Our Ref: COL/LBBD
Dear Director
We would like to let you know about the services available to children and young people in care, who may be placed in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham (LBBD) by other local authorities, including children placed for adoption. This letter also includes the process to notify us when a child in care is placed in LBBD or when their placement changes or ends.
Please share the information with all relevant professionals within your Local Authority so they are aware of what services are available.
The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham is based in East London and borders the London Boroughs of Redbridge, Newham and Havering.
Notifications
In line with the 2014 amendments to the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010, if you are planning on placing a child or young person within the boundaries of LBBD from another local authority which is either a neighbouring or an ‘at a distance’ placement you should consult with us. Please direct this consultation and up to date care plan for the child to our Access to Resources Team at:
– secure/confidential
– non-secure/NIL returns
– secure and confidential
If you are unsure if a placement is based within the boundary of LBBD, please use the following tool for clarification:
https://www.gov.uk/find-your-local-council.
A formal notification letter is attached to confirm the arrangements and the contact details for the allocated social worker,
Cont’d/….
Safeguarding
For child protection enquiries contact Children’s Services on: (0208) 227 3811.
For allegations made against those who work with children only, the LADO number is: 0208 227 3934 / 2265. This is not a general line of enquiry for children’s safeguarding.
1) Child Sexual Exploitation
The Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) has overall responsibility for ensuring that there is a co-ordinated, multi-agency response to the issues of Child Sexual Exploitation and Children Missing from Home, School or Care. All agencies have a responsibility to support that work.
Following the Pan London protocol, the LSCB has established a MASE ( Multi Agency Sexual Exploitation) Group to provide oversight for children deemed at risk of exploitation or trafficking. The MASE is chaired by a senior officer from the Metropolitan Police and includes representatives from Children’s Social Care, Health, YOS, and voluntary agencies who provide services to children at risk of CSE.
All referrals for children deemed at risk are routed through the borough’s MASH (Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub) from which there are agreed pathways for support.
2) Education
The Virtual School has oversight for all LBBD children in care at reception age, throughout their statutory education years and through the government initiative of raising the participation age. The service promotes the educational achievement of children in care through support and challenge to schools and other services regardless of where they are placed. The service also maintains an oversight for children from other local authorities placed in LBBD schools.
All LBBD schools, academies and colleges work in partnership with us to enable each child in care to access and attain the best possible outcomes. All LBBD schools and academies have a Designated Teacher for Children in Care to promote their educational achievement.
Janet Cassford is the Virtual School Head, Children in Care (Virtual School) and can be contacted via Kathleen Adams at or visit the Virtual School page at https://www.lbbd.gov.uk/residents/schools-and-learning/virtual-school
3) Special Educational Needs - Education, Health and Care (EHC) Team
When a child in care has an EHC Plan or a Statement of Special Educational Needs, admissions to school are arranged through the EHC Team. The contact for children and young people with SEN is Joseph Wilson – EHC Team Manager Should a child in care with a Statement of SEN / EHC Plan move into Barking and Dagenham please notify the EHC Team urgently who will be able to advice on appropriate educational options.
Every Local Authority is required to publish information about services that are available for children with SEN or disabilities and their families. Further information is available at The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham local offer https://www.lbbd.gov.uk/residents/children-young-people-and-families/local-offer/
4) School Admissions
In Year Applications
Children in care should not be placed in another authority without education provision in place.
In-year admissions for school places for all reception to year 11 pupils should be made on an ICAF (In Year Common Application Form) available to download online from our website or through the One Stop Shop in Dagenham Library, 1 Church Elm Lane, Dagenham RM10 9QS by the person with parental responsibility. Once completed the form should be submitted to the One Stop Shop.
The School Admissions team can help provide advice and support and can be contacted on 020 8215 3004.
For further information or to download an ICAF please see the Barking and Dagenham council website https://www.lbbd.gov.uk/residents/schools-and-learning/school-admissions/introduction/
Where it is considered that a child in care needs provision other than mainstream, the application will be referred to a Caseworker, if the child has a statement of educational need or an Education Health Care Plan they should be referred to the EHC team 020 8227 2400.
The council uses a different process for applications in the normal admissions round (those starting school for the first time in Reception, transfers from infant to junior school and transfers from primary to secondary school) the relevant form will need to be completed and guidance regarding these applications can be found on our website.
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Early Years
Early Years, Childcare and Nursery Provision
Children Looked After aged 2, 3 or 4 are eligible for up to15 hours of free early education and childcare which can be accessed at any provider that offers Free Early Education Entitlement places including:
• Day nurseries
• Children’s Centre nurseries
• child minders
• Pre-schools
• primary school nursery classes
All providers delivering the Early Years Foundation Stage have access to early years advisers and specialist teachers, who will give advice and guidance in providing appropriate support whenever a child that is looked after is placed in the setting. To ensure that all children are supported, when a child from another local authority is placed in an early years setting in LBBD we would ask that they inform us by contacting: .
Our Family Information Service (FIS) provides free up to date and impartial advice and guidance on the full range of Ofsted registered childcare and early years education in LBBD. The FIS can also be contacted at or by telephone on 0208 227 5395.
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5) Youth Offending Service
The principal aim of the Youth Offending Service (YOS) is to prevent offending and re-offending by young people aged 10 to 17 who have been arrested as a result of their offending behaviour. Secondary aims are to address the harm caused by their offending to specific victims and to communities, to address the needs of these young offenders to bring about change that will improve their life chances. The principles underpinning the work of LBBD YOS start with the belief that young people are capable of change and that our role as professionals is to facilitate this by building meaningful relationships with the young people who use our service in order to inspire, motivate and empower them to make positive changes.
The YOS is committed to working with our partner agencies to avoid, wherever possible, children becoming looked after through custodial remands and to prevent, wherever possible, young people being sentenced to custody. We have agreed standards for information exchange with the YOS, relating to young people known to Children’s Social Care who subsequently become known to the YOS. We work closely in partnership with Independent Reviewing Officers and YOS staff are always invited to attend core group meetings and other professionals’ meetings as necessary.
Our commitment to the positive engagement of young people and those important in their networks can be seen as a common thread running through all our Policies and Processes.
LBBD YOS can be contacted on 0208 227 3998
Cont’d/…
6) Access to Health Services
All Looked After Children living in LBBD must be registered with a local GP, dentist and optician. They will have access to universal services, including Health Visiting and School Nursing (if attending a local school).
Looked After Children will require Statutory Health Assessments and these will be co-ordinated by the North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) for the area in which the child is living. Initial Health Assessments are carried out by paediatricians and Review Health Assessments by the most appropriate Health Professional who in most cases will either be a Specialist Looked After Children Nurse, Health Visitor or School Nurse. Details of how to access the team for the area in which the child is living can be found on the LBBD website under ‘health’ and webpage information can be collected from there.
Most of this information appears to be on https://www.lbbd.gov.uk/residents/children-young-people-and-families/local-offer/ There are different categories under each.
If you would like to include information from the NELFT website about all health services for children in LBBD offered by NELFT, please include: http://www.nelft.nhs.uk/services-barking-0-5 and http://www.nelft.nhs.uk/services-barking-5-19
7) Integrated Youth Service and Children in Care Council
Our Integrated Youth Service offers a range of universal and targeted programmes for young people aged 9-19 (or 25 with SEND). Universal youth provision includes three bespoke youth centres, five weekly youth clubs that are hosted in community settings and a mobile youth bus that is located in up to five locations a week. IYS additionally deliver the Duke of Edinburgh Award bronze level and the Barking and Dagenham Youth Forum (our youth parliament). Targeted provision includes hosting a weekly youth club for young people with SEND, a peer support group for those with low self-esteem and an LGBTQ youth group. We also deliver an adult volunteer mentor programme for young people deemed at risk of poor outcomes. For further details please visit our bespoke website for young people - http://youth4us.lbbd.gov.uk/.
IYS is responsible for the participation and rights of looked after children. This includes the provision of our Children in Care Council, Skittlz, our Children’s Rights Officer, independent advocacy and independent visiting, as well as delivering a popular LAC youth club that arranges many different activities across the year. For further details please visit our bespoke website for looked after children - www.careweb.tv.
Barnardo’s provide the independent advocacy service for Barking and Dagenham children in care and care leavers. They can be contacted on 0800 652 4546 for advice on obtaining advocacy for children and young people from other local authorities.
We hope that the time your child or young person spends in LBBD will be positive and, if we can provide any advice or support, please do not hesitate to contact the appropriate service.
Yours sincerely
Joanne Tarbutt
Group Manager – Looked After Children, Adoption and Prevention Services
London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
3rd Floor - Roycraft House, 15 Linton Road, Barking ,Essex. IG11 8HE
www.facebook.com/barkinganddagenham