London Borough of Tower Hamlets Childrens Social Care:Protocol for the Delivery of Children’s Emergency Duty Team

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CONTENTS Part 1: Tower Hamlets Children’s EDT - Overview and Service Objectives 1.1 Tower Hamlets Children’s EDT: Function 1.2 Tower Hamlets Childrens EDT: Service Aims 1.3 Tower Hamlets Children’s EDT: Service Description 1.4 Tower Hamlets Children’s EDT: Service Standards Part 2: Children’s EDT: Organisational procedures

2.1 Location

2.2 EDT Lone Working Policy

2.3 In an Emergency

2.4 Borough Data Management System 2.5 Confidentiality and Record Keeping 2.6 EDT Staff ROTA 2.7 Annual Leave

2.8 Exchanging Shift’s – ‘Swaps’ 2.9 Sickness 2.10 Additional Hours Worked

2.11 EDT Base 2.12 Arrangements for Working from Home

2.13 Reporting for EDT duty whilst working from home

2.14 Recording of contacts and handovers 2.15 Attendance at staff supervision sessions, performance appraisal and

team meetings

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2.16 Health and Safety 2.17 Night Time Working 2.18 Additional Employment 2.19 Facilities and Equipment 2.20 Withdrawal of the Facility to Work from Home. 2.21 Call Centre Process 2.22 EDT Shift Processes 2.23 During the Shift 2.25 Processing of Incoming Work 2.26 Dealing with Referrals an Recording of Cases 2.27 Requests from Day Services to EDT 2.28 Alerts from Day Services to EDT 2.29 Working Through Contacts and Referrals 2.30 Handover to Day Services 2.31 Handover between EDT SWs at the weekend and on bank holidays 2.32 Process in Event of Social Care System Unavailability

2.33 Data Protection 2.34 Management and Senior Management Back-Up 2.35 Contacts that should be made to the on call Team or Service

Manager 2.36 Circumstances where it is not necessary to contact on call Service Managers 2.37 Resources 2.38 Performance Management and Supervision of Staff

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2.39 Team Meetings 2.40 Staff Training 2.41 Completion of Timesheets 2.42 Overtime and Mileage Claims 2.43 Petty Cash/ Individual Cash Floats 2.44 Use of Person Car for Work 2.45 Use of Agency / Bank Social Workers Part 3: Practices & Key Stakeholder Relationships 3.1 Background

3.2 Accommodating a Child under the Children Act 1989

3.3 Intentionally Homeless

3.4 No Recourse to Public Funds

3.5 Domestic Violence

3.6 Unaccompanied Minors

3.7 Emergency Foster Parents

3.8 Out of Borough Placements 3.9 Homeless 16 and 17 year olds 3.10 Placement Procedures 3.11 Children in Care Reported Missing

3.12 Children Missing from Home 3.13 Children Returning from Missing

3.14 Respite / Children with Disabilities 3.15 Serious Concern/Injury/Incident/Death of a Child in Care

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3.16 Referrals from Health 3.17 Children’s Mental Health Assessments 3.18 Police Protection – Accommodation

3.19 Emergency Protection Orders

3.20 Period of Cover 3.21 What does this change mean for you? 3.22 Guidance on Using the Telephone Conference Facility 3,23 Requests for Secure Accommodation

3.24 Remands to care

3.25 PACE (Police and Criminal Evidence)

3.26 Youth Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE) Interviews/Appropriate

Adult 3.27 Procedure following Release – Young person 3.28 Achieving Best Evidence (ABE)

3.29 Children from another Borough

3.30 Legal Advice 3.31 Children Not Collected From School 3.32 Regularly Transported Children 3.33 Children With Additional Needs Who Are Not Regularly Transported 3.34 Major Incident / Community Emergency 3.35 Delegated Authority Part 4: Comments, Compliments or Complaints about the Out of Hours Service Part 4: Delegated Authority

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Part 5: Appendices 5.1 EDT RAG Response Plan 5.2 Referral to Outcome Flowchart 5.3 LBTH EDT Service Structure 2019 5.4 EDT Internal Handover Process: Day Staff to EDT

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Part 1: Tower Hamlets Children’s EDT - Overview and Service Objectives

1.1 Tower Hamlets Children’s EDT: Function The Emergency Duty Team (EDT provides out of hours cover for all social care emergencies for children under the age of 18 within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. This also includes children who re have an allocated social worker in Tower Hamlets, but are placed or living out of borough.

The EDT worker will initially make an assessment by telephone to determine the level of risk or need before considering the appropriate action to take to ensure that an individual child or family with children are safe until the next working day. If the child concerned is felt to have an unmet need or has experienced significant harm and has an allocated social worker, the contact will be referred to them in a safe state to further investigate. If the child’s case is not known, then the case will be passed to out Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub to screen further before making a further decision. 1.2 Tower Hamlets Childrens EDT: Service Aims The aim of the EDT service is to keep children safe by responding to situations arising outside normal working hours, which require the intervention of a Social Worker and cannot wait for a resolution the next working day. This can include referrals which are not assessed as emergencies but where delay before intervention by day staff could cause deterioration in the welfare or safety of the child. The Tower Hamlets EDT will always respond to all cases whereby a child, young person or their family is deemed to be experiencing immediate difficulties or whereby an individual or agency has raised an immediate concern for the safety of a child or young person. The EDT provides a short term assessment and intervention service in all situations where a crisis has occurred or is likely to occur outside of office hours, and that cannot wait until the next working day. The EDT can also provide advice and information where a referrer may not be sure on whether to make a formal referral. 1.3 Children’s EDT Service Description The EDT service is available outside of normal office hours 365 days a year. This includes evenings, weekends and bank holidays:

Operates on Monday to Thursday 5pm – 9.30 am the following morning Operates from Friday 5pm to 9.30am Monday, with 24 hour cover at weekends and throughout Bank Holiday’s.

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Aims to respond to cases referred to the service within 30 minutes

Is staffed by a qualified Social Worker and at least one manager at all times

Operates from the Tower Hamlets Telecare Centre.

Consults with a nominated Children’s Services Senior Manager in high risk circumstances or where budget approval is required

The service does not provide the full range of daytime Children’s services and does not act as a substitute for day time services.

Tower Hamlets EDT can be contacted by dialling 0207 364 5006 / 4079.

1.4 Children’s EDT Service Standards The Tower Hamlets Children’s EDT will fulfil the statutory requirement to provide an emergency out of hour’s social work service for children.

The Tower Hamlets Children’s EDT will identify, assess, prioritise and deal effectively with children’s emergencies

The Tower Hamlets Children’s EDT will liaise with other professionals as appropriate including the Police, Health, Care providers and Adult’s EDT.

The Tower Hamlets Children’s EDT will treat all children and their carers professionally and with dignity and respect.

The Tower Hamlets Children’s EDT will ensure that we respond in a timely manner to all emergency safeguarding and welfare needs for children under the age of 18 who live in Tower Hamlets, are placed elsewhere but are supervised by Tower Hamlets, or who have come into any form of harm whilst in Tower Hamlets. The Tower Hamlets Children’s EDT will work closely with neighbouring boroughs to ensure that there is a gold standard approach towards managing the safeguarding and welfare needs of children locally; especially where there are parallels and cross overs of intervention.

Duty workers will ensure that updates are made to the EDT social care systems as soon as possible and at the latest by 9.30am the next working day. Where a case is not known or open to Tower Hamlets Social Care, the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub will be notified by 9.30am the next working day.

EDT undertakes handovers to daytime staff in Tower Hamlets or out of borough in another Local Authority will always take place by 9.30am the next working day at the latest

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Part 2: Children’s EDT: Organisational procedures

2.1 Location The EDT will respond to all calls as soon as possible and ideally within 30 minutes of the initial contact. However, during certain periods, the duty worker may be dealing with several; matters of may be out on an urgent assessment; therefore there may be some delay in responding. The telephone staff will advise you if this is the case and an alternative safety plan offered if possible. Your call will be returned as soon as possible. All EDT staff members are to be based within a 60 minute travelling distance of Tower Hamlets. This may be at their home address or at a pre-authorised Tower Hamlets Office base. This is to ensure that any contacts requiring a duty worker’s presence are responded to as soon as possible.

2.2 EDT Lone Working Policy This policy is set out in addition to the LBTH Lone Working Policy and sets out the unique requirements for all EDT staff. As such the procedures below either replace or are in addition to those contained within the main policy. Where there are concerns about staff safety visits must be undertaken jointly with another member of staff or a Police Officer. This should always be discussed with a member of the management team. For all visits (lone and joint) both a member of management and Telecare must be made aware of when you leave for a visit and return from a visit. This should be confirmed verbally (by telephone) and in writing (email / text).

Prior to leaving to attend the visit the SW should provide an address where they are going, how long they are expected to be at the visit and a brief synopsis of the reason for the visit. If no contact is established at the end of the visit as expected, the on-call manager for that shift will phone the worker to establish that they are safe. If there is no response the designated home contact will escalate the matter to the next senior manager on call to discuss the action to be taken.

2.3 In an Emergency

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If there is any cause for concern and the lone worker is unable to call the Police, they should attempt to call the Telecare Contact Centre or manager on call with the message ‘ ’ I left my computer on, please shut it down’’. The receiver will then contact the Police.

2.4 Borough Data Management System All referrals currently come into the allocated duty worker via the LBTH Telecare Service. The Telecare service manage a number of other services including adult EDT and so will take just enough information to ensure that a basic risk assessment can be had. All calls will be called in to the duty worker by phone and emailed to the EDT inbox as confirmation of transfer. All notifications of children who are missing from home or placement will be emailed only to the duty worker. When a referral comes in, this will be on an EDT template which should be used to chronological log all actions on the case. If a case is open, any information gained should copied from the EDT template and be added on a case note in Frameworki, for the main child (if the contact is about a particular chid) or for the youngest child (if the contact is about a sibling group). Please do not copy to multi-siblings as there is a function for this. If the case is open, then the allocated worker and / or their manager can be alerted of the event within the case note. After the case note has been created, an EDT report will also need to be created to formally log the event. From the front page you can create the report by accessing: People>New Episode>EDT Report then follow the report through until finalisation. If the event has continued i.e. from one duty worker to another or following several contacts around the same issue in one duty sitting, then only one EDT Report will need to be created. EDT reports do not need to be created for a continuous missing episode i.e. EDT is notified that a child is still missing after 2 days. In this instance, a case note recording will suffice. If the case is not open but has previously been open and a file has been created, please follow the same actions as if the case were open. However, your EDT report form should be sent to the MASH team at MASH@towerhamlets.gov.co.uk for action. Please copy in the MASH managers, team manager and service manager on call. The MASH inbox will provide you with an automated receipt confirming that the contact has been received into the inbox. It is important that you store this receipt in your inbox.

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The EDT does not make direct referrals to any agency within the LBTH CSC or ASC. Please request any referrals in writing via the MASH. If a new contact comes to the attention of EDT (i.e. the child/ren have not previously been known to EDT) then all recordings are to be completed on the word EDT report template and forwarded to the MASH team at MASH@towerhamlets.gov.co.uk for action. Please copy in the MASH managers, team manager and service manager on call. A contact or file should not be created for any new case which comes to the attention of EDT.

2.5 Confidentiality & Record Keeping All contacts which come into the EDT are recorded for reference and training purposes and records will be created for any child or young person’s case which requires further intervention. The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is committed to ensuring that only relevant information is shared during child protection enquiries and that good quality case recordings are upheld. Information about a child or young person and their network is stored on our children’s information database in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

2.6 EDT Staff ROTA The rota is based on a four weekly repeating sequence for all Social Workers and is organised a year in advance. Weekly ROTAs will be sent out by 3pm every Friday or the day before a bank holiday if the office is not open on a Friday. It is the duty worker’s workers responsibility to check the ROTA for any changes every Friday, or the day before a bank holiday if the office is closed on a Friday. Each full time EDT SW is rostered to complete 140 hours in a 4 week period which includes provision for handovers, breaks, team meetings and supervision. The rota is kept under review by the EDT Manager and Service Manager to ensure that it appropriately addresses changes in demands on the service. The rota is circulated to the following: ! EDT Social Workers ! EDT Service Manager ! EDT on call Service Manager’s and the Assistant Divisional Director ! Other relevant Team Managers and Service Managers 2.7 Annual Leave Requests for annual leave must be submitted by permanent staff members via the HR self Service at least one 4 week rota in advance of the 4 week period in which the

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leave is required. Staff will be advised of the outcome of the request via email from the HR Self Service and the EDT manager. Requests for annual leave by Agency / bank worker’s must be submitted in writing, via email to the EDT manager at least one 4 week rota in advance of the 4 week period in which the leave is required. Staff will be advised of the outcome of the request via email from the EDT manager.

There is a copy of the ‘request by date’ available for all worker’s in the shared drive. On agreement of the leave, the EDT manager, or in their absence the service manager, will make arrangements to cover vacant shifts.

Requests for leave outside this timeframe will only be considered in an emergency or in exceptional circumstances. Staff are asked to submit leave requests for leave of more than a week as soon as possible in order to support the process to arrange cover for the rota.

2.8 Exchanging Shifts – ‘Swaps’: Swaps will be kept to a minimum and must be requested at least one month in advance of the 4 week period in which the swap is required unless in exceptional circumstances which must be explained.

Where an EDT worker wishes to swap a shift it is their responsibility to arrange this with a colleague and make the request to the EDT Manager by email. The EDT Manager will advise if the swap has been agreed as soon as possible and notify the two workers and EDT admin who will ensure that the appropriate call centres are notified of the change to the rota.

Any other gaps in the ROTA will be managed and allocated by the EDT manager. It is of utmost important to maintain the 140 hour working pattern (within the 4 week period). Therefore, where shifts are changed, these should be within the same 4 weekly period. 2.9 Sickness In the event of a member of staff not being able to cover the rota due to sickness they should immediately contact the EDT Manager or in their absence the service manager via telephone. In the event of an EDT SW not being able to start a shift due to sickness the Team Manager should be notified as soon as possible and at best by 9.30am if the shift starts at 5pm Monday to Friday. This will enable cover to be arranged. If the shift is at the weekend or bank holiday the Team Manager should be notified if at all possible by 9.30am if the shift starts at 7pm and 7pm if the shift starts at 9am.

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The Team Manager will try to arrange cover in the first instance from the permanent staff and thereafter the bank staff and the relevant call centres must be contacted immediately by the worker taking over to advise who is on duty. If sickness occurs while at work, the Team Manager must be advised immediately, if possible and failing that the on call Service Manager. Cover should be arranged by a member of management as soon as possible and the relevant call centres advised.

All sickness for permanent workers will be logged on the HR Self Service System and will follow the format of working days. Therefore it is important that the worker makes clear their sickness start and end date; even if they are well enough to return before their next shift starts. 2.10 Additional Hours Worked Any additional hours required must be agreed by the Team Manager, except in an emergency; e.g. covering emergencies or sudden sickness. Additional hours worked by staff in excess of the 140 hours in a 4 week period will be taken as Toil (not more than 20 hours in any 4 week flexi period) or overtime. Claims for overtime are made via the HR self-service for permanent and bank workers and via your agency’s billing for agency workers. Hours exceeding the 20 hour limit must be taken as overtime. 2.11 EDT Base The EDT service is based at the Telecare Control Centre at Mulberry Place in Tower Hamlets. The base is equipped for the delivery of out of hours’ children’s EDT service. IT equipment is provided with staff access to the agreed social care databases. The centre is also equipped with basic equipment that staff may require as part of their work (e.g. car seats, nappies etc.) 2.12 Arrangements for Working from Home Mulberry Place constitutes the place of work for EDT employees. The Council however, recognises that for some or all of a shift, it is possible for an individual staff member to work from home. This arrangement will be supported as long as the Team and Service Manager are satisfied that such arrangements will not adversely affect service delivery and subject to the following conditions: ! At any time, whilst on the rota, staff must attend their team’s EDT base

(Mulberry Place Telecare Room) if requested by the EDT Team or Service Manager.

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! The home base must not be further than 60 minutes travel (at any time of the day) from the EDT base and it is not aggregable for the duty worker to be anywhere which is more than 60 minutes from the EDT base.

! The home base must have a good broadband connection as this will allow the on call SW to receive referrals from the call centre and access the social care databases required for their work and must also have a clear mobile phone access as this allows the SW to make calls pertaining to any cases referred.

! If there is any difficulty accessing the Council’s systems or making calls from home, the SW must attend the base for their shift and alert the team Manager, On-Call Service Manager and Telecare.

! The home base must be separate from the distractions of normal household life. This means that whilst taking a call/working on a case, it is essential that this is conducted away from any noise caused by the television, radio or other members of the household

! It is the responsibility of the SW that they keep at their home base all literature that they may need to access as part of their work.

! EDT staff working from home must make the necessary arrangements to ensure that information and equipment are kept secure at all times. Confidential material must be kept secure at all times and hard copy documentation must be locked away in suitable storage when not in use, either at home or in transit. Documents must never be left where non-Council employees may have access to them or sight of them. Confidential hard copy documentation must be destroyed when no longer required. There are destruction facilities available at Mulberry Place. Family members, friends and other visitors to the SW’s home must not have access to or use Council equipment and resources. If a computer/laptop is left unattended at home or base, even for short periods of time, it must be locked.

! Staff must not use their personal home email address for work related issues. ! In the event that the SW’s home is burgled and the security and confidentiality

of Council information may be compromised, the employee must notify the Team Manager immediately.

! Employees should refer to the Council’s information on security policies for further guidance about ICT security.

2.13 Reporting for EDT duty whilst working from home

If working from home, the employee must report for duty in the same way as if they were working at the Telecare Control Centre. This means that Telecare must be contacted at the start of your shift on 0207 364 4079 or if this line is unavailable 0207 515 6323 (this is a private and confidential emergency line and not for the public or other staff). Failure to adhere to the arrangements for reporting for duty can result in withdrawal of the facility to work from home and could also be a disciplinary matter.

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2.14 Recording of contacts and handovers EDT employees who are working from home are required to adhere to the standards for recording contacts and for handovers at all times and are equipped with laptops and telephones to do so.

! A verbal handover must take place between each EDT worker during an EDT shift, even if this is to say that there is nothing to handover.

! If there are actions / cases to handover then this should wherever possible be handed over in writing, by forwarding the duty worker, team manager and SM on call a copy of your EDT report template. The receiving worker must create their own EDT report template and log their final report in case notes. An EDT report on FWi is not necessary if one has already been created by the previous worker; however, the last worker may wish to create a report to summarise the key events and outcome.

! Any cases which rag as Amber or RED according to the threshold criteria must be handed over to the relevant worker or team verbally at the start of their next shift. More clearly, if the case needs to transfer from an EDT worker to MASH or an allocated worker, then a phone call must be made to the individual, their team manager or other senior in the team / on duty.

! If you are unable to contact the allocated worker / manager, then you may need to liaise with a member of the admin team for that department to ascertain who is the next senior manager available to handover to:

TEAM DUTY / ADMIN NUMBERS

EMAIL

MASH 020 7364 7796/5358

5601/5606

MASH@towerhamlets.gov.uk

Missing Persons CSC

0207 364 4870

Missing.persons@towerhamlets.gov.uk

A&I 0208 364 2910 / 4334 / 5667 / 4870

A&IAdminCSC@towerhamlets.gov.uk

CLA 0207 364 5503 / 5640

CLA-Admin@towerhamlets.gov.uk

FSP 0207 364 6119 / 0943 / 3898 / 6024

FSPAdmin@towerhamlets.gov.uk

CWD 0207 364 2724 / 2520

CWD.screenig@owerhamlets.gov.uk

Children’s EDT

0207 364 5006 / 4079

Childrens.EDT@towerhamlets.gov.uk

Leaving Care

0207 364 1133 / 1140

Benjamin.Yeboah@towerhamets.gov.uk CLA-Admin@towerhamlets.gov.uk

Adult Social Care

0207 364 6085 (safeguarding hotline) 020 7364

adultsafeguarding@towerhamlets.gov.uk or dols@towerhamlets.gov.uk

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3346/2019 (enquiries)

2.15 Attendance at staff supervision sessions, performance appraisal and team meetings EDT staff must attend an agreed place of meeting for all mandatory staff supervision sessions, performance appraisal and team meetings. The location will be arranged by your line manager.

- Supervision will take place at least once a month. - Team Meetings will take place at least once a month. - Group Supervisions will take place bi-monthly - Team refresher training will take place at least quarterly. - Workers are routinely encouraged to review their professional development

plan independently as well as with the EDT manager and attend mandatory Council training or other as directed.

2.16 Health and Safety A Health and Safety risk assessment must be carried out on all staff of whom it has been agreed that they may work from home.

It is the employee’s responsibility to complete a Health and Safety risk assessment and to submit this to the EDT Manager. Guidance on the completion of Health and Safety risk assessments is available on the intranet. It is the employee’s responsibility to monitor and maintain Health and Safety standards, to complete the risk assessment and to notify their Manager, without delay, of any risks or concerns regarding Health and Safety. The employee’s Manager is responsible for ensuring that any concerns raised by the risk assessment have been resolved satisfactorily before the commencement of home working. Employees are advised to ensure that a working smoke alarm is fitted in their home and that a safe escape route is established, for reasons of fire safety. Staff should also ensure that adequate breaks are taken during their shifts. Staff can take up to 60 minutes break in each shift. Where long shifts are in operation, a number of short breaks are recommended. The Health and Safety risk assessment will be reviewed on an annual basis during the annual appraisal process.

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2.17 Night Time Working EDT SW’s must undertake a night time working risk assessment to be authorised by the EDT Service Manager at the start of employment / signing of their contract and subsequently for each high risk visit. EDT workers are expected to see children in an emergency throughout the night and provisions such as mobiles, joint working, taxi’s and back up worker’s will be offered on a case by case basis for safety purposes. 2.18 Additional Employment Permanent workers employed by Tower Hamlets are required to declare any other employment, including self-employment, to the EDT Manager for authorisation. Declaration forms are on the HR Self Service Permanent workers and bank workers must ensure that their working hours are in line with the Working Time Regulations 1998 and do not adversely affect EDT Service delivery. 2.19 Facilities and equipment All employees to EDT will be provided with a working Smart Phone and Laptop prior to commencing their EDT role and remain responsible for ensuring that they are in good working use. Any concerns should be reported to the EDT Manager. Office furniture will not be provided for employees who request to work from home. However, the employee will be provided with mobile devices i.e. Laptop and mobile phone, which must be used for work purposes only. If employee needs additional software to enable their working, then support will be provide via the Access to Work Scheme. It is the employees’ responsibility to discuss this with their team manager. 2.20 Withdrawal of the facility to work from home The council reserves the right to withdraw the facility to work from home from any employee where: ! Service delivery has been adversely affected as a result of an employee working

from home ! An employee fails to carry out the agreed policy for handovers either at the start

or end of a shift ! An employee fails to observe the protocols for reporting for EDT duty ! An employee’s performance, quality or quantity of work has deteriorated to an

unacceptable level ! An employee fails to attend staff meetings, monthly performance appraisals or

any other meeting organised by the EDT Manager or EDT Service Manager

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! There is a breach of the Council’s information security policies ! There is a breach of trust ! The employee is under the Capability Procedure ! There are serious Health and Safety concerns

2.21 Call Centre Processes The Call Handling Service operator currently used by Tower Hamlets EDT is the Telecare Service:

! The Telecare Service are responsible for handling a number of calls from members of the public, the elderly, professionals and Tower Hamlets staff, on behalf of adults and children’s EDT.

! Currently, all referrals to EDT during EDT hours must go through the Telecare Service to gain the attention of EDT on 0207 364 5006 / 4079. Telecare will in turn pass the information onto the duty worker who is expected to respond within 30 minutes.

! The only exception to this is a day time referral from day time services which must go through the Team Manager via email on the relevant template between the hours of 3pm and 5pm on a weekday. Referrals must be counter-signed by the line manager and the worker should make themselves available for a verbal discussion. Following this, a decision will be made by the EDT manager on whether the case is accepted or not accepted for EDT intervention. Without this confirmation, it should be assumed that the work has not been accepted by EDT and subsequently remains the responsibility of the internal referrer to manage.

! All contacts to Telecare for the attention of the EDT worker must be sent in writing and it is the EDT worker’s responsibility to confirm receipt within 1 hour. If the Telecare Officer deems the issue to require urgent address then both a verbal handover and email should be made to the EDT worker.

! Should the duty worker be uncontactable for 1 hour, the Telecare Worker should escalate the issue to the on-call manager.

! It is the role of the Telecare Officer to note the following for the attention of the EDT worker:

- To clearly records the referrer’s name, address, telephone number and repeat this back to the caller for clarification

- To record the details of the child being referred (name, date of birth, address, phone number).

- To record sufficient information regarding the details of the concern being raised for the EDT worker to make a threshold decision.

- To advise the caller to replace the receiver and keep the line free so that an EDT SW can call them back within 30 minutes.

- If the call involves someone in immediate danger, the caller is advised to ring the emergency services.

The referral is then e-mailed by Telecare to the EDT Social Worker and telephone through through if the concern meet the threshold for an amber or red level of concern. If a response is not received from the duty worker within 30 minutes the

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phone call is to be made to the duty EDT worker. If no answer is received within an hour of receiving the referral then the Telecare Service should contact the on-call Team or Service Manager. If no response is had following this then the matter must be escalated to the assistant divisional director. 2.22 EDT Shift Processes The Tower Hamlets EDT Service is a complex system which requires coordination and communication amongst all of the workers. For the EDT service to run effectively and deliver a consistent service all the EDT SW must follow EDT Shift Processes below; if there are any issues in following these processes the EDT SW must contact the on call Manager immediately. ! Within 15 minutes of starting a shift, the EDT SW must contact the control

centre/switchboard/ Telecare to confirm that they are on duty, whether there are any other colleagues on duty (i.e. back up) with them, confirm the start and finish times of the shift and the name of the on call Manager. Workers do not need to call into Telecare to end their shift. Instead the EDT worker taking over will call to alert Telecare that their shift has started. During office hours on a week day, Telecare will automatically stop taking calls for EDT at 9am and all calls will subsequently be diverted to the MASH.

Telecare: 0207 364 5006 /4079

! By the beginning of each shift between Monday to Friday the EDT Team Manager will have considered all referrals from the day time teams for the EDT Team by 4.30pm. The Team Manager will confirm whether or not the request has been accepted both with the referrer and SW on duty as well as what work, I any, will be undertaken.

! If the referring day time SW / TM has not followed the correct handover / request procedure, the EDT SW will need to verbally communicate this with the EDT manager or the on-call Service Manager and agree a plan of action. (The EDT on call Team Manager / on-call Service Manager will need to follow this up with the EDT Service Manager to ensure that these procedures are adhered too).

! Throughout the shift, EDT SWs will regularly check the EDT mail box for any incoming referrals as well as the Local Authorities’ alerts systems and deal with them as expected.

! Should the EDT SW on shift become concerned that they are not receiving

referrals (if no referrals have been made for 2-3 hours), EDT SW must contact Telecare to confirm that the systems are working. The contact number for Tower Hamlets Telecare should the main number be faulty is: 0207 … …

2.23 During the Shift:

Acknowledging receipt of emails to the Children’s EDT email box:

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EDT SW will acknowledge the receipt of an email referral from Telecare of management by replying to the email within 30 minutes using the following sentence:

‘LBTH Children’s EDT referral now received by [insert workers name]’

! If an EDT SW is out on a visit and will be unable to acknowledge the emails

within the agreed time, the EDT SW is to:

A. Verbally confirm receipt with Telecare B. Advise the back-up worker (if on shift) to respond on their behalf.

It is the duty EDT worker’s responsibility to respond to any emergency cases accordingly even if the worker is currently tending to another case. The EDT worker will need to consider if any emergency action needs to be undertaken that may necessitate support from the emergency services of the use of additional resources. If in doubt, it is important that the EDT worker discusses their caseload with their line manager or the on-call Service Manager, as failure to do so could result in undue drift and delay.

If the call centres do not receive a reply within 30 minutes, the call centre will use the agreed escalation process as noted in above.

2.25 Processing of incoming work

The Childrens EDT will receive all requests for work via the ‘ChildrensEDT’ mailbox.

All work must come via one of two referral avenues:

- Via a formal electronic referral (referral form available in the appendix) made by the day time team direct to the EDT manager, or EDT service manager in their absence (this has to be accepted by the EDT manager in writing as well as verbally).

- Via the Telecare contact centre within EDT hours. Telecare will take brief but sufficient information and forward this via email to the EDT worker via the ‘ChildrensEDT’ inbox.

All workers will be given a colour code to mark the work that they have taken responsibility for. Each referral will also be flagged to identify if a referral is in the process of being dealt with or has been dealt with. This can be done by clicking on the email and from the task bar click follow up (with a flag) and then choose whichever flag applies or the completed icon.

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All incoming work and work undertaken by EDT must be recorded in the Frameworki database; both in case notes and as an EDT report as per procedure. It is of utmost important that a report is created as this creates an accountable audit trail of the child’s social care history as well as the worker’s interventions in any one shift.

All incoming referrals received during a shift are expected to be dealt with during the shift. However, there may be occasions when a referral is received towards the end of a night shift going on to the day time service which will require significant input. On those occasions the SW will start to gather information but can expect to hand over the referral to the day time team / next EDT worker to progress.

When a case requires work that may, for specific reasons, overlap two or more shifts the EDT SW must:

- Contact the referrer or person dealing with the case and obtain all the information. Explain to the referrer, any professional or service users involved that the case will be handed over to the next EDT SW to continue with the case

- Record all of the information in the appropriate database indicating that the case has been handed over for follow up.

- Alert the incoming EDT SW of the need to follow up the case following the handover protocol.

The first receiving duty worker will create an EDT report / episode. Subsequent workers working on the same case need not create a new EDT report / episode but will need to keep their own action log and create a case note of their actions.

All work completed by an EDT SW must be recorded on the appropriate Local Authority database system by either 9.30am or 7pm as appropriate. If there are exceptional circumstances when this cannot be undertaken the on call manager must be notified and a plan of action agreed. 2.26 Dealing with referrals and recording of cases

The EDT SW will respond to all referrals and enquiries that are passed to them by the call centre / Telecare Office. The EDT SW will aim to respond to the referrer within 30 minutes of the call being made and obtain all details of the emergency raised. The EDT SW will assess the case and confirm that the referral:

- Is for Children’s Services - Is the responsibility of Tower Hamlets [please bear in mind the guidance on

Host Local Authorities regarding s.47’s in the Pan London Procedures] - Is an emergency / requires an immediate response that cannot wait until the

next working day, as to do so would negatively impact on the child’s safety welfare in that time period.

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If a case is identified as not meeting any of the above criteria the EDT SW will contact the referrer and explain the reasons why the call does not meet EDT criteria and provide information and advice as required.

The EDT SW will complete a risk assessment on how to manage the emergency concerned and as required:

- Provide the referrer with information and advice including if the referrer is to call another more appropriate agency to deal with his/her concerns

- Advise the referrer that the matter is being referred to the Day Services staff to address the next working day explaining the reasons for this decision

- Visit and/or arrange an intervention in relation to the child concerned Within EDT, all queries and / or concerns about a child or children’s safeguarding / welfare issue should be recorded on the Borough’s Frameworki database and actioned in accordance with the relevant national and local safeguarding procedures. Training for Frameworki and other social care databases are available for all EDT worker’s both at the start of their employment and as a refresher whilst in service.

2.27 Requests from Day Services to EDT

There will be occasions when day time teams make requests for planned work by EDT. These requests must be made on a referral form and submitted to the EDT Manager (or in their absence the EDT Service Manager) for authorisation by 4.30pm at the latest. The Team Manager will then pass the work onto the workers on duty. It is acknowledged that there will be occasions when the day time teams are unable to request and receive authorisation for planned work by 5pm. On these occasions the request will be made via Telecare on 0207 364 5006 / 4079 in order that the escalation process operates. Following this a written referral should be sent to childresn.edt@owerhamlets.gov.uk as well as the EDT duty manager / on call service manager. The information should be read by the duty worker and on-call manager and a decision made on the appropriateness of the request and any safeguarding issues. The referrer should make themselves available to be contacted for further discussion and to agree what will happen. If there is any doubt on whether the work is appropriate further discussion should be held with the on call Service Manager. 2.28 Alerts from Day Services to EDT

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Although not encouraged as routine, there may be occasions when alerts will be sent by the day team directly to the Children’s EDT inbox. Alerts provide the latest information on a case which the allocated SW thinks may receive an EDT referral that night or weekend. There is a form on which alert notifications must be submitted to the EDT inbox. This form needs to be uploaded into the documents tab on Frameworki by the allocated / referring worker and the request case noted. EDT workers on duty Monday to Thursday in receipt of an alert notification do not need to pass it on to the next worker on duty. If the alert notification is received on a Friday then include it in the handover over the weekend. If an alert notification is received which is considered to in fact be a request for planned work, the EDT worker must notify the EDT Manager, or in their absence, the EDT Service Manager / On-Call Manager. These referrals are to be considered rejected until there is formal confirmation of acceptance. This does not however, compromise EDT’s statutory duty to safeguard in a crisis or in an emergency. 2.29 Working through contacts and referrals The EDT SW will prioritise the referrals received and deal with these in order of priority and with regard to the possible consequences of a delay in response. The EDT SW will complete checks by using the appropriate Local Authority database systems to identify whether the child referred is already known to the service. If a child is not known to the Local Authority, as much information must be undertaken and your final report passed to the Tower Hamlets MASH to create a new contact and process the contact. If the child is known to the Local Authority, the EDT SW will read through the file to become familiar with previous issues raised and action as appropriate. Following a period of intervention, the worker will either forward to the allocated team for further assessment of the concerns raised, or if the case has been closed, to the MASH for further consideration as to whether or not the case should be re-opened. EDT SW’s are encouraged to make recommendations for next steps on all cases that they come into contact with. If the case relates to a child protection matter the EDT SW must follow the Child Protection procedures and consider if there is a need to contact the on call Manager. If during a shift the number of urgent incoming referrals becomes unmanageable the EDT SW should contact the on call Manager to agree an action plan to manage the workload and to consider if additional resources are required.

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2.30 Handover to day service It is very important that there are good operational links between the EDT Service and day time services in Tower Hamlets and beyond as this will ensure that day time staff can follow through the referrals generated out of hours within an appropriate and safe time and the following procedures should be followed: As part of their work, the EDT SW enters the details of all cases and activity related to those cases, on the appropriate Borough’s database and this must be completed by 9.30am on the next working day. Details required include:

! The details of the out of hours referral ! Details of the child and family referred ! Chronology of actions taken from start to end of the EDT worker’s

intervention. ! Evidence of a risk assessment (inclusive of but not limited to strengths, grey

areas, risks). ! Evidence of decision making, service provided and/or action taken (if any). ! It is important that the above information is recorded on the EDT report to

ensure that there is a clear justification for the worker’s actions and to ensure that the case can easily be picked up by another worker in the EDT worker’s absence.

If case / referral is categorised a requiring an amber or red level of intervention, then the EDT SW will conduct a telephone handover with the appropriate daytime service between 9am and 9.30am each (working day) morning. If the work relates to an open case, your section template should be recorded in the child’ case notes and as an EDT report. The notification must then be forwarded via both telephone and electronic handover to the SW managing the case and their manager (as they will be aware of any leave/absence etc. and can re-allocate the work if necessary). If neither is available, the EDT worker must ensure that they undertake both a telephone and electronic handover to the duty worker / team and record this in case notes. If the duty worker / team are not available then the relevant admin for the team and EDT should be asked to handover and the relevant Service Managers for EDT and the service in question should be informed. When the spoken handover has taken place or at 9.30am whichever is sooner, the EDT SW will no longer be on duty and will not be available for case discussion. Any queries should be directed to the EDT Manager, EDT Service Manager, Service Manager on-call for that night or EDT Admin Officer.

2.21 Handover between EDT SWs at the weekend and on bank holidays Weekend handovers will take place at the same time as the daytime handovers, i.e. between 9.00am and 9.30am on a Saturday and Sunday morning and between 7.00pm and 7.30pm on Saturday and Sunday evening. Handover must be

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completed by voice contact. E mail or text contact is acceptable, but only in addition to a telephone hand over. Log sheets and the social care system are to be updated and completed by the end of the shift. Again, handover is best achieved by detailed factual write ups on the child’s Database Record. The handover protocol is used to identify cases that require a follow up or might come to EDT attention. The verbal handover needs to ensure that the information/action is understood. When more than one EDT SW is on duty, there will need to be agreement on:

! Who will be taking, reviewing and discussing the handover with the

previous EDT SW/point of contact ! Who will hand over to the next EDT SW on call (when applicable)

The hand over should be completed in the 30 minutes overlap between shifts, if the process takes more than half an hour, the EDT Service Manager should be notified by email to explain the reasons and if agreed overtime will be granted .

The workers on duty on Sunday night will hand over in the usual way to the day time team on Monday morning.

Even when there is nothing to hand over, contact still needs to be made with the next / receiving EDT worker taking over by voice call and email needs to be sent indicating that there is nothing to handover.

2.32 Process in Event of Social Care System Unavailability The Tower Hamlets Children’s EDT Service operates through the Tower Hamlets ICT network to receive and process referrals via the generic ChildrensEDT@towerhamlets.gov.uk inbox. There will be times when the Tower Hamlets ICT network fails or becomes unavailable due to planned work. It is important that there is good communication between the Telecare Call Centre and the EDT Social Workers on each shift to quickly identify if there are any issues as it is paramount that the EDT Service still provides a high level of service. There are certain processes that assist with this. For example at the start of each shift the Social Worker will contact the Call Centres for the boroughs they are covering and confirm that they are on duty, whether there are any other colleagues on duty with them, the start and finish times of the shift and the name of the On Call Manager. Although each Call Centre will have a rota with this information, making this call establishes initial communication. In addition, when a Call Centre emails a referral to the EDT inbox, they must get a response from the Social Worker within 30 minutes to say that the email has been received. If they do not, this could indicate there is a system issue and as part of the

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escalation process (as previously detailed) the call handler will telephone the Social Worker to follow up on the referral. The following sections outline the procedures to be followed when there are identified issues: -­‐ As soon as it is known that the Tower Hamlets ICT network is unavailable,

[specifically no emails coming into the EDT inbox] the Social Worker is responsible for notifying Telecare that that they will now need to telephone through all referrals. In addition, EDT duty worker must

-­‐ Verbally obtain the details of the out of hours referral

-­‐ Take a screen shot of the error message that is being received and send/ recall

this to the Tower Hamlets ICT department. The EDT Manager and EDT Service Manager should also be copied in so the issue can be monitored and escalated as necessary

-­‐ As the referrals are telephoned through from the Telecare Office the Social

Worker will take a written copy of each referral. All the referrals should be recorded on a Word document, one document for each child / family. Discussions should be had with the on-call manager around admin typing this up and inputting the information into Frameworki the following day.

-­‐ If any of the children’s databases are not available, all of the work relating to

each referral should continue to be recorded on a Word document, including a description of the intervention and work completed, as well as recommendations for the daytime services

-­‐ At the end of the shift, the Word document for each borough will need to be

securely e-mailed (wherever possible) to the nominated points of contact in the daytime services. This must be done by 9.30am (or at the end of each shift at the weekends).

-­‐ If a children’s database becomes available again during and before the end of

an EDT shift, the expectation is that the Social Worker will enter the work completed on the database in the usual way

-­‐ When further EDT Social Workers will be on shift before daytime services resume

(e.g. at weekends and on bank holidays), a copy of each Word document must be sent to the next Social Worker on shift so that they are aware of any previous input on a case since the children’s database became unavailable. A copy of the document should be sent to the next Social Worker’s personal work email address as well as the Childrens EDT inbox.

-­‐ For planned hut down’s, there is a provision called the box whereby

spreadsheets of cases are uploaded onto a ‘cloud’ for access and reference by EDT workers. This box will be updated as and when it is felt that there is a need for its use as a result of a planned shutdown.

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2.33 Data Protection All email traffic and / or other modes of contact must be made via a secure system. Emails between the Telecare Call Centre staff and the Children’s EDT inbox are secure because they are between two Tower Hamlet’s email addresses. Any email traffic outside of the above connections is not secure and will be a potential data breach if not handled correctly. For example, any emails sent from the personal email addresses of Call Centre staff to the EDT inbox (unless sent via Egress) and any emails sent from the personal email addresses of Call Centre staff to the personal work email addresses of Social Workers (unless sent via Egress) is a data breach. If a Social Worker replies to such emails without deleting identifying details or without responding via Egress, the Social Worker will also be committing a data breach. Additionally, any emails sent from organisations such as the Police will also be a data breach by those organisations if not sent via Egress. Again, the Social Worker must respond to these emails either by deleting identifying information or sending the response via Egress. Everyone is responsible for data protection and all staff should be on alert any time emails are being sent outside of the secure system between each Call Centre and the EDT inbox. EDT workers are responsible for storing and disposing of any paper files appropriately and in a manner that will not breach data protection rules. Consent should always be obtained to share information; unless to not do so would place a person at greater risk of harm. It is important that wherever possible, EDT worker’s request for evidence that a person is who they say they are i.e. ID, calling an office line, asking ‘security questions’ etc. 2.34 Management and Senior Management Back-Up The on call Team Manager and / or Service Manager should be contacted when a decision needs to be made which cannot be made by the EDT SW acting alone and will typically be to request guidance, to seek authorisation, or to seek approval/support for a proposed course of action. 2.35 Contacts that should be made to the on call Team or Service Manager for: - The accommodation of any child - The accommodation of any child with independent sector (non in-house) foster

carers, including agency foster carers - Serious concerns expressed about any child subject to a Child Protection Plan,

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or any child Looked After by the Council (including children in respite care) - Any child protection referral where one or more suspected or alleged

perpetrator is a member of the Council’s staff, elected member, or employee of any other provider agency or organisation, a police officer, foster carer or similar

- The authorisation for the placement of any child or young person in secure accommodation

- For consent to the medical examination or treatment (including psychiatric) of any child subject to a Care Order (including an Interim Order). Note that if appropriate, consent can alternatively be given by the child’s mother and any other person with parental responsibility

- Death or serious injury of a child. In these circumstances, the on call Service Manager will immediately contact the on call Divisional Director for the borough in which the child resides. If the child is a Tower Hamlets child, further upward cascading of the information will be initiated, as instructed by the Divisional Director. The EDT Service Manager and Service Co-ordinator should be copied into any communication and notified of any child deaths for any of the boroughs that have occurred during an EDT shift.

- For authority to deploy agency staff for the EDT service - For authority for an EDT SW to leave the Borough for an extended period in

connection with EDT duties - If a Councillor or MP make a referral - If a legal advocate makes contact - If there is media interest - Discussion on health and safety issues i.e. lone working concerns

Note: This list is not intended to be exhaustive or suggest that no other scenarios require consultation

If the on call Service Manager does not answer their phone then a message should be left notifying them of the time of the call and requesting an immediate returned call. If no call back is received then the Divisional Director should then be contacted in an emergency. 2.36 Circumstances where it is not necessary to contact On call Service Managers - To provide financial assistance up to the limit EDT Senior SWs can authorise

[amount to be confirmed] - To deploy a minicab, including the use of a minicab in any circumstances when

it may be inappropriate or present risks to use the EDT staff own vehicle - Routine child protection referrals and investigations, which upon risk

assessment are judged to be low risk and can be handed over to the day time service the next working day

Note: This list is not intended to be exhaustive or suggest that all other scenarios require consultation

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2.37 Resources Tower Hamlets is routinely updating it list of resources such as preferred providers for taxis and B&Bs. This information is contained in the EDT shared drive. 2.38 Performance Management and Supervision of Staff Performance Management is a two-way review of the employee’s contribution to the organisation. It actively involves employees in understanding what is expected of them, and provides valuable feedback on their performance to date. By agreeing individual key objectives and reviewing them on a regular basis, each employee is able to take responsibility for their own performance. The Council’s Performance Management scheme is based on the well-researched view that people are happiest and perform best when they can discuss frankly and be clear with their manager about: ! How they are performing ! How their contribution is recognised ! What they are supposed to be doing in the future Performance management meetings will take place yearly for all EDT full time workers regardless of agency or permanent status. The council’s guide to Performance Management is on the intranet. 2.39 Team Meeting Procedure The EDT Manager will convene monthly team meetings for all EDT staff. The team meetings are mandatory for permanent an full time Agency staff, excluding staff on duty the previous night, but bank workers are welcome to attend. The team meetings are minuted and these will be circulated by the EDT Admin Support Officer. 2.40 Staff Training All EDT SW are registrants with the Health & Care Professional Council (HCPC).

HCPC require that all members must:

! Maintain a continuous, up-to-date and accurate record of their CPD (Continuing Professional Development)

! Demonstrate that their CPD activities are a mixture of learning activities relevant to current or future practice

! Seek to ensure that their CPD has contributed to the quality of their practice and

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service delivery ! Seek to ensure that their CPD benefits the service user ! Upon request, present a written profile explaining how they have met the

standards for CPD ! Maintain a record (portfolio) of their learning Ongoing staff training will address the HCPC requirements as well addressing the specific needs of lone workers working outside of office hours in emergency situations. Individual training needs will be discussed as part of staff supervision and appraisal sessions. The Learning and Development Manager will manage the development of any training programmes in conjunction with the Service Manager to ensure that it meets the needs of both the staff and the service.

It is the EDT worker’s responsibility to keep on top of their personal development plan [PDP] and identify training for themselves. This will need to be agreed by the line manager.

2.41 Completion of Timesheets Permanent members of staff need to complete a monthly timesheet which includes overtime, annual leave taken, supervision and training. Bank Staff need to submit a claim form to the EDT Service Manager within the required monthly timeframe. Agency workers need to submit a weekly timesheet to their agency. The EDT manager will require a break own of your hours every Friday to be authorised by the following Monday.

2.42 Overtime Claims and Mileage Claims All overtime claim forms must be submitted with the monthly timesheet (weekly fr agency workers). EDT SW’s can claim mileage for work related journeys but not travel to and from work, team meetings, supervision or local training. Mileage forms should be submitted on the HR Self Service Portal (via your agency for agency workers) for authorisation by the Team Manager. 2.43 Petty Cash / Individual Cash Floats There will be times when EDT workers require access to petty cash to ensure that emergency provisions and / or access to transport via a travel pass are available to vulnerable children, young people and / or their families. In light of this all full time EDT workers will be provided with an individual float of £50. The money can be claimed back via the EDT funding form. This will be monitored by the A&I admin

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lead and the sum must be signed out on receipt with the A&I admin lead and EDT manager. When a request arises the EDT SW needs to collate all the relevant information and assess the emergency need. Issues to be evaluated and recorded include:

! Why the family individual has no money ! Whether there are any alternatives i.e. family or friends ! Whether family is known to Children’s ! Services or any other agency ! What the need is i.e. food – money for utilities etc. – emergency travel ! Number of children ! Any other relevant information Any practical support offered to a family is to be recorded and the relevant Children’s Services informed on the next working day. Any practical support offered to a family that is above £50 is to be recorded on the relevant S17 form after receiving authorisation from the Service Manager on cal. This form must then be sent to the EDT Service Manager for authorisation. Tower Hamlets will then invoice the other Boroughs / departments (where necessary) accordingly and payment can be followed through.

! Workers must provide receipts for all valid purchases on clients before the used money is reimbursed.

! Petty cash is not to be spent on any personal agenda’s for the worker. ! On leaving the department, the £50.00 must be refunded and signed back

into the department with signatories from the worker, A&I admin lead and EDT manager.

2.44 Use of Personal Car for Work As part of their employment with the Tower Hamlets EDT workers who use their own vehicles for EDT business, need to ensure their cars are road worthy and have valid road tax, business use insurance and MOT. Staff must have a valid driving licence and sign the driver’s driving licence declaration form on an annual basis.

2.45 Use of Agency / Bank Social Workers: There will be times when it will be necessary to deploy the use of bank or agency workers. Agency workers and / or bank workers will work via the Telecare Centre or have a lap top to work from home. They follow the same process and procedures as permanent staff. Agency or bank workers may be used in the event that there is a unexpected high service demand, there is awareness of a possible high service demand during EDT hours, sickness or other absence, or. The use of bank workers

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must be authorised by a service manager and will be organised by the EDT manager.

Part 3: Practices & Key Stakeholder Relationships

3.1 Background Unless otherwise stated, EDT staff follow at a minimum: - The Pan London Child Protection Procedures - The London Children Safeguarding Board supplementary procedures - The Children Act 1989 - The Mental Health Act 1983 - The Human Rights Act 1998 - The Equality Act 2010 EDT Social Workers and Managers are expected to follow the same principles as would be apportioned to child in need or a child, a child at risk of harm or a child who has experienced harm. This means that at a minimum the following considerations should be made: - A basic risk assessment should be had on all cases, balancing the risks against

the protective factors. - Legislation, guidelines and theory should be used to inform practice. - The child’s voice must be heard at all times. - A strategy discussion with the Police via telephone should be considered at a

minimum for all cases whereby a child has been harmed. - A recommendation and safety planning must follow all referrals - Referrals that could be deemed as malicious should always be explored until

proven or proven otherwise. The coding of Green, Amber or Red should be used at the start and end of all EDT case work: - Green = A concern has arisen, but no immediate safeguarding or welfare

concerns - Amber = A concern has arisen, but the safeguarding or welfare concerns have

been temporarily contained by the worker / family / another agency. - Red = A child has experienced significant harm and/ or there is a high likelihood

of significant harm recurring.

3.2 Accommodating a Child under the Children Act 1989 Where there is no absolutely option for the child(ren) to remain at home, even with the help of respite carers, extended family or friends the child (ren) should be accommodated, with the parent’s consent, under section 20 of the Children Act 1989. This situation will be fully assessed on the next working day. For children over the age of 16 years the ‘Crash Pad’ may be available as a short

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terms solution (see Crash Pad Protocol). 3.3 Intentionally Homelessness Families who present to EDT that have been deemed intentionally homeless by the Housing department in Tower Hamlets should be provided with emergency accommodation when it has been determined that there is no family or social network available to support them and that they do not have financial means to secure accommodation for themselves. It is of utmost importance that the worker clarifies the families last known address as this will determine the extent to which the London Borough of Tower Hamlets provides emergency accommodation; unless there is notification of a family fleeing domestic abuse. In this instance, emergency accommodation should be provided without prejudice and the invoice directed to Housing Options. Any ‘No recourse to public funds’ invoices will be processed under the s.17 budget. In the event that a family requires accommodation from Tower Hamlets, there is a list of B&B’s that are routinely used by Tower Hamlets within the ‘Emergency Accommodation’ Folder in the shared drive; however, the main agencies used are: 1st choice: Exodus Housing 34-36 Woodlands Road, Ilford Essex IG1 1JJ. 0794 100 9777 0208 252 0078 info@exodushousing.co.uk 2nd choice: Ridgewell Hotel London Telephone:+44 208 5291964 FAX:+44 208 5241930 Email:reception@ridgewayhotel.co.uk Web:www.ridgewayhotel.co.uk 3rd choice: Park Hotel – Ilford Address: 327 Cranbrook Rd, Ilford IG1 4UE Phone: 020 8554 9616 The accommodation will be provided until the next working day and the day time service will be notified in order that an assessment can be considered. Housing (email Homeless), The A&I lead admin officer, the EDT manager, on call Service Manager and relevant allocated worker must also be notified via email as Homeless Services all costs will be covered by them. The key information required in the email is as follows: - Names and dates of all the children and adults - Framweorki number if known - Last known address - Reason for homelessness

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- Consent for agencies checks - Amount of disposable cash - Dates the accommodation has been provided for. A written agreement of this arrangement must wherever be obtained with the provided and / or family. 3.4 No recourse to public funds Families presenting to EDT with no recourse to public funds can be provided with emergency accommodation until the next working day if: ! There is no family or social network to provide support ! They have not already been assessed by the day time service and a decision

made regarding provision of accommodation ! They are fleeing domestic violence

It must be made clear that long term accommodation cannot be provided and the options available include repatriation to their country of origin which will be discussed when an assessment is undertaken. The EDT worker must gain consent from the on-call Service Manager to provide this accommodation. A taxi may also be used to support where necessary, but especially if there are very young children, it is late at night and there is no transportation available to the family. The A&I admin lead, EDT manager, EDT Service manager and allocated worker / manager / MASH(where applicable must be copied in to the notification as the costs will be covered Children’s Services. The key information required in the email is as follows: - Names and dates of all the children and adults - Frameworki number if known - Last known address - Reason for homelessness - Consent for agencies checks - Amount of disposable cash - Dates the accommodation has been provided for. A written agreement of this arrangement must wherever be obtained with the provided and / or family. 3.5 Domestic abuse, violence and intimate partner violence (IPV) Families fleeing domestic abuse who approach EDT should first be referred to the out of hour’s Homeless Person department’s on call worker. If Housing does not have any refuge or temporary accommodation available, EDT will provide access to emergency accommodation until the next working day. These cases will be referred

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to the Housing department, MASH Team or allocated Social Worker to undertake an assessment and make long term arrangements for safe accommodation. 3.6 Unaccompanied Minors Requests to accommodate unaccompanied minors (UAM)or alleged unaccompanied minors are dealt with in the same way as all requests for accommodation and the appropriate authorisation needs to be requested from Service Management Level. Children’s EDT receives a number of such referrals, including requests for age assessments. EDT do not undertake age assessments and therefore there may be a to complete a ‘Placement Interview Sheet for UAM’ and accommodate the alleged child(ren) before the daytime service undertake an assessment. Where there are concerns that the subject may not to be a minor but this cannot be proven, it is essential to consider that a foster placement may not be appropriate. Further discussion is needed with the referrer and on call Practice Manager to ensure the correct decision is made with regard to the provision of appropriate accommodation, such as a referral to the Crash Pad. If there is confidence that the person claiming to be an unaccompanied minor is over 18, then responsibility remains with the police to take action. 3.7 Emergency Foster Parents There are three families of Foster Carers available every night of the week to cover one age group of children i.e. one foster carer may be able to take a child/ren of 0-3 years old, another a child/ren of 4 – 12 years old and another a child/ren of 13 to 18 years old. An up to date list of in-house foster parents is usually distributed to all EDT staff every Friday, or if this is a bank holiday, the normal working day before. In-house emergency foster parents must be considered before residential accommodation is sought and children may only be placed with them with Senior Management authorisation. 3.8 Out of Borough placements Where problems arise in out of Borough placements, advice should be offered to the referrer to assist them to contain the situation until the next working day. A risk assessment should be undertaken, records checked and advice given. A change of placement should not take place without discussion with the on call Service Manager. 3.9 Homeless 16 &17 Year Olds Where a homeless young person is referred, the circumstances should be fully considered to

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include a vulnerability assessment and contact with parents and family etc. If the outcome determines that the young person cannot go home then the young person must be accommodated. If a family friend arrangement is not deemed suitable, then the following three options should be considered, depending on the child’s vulnerabilities, as a temporary measure, and only until the day time team undertake a full assessment: - The Tower Hamlets Crash Pad - An Emergency Foster Placement - An Emergency Residential placement. 3.10 Placement Procedures In the event that a child needs to be accommodated, the EDT SW must: - See the child(ren) - Undertake a risk assessment - Wherever possible escort the child(ren) to the placement. If the Police or a taxi

transport the child(ren), then the EDT SW must meet the child(ren) at the end of the journey

- Provide the carer with us much information as possible on the child/ren. - If the child(ren) is placed om a Friday or Saturday or the day before a bank

holiday. The child must be seen by an EDT worker the next day. For long periods of council closure i.e. Christmas holidays. A safety plan must be in place for the child(ren) to be seen by the EDT at least every other day until normal working hours resume and the case/s is passed to the MASH or allocated worker.

The carer should be notified that their address will be given to the parents unless there are safety issues. The EDT SW should notify the placement and fostering teams with the FWi number of the child(ren), family details and details the placement use. 3.11 Children in Care reported Missing Foster Carers and Residential Social Workers must report to Police and EDT when a Looked After Child goes missing or is absent. The timeframe to report a child missing is dependent on the child’s expected return time having been breached or likely to be breached, but is expected to be within one hour of the breach. The EDT SW always undertakes a risk assessment that captures the following:

! The time of absence and the time of curfew breach ! How and why did the young person abscond ! Is this a regular occurrence ! Any information as to where they might be ! What was the child wearing ! Have they been contacted by phone

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! Do they have a traceable device such as a phone or oyster card ! Age and vulnerability ! History of offending, CSE, gang membership ! Any other concerns for their safety

Once a risk assessment has been conducted and actions agreed, the appropriate children’s social care system should be updated and the missing person’s coordinator updated. The Missing Persons’ coordinator will alert the allocated social worker and their manager and arrange for any return home interviews where necessary. 3.12 Children Missing from Home Children missing from home will be treated in the same manner as described above. If there is no allocated worker and the case is unopened, the Missing Persons Co-ordinator and the MASH will be informed by the EDT worker. If the case is open, the Missing Person’s Co-ordinator and allocated worker and their manager will be informed. 3.13 Children Returning from Missing EDT worker’s will log all returns from missing and notify the appropriate team and the Missing Person’s Co-ordinator who will arrange for a return home interview to take place as per guidance. 3.14 Respite/Children with Disabilities When a child with a disability is in a crisis situation, efforts should be made to support them and their carers/families. If the child has a care package, including agency care workers, consideration needs to be made of using this support at home on an emergency basis. 3.15 Serious Concerns/Injury/Incident/Death of a Child t home or in care in Care It is essential that the EDT worker makes contact on hearing of any serious injury/ incident or the on call Team / Service Manager who will then notify the Division Director for Children’s Social Care in Tower Hamlets, where necessary in any of the following circumstances.

! The death of a child looked after or subject to any safeguarding plan, who is

under assessment or not known ! The attempted suicide of a child looked after ! Any incidents of abuse to a child subject to a child protection plan ! The decision to place a child in secure accommodation, or to apply to a court for

a secure accommodation order

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! The decision to apply for a court order in relation to a child. The on call Service Manager will notify the on call Service Manager in the applicable local authority to agree the application for an Emergency Protection Order

! A significant change in the circumstances of, or concerns about, a ward of court. These may need to be reported to the court

! Any incident where a child looked after has been missing from their placement for more than 24 hours

3.16 Referrals from Health Referrals from Health, inclusive of the London Ambulance Service, Hospitals, GP’s, Nurses and other health practitioners, must be considered accordingly, even if the child is deemed to be in a place of safety. It is the EDT worker’s responsibility to ensure that safety planning is agreed from the start as this may at times require worker’s to consider with the health professional and the Police, limiting a parent, carer, family member, friend or unknown person’s access to that child. Where required, CHILD Protection Medicals should be arranged at the earliest opportunity. For amber and or red health concerns, a child must be visited in hospital by the EDT worker. EDT workers are expected to participate in discharge planning meetings if these are arranged outside of normal working hours. If a referral hasn’t been made by health; yet there are significant health i.e. medical, mental health or injury concerns, it is the EDT worker’s responsibility to co-ordinate a response from health once the EDT worker becomes aware of the significant need for health intervention. 3.17 Children’s Mental Health Assessments Mental Health Assessments for children are undertaken jointly by the Adult EDT Service and / or the hospital to which he child has been seen. The Childrens EDT social worker will always attend where this is required / agreed. It is the role of the hospital and or assessing Approved Mental Health Practitioner (AMHP) to ensure that the EDT worker is alerted at the earliest opportunity to ensure a co-ordinated and timely response. There may be instances where it is agreed (by both the Adults and Childrens EDT service) that the Childrens EDT social worker does not need to be physically present to support and indeed their presence may be counter-productive (e.g. where a child/young person not in care is to be assessed and the Childrens EDT social worker would just increase the number of people in attendance). In these instances the Childrens EDT social worker will contribute by providing input/information to the joint assessment.

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3.18 Police Protection - Accommodation When the Police feel that there is reasonable belief that a child would otherwise be likely to suffer significant harm, they can under the provisions of Section 46 (1a&1b) either remove the child to suitable accommodation or take steps to prevent the child’s removal from any hospital or place where they are accommodated. This can only be applied for a period of 72 hours. However, under the provisions of Sections 46(7) and Section 46(8) the Police can apply for an Emergency Protection Order under Section 44 whether or not the Local Authority are aware of it or agree with the application. A suitable placement will then need to be found by EDT. If the address and/or the telephone number are withheld the reasons must be fully recorded. There may be times when the evidence is such that an Emergency Protection Order under Section 44 of the Children Act 1989 needs to be undertaken by the EDT SW. This must be made through an Authorised Clerk of the Court. The Local Authority has a duty to provide accommodation for children in Police Protection. While this is being arranged the Police may take the child(ren) to the Police Station until a placement is arranged. An initial screening of the details will determine which Local Authority is responsible. If it is decided not to accommodate the reason should be recorded i.e. what did the risk assessment reveal, how was the conclusion reached, was it agreed by all concerned. If the request is to be progressed a discussion will be needed with the on call Service Manager and for their authorisation that accommodation can be used. The EDT SW will then identify a possible placement and discuss the young person’s needs with the placement provider. A placement would normally only be agreed to the next working day when the arrangements will be reviewed. The EDT SW must record how the decision was made and report this as part of the handover the following day. Whilst the child is in Police protection any decision made relating to contact or returning the child to the parent, carer, etc. should be made jointly with the Police and the decision and rationale recorded. If it is agreed that the child should be accommodated the EDT SW will accompany and transport the child to the placement where appropriate.

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If there is no response when calling CAIT out of hours call 101 and ask for the Pan London Contact Desk and they will send our contact and referral details through to CAIT (late turn) DS on duty. This should reduce the delay in CAIT responding. 3.19 Emergency Protection Orders Following the creation of the Single Family Court, the President of the Family Division has introduced changes to the way in which ‘out of hours’, Emergency Protection Orders (EPOs) will be dealt with in the future. ‘Out of hours’ EPOs were managed by Legal Advisers under the out of hours scheme by referral to Magistrates but these applications are now referred to Judges by the legal adviser. Contact will be managed by Urgent Court Business Officers (UCBO) under the urgent court business scheme. 3.20 Period of Cover Every effort should be made to ensure that applications are submitted to the court so that they can be commenced no later than 4.00 pm. If the appropriate ticketed judiciary are still within the court premises at that time they will deal with the case. Contact should be made with the court at the earliest possible time to advise that an application is anticipated. 3.21 What does this change mean for you? There will be no change to the contact number to ring to get in touch with the legal adviser about your EPO application. The number to contact the legal advisor about an EPO is 0207 947 6260 When the UCBO becomes the point of contact you will be notified of the new number. You may be asked to email the following documentations to the Legal Adviser/ UCB Officer and/or the Judge who deals with the out of hours application.- - a copy of the C110a application which should contain telephone numbers for all

the parties - a summary of the application which should include a chronology of events, the

reasons for the urgency of the application and what the imminent danger is, reasons for ex-parte (if applicable) and reasons why Police Powers have not been executed

- the Social Worker’s statement which should include their name and contact details (if the statement is not available an explanation should be given in the summary as to why it is not available)

EPO Application Hearings will not be heard in a court room but will be heard by telephone conference.

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The Legal Adviser/ UCB Officer will provide details of the telephone conference number once they have liaised with the Judge. It will be your responsibility to pass this number onto any parties that will be required to attend the telephone conference hearing. You will also be responsible for speaking with CAFCASS to ensure that a Guardian is aware of the proceedings (subject to CAFCASS setting up an out of hours scheme of cover). All telephone conferences will be recorded. If an order is made you will be responsible for drawing up a draft court order including any recitals/reasons and sending this to the Judge for approval. There are details of how the telephone conferencing facility works below 3.22 Guidance on using the Telephone Conferencing Facility Step 1: The Judge will confirm the need for a telephone conference hearing and what time the call should commence. Step 2: The Legal Adviser/UCBO will inform the Local Authority of the telephone conference details: - the start time - telephone number - 0800 279 6777 or 0203 451 0410 - the participant pass code to be utilised when prompted (e.g. 275880#) - to speak clearly because the call will be recorded. - Note: When you phone, you will hear an automated message that will prompt

you to key in the participant pass code and state your name which will be played into the conference as parties connect and disconnect. The message will also confirm that the call will be recorded.

Step 3: You will hear an automated message whilst you are waiting for everyone to dial in. Step 4: Once everyone has dialled in, the Judge will start the hearing proceedings.

Process for Dealing with ‘Out of Hours’ EPO Applications

Local Authority (LA) contacts Legal Adviser/ UCB Officer (UCBO)

Legal Adviser/UCBO clarifies whether Police Protection Powers have been exercised

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Legal Adviser/UCBO to ensure that the LA have the following documents completed and to hand : ● completed C110A application (telephone numbers for all parties should be contained in the C110A) ● confirmation from the LA that they will undertake paying the fee to the court, the next working day ● Summary of the EPO application which should set out: (1) chronology of events (2) the reasons for the urgency of application (3) what the imminent danger is (4) reasons for ex-parte (if applicable) (5) reason why Police powers have not been utilised ● Social Work Statement, their name & contact details (if the statement is not available, an explanation should be given in the summary as to why it is not available) Legal Adviser/UCBO contacts Judge and outlines details of the application. The Judge will decide how application is to be dealt with ● ex-parte ● on notice (in which case the application is likely to be listed at court on the following working day) ● by telephone Legal Adviser/UCBO will make the necessary arrangements for telephone conference and ensure LA inform relevant parties including the Guardians Judge will give directions and order including reasons. LA prepare draft order and send to Judge for approval Judge approves order. LA arranges service on parties and Legal Adviser/UCBO (via e mail) Legal Adviser/UCBO arranges for order to be emailed to the home court

3.23 Requests for Secure Accommodation Requests for secure accommodation are received from the police and require senior on call Service Manager approval. The following link lists the homes and availability: http://www.securechildrenshomes.org.uk/ The following information must be recorded on the EDT worker’s report:

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- Who has Parental Responsibility - Length of time likely to be in custody - Offence for which secure accommodation is being requested. - Police’s view of risk / vulnerability - Previous experience of custody - Presentation of detainee The parent (or person with Parental Responsibility) must be contacted to discuss their views and needs of the child(ren). The EDT SW will also see the child(ren) before they have been transported. 3.24 Remands to Care Remands to Care are received from the Court. The young person will require accommodating and this may be a request for secure accommodation. The Court will issue papers and these must be sent to the relevant authority’s day time team. The process for accommodation is followed as above. 3,25 PACE (Police and Criminal Evidence) The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 requires the transfer of children that have been charged and denied bail to more appropriate local authority accommodation with a related duty in the Children Act 1989 for local authorities to accept these transfers. Therefore, you are expected to provide Local Authority accommodation. Please follow the guidance below: - Following a request for secure accommodation the EDT worker on shift must

alert the on call manager about the request under PACE. - Senior social workers must agree approval for secure accommodation and

transport from the practice manager and record all information onto the social care record.

- The type of accommodation required is for the Local Authority to determine, bearing the custody officer’s views in mind. For example, the chosen accommodation may be secure or non-secure (such as children’s homes or residential). Where applicable, EDT workers should be challenging the decisions around accommodation type as proposed by the Police if necessary.

- The on call Team / Service manager must then ensure shift resources are examined in order for the child to be visited.

- The Local Authority must do everything within its power to find suitable accommodation. You can find more information about secure Childrens homes in England here: www.securechildrenshomes.org.uk.

- Bed availability can be obtained from the National Bed Bank run by the Youth Justice Board.

- Please contact the Youth Justice Board on 0845 3633 6383 (out of hours. Note this number is being phased out) therefore use 01962 846432.

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There would be only two exemptions to accommodation being sourced under PACE and these include: - If it would be ‘Impracticable’ (such as extreme weather not allowing safe

transfer) or if the movement falls within the middle of this night with court appearance being early the next day.

- The senior social worker is expected to visit the child in all PACE cases - If you are unable to make a visit to the child, please ensure that you email EDT

manager, EDT Service manager and the on-call Service Manager with a valid reason as to why not.

Please note the following: PACE is clear about the criteria required for Police to justify secure accommodation. The child must be 12 years or older and the child must be deemed to pose serious risk of harm to the public between being charged and appearing at court. Local authorities will always accept requests for non-secure accommodation for children under the age of 12 years and those who do not pose a serious risk. Police are working to high thresholds when requesting secure accommodation. More specifically, they are considering ‘Serious Harm’ and whether the child/Young person; 1. May be a risk of serious harm to self or the public and 2. Be at risk of causing serious psychological harm to self or others (This includes crimes such as murder, manslaughter, rape and serious assaults – these are by no means an exhaustive list). Ask WHY bail has been denied for a child/young person. This will assist you in making a decision under section 25 of the Children Act 1989. EDT worker’s need to visit every child/young person subject to PACE EDT worker’s need to ensure the Local Authority has ‘defendable and evidence based decision making, therefore you must record all decisions clearly. Remember the transfer of the ‘power for detainment’ once a child/young person is placed in non-secure accommodation. You need to explain to the child that if they abscond, they are ‘escaping lawful custody’ and this may carry a greater criminal punishment. Please consider the young person’s age, vulnerability, capacity or specific communication or learning needs when discussing this. Please consult the Home Office, Concordat on Children in Custody for further information in relation to PACE and expectations on Local Authorities. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/655222/Concordat_on_Children_in_Custody_ISBN_Accessible.pdf

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3.26 Youth Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE) Interviews/Appropriate Adult Requests: In the case of young people aged 17 or below, the parent is generally considered the most appropriate person to attend the police station. This includes a representative from the local authority if the person is looked-after. Language difficulties on the part of the parent/carer are NOT a reason to call the appropriate adult scheme. In this instance, police should call an interpreter for the parent and proceed with their assistance. Young people detained at the police station will require a Youth PACE interview and the presence of an Appropriate Adult (AA). If an AA is not available from relatives, friends or the volunteer service then the EDT SW acts as the AA. The EDT SW must respond to requests from the Police to act as an Appropriate Adult for a young person living outside the boroughs. If problems exist about returning the young person to their area then this should be discussed with the EDT workers from their Local Authority and any travel arrangements should be jointly agreed. The following criteria must apply in order for the request for an Appropriate Adult: ! The police have been unable to contact a parent, responsible family member or

carer or; ! The parent, responsible family member or carer has refused to act as an

appropriate adult or; ! The parent, responsible family member or carer is deemed to be unsuitable e.g.

they are victims, co-defendants or witnesses in the alleged offence or involved in the investigation in some other way or;

! The young person’s parent is estranged and the young person expressly and specifically objects to their presence or;

! The young person is in the care of a Local Authority. In this situation the young person’s Social Worker or another member of staff from the relevant Children’s Services team should attend.

The police will make every effort to contact a parent, responsible family member or carer and will advise the YOS or EDT of enquiries made. This will include whether a parent, family member or carer will become available in future. If a young person is looked-after, their Social Worker / the EDT worker is the most appropriate person to attend. If a young person is known to the Children’s Services but not looked-after, the young person’s Social Worker or an alternative member of their team is the preferred person to attend; unless this occurs within the EDT hours. If a young person of 17 refuses the presence of an appropriate adult, current Metropolitan Police guidance suggests that one should be provided anyway. If on arrival to the custody suite, the young person maintains they do not wish the appropriate adult to be present, the appropriate adult may leave and the police may continue to process the young person without one.

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A solicitor must be present for the interview although not statutorily required. On arrival at the Police Station the EDT SW will need to liaise with the Custody Sergeant and take details from the custody records. The offence should not be discussed. After an initial discussion with the young person they should speak to their solicitor alone - this is a privileged interview. The Police will then interview the young person and the EDT SW will have to respond in the caution that they are aware of their role. The basis of the role is to: - Aid communication - To look after the rights/welfare of the young person The EDT SW should record the efforts made by the Police to find people with parental responsibility and why they cannot attend the police station. At the end of the interview the EDT SW should comment on the interview i.e. was it fair/was the young person tired etc. The Police may need to take photos, finger prints, DNA etc. for which the EDT SW should be present. The young person may be charged or bailed to return. The EDT SW should pass a copy of this on to the parent/carer. Home Office guidance on PACE interviews can found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/117625/guidanceappadultscustody.pdf 3.27 Procedure following Release – Young Person When the young person is released from the Police station the EDT SW’s role reverts to ‘Responsible Adult’ and the young person will need to be escorted home and the events explained to the parents/carers. 3.28 Achieving Best Evidence (ABE) Interview The EDT Service are responsible for providing a SW to undertake an ABE Interview where require. SW’s require training to undertake this role and this will be provided. 3.29 Children from another Borough (Regardless of Status) Children who normally reside outside of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and who are not ordinarily ‘Looked After’ by Tower Hamlets need to be returned to their

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borough of residence as soon as possible. Discussion with their Local Authority EDT service should take place to assess how they are returned and to agree costs. Their return may not be straightforward e.g. because of the distance involved. In these circumstances the young person may need to be accommodated. Arrangements to return the child(ren) should be arranged for the following working day. 3.30 Legal Advice Legal advice and intervention when seeking an order, out of hours, is available via the Children’s Legal Manager. The duty Team Manager and Duty Service Manager will have direct access to the Legal Manager’s details should the need arise. EDT duty workers are advised to consult with a member of the duty management team should the need for an Emergency Protection Order (EPO) or other arise.

3.31 Children not collected from school Tower Hamlets does not have a distinct policy regarding children left at school; however, each school has their own policy in respect of children left at school. The expectation is that the school will attempt to resolve the issue within such a time that is deemed reasonable.

The LBTH EDT will assist if there is a safeguarding concern – no child can be removed from the school without a person with PR giving permission to do so. However, the Police can exercise their powers to remove a child without parental consent and contact Children’s Social Care either during the working day or out of hours.

If the child is not collected the child should remain at school and attempts to contact the parent/carer or named others who are provided as emergency numbers should be undertaken by the school. This is to clarify what is happening or indeed if it is acceptable to release a child to someone who is not known to the school. In the event that a person who is not known becomes difficult and attempts to remove the child without authorisation, the child should be immediately secured within school premises and the police should be called. Should the child be left at school, a member of the SLT or the Child Protection Lead should try to make contact with the parent if no contact has been achieved with a responsible adult within an hour of the school closing the the Multi-Agency Safeguarding team (MASH) should be contacted. In making contact the following information should be provided: ! Brief circumstances into the incident ! Details of the child and parent/s ! Information re: the child’s education status

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! Previous concerns ! Whether the child is subjected to a CAF or CPP. Should the situation emerge as a Child Protection issue in conjunction with the MASH, the school should follow the standard referral procedures after which the MASH will liaise with the assessment and intervention (A&I) team on duty. If the situation pertaining to the non-collection of a child arises after 17:00 the emergency duty team (EDT) should be contacted by the school on: 0207 364 5006 / 4079 with a view to establishing a plan of action which may include the identification of an appropriate venue to hold a child pending further investigation. If social care and / or Police, ask the school to hold onto a child at the end of the school day, the assessing social worker should confirm with the requester who will be coming to the school and when. It is advised that you obtain direct telephone numbers for person/s who are due to attend the school to remain in constant contact; particularly since school lines automatically transfer to voicemail after hours. The social worker or emergency duty social worker will give advice and may carry out appropriate checks and make further attempts to contact the parent/carer. If there are concerns about the welfare of the parent/carer, they will ask the local police to visit the home address.

If an appropriate relative or carer is located, he/she will be asked to ensure that the child is collected from the school. If there is a genuine reason for the relative of carer being unable to do this, the social worker or emergency duty social worker will liaise with the school about the arrangements for the child to be collected and taken to the home address. If attempts to contact a parent/carer are unsuccessful, the social worker will arrange for the child to be collected and taken to a place of safety e.g. a temporary foster carer or family centre. They will notify the school of the child’s placement and provide contact details in order to get to the placement. It is envisaged that there will only be two reasons why, in emergency circumstances, a child would be removed from school premises, by someone who is not the parent/carer;

1) The child needs to be taken to hospital – which must be done by ambulance 2) The child needs to be placed in temporary Foster Care – in which case Social Care will follow their procedures for removing a child to a place of safety.

There may be times when school staff, in agreement with parents, or through an evaluation of the child’s best interests, or through Loco Parentis, agree/decide to transport a child to home, hospital or other establishment. This course of action

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will be for individual schools/staff to decide on; recognising that it will not be covered by this protocol. 3.32 Regularly Transported Children Where arrangements are in place for a child to be escorted home from school, and there is no response at the home address, the driver will immediately, inform the school. The driver will leave a note at the child’s address with the school’s contact details. If other children have to be taken home, the child will remain in the vehicle whilst this is done. Unless directed otherwise, the driver will only then return the child to school. In the meantime, the school will liaise with the MASH social worker or assessment team, or emergency duty social worker in the event that the parent or carer continues to be unobtainable. If no contact can be made, then consideration will need to had had with senior management and / or the Police around next steps. Note: where services are being provided as part of the extended schools service the expectation will be this procedure will be followed by those provider services and be a part of the schools expectations of the providers conduct, contractually. 3.33 Children with additional needs who are not regularly transported In circumstances where a child has not been collected by their parent / carer and has additional needs, the process outlined above in this guidance should be followed in the same way. However, the school and social care need to consider the level of the child’s needs and whether specialist provision is required, consider the level of care and jointly determine whether the level of need for the child can be appropriately met by staff at another provision. 3.34 Major Incident/Community Emergency If a major incident or community emergency occurs, which may result in large numbers of children not being able to be collected / being at risk or harm / having been harmed or having concerns around their welfare, the Team Manager, Senior Manager and the named person for emergency planning for the council should be contacted by the EDT worker to discuss safety issues. It is anticipated that the arrangements for collection and care for the children, and possible overnight placements, will form part of the emergency plan utilised in a crisis.

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Part 4: Delegated Authority

Activity Associated costs

Designated Responsibility to Duty Senior Social Worker

(SSW)

Team Manager

Oversight Required

Duty Service Manager

Oversight Required

FINANCIAL Taxi’s within London

Up to £150 " " "

Taxi’s out of London

- x " "

Taxi’s into London

- x " "

Secure Transport

- x x "

ACCOMODATION Placing a child in Foster Care

- x " "

Placing a child in a secure PACE bed

- x " "

Supporting a child into a family arrangement

- " " "

B&B Up to 3 nights £250 max

" " "

Hotel Up to 3 nights £250

" " "

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max ANY OTHER DELEGATIONS Part 4: Comments, Compliments or Complaints about the Out of Hours Service

The Children and Families Directorate welcome comments, comments and complaints. Please contact the children’s EDT team manager at rita.modza@towerhamlets.gov.uk, the children’s EDT service manager at lissa.marie-minnis@towerhamlets.gov.uk or formally using the council’s procedures.

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Part 5: Appendices

EDT RAG RESPONSE PLAN Green (Referrer must be contacted within 30 minutes)

This usually involves advice and information and intervention whereby the risk is limited or considered a standard risk. An initial safety plan must be initiated by the duty worker and with the family/carer, referrer and any other relevant party within 2 hours. EDT WILL CONCLUDE AN OUTCOME WITHIN 16 HOURS / BY THE END OF THE END OF THE DUTY SHIFT – WHICHEVER IS SOONER

Amber (Referrer must be contacted within 30 minutes)

These referrals into the children’s EDT are likely to meet the threshold for intervention under S.17 Children Act 1989 (child in need). An initial safety plan must be initiated by the duty worker and with the family/carer, referrer and any other relevant party within 30 minutes and a more formal plan within 2 hours (extended time given to allow for research and any new information).. EDT WILL CONCLUDE AN OUTCOME WITHIN 10 HOURS / BY THE END OF THE END OF THE DUTY SHIFT – WHICHEVER IS SOONER

Red (Referrer must be contacted within 30 minutes)

Meets the threshold for statutory child protection intervention by the children’s EDT delivered under S.47 Children Act 1989.

! This may also include children subject to a Care Order or Children Looked After under S.20 (duty to accommodate) of the Children Act 1989.

An initial safety plan must be initiated by the duty worker and with the family/carer, referrer and any other relevant party within 30 minutes and a more formal plan within 2 hours (extended time given to allow for research and any new information). EDT WILL CONCLUDE AN INITIAL SAFETY PLAN WITHIN 4 HOURS.

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REFERRAL TO OUTCOME FLOWCHART

Referral comes in from Telecare by phone or email

Duty worker adapts the telecare report (word) or creates a new EDT word

report to begin recording of the contact

Duty worker to respond to the original referrer within 30 minutes of contact (if the EDT worker is busy, acknowledge referral & create interim safety plan

Duty worker to complete all boxes within the EDT (word) report). Intervention must be recorded in chronological order with a risk assessment, safety plan and recommendations for next steps.

Management oversight to be obtained for all RED and most amber cases. TM or SM must case note oversight and strategy discussions.

Case Allocated / Previously Opened

Once the EDT (word) report is complete and the child is considered safe, the duty worker

must: 1. Save the completed form in your EDT

folder in the shared drive 2.copy and paste the report into a case note on FWi and alert the allocated worker/ TM.

3. Email the allocated worker and TM, copying in the EDT TM and EDT duty SM

alerting everyone to the contact / recording. 4. Create an EDT report on FWI (all sections

must be completed).

Case never known to LBTH CSC

Once the EDT (word) report is complete & the child is considered safe, the duty worker must 1.Forward the EDT (word) report to ‘MASH’

2. Include in the email any other relevant and / or specialist agency / professional in or out of LBTH

i.e. Housing / exploitation team **Cases which have never been known to LBTH CSC must not have a record created by a duty worker. MASH admin will create a record the

following working day.

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LBTH EDT SEVICE STRUCTURE 2019

 

 

 

 

   

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

All Amber and Red cases must be telephoned through to the ‘MASH’, the allocated worker, allocated team or duty team / admin the next working day to confirm receipt and transfer of responsibility

Permanent Service

Manager

Children’s EDT Team Manager

Senior SW

Senior SW

Senior SW

Senior SW

Duty Service Manager (on a

weekly ‘on-call’ rotation)

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EDT INTERNAL HANDOVER PROCESS: DAY STAFF TO EDT

• During the day, Children’s Services have in excess of around 300 staff

working directly with children in Tower Hamlets. At night this falls to just one worker, the team manager and/or the duty service manager.

• The role of the EDT worker is to coordinate all incoming requests

pertaining to emergencies and welfare needs of children in our borough and those who are out of borough, but are managed / looked after by Tower Hamlets. In one EDT shift (especially at night, an EDT worker will acknowledge, risk assess and intervene in around 15 referrals / families. This includes section 47’s and placements). In context, an assessing day time team may manage this as a group in one day.

• Outside of the specific management tasks, the EDT manager will

support the EDT worker with case by case management oversight; especially where there is a high risk child protection incident which requires a coordinated response.

• The EDT Service Manager is next up from the EDT manager and will

coordinate all EDT management tasks in the EDT Managers absence. Generally, any EDT requests should go to them in the EDT managers absence.

• The role of the Duty EDT Service Manager is to authorise placements, finances and co-ordinate high risk or incidents of a red nature. The SM will only authorise visits etc. in the EDT SM’s absence or an emergency basis.

• Access to key resources and multi-agency links are not as readily

available as during the day and EDT worker’s subsequently must focus their efforts in providing short terms solutions to avoiding further crisis. EDT therefore does not do long term pieces of work or add on’s to the allocated worker’s work and you may find that due to unforeseeable circumstances, we may need to temporarily change your proposed intervention / safety plan if one has been provided. Pease note that this decision is not taken lightly and we will always seek service manager approval where required.

• EDT workers do not have direct access to funds or petty cash.

Therefore please ensure that your families are not left in need out of hours as we cannot provide food, vouchers or travel warrants.

• As with any other transfers within department, a request for

intervention must go manager to manager and not SW to SW or Day

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Time TM to EDT SW between 9 and 5. Rita Modza (EDT manager) will co-ordinate all requests for contact and her absence, this can go to the duty EDT Manager or duty EDT Service Manager. The EDT contact form which must be completed uploaded into documents (by the allocated team) and case noted.

• Whilst we understand that there are times when EDT needs to

undertake a pre-arranged visit, please remember that referrals to EDT must only be made when you feel that the issue cannot be contained without our presence. In any case, EDT’s attendance should normally be part of a wider agency intervention. i.e. the health visitor will be visiting in the morning, EDT in the afternoon, police in the evening, support worker late evening. Please also consider whether a 30 minute – 1hr EDT visit will real contain the risk for the whole 24 hours or whether we are requesting the visit just for evidence.

• Please do not assume that EDT has taken responsibility for a task until

this is confirmed in writing by an EDT manager. After 5pm, depending on your location, you may still be required to complete the form, but all referrals must go through our telecare service for audit purposes. The referring worker must keep their phones on and stay at the location (if already on scene with a child) until the work is authorised (the duty EDT worker will contact the day referrer for more info then the EDT manager who will authorise).

• The bulk of EDT’s work is around safeguarding LAC children as they take up the bulk of referrals. The individual EDT worker has to manage this against incoming referrals from professionals, service users, the public and parents as well as planned work. Please therefore consider that any rejections of day time work are a reflection of us prioritising need and ensuring that there is some further space for emergencies.

• I am always more than willing to have a formal or informal conversation with you and I am usually in office on Monday between 9and 1 in the MASH room (4th floor) and Friday’s between 1 and 6 on the 4th floor supervision hub Mid-week, I am generally available during the day but may not respond immediately. On a weekday evening I support shift cover between 5pm and 12 midnight and on weekends between 9am and 12 midnight.

• In my absence / if you do not hear from me and your query is urgent,

please do contact the EDT Service Manager – Lissa Marie-Minnis or the on-call SM.

Contact details: Name Telephone Email Rita Modza 07956 540 513 Rita.modza@towerhamlets.gov.uk &

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Children’s EDT generic email

- Childrens.EDT@towerhamlets.gov.uk

Telecare 0207 364 4079 Please do not email Lissa Marie-Minnis

Lissa-marie.minnis@towerhamlets.gov.uk &

On-Call Service Manager

0207 364 4079