Child protection
Nothing is more important than children’s welfare. Every child deserves to grow up in a safe, stable and loving home. Children who need help and protection deserve high quality and effective support.
Where we believe that a child appears to be at risk of harm, we have a duty by law to investigate their situation. We talk to the child, their family and all those agencies who are directly involved. Responsibility for initiating child protection enquiries lies with local authority children's social care in whose area the child lives or is found.
Children's services aims to help parents in the best interests of their children. They want to understand the families' situations and what needs to change to improve them. In Tower Hamlets we use our C change model.
C Change model
Connect
Spend time getting to know the child and building trust.
Curious
Undertake assessments with curiosity
Community
Build a community. Help to identify and strengthen the support available to a child through their family and friends network; and make use of specialist services.
Co-produce
Co-produce a plan: Work with children and their families to create a realistic safety plan that reduces risks and increases support. Ensure all plans, including multi-agency meetings are co-produced with those involved in delivering them.
Collaborate
Collaborate for change
Check back
Make sure plans are reviewed to consider if the support in place is working as intended and achieving the right outcomes. If not, consider what changes are needed.
In some situations where a crime may have been committed we will also involve the police.
The assessment
If the assessment indicates that the child is likely to be at continuing risk of harm. This can be physical, emotional, sexual (CSE) or neglect – a child protection conference may be called. This is a meeting of all key agencies involved with the child, the key family members and the child where appropriate.
The child protection plan
The child protection conference decides if a child is at ongoing risk and needs a protection plan. This plan outlines actions for agencies and the family to reduce risks and meet the child's needs. They meet regularly to review progress.
We hope that children with a protection plan can stay home. We want to resolve the issues, reduce harm, and end the plan.
A meeting of all the family members can be arranged. This is called a family group conference. It helps the family identify extended family members who can help in keeping the child safe and meeting their needs.
At times, we are so worried about a child's safety, or we have failed to keep them safe at home, that we must arrange for them to stay elsewhere.. When this happens, we will always look for alternative carers within the family first.
Are you worried a child is at risk?
If you are concerned that a child or young person is being harmed through abuse or neglect you should contact the children's services advice and assessment team on 020 7364 5601 or 020 7364 5606.
Alternatively, you can speak to a police officer, teacher, health visitor, doctor or the NSPCC.