Children's Services Policies, Values and Principles
Scope of this chapter
This chapter provides the context for all procedures.
It contains the overarching policy for the provision of services to children and families.
Amendment
In May 2024, this chapter was revised in line with Working Together to Safeguard Children.
This policy sets out the framework within which Children's Services work with children, young people and their families. It is underpinned by a range of legislation including, but not limited to:
- Children Acts 1989 and 2004;
- Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000;
- Care Standards Act 2000;
- United Nations Convention on the Rights of The Child;
- Human Rights Act 1998;
- Adoption and Children Act 2002;
- Data Protection legislation;
- Children and Families Act 2014;
- Children and Social Work Act 2017;
- Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023;
- Children’s Social Care National Framework 2023.
It is largely directed towards the work that Children's Services undertakes with Children in Need and Looked After Children; which is carried out in partnership with all sectors of the Local Authority and with other statutory, independent and voluntary sector services.
Working Together to Safeguard Children emphasises the importance of multi-agency working ensuring a child-centred approach while also considering the family context. The guidance recognises the need to build positive, trusting and co-operative relationships with parents and carers to deliver support which is individually tailored to the needs of the family.
There are fundamental expectations to endeavour to work cooperatively which apply to all individuals, agencies and organisations working with children and families.
The Childrens Social Care National Framework contains national standards for how these services should be delivered.
This is statutory guidance and must be adhered to unless there is a valid reason not to do so.
The Children and Social Work Act 2017 legally defines the responsibility of corporate parents. It is the collective responsibility of the council, elected members, employees and partner agencies to provide the best possible care and safeguarding for the children who are looked after by the local authority. The role that councils play in looking after children is one of the most important things they do. Local authorities have a unique responsibility to the children they look after and their care leavers.
The term 'corporate parent' is broadly understood by Directors of Children's Services and Lead Members for Children, as well as those working directly in Children's Services, in relation to how local authorities should approach their responsibilities for looked after children and care leavers. A strong ethos of corporate parenting means that sense of vision and responsibility towards the children they look after and their care leavers is a priority for everyone. Corporate Parenting is an important part of the Ofsted inspection framework and the Corporate Parenting Principles are referenced in Ofsted's Inspecting Local Authority Children's Services.
The Corporate Parenting Principles are intended to facilitate as far as possible secure, nurturing, and positive experiences for looked after children and young people and enable positive outcomes for them.
The experiences of looked-after children and care leavers, particularly in regards to whether they feel cared for and listened to, will therefore be an important measure of how successfully local authorities embed these principles.
The Corporate Parenting Principles set out seven principles that local authorities will have regard to when exercising their functions in relation to looked after children and young people, as follows:
- To act in the best interests, and promote the physical and mental health and wellbeing, of those children and young people;
- To encourage those children and young people to express their views, wishes and feelings;
- To take into account the views, wishes and feelings of those children and young people;
- To help those children and young people gain access to, and make the best use of, services provided by the local authority and its relevant partners;
- To promote high aspirations, and seek to secure the best outcomes, for those children and young people;
- For those children and young people to be safe, and for stability in their home lives, relationships and education or work; and
- To prepare those children and young people for adulthood and independent living.
The Corporate Parenting Principles do not replace or change existing legal duties. The principles are intended to encourage local authorities to be ambitious and aspirational for their looked-after children and care leavers.
In addition, section 10 of the Children Act 2004 sets out the responsibility to make arrangements to promote co-operation between 'relevant partners' with a view to improving the well-being of children in their area. This should include arrangements in relation to looked-after children and care leavers. Section 10(5) of the 2004 Act places a duty on relevant partners to co-operate with the local authority in the making of these arrangements, therefore promoting and ensuring a joined-up approach to improving the well-being of children in their area.
The key outcomes for all children identified in the Children Act 2004 remain relevant and enable the local authority, the People's Services Department and its practitioners to focus on the key aspects for all children. The performance indicators local authorities and partners use are structured around these outcomes.
All children and young people have the right to have their physical, emotional and mental health safeguarded and promoted. This includes reducing the childhood obesity level, lowering the rates of teen pregnancy in the UK and minimising the impact of suicide on young people. Where appropriate, they should be supported to develop a sense of well-being through:
- Build resilience;
- Develop their self-image and confidence;
- Experience positive affirmation and encouragement.
All young people should be given the encouragement and opportunity to live a healthy lifestyle.
All children and young people have the right to be safe and secure, protected from harm and neglect, and to live in an environment that enables them to develop to their full physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social potential. This includes being safe from a range of concerns. When they need help to achieve these outcomes it should be available in a timely way and delivered through effective interventions.
All children and young people have the right to family life wherever possible and to be supported to take part in community life. They have the right to a continuity of care wherever possible and to develop and preserve their own identities.
All children have a right to a loving and secure home and, where this cannot be provided by their birth parents and wider families, children should have the opportunity to experience this through adoption, special guardianship, child arrangement orders or long term fostering.
All children and young people have the right to good education and training which meets their identified needs and equips them to live full adult lives. Looked after children should have the opportunity to attend good schools, higher education/training establishments where they make the expected or greater than expected progress and effective use is made of the additional resources available for them through the pupil premium. All children (not forgetting young carers) have the right to time and support to pursue appropriate leisure interests.
All children should be encouraged and supported to make an age-appropriate positive contribution wherever they are living or call 'home'. They will be able to do this best where they have a continuity of care, an understanding about their identity and information which they can use to make informed decisions about themselves. Therefore, contributing to their own lives.
Children, young people and care leavers should also be encouraged to take an interest in their communities, through school, higher education/training or local clubs, and to take part in activities which contribute to these and /or support others.
All children have the right to be supported in their studies, to be prepared for adult life and work, and to be equipped with the skills and knowledge that will help them overcome any social disadvantage, become self-sufficient and able to make positive choices for themselves.
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children will always be at the centre of the work Local Authorities and their partners undertake with children and their families. The child's needs are paramount, and the needs and wishes of each child, be they a baby or infant, or an older child, should be put first, so that every child receives the support they need before a problem escalates.
Children's Services, together with their local authority colleagues as corporate parents, will work to secure the above outcomes by working to enable a child's own family including their wider family to meet their needs. They will facilitate services, including early help services, to support children and families consistent with the child's safety and well-being.
Where a child cannot be cared for within their immediate family, strenuous efforts will be made to identify potential carers within the wider kinship network of the child who are able and willing to meet the needs and best interests of the child. If continuing care within their family is not possible, every effort will be made to identify suitable alternative carers through adoption or other forms of permanence. Efforts to secure the child's future must be timely and avoid delay. Children's Services will ensure that permanence plans are made for all looked after children within 4 months of their becoming looked after.
Children's Services will ensure that children who are looked after are placed in properly approved placements, suitable to meet their needs and that, wherever possible, siblings are placed together. They will be placed in a family placement unless there are assessed reasons why residential care or an alternative type of placement is the better option. Contact with their birth family should be promoted, and where required, supported, except where this may be contrary to the child's best interests.
If a young person remains in care until adulthood Children's Services will, wherever possible, promote them remaining in their foster placement (Staying Put arrangements) and ensure that they are supported when they leave care, at least until they are 25, to give them a positive start to independent living. This support will include personal assistance with living independently and with accessing and making the most of education and employment opportunities.
Children, their parents and other significant adults will be consulted about plans for their care and these plans will be subject to regular independent review. Children and their families will be encouraged to take part in their reviews and can expect that their views will be listened to and will help shape the child's Plan.
Children's Services will ensure that children have access to advocacy services that will assist them in being heard, where this is appropriate.
Our Practice Standards are at the heart of our vision to deliver a good quality service which improves outcomes for children, young people and families in South Tyneside.
The Practice Standards are the basis on which we monitor the quality of work undertaken and its impact for children and their families. They describe clear requirements of social care practitioners, line managers and service managers.
We have 7 Practice Standards:
Standard 1: Children and families are at the heart of everything we do, we enter their lives with respect and listen with care to their views and voices. We use tools to work directly with the child, help them express their views and so we can understand their lived experience. We will help children and young people connect with others who can help them stay safe, and we will work with families to build family and community networks. We will help children understand their life story.
Standard 2: We do all we can to support families to keep their children safe, happy and well. We are open and clear about what we are worried about and what needs to change. We value our parenting relationship with our care experienced young people, we celebrate their unique journeys and their new families.
Standard 3: Every visit, conversation, meeting and discussion will be purposeful. We will plan visits and contact in a range of settings, but with a priority on working in children’s homes and understanding their lived experience at home.
Standard 4: Every child will have an assessment of their individual needs which reflects how their life experiences, wishes, feelings and any risks to them are known and understood. Assessments will take full account of family histories, parents’ and wider family’s views and those of other agencies involved with the family. Assessments will reflect the strengths and assets within the child/ young person and their family and community. Assessments will be regularly updated to take into account changes to the child and their family and to help to plan for their future.
Standard 5: All children’s plans will explain what needs to happen; by when; by whom; what outcomes we are all working towards together as a multi-agency team. We will be clear what the contingency plan is.
Standard 6: All children's case records will be clear, well written, analytical, and timely. An up-to-date chronology will enable everyone to understand significant events; what the plan is; the purpose of actions, meetings and home visits; and what difference has been made so far for the child. Every case record will include an up to date pen picture of the child and a brief case summary which is updated every 3 months.
Standard 7: Practice for every child / young person will be supported by regular, timely management oversight of the work. This includes managers’ directions and comments, reflective supervision; checking that work has been done to agreed standards; seeing what difference it is making; and what needs to happen next. Managers will encourage a culture of creativity, learning and improvement and provide appropriate balance of support and challenge.
The Strategy of the Children's Services will be to harness Government policy and funding opportunities to develop evidence-based services that meet the needs of children and families.
Our Best Start in Life strategy outlines our commitment: “We want South Tyneside’s children and families to have the best start in life and aspire to a bright and prosperous future. To ensure everyone reaches their full potential, we will work together to provide the best possible learning opportunities, with targeted protection, care and support for those in greatest need.”
To reflect on and consider feedback on local and national issues and to promote a learning and development culture that will work to provide:
- Sustainable and cost-effective structures and services;
- Partnerships with other statutory services and locally based providers;
- Well-trained and supported staff who are able to carry out their responsibilities effectively;
- A commitment to seek the views of service users/stakeholders and to use their input as a key method for evaluating current services and improving future service delivery;
- A clear sense of corporate responsibility throughout the Council which ensures that children and their families have their needs met within the community.
This will deliver a range of universal, targeted and specialist services. These services will aim to reduce the numbers of children becoming children in need and concentrate specialist services on children most in need to give them the best possible life chances.
We work to our Council Values:
- PROFESSIONAL – we act within the professional standards of Social Work England at all times, and build good relationships with colleagues, partners and families;
- RESPECT – we are respectful in our work with children and families, and respectful of diversity;
- OPEN AND HONEST – we use clear, jargon free communication and ask for feedback from children and families about how we are doing, and how we could do better;
- UNDERSTANDING – we show that we care, and make sure children and family voices are clear in records, and understood;
- DELIVER – we keep our promises, do what we say we will and return contact in good time.
The Children’s Social Care National Framework is a statutory guidance document that outlines the principles and objectives of children’s social care in England.
The purpose of the National Framework is to bring together essential information for those working in local authority children’s social care. It clarifies the purpose of children’s social care, factors enabling good practice, and the desired outcomes for children and young people.
It provides guidance on what practitioners must do to comply with the law. It serves as a reference unless there is a valid reason not to follow it.
The National Framework is relevant not only to local authority staff but also to safeguarding partners and agencies collaborating with children’s social care.
Practitioners can access supplementary resources, including:
- Illustrated Guide: Designed for children and young people, this guide explains what they should expect from the help and care they receive;
- Animated Guide: Available on YouTube, this animated guide provides an engaging overview of the framework;
- A British Sign Language captioned and audio summary version;
- An easy-read version for enhanced accessibility.
Last Updated: May 9, 2024
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