Where the life of a child is at risk or there is a likelihood of serious immediate harm, children's social care, the police or the NSPCC must act quickly to secure the immediate safety of the child. Emergency action may be necessary as soon as a referral is received, or at any point during involvement with children and families. The need for emergency action may become apparent only over time, as more is learned about the circumstances. Neglect as well as abuse can pose such a risk of significant harm to a child that urgent protective action is needed. When deciding whether emergency action is required, workers should always consider whether action is also needed to protect other children in the same household (for example, siblings), in the household of an alleged perpetrator, or elsewhere. [WTSC 2010 5.51]
The social worker should immediately alert the team manager who will make a decision about what immediate protective steps need to be taken. The social worker should also check whether the child is subject to a child protection plan. A strategy discussion must be held.
Social workers must balance the need to take immediate action with the aim of building a reasonable working relationship with the parents and the child. It is best to consider several options for action and decide which one is best, taking into account
the needs of the child
the child's views, and
the long term relationship that the social worker will build with them and their parents.
Crises often escalate when a key worker is absent over a weekend or public holiday (Reder and Duncan 1999, p 17).
The most important factor for success is the quality of the relationship between a child's family and the professionals involved, where the family accept the need for enquiries, and there is some agreement on what should happen.
In 25 out of 40 case reviews, poor practice in information sharing was a factor (Bullock 2002). The fact that there is no recorded information on a particular issue is often mistakenly taken to mean that it is absent in reality. See Owers M et al: Learning how to make children safe, UEA (1999)
From a study of 45 serious case reviews in 1996, Munro identifies a reluctance to alter or shift early judgments, even as the evidence of risk accumulates. See Munro E: Avoidable and unavoidable mistakes in child protection work, in the British Journal of Social Work, XXVI, p795-810.
To summarise: be clear and open with the family, plan for absences and holidays, keep an open mind about all possibilities and keep on checking out and sharing information.
June 2010
