The Integrated Children’s System provided a framework for the development of electronic recording systems for children’s social care in accordance with the assessment framework and other guidance and regulation. Whilst local authorities were originally required to commission or develop a system in accordance with this framework, these requirements were relaxed in 2009 and an "expert panel" established to develop proposals for the improvement and simplification of the existing systems.

On 10 June 2010, ministers announced the launch of a review of child protection, headed by Professor Eileen Munro. Professor Munro’s review commented on the use of electronic recording systems, making it clear that getting effective recording systems in place to support practice is critical. Although mandatory requirements to use the prescribed recording system have been removed, most systems currently in use were developed on that basis. A major challenge for local redesign is therefore to develop, with social workers, new ICT systems to meet their case recording needs.

Professor Munro recommends that in designing or procuring new software, local authorities should have regard to the following three principles:
 

  • recording systems for child and family social work should meet the critical need to maintain a systemic and family narrative, which describes all the events associated with the interaction between a social worker, other professionals and the child and their family;
  • ICT systems for child and family social work should be able to adapt with relative ease to changes in local child protection system needs, operational structures and data performance requirements; and
  • the analysis of requirements for ICT-based systems for child and family social work should primarily be based on a human-centred analysis of what is required by frontline workers; any clashes between the functional requirements that have been identified by this process and those associated with management information reporting should normally be resolved in terms of the former.


The guidance developed by the expert panel continues to be relevant to the modification of existing electronic recording systems in accordance with the principles set out above. This guidance can be viewed using the links on the left hand side of this page.