2.2 Agency Roles and Responsibilities

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Statutory Duties
3. Common Features
4. Specific Roles and Responsibilities of Agencies

1. Introduction

An awareness and appreciation of the role of others is essential for effective collaboration between organisations and their practitioners.

This chapter outlines the main responsibilities in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children of all statutory organisations, voluntary agencies and professionals who work with children.

It should be read in conjunction with the details set out in Chapter 2 of Working Together to Safeguard Children, 2010.

2. Statutory Duties

All organisations that work with children share a commitment to safeguard and promote their welfare. For many organisations, this is underpinned by statutory duties. 

Children’s Services Authorities have a number of specific duties to organise and plan services for children; these are set out in more detail in the Statutory Framework Procedure.

As well as the local authority, NHS bodies (including Primary Care Trusts, Hospital Trusts and Strategic Health Authorities), Police, Probation and Prison Services, Youth Offending Teams, Secure Training Centres and Connexions all have duties under Section 11 of the Children Act 2004 to ensure that their functions are discharged with regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

Guidance for these organisations about their duty under section 11 is contained in “Making Arrangements to Safeguard and Promote the Welfare of Children”, which was published by the DfES in August 2005 and can be found at: Every Child Matters website.

Local authorities also have duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in relation to its functions under section 175 of the Education Act 2002. 

As well as the education service provided by the local authority, schools (both maintained and independent) and Further Education institutions, including 6th form colleges, have duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of their pupils who are under 18. Guidance about these education duties is contained in “Safeguarding Children and Safer recruitment in Education”, which came into force in January 2007 and can be found at: the Teachernet website.

In addition, boarding schools, residential special schools and FE Institutions that provide accommodation for pupils under 18 must have regard to the relevant National Minimum Standards for their establishment, which can be found at the Teachernet website.

CAFCASS also has a duty under section 12(1) of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 to safeguard and promote the welfare of children involved in family proceedings in which their welfare is, or may be, in question.

3. Common Features

To fulfil their commitment to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, all organisations that provide services for children, parents and families need to have the following in place:

• Clear priorities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children explicitly stated in key policy documents and commissioning strategies;
• A clear commitment by senior management to the importance of safeguarding and promoting children’s welfare through both the commissioning and the provision of services;
• A culture of listening to and engaging in dialogue with children - seeking their views in ways appropriate to their age and understanding, and taking account of those both in individual decisions and the establishment or development and improvement of services;
• A clear line of accountability and governance within and across organisations for the commissioning and provision of services designed to safeguard and promote the welfare of children;
• Recruitment and human resources management procedures and commissioning processes, including contractual arrangements, that take account of the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, including arrangements for appropriate checks on new staff and volunteers and adoption of best practice in the recruitment of new staff and volunteers;
• A clear understanding of how to work together to help keep children and young people safe online by being adequately equipped to understand, identify and mitigate the risks of new technology;
• Procedures for dealing with allegations of abuse against members of staff and volunteers (see Allegations of Abuse against Persons who Work with Children Procedure), or, for commissioners, contractual arrangements with providers that ensure these procedures are in place;
• Arrangements to ensure that all staff undertake appropriate training to equip them to carry out their responsibilities effectively, and keep this up to date by refresher training at regular intervals; and that all staff, including temporary staff and volunteers who work with children, are made aware of both the establishment’s arrangements and their responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and their responsibilities for that;
• Policies to safeguard and promote the welfare of children (for example, pupils/students), including a child protection policy, effective complaints procedures and procedures that are in accordance with guidance from the local authority and locally agreed inter-agency procedures;
• Arrangements to work effectively with other organisations to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, including arrangements for sharing information;
• A culture of listening to and engaging in dialogue with children and seeking their views in ways appropriate to their age and understanding, and taking account of those both in individual decisions and the establishment or development of services; and,
• Appropriate whistle blowing procedures and a culture that enables issues about safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children to be addressed

4. Specific Roles and Responsibilities of Agencies

Chapter 2 of Working Together to Safeguard Children 2010 also sets out the specific roles and responsibilities of the following:

• Local Authorities that are Children’s Services Authorities (2.18 - 2.27)
• Adult Social Services (2.28)
• Housing Authorities and registered Social Landlords (2.29 - 2.32)
• Sport, Culture and Leisure Services (2.33)
• Youth Services (2.34 - 2.35)
• Connexions (2.36 - 2.38)

Health services:

• Health Services (all) (2.39 - 2.41)
• Care Quality Commission (2.42 - 2.44)
• Monitor (2.45)
• Strategic Health Authorities (2.46 - 2.48)
• Primary Care Trust Commissioners (2.49 - 2.60)
• All Provider Services – Health (2.6 - 2.66)
• NHS Trusts, NHS Foundation Trusts and Primary Care Trust Provider Services (2.67 – 2.73)
• Ambulance Trusts and NHS Direct sites (2.74)
• Independent Sector, Third Sector and Social Enterprises (2.75 - 2.76)
• GP Practices (2.77)

Roles of different Health Services:

• Universal Services (2.78 - 2.95)
• Maternity Services (2.96 - 2.97)
• CAMHS (2.98 - 2.101)
• Adult Mental Health Services (2.102 - 2.105)
• Visiting of Psychiatric Patients by Children (2.1106)
• Alcohol and Drug Services (2.107)

Health Professionals:

• Designated and Named Professionals (2.108 - 2.115)
• Paediatricians (2.116 - 2.118)
• Dental Practitioners and Dental Care Professionals (2.119 - 2.121)
• Other Health Professionals (2.122)

Criminal Justice Organisations:

• Police (2.123 - 2.132)
• Probation (2.133 - 2.134)
• Prisons (2.135 - 2.139)
• Secure Estate for Children and Young People (2.140 - 2.145)
• Youth Offending Teams (2.146 - 2.148)
• UK Border Agency (2.149 - 2.154)
• Schools and FE Institutions (2.155 - 2.165)
• Early Years Services (2.166 - 2.171)
• CAFCASS (2.172 - 2.175)
• Armed Services (2.176 - 2.182)
• Voluntary and Private Sectors (2.183 - 2.188)
• Faith Communities (2.189 - 2.193)

End