Notifications from Other Local Authorities/Placement Providers

1. Introduction

Where a Child in Care is placed by a Local Authority/Trust in the area of another Local Authority/Trust, the Placing Authority must notify the Local Authority/Children's Trust Services where the child's placement is located.

The Education Service and the relevant Health Trust for the area in which the Child in Care is placed must also be notified.

The notification will include the address where the child is placed.

The Local Authority/Trust where the child is placed must maintain a register of children in care for whom it is responsible and all children in care placed in its area, including those children who are the responsibility of another Local Authority/Trust.

Under the Children's Homes and Looked after Children (Miscellaneous Amendments) (England) Regulations 2013, the Manager of a children's home must notify without delay the area Local Authority/Trust (if different from the Placing Authority) of the admission to/discharge from the Home of any child.

The notification must state:

• The child's name and date of birth;
• Whether the child is Accommodated under Section 20 or subject to a Care Order or Supervision Order;
• The contact details for:
  • The child's Placing Authority; and
  • The child's Independent Reviewing Officer;
• Whether the child has an Education, Health and Care Plan, if so, details of the Local Authority/Trust which maintains the Plan.

1.1 The Register of Children in Care

The Register should include the following information in relation to each child:

• The name, gender and date of birth of the child;
• The name and address of the person with whom the child is placed and, if different, the name and address of the child's parents and all those with Parental Responsibility;
• The name of the Placing Authority;
• Whether the child has a Child Protection Plan;
• Whether the child is disabled;
• The date on which the placement was made;
• The date when the placement was terminated including the reason for the termination;
• The child's legal status;
• Where arrangements have been made by the host local Children's Trust Services to undertake the duties of the placing Local Authority/Trust; what those arrangements are and the name of the person within the Placing Authority with whom they were agreed.

2. Procedure on Receipt of Notifications in Relation to a Child in Care

2.1 Responsibilities of the Children's Social Care teams

Any notification received from another Local Authority/Trust that a Child in Care has been placed in the authority should be passed to the Designated Manager (Notifications).

The Designated Manager (Notifications) will ensure, through communication with the placing Local Authority/Trust where necessary, that the information required in Section 1.1, The Register, is provided and recorded.

The Designated Manager will also arrange for a check to be carried out of the address on the data management system (e.g. ICS) to establish whether there is any information recorded in relation to the address. If so, this information must be communicated to the allocated social worker in the Local Authority/Trust with responsibility for the child.

Where the placing Local Authority/Trust requests that the authority carry out certain functions in relation to the child on its behalf e.g. supervision of the placement, the request will be passed to the Children's Advice and Support Service (CASS) as a referral.

In these circumstances, the Children's Trust may agree to undertake the following:

• Supervise the placement in order to be satisfied that the welfare of the child continues to be suitably provided for; and/or
• Visit the placement on a regular basis.

It would never be appropriate for the authority to agree to a request to supervise a child placed in secure accommodation.

Where it is agreed at a planning meeting that the Children's Trust will undertake supervision of a placement on behalf of a Placing Authority, a social worker will be allocated. The placing Local Authority/Trust should be requested to provide sufficient information about the child and the placement to enable the social worker to supervise the placement competently, including the following:

• Care Plan;
• Placement Information Record;
• The most recent Review of Arrangements Form.

The agreement to supervise the placement should be detailed in writing and signed by Designated Manager (Notifications) and a relevant Senior Manager from the Placing Authority. It should include an expectation that the allocated social worker in the Children's Trust will be invited to contribute to the child's Child in Care Review.

Where a significant incident arises in the placement whilst the child is placed, the Children's Trust will be expected to respond to the presenting needs. However, except in an absolute emergency (e.g. where it is not possible to contact the child's social worker or their Team Manager, or if out of hours the placing Local Authority/Trust's Emergency Duty Team), the authority should not take any significant action or remove the child, without consultation with Placing Local Authority/Trust.

The Children's Trust should never take action on the basis of the Placing Authority's verbal authority, but must be certain that required actions are as a result of a written request.

At all times case management responsibility remains with the Placing Authority.

In the event that the authority where the child is placed has to have an involvement in an emergency situation where the child is at risk of Significant Harm and the Placing Authority cannot be contacted, any action should be on the basis of the requirements of local Safeguarding Children Procedures.

2.2 Maintaining the Register

The Designated Manager (Notifications) is responsible for maintaining the register of Children in Care (see Section 1, Introduction).

This register must include details of:

• Children looked after by the Children's Trust;
• Children looked after by another Local Authority/Trust but placed within the city, where there has been agreement that the Children's Trust will carry out some of the responsibilities of the placing Local Authority/Trust;
• Children looked after by another Local Authority/Trust but placed within the city, where the placing Local Authority/Trust continues to carry out all the functions in relation to the child.

The Designated Manager (Notifications) will ensure that the following teams /agencies are notified:

• The Health Service;
• The Education Welfare Service;
• The Looked After Children Education Team.