lawful consent to all or part of a medical assessment or emergency treatment.

A young person aged 16 or 17 has an explicit right (s8 Family Law Reform Act 1969) to provide consent to surgical, medical or dental treatment and, unless grounds exist for doubting their mental health, no further consent is required.

A child who is of sufficient age and understanding may refuse some or all of the medical assessment, though refusal can potentially be overridden by a court.

Wherever possible the permission of a parent should be sought for children under 16 years of age prior to any medical assessment and/or other medical treatment.

Where circumstances do not allow permission to be obtained and the child needs emergency medical treatment, the medical practitioner may:

• Regard the child to be of an age and level of understanding to give their own consent;
• Decide to proceed without consent.

In these circumstances, parents must be informed by the medical practitioner as soon as possible and a full record must be made at the time.

In non-emergency situations, when parental permission is not obtained, the social worker and manager must consider whether it is in the child's best interests to seek a court order.

In the course of Section 47 Enquiries, appropriately trained and experienced practitioners must undertake all medical assessments.

A report should be provided by the named/designated doctor to the social worker, the GP and where appropriate, the police.

The report should include:

• A verbatim record of the carer's and child's accounts of injuries and concerns noting any discrepancies or changes of story;
• Documentary findings in both words and diagrams;
• Site, size, shape and where possible age of any marks or injuries;
• Opinion of whether injury is consistent with explanation;
• Date, time and place of examination;
• Those present;
• Who gave consent and how (child / parent, written / verbal);
• Other findings relevant to the child (e.g. squint, learning or speech problems etc);
• Confirmation of the child's developmental progress (especially important in cases of neglect);
• The time the examination ended.

All reports and diagrams should be signed and dated by the doctor undertaking the examination.

Social workers should:

• Discuss the case with the child, parents and other professionals;
• Determine whether support from any services may be helpful and help secure it; and
• Step-down through the Child & Family Assessment procedures as defined in the Threshold Guidance.

All involved professionals should:

• Participate in further discussions as necessary;
• Contribute to the development of any plan as appropriate;
• Provide services as specified in the plan for the child; and
• Review the impact of services delivered as agreed in the plan.

Arrangements should be noted for future referrals, if appropriate.

The timescale for the outcome of the s47 is by six working day of the Strategy Discussion that made the decision, the outcome is to be shared with family and professionals verbally and followed up in writing.

Social workers with their managers should:

• Convene an initial child protection conference. The timing of this conference should depend on the urgency of the case and respond to the needs of the child and the nature and severity of the harm they may be facing. The initial child protection conference should take place within 15 working days of a strategy discussion, or the strategy discussion at which section 47 enquiries were initiated if more than one has been held;
• Seek legal advice to establish if threshold is met to enter Public Law Outline or to issue care proceedings;
• Consider whether any professionals with specialist knowledge should be invited to participate;
• Ensure that the child and their parents understand the purpose of the conference and who will attend;
• Help prepare the child if he or she is attending or making representations through a third party to the conference;
• Give information about advocacy agencies and a referral to NYAS to be progressed as appropriate;
• Give information about advocacy agencies and explain that the family may bring an advocate, friend or supporter;
• Consider and invite significant members of the family network.

All involved professionals should:

• Have relevant information and make this available to the conference;
• Provide a written report which must be provided to the Quality & Review Team at least two working days before 12 noon prior to an Initial Child Protection and at least seven working days before 12 noon prior to a Review Child Protection Conference;
• Append a chronology of significant events in the life of the child to their report for an Initial Child Protection Conference;
• Attend the conference and take part in decision making when invited;
• Suitable multi-agency arrangements must be put in place to safeguard the child until such time as the initial child protection conference has taken place. The social worker and their manager will coordinate and review such arrangements.

Feedback from Section 47 Enquiries:

The Children's social worker is responsible for recording the outcome of the Section 47 Enquiries consistent with the requirements of the recording system. The outcome should be put on the child's electronic record with a clear record of the discussions, authorised by the Team Manager.

Notification of the outcome of the enquiries, should be given to all the agencies who have been significantly involved for their information and records. This should be followed up in writing if verbally shared.

The parents and children of sufficient age and appropriate level of understanding should be given feedback of the outcome, in particular in advance of any initial child conference that is convened. This information should be conveyed in an appropriate format for younger children and those people whose preferred language is not English. If there are ongoing criminal investigations, the content of the social worker's feedback should be agreed with the police.

Where the child concerned is living in a residential establishment which is subject to inspection, the relevant inspectorate should be informed.

Where the decision about the outcome of the Section 47 Enquiry is disputed:

Where Children's social care have concluded that an initial child protection conference is not required but professionals in other agencies remain seriously concerned about the safety of a child, these professionals should seek further discussion with the social worker, their manager and/or the safeguarding lead. The concerns, discussion and any agreements made should be recorded in each agency's files.

If concerns remain, the professional should discuss with a designated/named/lead person or senior manager in their agency and the agency may formally request that Children's social care convene an initial child protection conference. Children's social care should convene a conference where one or more professionals, supported by a senior manager/named or designated professional requests one.

If the matter remains unresolved the Managing Professional Differences Policy should be used.