Details of the complaint – continued

Please send to:

Central Point of Receipt, 11th Floor,

Lunar House,

40 Wellesley Road, Croydon,

CR9 2BY

Or they may send an email to: [email protected]

Appendix B - Features that may indicate abuse

The following is a brief list of features highlighted in the Home Office Code of Practice on

Keeping Children Safe from Harm (available on Horizon) that can be used as signs in identifying cases where a referral may be appropriate. They include:

 Bruising;

 Scarring;

 Burns;

 Very poor hygiene including untreated infections and infestations;

 An unusual level of withdrawal or lack of communication and engagement with adults;

 Fearful attitude to carers;

 Inappropriate approaches to strangers;

 Inebriation of adult carers;

 Signs of domestic violence between adults and carers;

 Rough handling or contemptuous attitude to the child by carers;

 Evidence that adults in the household have convictions for sexual or drug offences.

 Unexplained names changes

 Parents who register a birth under an alias

When dealing with applications on paper, caseworkers must look beyond the principal applicant and take full account of any child on the application. Relationships and the date of birth must be checked as well as the history of applications and, if a child is suddenly included or dropped when compared to a previous application, caseworkers must explore the circumstances Remember this list is not exhaustive and decisions should be made after taking into account and weighing individual factors.

Children without adult care Unaccompanied children

When an unaccompanied child approaches the Home Office for asylum they will be screened and immediately put in the care of the local Children’s Services Department, who will assume responsibility for their welfare.

However, in some cases where a child has entered as part of a family or with a carer, these relationships may break down or parent(s) can abandon children in the UK. If this happens, referral will need to be made to Children’s Services as soon as possible if they are not already aware of the situation. If it is not immediately apparent that this has been done, checks should be made with the case owner.

Children who arrive separately from their parents or guardians

Where a child has entered the UK after their parent(s) (or other responsible adult) particular care should be taken. Where the child arrived in the UK after their parent(s) and the parent(s) have a previous asylum/human rights claim that has been refused, the requirement is that the child must be presented in person at a LEO or Local Immigration Team where they will be fingerprinted, interviewed on method of entry and relationship to the adult and recorded on CID. In all cases, it will be necessary to obtain the parent(s) file.

The child’s relationship to and the identity of their parent(s) must be established by the case- owner and recorded on CID notes and on the file. For example, there may be evidence from:

If the case owner has established that the child is in the care of their parent(s), or an acceptable adult carer, or is covered by an adoption arrangement recognised in the UK, and there is no evidence to suggest that the child is at risk, then no further referral action would be necessary. If it is not apparent that this has been done, checks should be made with the case owner.

Where the child is not in the care of their parents nor in a recognised arrangement (adoption or private fostering) and the child is deemed to be in immediate danger, an immediate referral to Children’s Services or Child Protection Teams should be made. Children who entered the UK as part of a pre-existing family group are less likely to fall into one of the risk categories listed above however, the nature of the relationship with the adult(s) responsible for their care, usually their parent(s), but which may also be an adult sibling, should be established before continuing with the case. If it is not apparent that this has been done, checks should be made with the case owner.

Private fostering

A private fostering arrangement is essentially one that is made privately (between the birth parent(s) and foster carer without the involvement of a local authority) for the care of a child who is under the age of 16 (under 18, if disabled) by someone other than a parent or close relative for 28 days or more. Private foster carers may be from the extended family such as a cousin or great aunt or may be a friend of the family or someone unknown to the family (i.e. not a relative under the Children Act, so not an aunt, grandparent, step-parent or sibling).

It is a legal requirement for a private foster carer to notify the local authority of a private

fostering arrangement, and is an offence without reasonable excuse, to fail to do so. Where it is believed that an arrangement may be a private fostering arrangement and the caseworker is satisfied that the local authority has not, or will not, be notified, the situation should be reported to Children’s Services. If you cannot see that this has already been done, please contact the case owner to check.

Annex C Making a Child Welfare Referral 5.1 Who should make a referral?

5.1.1 It should not be assumed that the case owner for a family’s or child’s application is solely responsible for identifying whether a child is at risk. Any contact, e.g. interviews, phone calls, or written correspondence, between an individual child or the adults who care for them and Immigration Enforcement, UK Visas & Immigration and Border Force, present another opportunity to re-evaluate whether that child may be being harmed or at risk of being harmed. Safeguarding Children is an ongoing process and just because a child did not appear to be at risk of harm when first encountered does not mean that the situation has not changed since.

5.1.2 Every member of staff, including those handling complaints, has a duty to apply the training they have received to identify children at risk of neglect, abuse or harm whilst undertaking their normal duties. If during the normal course of their duties – in this case, whilst handling or responding to complaints – a child at risk is identified, staff should contact Police and/or Social Services about their concerns, if there is no record of a referral having been made previously. Home Office paper and electronic records should also be updated to ensure others in Immigration Enforcement, UK Visas & Immigration and Border Force and Border Force are aware of the referral.

5.2 Identifying children at risk of harm

5.2.1 The ‘Keeping Children Safe’ E-Learning courses and ‘Children in Need’ guidance issued to Immigration Enforcement, UK Visas & Immigration and Border Force should help staff to recognise child protection issues and identify cases where referral is appropriate. 5.2.2 Staff have a responsibility to make a referral to Local Authority Child Safeguarding

Services if there are signs that a child is:

 experiencing or may already have experienced, abuse or neglect;

 under 18 and has no adult to care for them;

 under 16 and is not living with adult parent(s) or adult siblings; or

 in the case of an unborn child, likely to experience harm or abuse.

 A potential victim of exploitation or trafficking

5.2.3 Staff may also make a referral if young people, parent(s) or carers:

 require the assistance of a welfare agency to support the family; or

 need help to cope with a disability or other special need.

5.2.4 All cases involving children (whether accompanied or unaccompanied) must be assessed against a list of basic indicators that may show that they meet one of the categories listed above. Although in most cases this will already have been done by the case owner or by staff at the point of arrival in the UK, complaints handlers should still consider whether any information that has been provided as part of the complaints

process might indicate a change in circumstances that now places a child at risk of harm. 5.2.5 Indicators that may raise concerns could be where there is evidence that the child:

 is in the UK without their natural parent(s);

 has been abandoned by their parent(s);

 arrived in the UK with family members but has since left the family unit and made an application in their own right;

 arrived in the UK with an adult but has since submitted an application in their own right;

 was part of a family unit on a previous application but has left the family unit and there is no evidence of where the child is now (see ‘https://horizon.fcos.gsi.gov.uk/file-

 appears to be in a private fostering arrangement but there is no evidence of this arrangement being registered with Children’s Services and/or no referral to Children’s Services has been made;

 has changed their principle carer since they last had contact with the Immigration Enforcement, UK Visas & Immigration and Border Force;

 has an application made on their behalf by someone who is not their natural parent; or

 There is evidence on file that the child has previously come to the attention of Children’s Services, Educational Welfare, Police or other agencies that have had concerns for any aspect of a child’s welfare/safety.

 Child’s identity is in question or of concern.

5.2.6 If a member of staff receives or identifies information during the handling of a complaint, e.g. whilst checking Home Office electronic records, that could be an indicator that a child is at risk of harm and it is not apparent that a child safeguarding referral has been made, the case owner should be contacted to confirm what the position is and, if appropriate, agree who should make the referral.

5.2.7 Similarly, where a member of staff identifies that a referral to local authority child safeguarding services has been made in the past but there is no clear outcome, they should make contact with the department that were previously dealing with the case to ensure that there is no ongoing action. The Home Office file and CID should then be updated to record any exchanges and proposed further action.

5.3 When to make a referral

5.3.1 If a member of staff notes any of the above indicators they should discuss their concerns with their line management and seek agreement to making a child welfare referral .The type of referral will depend on the urgency and whether immediate steps to protect the child should be taken.

5.3.2 In cases where it is believed the child is in immediate danger the relevant Duty Social Work Team or Duty Child Protection Team should be contacted. This may involve an emergency call 999 call to the Police.

5.3.3 A referral to the local authority Child Safeguarding Services must be made in the following circumstances:

 When there are any visible features of abuse (see Appendix B: features that may indicate abuse);

 When a child appears to have no adult to care for them and Children’s Services do not appear to have been notified;

(see Appendix B: Children without adult care)

 When a private fostering arrangement has been identified; (see Appendix B: Private Fostering)

 When a child is a potential victim of trafficking; (see Appendix B: Trafficking)

 When a child is identified as having gone missing; (see Appendix B: Missing Children)

 Where there is evidence that adults in the household have convictions for sexual or drug offences.

5.3.4 If a member of staff has concerns about a child that do not fall into one of the above categories, they should discuss their concerns with their line management and decide

whether to make a referral. The Office of the Children’s Champion (OCC) would be able to offer advice on particularly difficult or sensitive cases.

5.4 How to make the referral Initial phone call

5.4.1 The referral must be made immediately by telephone to the Local Authority. (Contact details for each Local Authority can be found in the Social Services Yearbook.) In that call the person making the referral must:

 where possible, agree the proposed course of action to be taken by the Local Authority; and

 note the names of people (and contact details) with whom contact has been made; and

 state in the telephone call that the referral will be confirmed by sending through an email of a completed Home Office Referral to Child Welfare Services Form (ASL.2558). 5.4.2 A written record must then be made on the HO file of when and how the referral was

made and a copy of the completed Referral to Child Welfare Services form on Horizon should be retained on file. The referral must also be noted on the applicants’ CID notes so that this information is available to all Immigration Enforcement, UK Visas &

Immigration and Border Force and staff who may have contact with the relevant child or family.

Completion of the Referral to Child Welfare Services form

5.4.3 All referrals to Children’s Services should be made using Referral to Child Welfare Services form available on the Keeping Children Safe from Harm webpage. Referral to Child Welfare services

Use the Guidance on Referring Children to Welfare Agencies is located on Horizon to assist in its completion. Referral to Child Welfare services

Remember to:

 include as much accurate information as possible on the form;

 obtain consent (if required) to share the information;

 ask for written acknowledgement of the referral;

5.5 After the referral has been made

5.5.1 Once the local authority has confirmed that they have received the Referral to Child Welfare Services form POISE / INDIGO, a copy of the confirmation should be placed on the investigation file. The HO file and the CID record should also be updated with:

 the confirmation of receipt;

 any decisions taken (clearly timed, dated and signed); and

 the names (and contact details) of the people with whom contact has been made. 5.5.2 The child may already be known to Children’s Services. However, only when there is

written confirmation from Children’s Services that the child has been removed to a place of safety or that Children’s Services have checked that the child is safe and no further action will be taken by them should it be considered that there is no further action required by Immigration Enforcement, UK Visas & Immigration and Border Force. 5.5.3 Any further discussions and/or correspondence with Children’s Services should be

recorded on the HO file and on CID. Similarly, any advice provided by line management and any agreed action and review dates should be recorded, too. Finally, the Children’s Co-ordinator should also be provided with details of the referral and confirmation of the final outcome.

5.5.4 A referral to Children’s Services does not automatically preclude the continuation of a PSU investigation or prevent a line manager from resolving a minor misconduct

complaint. The purpose of the referral is to notify the Children’s Services that there may be a child at risk in their area and that they are responsible for the welfare of that child. 5.5.5 However, there may be circumstances where it is appropriate to delay making or issuing

a decision until the local authority have completed any action they are taking. This will depend mainly on whether the child’s circumstances have a direct bearing on the matter complained about, or they have an impact on how the child can be involved in the

complaint investigation or resolution process.