CONTINUUM OF NEED
Forward
Meeting the needs of all children and young people in Calderdale relies on effective
co-operation and positive partnerships between all agencies whether statutory or
Third Sector who work with or provide services for children, young people and their
families.
This framework, sets out a common approach to identify needs, contributes
significantly to the clarity we all need.
Inevitably the definitions that have been agreed are relatively broad and
interpretation will be needed in applying them to particular situations. However, this
document provides helpful guidance that builds on the excellent work undertaken by
all organisations in Calderdale to identify and meet children’s and young people’s
needs.
Director
Children & Young People’s Services
Chair
Local Safeguarding Children Board
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CONTENTS
Introduction
Section 1
Context
Section 2
Principles of practice
Section 3
The continuum of need response
Section 4
Guidance on application of the continuum
Section 5
Useful contacts and website links
Section 6
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1
Introduction
1.1
This document has been developed to help all those whose work (paid or
unpaid) brings them into contact with children and their families to focus on
and identify additional needs and vulnerabilities in children, and the actions
required to meet those needs. This multi-agency guidance seeks to:
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Describe levels of vulnerability
Make clear thresholds for action/intervention
Clarify the continuum of need from early intervention through to child
protection
Ensure those children and young people identified as having additional
needs and vulnerabilities, receive timely intervention and access to
service to meet assessed need, including children in need of protection
Set out principles for practice.
1.2
The guidance relates to all children and young people from pre birth up to 18
years, but for ease of reading uses the generic term children throughout.
1.3
All children deserve the opportunity to achieve their full potential. The Every
Child Matters agenda helps us to ensure that children are supported to
achieve positive outcomes in the five areas identified nationally, which are:
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1.4
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined in Working
Together to Safeguard Children (2010) as:
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1.5
Stay safe: being protected from harm and neglect and growing up able to
look after themselves
Be healthy: enjoying good physical and mental health and living a healthy
life style
Enjoy and achieve: getting the most out of life and developing broad skills
for adulthood
Make a positive contribution: to the community and to society and not
engaging in anti-social or offending behaviour
Achieve economic wellbeing: overcoming social-economic disadvantages
to achieve their full potential
Protecting children from maltreatment
Preventing impairment of children’s health and development
Ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the
provision of safe and effective care
This guidance does not:
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Give all the answers on how to assess levels of need
Replace the judgement that workers need to use when working with
children and their families
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
Describe the various referral and assessment systems that are needed to
be in place to support good practice and the safe application of this
continuum of need and response model.
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2
Context
2.1
Patterns of family life are diverse and there is no one perfect way to bring up
children. Good parenting involves a combination of knowledge and skills and
at times this is challenging for parents. Asking for help should be promoted
as a positive step in taking responsibility rather than be seen as
demonstrating failure.
2.2
Parenting is compromised when those who have parental responsibility or are
caring on behalf of those with that responsibility for a child or young person
are failing to act in their best interests. This can be related to parents’
physical illness, mental illness, learning disability, substance/alcohol misuse,
experience of domestic violence, own childhood abuse or their own history of
abusing children.
2.3
Ensuring the actions and services provided across the agencies impact
positively and achieve good outcomes for children requires all those with
responsibility for assessment and the provision of services to work together
according to an agreed plan of action. Effective collaboration requires
organisations and people to be clear about:
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2.4
Their roles and responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare
of children (see s11 of the Children Act 2004 guidance (2005) and chapter
2, “Roles and Responsibilities” Working Together to Safeguard Children
(2010))
The purpose of their activity, the decisions that are required at each stage
of the process and the planned outcomes for the child and family members
The legislative basis for the work
The protocols and procedures to be followed, including the way in which
information will be shared and recorded across professional boundaries
and within agencies
Which organisation, team or professional has lead responsibility and the
precise roles of everyone else who is involved, including the way in which
children and family members will be involved
Any timescales set down in regulations or guidance that govern the
completion of assessments, making plans and timings of reviews.
A child is defined in legislation as “anyone who has not reached their
eighteenth birthday” whatever their circumstances (independent living, further
education, in hospital, in custody, in the armed forces) prior to them becoming
18 they are still a child. Some young people (over 18) continue to access
services provided by the children’s work force e.g. care leavers, those with a
statement of educational needs, young people who misuse substances or
whose parents misuse substances and those young people subject to
transitional care packages, for example some young people with disabilities.
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2.5
Who is a child in need?
Working Together to Safeguard Children (2010) describes children who are
defined as being “in need” the legal definition as set out by the Children Act
1989 Section 17 (10) is:
Those whose vulnerability is such that they are unlikely to reach or
maintain a satisfactory level of health or development, or their health
and development will be significantly impaired, without the provision of
services (section 17(10) of the Children Act 1989), plus those who are
disabled.
Critical factors on deciding whether a child is in need are:
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What will happen to a child’s health and development without services
being provided
The likely effect the services will have on the child’s standard of health
and development
In assessing holistically these vulnerable children, the advice e and guidance
contained in the New Assessment Framework should be utilised. The child
needs, parenting capacity and environmental factors need to be considered in
formulating that assessment.
2.6
What is significant harm?
Working Together to Safeguard Children (2010) describes the concept of
significant harm as follows:
“Some children are in need because they are suffering or likely to suffer
significant harm. The Children Act 1989 (Section 31) introduced the
concept of significant harm as the threshold that justifies compulsory
intervention in family life in the best interests of children and gives local
authorities a duty to make enquiries to decide whether they should take
action to safeguard or promote the welfare of the child who is suffering
or likely to suffer significant harm”
Working Together also states:
“There are no absolute criteria on which to rely when judging what
constitutes significant harm. Consideration of the severity of illtreatment may include the degree and extent of physical harm, the
duration and frequency of abuse and neglect, the extent of
premeditation, and the presence or degree of threat, coercion, sadism
and bizarre or unusual elements. Each of these elements has been
associated with more severe effects on the child and/or relatively
greater difficulty in helping the child overcome the adverse impact of the
maltreatment. Sometimes a single traumatic event may constitute
significant harm, for example a violent assault, suffocation or poisoning.
More often, significant harm is a compilation of significant events, both
acute and long-standing, which interrupt, change or damage the child’s
physical and psychological development.”
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Decisions about significant harm are complex and should be informed by a
careful assessment of the child’s circumstances, including discussions
between the statutory agencies and with the child and family where
appropriate.
For more information about the procedures to be applied where there are
concerns about a child’s safety and wellbeing please refer to the LSCB child
protection procedures.
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3
Principles of practice
3.1
Working Together to Safeguard Children (2010) sets out very clearly the
principles of practice that should underpin agency practice in safeguarding
and promoting the welfare of children.
Child-centred
Some of the worst failures of the system have occurred when professionals
have lost sight of the child and concentrated instead on their relationship with
the adults. It is vital that the child is recognised as being of paramount
importance. The child should be seen by the practitioner and kept as the
primary focus throughout the work with the child and family. The child’s voice
must be heard and account taken of their wishes and feelings. All activity with
children must be child sensitive and timetabled to meet their needs. Agencies
whose predominant role is to support parents/carers should also ensure their
practitioners work reflects the needs of children and that their practitioners
take steps to ensure their work reflects the needs of children.
Rooted in child development
Those working with children should be informed by evidence based
developmental models that recognise that, as children grow, they continue to
develop their skills and abilities. Each stage, from infancy through middle
years to adolescence, lays the foundation for more complex development.
Plans and interventions to safeguard and promote the child’s welfare should
be based on a clear assessment of the child’s developmental progress and
the difficulties a child may be experiencing. Planned action should also be
timely and appropriate for the child’s age and stage of development.
Focused on outcomes for children
When working directly with a child, any plan developed for the child and their
family or care giver should be based on an assessment of the child’s
developmental needs and the parents’/care givers’ capacity to respond to
those needs within their community contexts.
Any planned intervention must set out the intended outcomes for each child
and at review; the actual outcomes should be recorded. The purpose of all
interventions should be to have a positive impact and to achieve the best
possible outcomes for each child, recognising that each child is unique.
These outcomes should contribute to the key outcomes set out for all children
(see paragraph 1.3).
Holistic in approach
Having a holistic approach means having an understanding of a child within
the context of the child’s family (parents or care givers and the wider family)
and of the educational setting, community and culture in which he or she is
growing up. The interaction between the developmental needs of children,
the capacities of parents or care givers to respond appropriately to those
needs, and the impact of wider family and environmental factors on children
and on parenting capacity requires careful exploration during an assessment.
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The ultimate aim is to understand the child’s developmental needs within this
contact and to provide appropriate services that respond to those needs.
It is important that assessments are evidence based, that the information
collated is carefully analysed and that practitioners are clear about the
intended impact and outcomes of actions planned. The analysis of the child’s
situation will inform planning and action in order to secure the best outcomes
for the child, and will inform the subsequent review of the effectiveness of
actions taken and services provided. The child’s context will be even more
complex when they are living away from home and looked after by adults who
do not have parental responsibility for them.
Ensuring equality of opportunity
Equality of opportunity means that all children have the opportunity to achieve
the best possible development, regardless of their gender, ability, race,
ethnicity, sexual orientation, circumstances or age. Some vulnerable children
may have been particularly disadvantaged in their access to important
opportunities and their health and educational needs will require particular
attention in order to optimise their current welfare as well as their long-term
outcomes in young adulthood.
Involving children and families
In the process of finding out what is happening to a child, it is important to
listen and develop an understanding of the child’s wishes and feelings
including any needs they may identify. The importance of developing a cooperative working relationship where possible is emphasised, so that parents
or care givers feel respected and informed, they believe practitioners are
being open and honest with them and, in turn, they are confident about
providing vital information about their child, themselves and their
circumstances. The consent of children, young people and their parents or
care givers should be obtained when sharing information, unless to do so
would place the child at risk of significant harm. Decisions should also be
made with the child’s agreement, whenever possible, unless to do so would
place the child at risk of significant harm. The reasons for decisions to share
information when consent is withheld should be recorded.
Building on strengths as well as identifying difficulties
Identifying both strengths and difficulties experienced by the child and their
family and the context in which they are living is important, as is considering
how these factors have an impact on the child’s health and development. It
has been found that working with a child’s or family’s strengths is an effective
way of encouraging change and resolving difficulties.
Multi and inter-agency in approach
From birth, there will be a variety of different agencies and services in the
community involved with children and young people and their development,
particularly in relation to their health and education. Effective early
intervention will prevent family difficulties escalating to crisis and multi and
inter-agency work to safeguard and promote children’s welfare must begin as
soon as there are concerns about a child’s additional needs not being fully
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met, not just when there are questions about possible harm. Effective and
clear information sharing at all levels of the Continuum of Need is essential in
order to facilitate this. At times children and young people’s needs are clear,
but at other times they may be hidden. For example research indicates that
there are a higher number of young carers than are currently in receipt of
appropriate services.
A continual process
Understanding what is happening to a vulnerable child, within the context of
their family and the local community, and taking appropriate action, is a
continuing and interactive process, not a single event.
Action, intervention and services should be provided according to the
assessed needs of the child and family, in parallel with assessment where
necessary. It is not necessary to await completion of the assessment
process. Immediate and practical needs should be addressed alongside more
complex and longer-term ones. The impact of service provision on a child’s
developmental progress should be reviewed and interventions and services
revised accordingly.
Informed by evidence
Effective practice with children and families requires sound professional
judgements that are underpinned by a rigorous evidence base and draw on
the practitioner’s knowledge and experience.
Recorded accurately, shared appropriately and securely
Accurate records made in a timely fashion are essential to ensuring that a
child’s needs are met. To avoid asking the same questions repeatedly records
should be carefully made and maintained during the lifetime of a case. If
appropriate then information should be suitable to be shared with other
workers or agencies to facilitate their work in support of a child. In addition to
evidencing the work that has already been undertaken this will facilitate early
intervention and speedily meeting a child’s needs. Practitioners should
consider what it is that they would want to receive from another agency when
assessing the completeness and accuracy of their own recording. The
principles of record keeping and sharing are as follows and many of them
form part of the statutory obligations under the Data Protection Act 1989:
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Records should be accurate at the point of being entered and made in a
timely fashion. It is important that key information such as name, address,
gender, date of birth and record any numbers (NHS number, unique pupil
number etc) should be given careful attention as these are the elements
that will ensure that inter-agency sharing of information is referring to the
same child thus avoiding delays, errors, duplication or inappropriate
divulging of information.
Practitioners must be clear and open with individuals about the purposes
of their recording. Where necessary this should include obtaining consent
to share information with other practitioners or agencies.
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3.2
Records should be as factual as possible and opinions be noted as such if
that is not already obvious by where they are being recorded. (i.e. where
an opinion or judgement is expected it need not be clarified as such)
Records should be accessible to authorised practitioners (i.e. held in a
central file or case management system rather than only existing in a
practitioner’s desk or personal files.)
Records should be maintained over the course of involvement with a child
(e.g. when an address changes the records should be updated to reflect
this.)
Information should always be protected against inappropriate disclosure in
line with the principals of the Data Protection Act. This includes avoiding
deliberate or accidental loss whether by leaving records on an unlocked
PC or a print out on public transport etc.
The points listed above are the key principles underpinning our practice. In
addition it is important that everybody that has contact with children, parents
and carers should be able to recognise and know how to act on evidence that
a child’s health or development is, or may be, being impaired, and especially
when they are suffering, or at risk of suffering, significant harm. All
practitioners and managers should be mindful always of the welfare and
safety of children – including unborn children, older children, children with
disabilities and children living away from home or looked after by the local
authority in their work.
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4
Continuum of need and response
For safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people
4.1
The working definition of the continuum of need and response model within
this document is:
“The point at which agencies respond when additional unmet needs are
identified”.
4.2
Calderdale’s model is illustrated via the windscreen model. The model refers
to all children and young people who live in the borough of Calderdale, with
each band representing their different levels of needs/interventions and
related responses.
4.3
Children can enter the continuum of need and response at any stage in their
lives, at any time dependent on circumstances.
4.4
Children, young people and their families will move between levels as their
circumstances and needs change and this may result in changes in the
services provided. The model is not incremental, it is a continuum of needs
and related responses.
4.5
A specific incident, for example a child at risk of suffering significant harm, will
trigger action at level 5. Following intervention, the level of vulnerability may
reduce so that services provided at lower levels of need can be accessed.
Continuum of Need and Response
For all Children, Young People and Families in Calderdale
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4.6
Whenever possible the service response must be directed at reducing risk
and vulnerability and meeting needs at the appropriate, least intrusive level of
intervention. The availability of and access to effective early intervention and
preventive services is essential in order to achieve this.
Level 1 – represents children with no identified additional need and their
needs are met through accessing universal services.
Level 2 – represents children with additional needs that can be met by
targeted support by a single practitioner or agency.
Level 3 – represents children with additional needs that can be met by
targeted support by a multi-agency integrated support package.
Level 4 – represents children with significant additional needs that have not
been met following a co-ordinated, multi-agency response and for whom
significant concern remains.
Level 5 – represents children with complex needs at the highest level of
vulnerability which will be met by multi-agency support from specialist
services. (Social care will always be the lead professional when a child
protection enquiry is necessary, s47 children act 2004).
4.7
Levels of vulnerability and need
The following provides more information on the different levels and gives
examples of children and young people’s needs. This is not an exhaustive list
of needs. If you have any concerns about a child consult your immediate line
manager and if necessary share information with the most relevant
agency/organisation.
Level 1 Children whose needs are met
Universal services are available to all children and young people. The most
easily identifiable universal services that children and families will access are
primary health and education. Most children will access universal services
successfully and have their needs met via those universal services and their
family, informal support systems and the voluntary sector.
Indicative examples of needs and circumstances:
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A new born baby is provided with the necessary post natal care through
midwifery services
A mother having problems with her child’s sleep patterns, feeding
difficulties, has the child’s needs met through health visiting services
Children have their educational needs met through schools
All young people 13 plus have their needs met for careers information,
advice, guidance and support from Connexions
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Level 2 Children with additional needs, whose health and development may
be affected without additional services and an improved outcome would be
likely if services were provided
If the child’s circumstances do not improve after maximising the workers own
agency resources, the worker must consider other agencies that may have
skills and knowledge that may be of benefit. Consider seeking advice and
guidance from the appropriate agency.
Indicative examples of needs and circumstances:
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A child is struggling to communicate at nursery. Speech and language
therapy services are accessed and the assessed need is met.
A learning mentor assesses that a young person has a problem with
alcohol and drugs, therefore substance misuse services are accessed and
the need met
A professional is concerned that a parent/carer may be experiencing
domestic abuse and this may impact on the child/young person. With the
victims consent the professional refers to the specialist domestic abuse
support team.
A class teacher identifies a child’s problems with accessing the curriculum
and requests a service from another education professional for example
specialist teacher, education psychologist as part of school action plus
A health visitor assesses a child as having additional health needs and
refers to a paediatrician who meets the need
An adult social care worker providing support for a parent with mental
health problems assesses the young person in the family as
inappropriately caring and refers to the Young Carers Project as part of
the action plan for the family
A housing officer assesses that a family has financial difficulties and
accesses welfare benefit advice and the need is met
A child/young person is assessed as being at risk of being involved in
anti-social behaviour by a youth worker who accesses positive activities
and the young person is diverted from the risky behaviour
Assessments of additional needs are best recorded on a CAF form which can
be used to access additional services. The CAF practitioner’s toolkit provides
further guidance and also explains how the CAF process fits in with specialist
assessments for example special educational needs.
Level 3 Children and young people whose health and development is being
impaired by a range of unmet needs and where an integrated response from a
number of agencies and support systems is necessary to achieve an
improvement in outcomes
If the child’s circumstances do not improve after a multi-agency co-ordinated
approach, supported by a plan of action, the lead professional should consider
children’s social care services.
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Indicative examples of needs and circumstances:
 Children and young people who may be at risk of sexual exploitation
through their own vulnerability or association with others who are believed
to be victims of sexual exploitation
 A family where the children have complex needs, there is no extended
family and one of the parents becomes terminally ill
 A young person who is displaying a range of anti social behaviours and
non-school attendance. Parent’s ability to manage this is compromised
by their own drug and alcohol abuse
 A parent with ongoing mental health difficulties who has fled domestic
violence. The children are exhibiting a range of challenging behaviours at
school
 A single unsupported parent who continues to miss the child’s hospital
appointments for investigation of failure to thrive
 Children who have severe disabilities, health or specialist needs requiring
a co-ordinated intervention from a number of agencies will require
specialist assessments including from social care
Level 4 Children with significant additional needs that have not been met
following a co-ordinated, multi-agency response and for whom significant
concerns remain
Indicative examples of need and circumstances:
All those examples described in level 3 where families have had the benefits
of a multi-agency, co-ordinated approach, where services have been provided
and the impact of these reviewed, where a lead professional and the multiagency team assess that despite the appropriate services being provided the
concerns for the children remain or have escalated, and their outcomes
remain poor.
Level 5 Children at risk of or who have experienced significant harm
Children will have a high level of vulnerability at this level and a referral must
be made to social care within 24 hours by telephone of concerns coming to
light. The SAFER referral guidance can be used to facilitate this. That
telephone referral should then be followed up in writing on the First Response
Referral form within 48 hours (Climbie Requirement). There is also detailed
guidance available for written referrals.
The judgement about what constitutes significant harm is a complex one, see
2.5 or Working Together 2010 for more detailed information. Therefore the
examples of needs and circumstances are indicative only, and an assessment
by social care practitioners will be necessary to inform the judgement.
Indicative examples of need and circumstances:

Children and young people who need protection from harm example:
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o
Children and young people at risk or who have been significantly
harmed by their parents, including unborn children
o
Children being sexually exploited
o
Children who have been abandoned
o
A child/young person who makes an allegation of abuse against a
professional

Children with a serious and persistent eating disorder who refuse
treatment – including bulimia, anorexia and obesity.

Children who have significant, life threatening, self-harming behaviour
including serious substance misuse.
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5
Guidance on application of the continuum of need and
response model
5.1
Consultation
All concerns about a child should be discussed with the appropriate line
manager/supervisor to identify and agree an appropriate response. If the
concern cannot be addressed within your own organisation, consider which
agency you should request advice or a service from.
Where you believe a child to be at risk of significant harm you should refer to
the social care referral and assessment team (see section F). If your
concerns are about a child who is already known to children’s social care, the
allocated social worker should be informed of your concerns. In addition to
children’s social care, the police have powers to intervene in emergency
situations. It is important that agencies, in applying their own assessment
approaches, always take into account the impact and outcome this will have
on the child.
5.2
Adult services
The way that agencies, who work with adults, support parents and carers will
have a major impact on the quality of life for children. Agencies must not lose
sight of the child’s/young person’s needs and how these will be met. Adult
services must contact appropriate agencies where there is concern about a
child in the family they are working with.
5.3
Common assessment framework
The common assessment framework (CAF) is a standardised approach to
conducting an assessment of a child’s additional unmet needs and then acting
on the result. CAF is a key tool for delivering frontline services that are
integrated and focussed around the needs of children and young people.
The CAF has been designed to help practitioners assess needs at an early
stage and then work with the child/young person and/or parent(s), alongside
other practitioners and agencies, to meet identified needs.
The common assessment framework aims to:
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Avoid children and young people having to undergo unnecessary, repeat
assessments
Ensure that children receive the required universal and additional services
at the earliest opportunity and be a mechanism for requesting a service for
children with additional unmet needs
Facilitate multi-agency working and communication, thereby encouraging
early intervention where this is appropriate
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5.4
Lead professional
A lead professional is someone who takes the lead to co-ordinate service
provision and be a single point of contact for a child/young person and/or their
parent(s), when a range of services are involved and an integrated response
is required. Their role is to:
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Act as a single point of contact for the child/young person and/or parent(s)
and other practitioners
Support the child/young person and/or their parent(s) in making choices
and finding their way through the system
Ensure that interventions are well planned and reviewed to facilitate
effective delivery
Reduce overlap and inconsistency by practitioners involved with the
child/young person.
Indentifying a lead professional ensures that professional involvement is
rationalised, co-ordinated and communicated effectively. Most importantly, it
provides a better experience for children, young people and their parent(s)
involved with a range of agencies.
The lead professional role will be agreed at the first ‘team around the child’
meeting (see CAF guidance). It is essential that this is agreed with the child,
young person or parent(s) and all other practitioners involved. It will be
necessary to identify the specific remit of the lead professional when agreeing
a package of support, who will deliver it and timescales for outcomes to be
achieved.
In complex cases that require a multi-agency response (level 3) the CAF
should be activated by registering on-line at www.calderdale.gov.uk/caf. A
designated practitioner will undertake the lead professional role and coordinate the activities associated with the case.
A social worker will take responsibility as lead professional for children and
young people at levels 4 and 5 where they have a statutory duty to do so. In
other instances the most appropriate person will be identified to take on the
lead professional role.
5.5
Multi-agency case work co-ordination
The Multi Agency Locality Panels will be a useful service of advice and
guidance for practitioners who are perhaps unsure of the appropriate level of
the Continuum of Need or there are disputes between agencies in regard to
lead roles/agencies.
Representatives from partner agencies meet to consider cases where existing
multi-agency arrangements have not been successful. The aim is to bring
sufficient improvements in outcomes for children and young people. Ideally
the ABC panels’ members will have the authority to set priorities and commit
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resources on behalf of their agencies. The ABC panels will seek to deal with
cases/situation that have not sufficiently progressed.
5.6
Consent and information sharing specifically related to level 5.
Confidential information is information of some sensitivity, which is not already
lawfully in the public domain or readily available from another public source,
and which has been shared in a relationship where the person giving the
information understood it would not be shared with others.
There will be circumstances in which sharing confidential information without
consent would be justified in the public interest i.e. Information which should
be shared:
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Where there is evidence that the child is suffering or is at risk of suffering
significant harm
Where there is reasonable cause to believe that a child may be suffering
or at risk of significant harm
To prevent significant harm arising to children and young people
Where information sharing agreements exist or the needs/safety of the
child necessitates it, information should always be shared appropriately.
When information is shared it should be done securely and
proportionately (e.g. only disclosing relevant facts to specific practitioners)
Many agencies in the Calderdale are operating under information sharing
agreements which specify what, how, when and by what method
information can be shared. Privacy notices obtained when working with a
child, young person or family may have already stated the uses to which
data will be put and how it will be shared (particularly within an
organisation/agency).
Working Together to Safeguard Children (2010) is clear in its guidance that it
is good practice and engages families to seek consent prior to making a
referral to Children’s Social Care unless to do so would place the child at
increased risk of significant harm.
The Information Commissioner has stated on repeated occasions that a
child’s safety and wellbeing always has precedence over the data protection.
(See also the section on Information Sharing below)
In these circumstances refusal to give consent to share information should not
prevent the sharing of confidential information. The child’s interests and
safety must be the overriding considerations in making any such decisions.
In deciding where there is a need to share information you need to consider:
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Whether the information is confidential
Whether consent to share information has been obtained
Whether the information is third party; is it information you can share?
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If it is confidential, whether there is public interest sufficient to justify
sharing, for example risk of harm to children
Is there an overriding need to share information?
It is important when sharing information without consent that the reason for
doing so is fully documented.
5.7
Disputes
If disputes or problems arise between agencies in applying the threshold
levels, attempts should be made to resolve these cases at the team
manager/line manager level in the first instance. If resolution has not been
possible between first line managers then the issues should be referred to
head of service/designated lead safeguarding officer in each agency.
In exceptional circumstances, if the senior officer has been unable to resolve
the dispute the case must be referred to the most senior officer within the
organisation, for example the director level, within 5 working days.
NB: It is important that children’s needs are not left unmet whilst finding
resolutions. The agency that identified the needs should therefore retain
responsibility until agreement is reached with support from agencies involved
in supporting the child.
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A list of services available to help meet identified needs is shown below. The
list is not exhaustive.
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Advice and information centres
After school provision
Child minders
Children’s centres
Children’s fund
Connexions
Early support
Early years
Faith organisations
Family interventions project
Home start
Hospital
Housing
Legal services
Local authority children’s services
Mentoring schemes
Neighbourhood nurseries
Parent partnership
Police
Positive activities for young people
Pupil, school and families services
Schools
Smoking cessation team
Substance misuse services
Voluntary organisations
Women’s aid
Women’s Centre
Young carers services
Youth inclusion support panel
Some of the services referred to above will address the needs of children
across the levels of vulnerability. Refer to the children’s service directory for a
comprehensive list of local services at
http://www.calderdale.gov.uk/education/childcare/familiesdirectory/index.html.
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6
Useful contacts and website links
CAF Co-coordinator Heather Brandwood.
First Response Team
Northgate House
Northgate
Halifax, HX1 1UN
Tel: (01422) 353279 Fax: (01422)392889
Disabled Children’s Team
Northgate House
Northgate
Halifax, HX1 1UN
Tel: (01422) 393355 Fax: (01422) 393328
West Yorkshire Police
Safeguarding Unit
Halifax Police Station
Richmond Close
Halifax, HX1 5TW
Tel: (01422) 337199
Families Information Service
Northgate House
Northgate
Halifax
Tel: (01422) 253053 Fax: (01422) 392481
Women’s Centre
23 Silver St
Halifax
HX1 1JN
Tel: (01422) 386500
Voluntary Action Calderdale
Resource Centre
Hall Street
Halifax, HX1 5AY
Tel: 01422 438728 (direct dial)
Tel: 0845 4500272 (Local Rate) Ext 209
Website Links:
www.calderdale.gov.uk
www.calderdale-scb.org.
www.calderdale.gov.uk/education/childcare/familiesdirectory/index.html
www.everychildmatters.gov.uk
www.teachernet.gov.uk
www.youth-justiceboard.gov.uk
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www.victoria-climbie-inquiry.org.uk
www.becta.org.uk
www.cvac.org.uk
References:
The Children Act: HMSO 1989
The Children Act: HMSO 2004
Working Together to safeguarding Children 2010: (DSCF 2010)
Framework for the assessment of children in need and their families: DoH et
al, 1999
What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused: HMS) 2006
National Service framework for children, young people and maternity services:
DoH 2004
http://www.calderdale.gov.uk/education/childcare/familiesdirectory/index.html
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