REPORT TO: Halton Safeguarding Children Board

REPORT TO: Halton Safeguarding Children Board

DATE:09/06/2015

REPORTING OFFICER:Katherine Appleton

Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO)

SUBJECT:Management of Allegations Made Against an Adult who Works With Children-Annual Report

Period 1st April 2014 – 31st March 2015

1.0Recommendations

• Data collected will include length of time between referral and convening of the strategy meeting

2.0Issues and Learning Outcomes

2.1 / As can be seen from the figures 4.1, 67 contact forms were sent to the LADO this year. As discussed in the previous LADO report, the LADO requested that agencies complete a consultation form for all situations were advice was being sought from the LADO on specific concerns. This was to ensure that the employer and the LADO had the exact same information recorded. This has been implemented by agencies and their support and understanding on this matter is acknowledged and appreciated by the LADO.
2.2 / The LADO is also receiving calls for advice from agencies who are not completing the consultation forms and in a majority of these instances it relates to matters were it is unclear whether the LADO should be involved, for example if the professional is not working with children. In all these instances no personal information is given and the LADO does not record the advice. Other contacts made to the LADO relate to queries over legislation and application notably the Disqualification by Association legislation, advice on policies, calls for information in respect of risk assessment of new areas and calls from the DBS for clarity on LADO involvement recorded on the police systems. These contacts are often quickly managed but can be high in number.
2.3 / The inclusion of schools in the Disqualification by Association legislation led to an increase in calls for advice and there was much confusion over the application of this by schools. Disqualification by association has been in place for a number of years in respect of Childminders, Nursery workers and Foster Carers and was put in place to ensure that that professionals providing intimate care for a child were not living with a person deemed to be a risk to children. For Childminders and Foster carers this is especially important due to the care being provided within the home of the professional. The legislation was amended to include teachers who teach children up to the age of 5 and teachers who also worked within an afterschool club or breakfast club up to the age of 8 years. Unfortunately the legislation does not extend to other professionals who work with children who are vulnerable such as nurses, doctors or social workers.
The confusion in respect of the legislation was due to the DfE not providing clear guidance to schools in conjunction with the publication of the requirement. Nationally there was much debate by the education sector, DfE, OFSTED, LADO’s and independent agencies as to who and how schools could meet their legal requirements. The changes to the legislation were made in October 2014 and without consultation. The North West working group was represented at a meeting with the DfE to discuss the changes along with the consultation by the DfE on the role of the LADO, which will be discussed shortly. LADO’s where mentioned as a point of contact for schools when they identify that a teacher is living with a person from the age of 18 who has an offence that would disqualify them from working with children. The LADO’s raised issues regarding the lack of guidance from the DfE and the lack of advice from OFSTED in how to manage cases. The LADO’s right to address issues of suitability for which this type of relationship would be considered was removed in 2013 and left a significant gap in keeping children safe. It was therefore a concern that whilst the LADO could not address issues of this nature they were to be notified and consulted on the risk assessments under the new legislation which form part of the suitability issue. It was determined that the guidance that the DfE had initially published and which was to be reviewed in April was not sufficient for education provisions to act consistently and appropriately in order to fulfil their duties. The DfE failed to offer guidance on spent convictions and OFSTED were not providing employers with the advice needed in order to confirm that they had acted appropriately in respect of suspension or removal of a staff member from specific duties. As a result the DfE brought forward the guidance to February and this has since been issued to schools.
Positively police initially made a number of contacts with LADO’s to report issues around professionals of this nature although all of the notifications received related to those charged but not convicted and these do not require notification to the LADO.
The DfE this year issued consultation on the LADO role and pathway for referral. The proposed changes were strongly opposed by the north West group and other professionals such as the Lucy Faithful Foundation. The Lucy Faithful Foundation argued that the proposed changes watered down the role of the LADO were the DfE should be strengthening the role. The consultation ended and changes to the LADO were as follows:

• In future any new appointments to the LADO role must be as a qualified social worker.
• The pathway for a referral to the LADO can be determined by the Local Authority.
• The name of the LADO is referred to as the Designated Officer rather than the Local Authority Designated Officer (however the DfE were not consistent with this and did not make the same amendments within the KCSiE guidance.) The North West group have agreed to retain the LADO name as it is known now rather than change it.

2.4 / The National LADO day was attended by Halton and was hosted by a London borough. The day had speakers from Lucy Faithful, DfE, NSPCC and a chair of the LSCB from the hosting area. The information discussed was useful but unfortunately it did not provide any opportunity for group discussions. There is a further National LADO day planned in March 2016 and it was agreed to be an annual event.
2.5 / Of the 67 consultations received by the LADO 30 went to strategy meeting. The number of strategy meetings has fairly consistent over the last three years, with 39 last year and 36 the year before. The OFSTED inspection in December identified the LADO as a strength in Halton advising that Partner agencies were all confident with the role of LADO. The Inspector identified that the LADO should report on how quickly the strategy meetings are convened from point of referral, a new dataset has been developed to ensure that this can be incorporated. Within the interview with the inspector the frequency of reports was also highlighted and the inspector queried why the LADO did not report every Quarter. The LADO is only required to report on an annual basis to the Safeguarding Children Board (HSCB) but in Halton the reports are completed 6 monthly. It is the View of the LADO that quarterly reporting is not required in Halton due to the size of the authority and that there are not sufficient referrals to require quarterly reporting. In light of a number of HSCB priorities within this year the LADO was not able to complete the 6 monthly reports for the Board but provided a brief overview of the work undertaken.
2.6 / Cases not progressing to Strategy meeting
Those cases not progressing to strategy meeting are more likely to be complaints regarding restraints rather than allegations of assault. The line between complaints and allegations in respect of physical harm can be difficult at times for employers and frequently the LADO is notified in order to ensure that the right decisions are being made. The LADO would continue to encourage this type of contact in order to ensure that a potential assault does not get overlooked.
Other referrals not resulting in a strategy meeting involved referrals to the Halton LADO were the professional worked in a different area and as a result the matter was transferred to the appropriate LADO.
One referral to the LADO was made by a child placed in Halton with carers approved by the same placing authority. As the carer was only used by the Liverpool and the child was from Liverpool the LADOs in both areas discussed the appropriateness of Halton convening the meeting and it was agreed that Liverpool would convene and notify Halton of the outcome.
One referral to the LADO was in respect of a historical sex abuse allegation. This did not progress to the LADO as the alleged perpetrator had died.
The LADO has seen an increase in retracted allegations this year. Of those made three retracted allegations were made against the same professional by a group of young people. As reported Previously and is apparent in the retracted allegations the LADO’s have had to reinforce to placing authorities the requirement for the social worker to visit the child and clarify the allegation. In one instance the discussion was held over the telephone and this was challenged by the LADO. When a child retracts an allegation it is important that the LADO is satisfied that the retraction is not coerced by the setting. The most appropriate way to do this is by ensuring the social worker meets with the child away from the placement and ensures that the child knows that if they have been harmed they will be protected. In this instance the allegation was made to a police officer who reported that they believed the allegations lacked substance and in discussions with the social workers the children confirmed that it was not true.
2.7 / LADO’s Progressed to strategy meeting
This year 4 referrals have been received in respect of police officers all of which related to allegations of harm during arrest. In each occasion the investigation concluded appropriate restraint.
In one particular case the referral to the LADO was made by the provider for a young person. It was believed by the staff on duty that the police had used unnecessary force during a restraint.
The investigation concluded that the officers involved used the force necessary in order to restrain the young person during arrest, the investigation also highlighted that the staff on duty should have intervened and restrained the young person themselves as they can do in order to prevent harm to others or themselves. This view was supported by the investigating officers determination that had the staff restrained the young person the force required would not have been to the extent as it was as a result of the officers restraining.
This year saw the first allegation made against an Au Pair. This allegation was difficult as the employer is the parent. The employer is responsible under the statutory guidance and legislation to arrange investigation and referral to the DBS were appropriate. Within this allegation and investigation it was determined that the parent had not acted appropriately and as a result a referral was made to Children’s Social Care. The other difficulty encountered was dealing with the agency that held the Au Pair on their books. Whilst the agency act as a broker they do not accept responsibility for being the employer as it is the parent that employs them. Ultimately the matter ended with the Au Pair no longer working in this country and the Broker agency confirming that they will be removed from their books.
One LADO meeting convened Last year concluded as unsubstantiated. This year, after the finding of fact concluded the abuse took place, the findings were amended to reflect the court ruling. The case will be re-opened by the LADO due to additional information received from the finding of fact in respect of behaviours from other staff members within the organisation.
A referral in respect of a foster carer was received after a foster child was in a car accident whilst being driven to school. The foster carer was arrested after suspicions of alcohol use. The concerns were substantiated and the foster carer’s registration will be reviewed at panel. In this instance the child remained in placement with agreements implemented in order to ensure the child was not placed at risk.
2.8 / Learning Outcomes
Within this reporting year there have been two occasions were the LADO has raised issue with OFSTED regarding their delay in making a decision to suspend a staff member. Both instances related to Childminders. The 2013 Working Together clearly placed responsibility on the employer to take immediate action to safeguard other children. Whilst suspension needs to be considered as the last option OFSTED’s decisions regarding suspension was delayed. In the first instance they did not suspend because the childminder stated that they would not work prior to the conclusion of the investigation. When the childminder stated they wished to continue child minding two children OFSTED advised that they would consider suspension if she did further advising that the LADO and the police would need to determine whether her continued work was appropriate. The professional was advised by the LADO that this was not accurate and the named LADO contacted OFSTED to advise them of their responsibility to make a decision that the childminder was either suspended or was ok to continue in her role whilst the investigation was progressed. The LADO advised that the use of informal agreements was not appropriate and that they needed to determine whether they were satisfied she did not present an immediate risk and allow her to continue in her role or suspend her pending further investigation. Ultimately they determined she could continue child minding whilst the matter was investigated.
The second delay related to OFSTED advising the strategy group that they would not make a decision on suspension until the LADO strategy meeting. The Duty LADO in agreement with the named LADO escalated this and reminded OFSTED that the delay in making a decision regarding suspension was not appropriate and the LADO strategy meeting was to agree the method of investigation, criteria for investigation, points for investigation and timescales but was not to determine suspension as this was an employer’s responsibility.
In one referral made to the LADO it was identified that there had been a delay in reporting the matter to the LADO and the investigation was already completed by the employer. The LADO group met to ensure that all aspects were dealt with appropriately and that there were no parts of the allegation that was overlooked.
This year the NSPCC have made inappropriate referrals and refused to complete the LADO consultation form. The inappropriate referrals related to a matter that was already being addressed by another local authority but was shared with Halton as it was believed we would want the information. This constitutes a breach of confidentiality and was raised with the NSPCC. The second referral related to information that a sex offender was breaching his order, this case had a number of other issues connected to it such as absent information and as a result an email response was sent to the NSPCC advising them that they should contact the police rather than the LADO. The matter took three days to resolve and ultimately the NSPCC agreed to contact the police with the information. The other problems relate to the NSPCC making referrals directly to the LADO. When this was addressed and it was highlighted that the Out of Office stated referrals must be made to the secure email address as the LADO was not available the NSPCC advised that they were reluctant to send the referral to the secure email address however there has not been any further incidents of this nature. The issue regarding the NSPCC was raised at the North West LADO meeting and it was agreed that in the event of further issues, a meeting would be arranged with the NSPCC to discuss this directly.
2.9 / Training
At the beginning of the year the annual LADO briefing took place and was supported by a high school who presented a case study on their experience of the process from start to finish. The LADO briefing session was well received with all the feedback being positive. This year the session was completed in one day with three separate briefing slots provided. This worked well and the next session is planned for April 2015. The focus of the session will be to consider previous public enquiries and Serious case reviews in order to focus on developing safe environment for children.
2.10 / Summary
The numbers of allegations proceeding to strategy meeting have remained steady over the last three years and a consistent threshold is applied by the duty the LADO’s. Agencies continue to seek advice on cases when needed and consultation forms are completed in order to ensure consistent recordings across agencies and LADO in respect of advice provided.
There have been calls made directly to the named LADO and messages left, which can result in delays due to the current working arrangements across two local authorities. This has been addressed by the named LADO placing the out of office on advising that all consultation forms are to be forwarded to the secure unit email address and a recorded voicemail message advising the caller not to leave a message but to contact the duty worker.

3.0 Training/Briefing