About this guidance

This guidance sets out how organisations and individuals should work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and how practitioners should conduct the assessment of children.

This guidance replaces Working Together to Safeguard Children (2010); The Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families (2000); and statutory guidance on making arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children under section 11 of the Children Act 2004 (2007). Links to relevant supplementary guidance that professionals should consider alongside this guidance can be found at Appendix C of this guidance.

The guidance is effective from 15 April 2013.

What legislation does this guidance relate to?

This guidance is issued under:

  • Section 7 of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970, which requires local authorities in their social services functions to act under the general guidance of the Secretary of State;
     
  • Section 11 (4) of the Children Act 2004 which requires each person or body to which the section 11 duty applies to have regard to any guidance given to them by the Secretary of State; and
     
  • Section 16 of the Children Act 2004, which states that local authorities and each of the statutory partners must, in exercising their functions relating to Local Safeguarding Children Boards, have regard to any guidance given to them by the Secretary of State.

The guidance applies to other organisations as set out in Chapter 2 of this guidance.

This guidance should be complied with unless exceptional circumstances arise. 

Who is this guidance for?

This statutory guidance should be read and followed by local authority chief executives, directors of children’s services, local safeguarding children board chairs and senior managers within organisations who commission and provide services for children and families, including social workers and professionals from health services, adult services, the police, academy trusts, education and the voluntary and community sector who have contact with children and families. 

All relevant professionals should read and follow this guidance so that they can respond to individual children’s needs appropriately.

Key points

The guidance clarifies the core legal requirements, making it much clearer what individuals and organisations should do to keep children safe and promote their welfare.

It is intended to provide a national framework within which agencies and professionals at local level – individually and jointly – draw up and agree on their own ways of working together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

Expiry/review date

This guidance is effective from 15 April 2013. It will be kept under review and updated as necessary.