Information for Workers

Children & Families (Social Services)

As a local authority Children Service, we are responsible for the welfare and safety of children, working in partnership with other public organisations such as health, education, the police, the voluntary sector, service users and carers.

Our key objectives are to ensure that

• children stay safe
• are healthy
• enjoy and achieve
• make a positive contribution
• achieve economic well being.

We provide a wide range of support and care to children and their families, including: children at risk of harm; disabled children; unaccompanied asylum seeking or refugee children, young people with mental health or substance misuse problems, young offenders; and families where children have special needs, and for those children who need to be looked after by the local authority through fostering, residential care or who are placed for adoption.

The local authority has specific duties in respect of children under the Children Acts 1989 and 2004. We have a general duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in need in our area in partnership with parents/carers in such a way that is sensitive to the child’s culture, language, religion race and disability by providing services to meet the child’s needs. Some of those services might include

• family centres
• day care for young children
• counselling
• family and parenting support programmes
• holiday schemes for disabled children.

Where a child or young person is at risk of significant harm, children’s social care staff are responsible for coordinating an assessment of the child’s needs, the capacity of the parents/carers to keep the children safe and to promote their welfare, the wider family circumstances and the communities in which they live.

Within Children Services, social care staff are the principal point of contact for children where there are welfare concerns. We can be contacted directly by children, parents, carers or family members requesting help and advice or from concerned friends and neighbours, or professionals from other agencies and voluntary organisations. At the first sign of difficulties, the need for support should be considered as early identification and intervention can prevent more serious problems developing.

Social care staff in Children Services offer the same level of advice and support to Further Education colleges and Independent Schools as they do to State Schools in order to safeguard and promote the welfare of their pupils. Particularly important are the independent special schools so that children requiring support receive prompt attention and any allegations of abuse can be investigated properly.