Amendments
December 2024
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Contacts and Referrals | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Assessments | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Child Protection Enquiries (Section 47) | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Care and Supervision Proceedings and the Public Law Outline | Information has been added in relation to family group decision-making in line with the Children’s Social Care National Framework and Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023. |
| Death or Serious Injury to a Child (Looked After, Child in Need or Care Leaver Up to and Including the Age of 24) | Amendments have been made in line with Working Together to Safeguard Children, to note that notifications should be made of the death of a care leaver up to and including the age of 24. |
| Children and Young People Aged 0-25 with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities | Section 15.1, Registering an appeal with the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs (SEN) and Disability) has been updated in line with case law. |
| Personal Budgets and Direct Payments | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Placing and Visiting Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities or Health Conditions in Long-Term Residential Settings | Information has been added in relation to Ofsted and CQC Joint Registration Guidance: Children’s Homes and Health Care. |
| Unaccompanied Migrant and Asylum Seeking Children and Child Victims of Trafficking and Modern Slavery | Links to sources of further information have been updated. |
| Kinship Care | Amendments have been made to reflect Championing Kinship Care: The National Kinship Care Strategy. |
| Aftercare under Section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983 | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Local Authority's Sufficiency Duty - Accommodation for Looked After Children | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Placements with Connected Persons | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Health and Safety | Information has been added into Section 9, Accommodation, Bedroom Space and Sharing in relation to bunk beds. |
| Notifications of Significant Events | Amendments have been made in line with Working Together to Safeguard Children, to note that notifications should be made of the death of a care leaver up to and including the age of 24. |
| Supporting the Education and Promoting the Achievement of Children with a Social Worker, Looked After and Previously Looked After Children | Amendments have been made to reflect Championing Kinship Care: The National Kinship Care Strategy. |
| Leaving Care and Transition | Updated have been made to reflect the Homelessness Code of Guidance - Chapter 22: Care Leavers (updated 3 May 2024) which sets out the expectation that authorities should have in place joint protocols which clearly outline jointly held corporate parenting responsibilities for care leavers. See Section 8, Joint Housing Protocols for Care Leavers. |
| Staying Put | Amendments have been made in line with Working Together to Safeguard Children, to note that notifications should be made of the death of a care leaver up to and including the age of 24. |
| Assessment and Approvals of Foster Carers | Information has been added on how to request information about an applicant from Ofsted. |
| Allegations Against Foster Carers | A link to the Disclosure and Barring Service Guidance Leaflets has been added. |
| Applications for Special Guardianship Orders | Amendments have been made in line with Working Together to Safeguard Children, to note that notifications should be made of the death of a care leaver up to and including the age of 24. |
| New Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Family Networks and Family Group Decision Making | This chapter has been added to the manual. |
| Children Involved in the Youth Justice System: Additional National Guidance | This chapter has been added to the manual. |
| Next update: July 2025 |
June 2024
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Children and Young People Aged 0-25 with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities | Section 15, Resolving Disagreements has been updated to include information on Guidance: Carry Out an Order in Special Educational Needs Cases. |
| Unaccompanied Migrant and Asylum Seeking Children and Child Victims of Trafficking and Modern Slavery | A link has been added in Section 4, Age Assessment to BASW Age Assessment Practice Guidance. In Further Information, a link has been added to Operation Innerste Process: Caseworker Guidance. |
| Kinship Care | This chapter has been updated. |
| New Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Children and Young People’s Continuing Care National Framework | This chapter has been added to the manual. |
January 2024
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Capacity and Consent | This chapter has been updated to reflect case-law in relation to assessing legal capacity. |
| Care and Supervision Proceedings and the Public Law Outline | Public Law Working Group (PLWG) Recommendations to Achieve Best Practice in the Child Protection and Family Justice Systems: Supervision Orders. Information has been added in relation to Supervision Orders, in line with this guidance. |
| Children and Young People Aged 0-25 with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities | Civil Legal Aid (Financial Resources and Payment for Services) (Amendment) Regulations 2023. Information has been added in relation to legal aid for foster carers and prospective adoptive parents in First Tier Tribunal appeals. |
| Unaccompanied Migrant and Asylum Seeking Children and Child Victims of Trafficking and Modern Slavery | This chapter has been updated to reflect the launch of the National Age Assessment Board, which began a phased rollout on 31 March 2023. |
| Families with No Recourse to Public Funds | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Family and Friends Care | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Young Carers | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Aftercare under Section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983 | This chapter has been updated to include information from Special Educational Needs and Disability: Improving Local Authority Decision Making - Report of the Administrative Justice Council’s Working Group on Special Educational Needs and Disability. |
| Placements in Residential Care | This chapter has been updated to reflect OFSTED guidance. |
| Placements in Secure Accommodation on Welfare Grounds | This chapter has been updated to reflect OFSTED guidance. |
| Placements in Other Arrangements | This chapter has been updated throughout to reflect supported accommodation for 16-17 year olds becoming regulated by Ofsted. |
| Health and Safety | This chapter has been refreshed throughout. |
| Supporting the Education and Promoting the Achievement of Children with a Social Worker, Looked After and Previously Looked After Children | This chapter has been refreshed throughout. |
| Leaving Care and Transition | This chapter has been amended to note that with effect from 1 April 2023, the leaving care allowance increased from £2,000 to £3,000. |
June 2023
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Care and Supervision Proceedings and the Public Law Outline | This chapter has been updated in line with A View From the President's Chambers: Relaunching the PLO (November 2022). |
| Case Records and Retention | This chapter has been updated to incorporate Ofsted feedback. |
| Children and Young People Aged 0-25 with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities | This chapter has been updated to include information from Guidance: Area SEND Inspections Framework and Handbook (November 2022). |
| Placing and Visiting Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities or Health Conditions in Long-Term Residential Settings | This chapter has been updated in line with the UK Social Work Practice in Safeguarding Disabled Children and Young People report. |
| Decision to Look After | This chapter has been refreshed and should be read in its entirety. |
| Remands to Local Authority Accommodation or to Youth Detention Accommodation | This chapter has been amended to include information from Annex to MOJ Circular 2022/03: Additional Information on Remand to Local Authority Accommodation (RLAA). |
| Health and Safety | This chapter has been amended to add information in relation to allergies. |
| Health Care Assessments and Plans | This chapter has been amended to add information in relation to allergies. |
| Positive Relationships and Behaviour Management | This chapter has been updated to incorporate Ofsted feedback. |
| Marriage/Civil Partnership of a Looked After Child | This chapter has been amended to include that the Act will raise the age of marriage and civil partnership to 18 in England and Wales. |
| Leaving Care and Transition | Ofsted have added a separate judgement and evaluation criteria on 'the experiences and progress of care leavers', for implementation from January 2023. |
| Allegations Against Foster Carers | This chapter has been amended in line with the revised keeping Children Safe in Education. |
| Applications for Special Guardianship Orders | This chapter has been updated to reflect the Public Law Working Group Best Practice Guidance which addresses the lawful extension of care proceedings beyond 26 weeks in Special Guardianship cases. |
| New Chapters and Features | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| OFSTED Inspection Framework | This new chapter links to the Ofsted Inspection Frameworks for the various social care services. |
December 2022
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Aftercare under Section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983 | This chapter has been amended to refer to Guidance issued by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. |
| Care and Supervision Proceedings and the Public Law Outline | This chapter has been amended throughout in line with Management Guidance in Public Law Children Cases: March 2022. |
| Placements Outside England and Wales | Section 3, Placements in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Guernsey has been updated in line with the Cross-border Placements (Effect of Deprivation of Liberty Orders) (Scotland) Regulations 2022 and Cross-Border Placements (Effect of Deprivation of Liberty Orders) (Scotland) Regulations 2022: Practice Guidance, Notice and Undertaking Template. |
| Remands to Local Authority Accommodation or to Youth Detention Accommodation | This chapter has been amended in line with the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. |
| Contact with Parents/Adults and Siblings | Section 3, Supervised Contact has been updated to reflect a finding by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman that the supervisor's observations of the contact must be clearly recorded in the child's record and shared with the parents within 3 months of the visit. |
| Looked After Children and Young People in Contact with Youth Justice Services | Section 2, Looked After Children who are Arrested has been updated in relation to appropriate adults. |
