Using this Manual

1. About this Manual

This Procedures Manual was first published in February 2016 following extensive involvement on the part of operational staff. Operational staff remain involved in the reviewing and amending of procedure, while senior management and leadership teams are responsible for the approving (authorising) of amended and new procedures.

This Manual is divided into the following sections:

• Contents – The Contents section list procedures that meet the national social work requirements required by legislation and statutory guidance in the delivery of children services;
• Local Resources - The Local Resources contain forms, (report) templates, flowcharts, guidance and leaflets in use in Northamptonshire for the purpose of undertaking the procedures contained in this Manual;
• Northamptonshire Safeguarding Children’s Partnership (NSCP) Procedures Manual - This manual is devised to provide you with a set of procedures which comply with Working Together to Safeguard Children. The NSCP Manual should be read alongside this Manual as it contains procedures relevant to your work.

You can access the manual by clicking on the ‘SCP Procedures’ link located at the top of this page.

Before using the procedures listed in the manual’s Contents section, please check Local Resources, New and Amended Procedures as the current version of the procedure you need maybe available there.

We respect and value the wishes and feelings of the children and young people we work with. One way we demonstrate this is by referring to those we care for as ‘Children in Care’ as opposed to ‘Looked After Children’. However, in the context of this manual, as ‘Looked After Children’ is referred to in legislation, this is the terminology that is used within the procedures. The term ‘Children in Care’ is used in this manual where possible.

Local authorities in England deliver a range of statutory and non-statutory services for children. In Northamptonshire these statutory children’s service care functions and duties are undertaken by Northamptonshire Children’s Trust on behalf of North Northamptonshire Council and West Northamptonshire Council. The power for both council to discharge care functions is detailed in the Children and Young Persons Act 2008. As a result, where ‘Local Authority’ is used in the context of statutory care functions and duties, it should be understood that these will be undertaken by Northamptonshire Children’s Trust.

These procedures use the word ‘must’ where the provision is a legal requirement. The word ‘should’ is used where the provision should be complied with but is not a legal requirement, such as where it is taken from non-statutory government guidance or accepted good practice.

For more information regarding this manual, please contact Kwesi Williams.

2. Amendments

This manual is updated at least twice a year and a summary of the new and updated chapters is available from clicking on here. The next manual updated is scheduled for publication in February 2025.

If you have any queries or suggestions, please contact your manager in the first instance.

Click here to view details of updates made to this manual.

3. Local Resources

This manual contains a document library which reflects the structure of the contents list and can be accessed via the button bar on the left of your screen. This library is populated and maintained locally. If there is a resource that you think should be added talk in the first instance to your manager.

4. Glossary and National Contacts

The manual is accessed by readers who may find terms that they are not familiar with. Therefore, a glossary of definitions is available under the resource tab.

5. Regulatory Compliance

Every effort has been taken to ensure regulatory compliance. If you discover any errors or omissions, please alert your manager.

6. Register for Updates

We recommend that you register with us to automatically receive notification when this manual is updated, and to receive a monthly newsletter containing articles which may be of interest. Click on the 'Register for Updates' button on the home screen, to complete and send your details to us.

We will manage your data respectfully and in accordance with your preferences and we will never share your data with other organisations for marketing or other purposes.

7. Copyright

The content of this website can be accessed, printed and downloaded in an unaltered form, on a temporary basis, for personal study or reference purposes. Content printed or downloaded may not be sold, licensed, transferred, copied or reproduced in whole or in part in any manner or in or on any media to any person without the prior written consent of tri.x and Northamptonshire Children’s Trust.

8. Accessibility

This website aims to achieve Double-A conformance to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines in accordance with government guidelines. In order to change font size or manual colour use the highlighted 'Accessibility' button at the top right hand corner of any page.

9. Printing and Retaining Copies

The Manual is intended to be viewed on line to ensure only the most up-to-date version of procedures are being used. It will be updated regularly so, in the unlikely event there is a requirement for hard copies they should be destroyed after 72 hours.

10. Browser Recommendations

It is recommended that this manual is viewed with the latest browsers, with Java Script and cookies enabled for maximum compatibility and functionality.

Recommended browsers are:

• Internet Explorer 11 (Windows 7, 8 and 8.1);
• Microsoft Edge (Windows 10);
• Google Chrome;
• Mozilla Firefox;
• Apple Safari.

11. Mobile/Tablet Compatibility

This manual has been tested on a variety of mobile devices to ensure that it displays correctly. If you are using an older mobile device it is possible that the manual will not display correctly.

If you would like the text to be larger, resize the text under the accessibility options, alternatively if you would also like the buttons and the rest of the layout to be enlarged you can use the zoom function within your browser.