Amendments

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

This chapter was refreshed in December 2024.

In December 2024 information was added into Section 9, Accommodation, Bedroom Space and Sharing in relation to bunk beds.

This chapter was refreshed in December 2024, in line with How Local Authorities and Children’s Homes Can Achieve Stability and Permanence for Children with Complex Needs (Ofsted).

This chapter was refreshed in December 2024.

This chapter was added to the manual in December 2024.

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

In December 2024, this chapter was refreshed.

This chapter was added to the manual in December 2024.

In December 2024, links to sources of further information were updated.

In December 2024, Section 15.1, Registering an appeal with the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs (SEN) and Disability) was updated in line with case law.

This chapter was added to the manual in December 2024.

In December 2024, updates were made to reflect the Homelessness Code of Guidance - Chapter 22: Care Leavers (updated 3 May 2024) which sets out the expectation that authorities should have in place joint protocols which clearly outline jointly held corporate parenting responsibilities for care leavers. See Section 9, Joint Housing Protocols for Care Leavers.

In December 2024, this chapter was refreshed.

This chapter was updated in December 2024.

This chapter was refreshed in July 2024.

This chapter was updated in July 2024, to reflect Championing Kinship Care: The National Kinship Care strategy.

In July 2024, Section 15, Resolving Disagreements was updated to include information on Guidance: Carry Out an Order in Special Educational Needs Cases. 

In July 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. 

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

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

This chapter was refreshed in July 2024.

This chapter was refreshed in July 2024.

This chapter was added in to the manual in July 2024.

In July 2024 a link was added in Section 4, Age Assessment to BASW Age Assessment Practice Guidance. In Further Information, a link was added to Operation Innerste Process: Caseworker Guidance.

In July 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.

This chapter was refreshed in July 2024.

New guidance added in July 2024.

In July 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.

This chapter was updated in July 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 updated in July 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.

This chapter was added in to the manual in July 2024.

In July 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. 

Section 2, Ordinary Residence was updated in January 2024 in line with case law.

Section 4, Different Situations whereby Children may be Living with Family and Friend Carers was updated in January 2024 to include information about Ukrainian children being cared for my family and friends in the UK.

This chapter was added to the manual in January 2024.

This chapter was refreshed in January 2024.

In January 2024, 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.

This chapter was updated in January 2024 to include information in the scope box from recent Ofsted Guidance around recruitment.

In January 2024, additional information was added about online safety.

In January 2024, this chapter was refreshed and a link added to National Early Permanence Practice Standards (Coram Centre for Early Permanence).  

This chapter was refreshed in January 2024.

Section 5.2.5, Providing Support was updated in January 2024 to reflect the Home Office increase in financial support to individuals waiting to find out if they will be given asylum in the UK.

In January 2024, this chapter was updated to include Sefton Council: Cared for Children Sufficiency Statement in the Local Guidance. 

In January 2024, 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.

Section 10, Use of Inherent Jurisdiction to Authorise a Placement Involving a Deprivation of Liberty was updated in January 2024 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.

This chapter was amended in January 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 July 2023, this chapter was updated to include information from Guidance: Area SEND Inspections Framework and Handbook (November 2022). Also, Sefton's Local Offer was added into Section 3, Local Offer. Information in relation to legal aid for foster carers and prospective adoptive parents in First Tier Tribunal appeals was also added into Section 15, Resolving Disagreements.

Section 8, Court Hearings was updated in July 2023 in line with A View From the President's Chambers: Relaunching the PLO (November 2022) and that section should be re-read.

In Relevant Guidance, a link was added to Pre-proceedings and Family Justice Hub (Research in Practice).

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

This chapter was updated in July 2023 in relation to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

This chapter was amended in July 2023 to reflect that the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 raised the age of marriage and civil partnership to 18 in England and Wales, with effect from 26 February 2023.

This chapter was amended in July 2023 to include a link to Self-harm: Assessment, Management and Preventing Recurrence NICE Guidance in Further Information.

This chapter was revised in July 2023 to include information from the revised Ofsted inspection framework. Also, it has been noted that with effect from 1 April 2023, the leaving care allowance increased from £2,000 to £3,000.

This chapter was added to the manual in July 2023.

In July 2023, this chapter was updated to reflect the updated Public Law Working Group Best Practice Guidance. This includes the new interim guidance, issued by the President of the Family Division, that addresses the lawful extension of care proceedings beyond 26 weeks. Section 6.3, Placement before Special Guardianship Order (SGO) is Granted, was added in line with guidance that states where there is no pre-existing relationship between the child and special guardians the child should be placed on an interim basis before the special guardianship order is made. Information in relation to timing of assessments was also added into Section 6.2, Special Guardianship Applications in Care Proceedings.

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

In July 2023, information in relation to allergies was added into Section 6, Diet, Nutrition and Allergies.

In July 2023, this chapter was amended in line with revised Keeping Children Safe in Education. A new Section 2, The Difference Between an Allegation of Harm and a Concern was added.

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

In July 2023, this chapter was amended to include information from Annex to MOJ Circular 2022/03: Additional Information on Remand to Local Authority Accommodation (RLAA).

This chapter was amended in July 2023 to incorporate Ofsted feedback. Additional information was also added into Section 2, Positive Behaviour Support and Section 5.4, Recording of Sanctions.

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

In July 2023, this chapter was updated to include information from the UK Social Work Practice in Safeguarding Disabled Children and Young People report.