Amalgamate child welfare guidance documents into one simplified common language framework

The Department of Health should amalgamate the current Working Together and the National Assessment Framework documents into one simplified document. The document should tackle the following six aspects in a clear and practical way: • It must establish a ‘common language’ for use across all agencies to help those agencies to identify who they are concerned about, why they are concerned, who is best placed to respond to those concerns, and what outcome is being sought from any planned response. • It must disseminate a best practice approach by social services to receiving and managing information about children at the ‘front door’. • It must make clear in cases that fall short of an immediately identifiable section 47 label that the seeking or refusal of parental permission must not restrict the initial information gathering and sharing. This should, if necessary, include talking to the child. • It must prescribe a clear step-by-step guide on how to manage a case through either a section 17 or a section 47 track, with built-in systems for case monitoring and review. • It must replace the child protection register with a more effective system. Case conferences should remain, but the focus must no longer be on whether to register or not. Instead, the focus should be on establishing an agreed plan to safeguard and promote the welfare of the particular child. • The new guidance should include some consistency in the application of both section 17 and section 47.