Highland Council social care - children and families

Local authorities have a duty to promote, support and safeguard the wellbeing of all children in need in their area, and, insofar as is consistent with that duty, to promote the upbringing of children by their families by providing a range and level of services appropriate to children's welfare and wellbeing needs.

Each child has the right to protection from all forms of abuse, neglect or exploitation. In child protection processes local authorities will ensure that each child's views are taken into account in decisions that affect their lives. The welfare of the child is the paramount consideration.

The local authority must make all necessary inquiries into the child's circumstances if it appears that the child is in need of protection, guidance, treatment or control, and if it might be necessary for a Compulsory Supervision Order to be made in relation to the child. The local authority must give the Principal Reporter any information they have about the child.

Guidance for local authorities stipulates that, where children are in need of protection and/or in danger of serious exploitation or significant harm, a registered social worker will be accountable for carrying out enquiries and making recommendations, where necessary, as to whether or not the child or young person should be the subject of compulsory protection measures (Role of the registered social worker in statutory interventions: guidance for local authorities).

Children and family social workers also either directly provide or facilitate access to services to support vulnerable children and families. Social workers are involved in work to support parenting capacity and confidence by working in partnership with sources of support within the family, and in arranging services to help children recover from the impact of abuse and neglect. This may include consideration of Self-Directed Support.

For children in need of care and protection, social workers usually act as lead professional, co‑ordinating services and support as agreed in the Child Protection Plan.

Social workers play a key role in helping to ensure that suitable care arrangements are put in place by identifying appropriate placements, assessing and supporting kinship carers and foster carers, and supporting children within these placements.

In fulfilling the local authorities' responsibilities to children in need of protection, social work services have a number of key roles. These include:

• co‑ordinating multi-agency risk assessments as defined in Part 3
• arranging Child Protection Planning Meetings
• maintaining the child protection register
• discharging the local authority's duty to refer to the Principal Reporter children who may be in need of a Compulsory Supervision Order
• supervising the child on behalf of the local authority as 'the implementation authority', giving effect to the decisions of children's hearings

Please note: Where children and young people have a child protection plan, they should be seen by Social Work once a week (minimum).

Social workers work with children and young people involved in offending behaviour and play an important role in assessing and intervening with children and young people who may present risks to others. Such young people may need support in relation to experiences of neglect, trauma and abuse, as well as help to manage their offending behaviour. In those areas with specialist youth justice services, practitioners may be asked to contribute to risk assessments, as well as to support child's plans including those where protection is the primary issue.

Local authority social work services also have a responsibility to children from their own area who are placed outside the authority's geographical boundaries, or with kinship or foster carers or in establishments managed by providers other than the local authority.

From a safeguarding perspective, local authorities have duties to support migrant families with No Recourse to Public Funds. These families face a high risk of poverty and destitution. Guidance for local authorities on migrant rights and entitlements is available at 1.1 How to use this guidance | COSLA Strategic Migration Partnership (migrationscotland.org.uk).