5.3.2 Keeping Track of Children with a Child Protection Plan

1. Purpose

We keep a clear and up-to-date record of all children who have a Child Protection Plan (CPP) to help professionals work together to keep children safe. This includes children living in our area, even if another local authority placed them here.

2. What We Record

Children with a CPP are recorded under one or more of the following categories:

• physical abuse;
• emotional abuse;
• sexual abuse;
• neglect.

These categories reflect the main concerns identified at the Child Protection Conference.

3. Why This Matters

Recording this information helps:

• professionals know which children are at risk;
• services respond quickly and appropriately;
• local and national planning for children’s services.

4. Accessing Information

Professionals such as police or health staff can ask for information if they are worried about a child. This must be possible both during and outside office hours.

Before sharing any information:

• we check the identity and role of the person asking;
• we log the enquiry;
• if the child has a Lead Social Worker, we let them know about the enquiry.

If the enquiry is about a child living with or near a child with a CPP, we also inform the Lead Social Worker of the child with the CPP.

5. Who’s Responsible

Each Local Authority has a system in place for:

• ensuring records are accurate and up to date;
• ensuring enquiries and notifications and recorded;
• tracking children moving in or out of the area;
• managing alerts about people who may pose a risk to children;
• ensuring unsuitable people are not working with children.

6. Keeping Information Safe

All information is stored securely in the local authority’s IT system. Only people with a legitimate reason can access it.