Connexions West of England aims to ensure that every young person has access to the best possible information, advice, guidance and personal support through their teenage years to help them prepare for their adult life.
All staff of Connexions West of England have a duty of care that extends to all young people with whom they have contact. As the main target group of the Connexions Service is 13-19 year olds the terms of the Children Act (1989) will apply to virtually any young person who comes in contact with the service. The term ‘child’ within the Children Act relates to anyone under the age of 18,or 19 if vulnerable (The term vulnerable describes those young people up to the age of 19 who have special educational needs, or emotional behavioural difficulties or disabilities)
Working in formal and informal settings Connexions staff should be alert to possible indicators of abuse and neglect. Child Protection Awareness Training, Level 1, is mandatory for all Connexions Personal Advisers. They must work to the current Connexions West of England Child Protection procedures/guidelines and in addition will be expected to familiarise themselves with the appropriate sections of this handbook.
Connexions will respect the right of young people to make informed decisions appropriate to their development/age. Staff who are concerned about the safety or well being of a child /young person will follow referral procedures within the children in need process.
Managing Referrals
Any incident that is covered by the terms of the Children Act 1989 (Section 47) must be reported with or without the young person’s permission. As soon as possible after a disclosure or suspicion staff must contact their line manager/another manager or the designated local Connexions Child Protection Lead Person (usually the Connexions Development Manager).
Referrals will be as follows:
- Where the young person is seen at school the referral contact will be the designated school Child Protection Officer.
- Where the young person is of school age but is seen outside school or is not attending for any reason referral is direct to Social Services area office and the school Child Protection Officer is informed.
- If the young person has left school and is under the age of 18 (19 if vulnerable) any referral should be made direct to Social Services. This includes young people seen at college and work based learning premises.
- When the disclosure takes place where the young person has been seen jointly with another professional e.g. Youth Worker, Education Welfare Officer, Learning Mentor, a decision will need to be made, and recorded, on who should make the referral.
- Under extreme circumstances, where it is not possible to get a response from Social Services, staff are advised to contact the police to request help
Any contact must be followed up with a copy of the Connexions West of England Child Protection Referral Form. Any telephone referral should be followed up in writing within 48 hours.
As part of the duty of care staff should follow up any referral within 3 working days to check progress. Staff are encouraged to seek personal support through the Connexions West of England Supervision and Support Procedures if they feel that handling the disclosure has had a disturbing effect on them.
Contact the Connexions Development Manager for Bath and North East Somerset, Connexions West of England, Charter House, The Square, Lower Bristol Road, Bath, BA2 3BH ( Tel: 01225 461501) for a full copy of the current Connexions West of England Child Protection procedures.