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Guidance on Managing Records for Vulnerable Children in the Early Years (SEN, Safeguarding)

hfdscouncil herefordshire.gov.uk

Version 3

Updated 2018

GuidanceonManagingRecordsforVulnerableChildren intheEarlyYears

(SEN, Safeguarding)

Deficiencies in record keeping have been regularly

identified by government reports (following the death

of Lauren Wright and other children) as a problem

area that needs attention from all agencies. The Ofsted

evaluation of fifty serious case reviews between

2007-8 highlighted significant concerns, particularly

the quality of record keeping in schools and education

establishments and the failure of establishments to

pass on information when children and young people

left.

The outcomes of recent local Serious Case Reviews

also support these national findings. High quality

record keeping is essential in safeguarding, particularly

with regard to children who have a child protection

plan.

It is essential to maintain a good, clear written record

of all concerns and actions regarding safeguarding and

child protection issues. Record keeping for children

with special educational needs should also be of the

highest quality.

All such records, including referrals and subsequent

notes should be kept securely and locked at all times.

In this document you will find guidance for:

• Keeping Records for Children with SEN

• Keeping Child Protection/Safeguarding

Records

KeepingRecordsforChildrenwithSENin

EarlyYears Settings

All settings undertake observation, assessment,

record keeping and monitoring of children’s progress,

whether a child has special educational needs or not.

All settings should be sensitive when it comes to

recognising whether a child has special educational

needs or not.

If there are significant emerging concerns, or an

identified special educational need or disability,

practitioners must discuss this with thechild’s

parents and/or parents. When written parental

consent has been obtained, practitioners should

develop a targeted plan to support the child’s

future learning and development involving

parents and/or carers and other professionals (for

example, the provider’s special educational Needs

Co-ordinator (SENCO) or health professionals) as

appropriate.

Once a child is added to the setting’s SEN Register the

setting should start an Individual Record for that child.

This record should have a front sheet that includes

essential details of the child and family:

• Name

• Date of birth

• Gender

• Name and address of parent/carer with parental

responsibility for the child (and any additional

relevant carers and their relationship to the child)

• Contact numbers of the above

• Home language, gender and ethnic origin

• When the child started at the setting

• Any previous settings and dates attended

• Any additional settings currently attended

• Any other agency involvement e.g. speech and

language therapist, paediatrician, Portage

• Start date for the file (and space for closing date) A

suggested front sheet is included in Appendix A

Page 2

It is good practice to open an individual record for each

child who needs one, even if they belong to the same family (e.g. siblings who are looked after children).

It is good practice to include a running record or chronology to track significant or key issues or events. Information recorded in a chronology

should be relevant and succinct so as not to be lost in a mass of insignificant and irrelevant

events. Chronologies are not only a means of

organising information - they enable practitioners to gain a more accurate picture of the whole case

and highlight gaps and missing details that require further assessment and identification.

A suggested chronology sheet is included in Appendix B.

This record should be held by the setting but must be initially shared with parents and must be available for them to see at any time on request.

Legal advice should be sought if there is any uncertainty as to whether to disclose any

information.

It should be seen as the main record that begins the process of charting the child’s progress through the education system. It should contain information that is accurate, objective and easy to

access. All information relating to the child should

be found in the file. This may include:

• Reports from other agencies

• Observations

• Individual Education Plans

• Letters regarding the child’s special educational needs

• Copies of referrals

• Contact sheets from EYIA or advisory teachers

• Notes from meetings (e.g. meetings with parents, review meetings)

All settings should be able to offer programmes for

individual children with SEN that are additional to, or different from, those usually offered to the other

children in the setting from within their existing resources and staffing. This involves starting an

Individual Education Plan for that child. The purpose of this is to plan interventions to meet the individual

child’s special educational needs.

Parents should be involved in review meetings to

discuss the success of the Individual Education Plan for

their child. The review will decide what might happen

next if the IEP has not helped the child to make

adequate progress. The staff will be able to refer the

child to, or call upon, the advice of professionals who

are external to the setting. These professionals might

include, for instance, a health service professional

such as a speech and language therapist. If parents

and the setting feel there may be a need for more than

one additional service to support the child they may

consider completing an Early Help Assessment for

that child with the family.

All suchrecords,includingreferralsandsubsequent

notes, should be kept securely at all times and

locked away when not in use. If records are kept

electronically these must also be kept securely and

passwordprotected.Access should be restrictedto

appropriate members of staff.

Page 3

GuidanceonManagingRecordsforVulnerableChildren intheEarlyYears

(SEN, Safeguarding)

Keeping Child Protection/Safeguarding

Records in Early Years Settings

Please use this guidance alongside the documents

Herefordshire Levels of Need Threshold

Guidance and ‘Working Together to Safeguard

Children’. If a member of staffin your settinghas

concerns about the welfare or safety of a child, if a

child is a looked after child or subject to a Child

Protection Plan, it is vitally important to record all

relevant details, regardless of whether or not the

concerns are shared with either the police or the

Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH). An

accurate record should be kept of:

• Date and time of incident/disclosure

• Parties involved, including any witnessed to the

event

• What is said or done and by whom

• Any action taken to look into the matter

• Any further action taken

• Where relevant, the reasons why a decision was

taken not to refer those concerns to the Multi

Agency Safeguarding Hub

• The name of the person reporting the concern,

name and designation of the person to whom the

concern was reported, date and time and contact

details

• The record should be signed

A suggested recording sheet is included in Appendix C

If the record outlines a single concern or referral, the

record can be kept in the child’s normal individual file. If the record has not been shared with the child’s parents/carers the record should be kept separately,

or in the child’s file in an envelope marked

‘confidential’.

If the referral leads to further action, or where a child

is already subject to a Child Protection plan or an

EHA, or is a Looked After Child, a separate file

should be opened for that child. This should

contain:

• A front sheet (as suggested in Appendix A)

• A chronology sheet ( as Appendix B)

• An overview of significant events (see Appendix D)

• Copies of meeting minutes, reports, letters, parent

contact sheets and any other relevant documents

It is good practice to open an individual record for each

child who needs one, even if they belong to the same

family (e.g. siblings who are looked after children)

All such records, including referrals and subsequent

notes should be kept securely and locked at all times.

If records are kept electronically these must also be

kept securelyand password protected.Access should

be restricted to appropriate members of staff.

Page 4

Transition

On transition into primary school the record should be

passed on to the receiving school with the permission

of the child’s parents. The setting must retain a copy of

the front sheet and the chronology for a period of 35

years after the child’s date of birth (see appendix E for

record retention schedule).

The file should be personally delivered to the school

and signed for by an appropriate member of staff.

There is a format for recording the transfer of an

individual file in Appendix F.

References

What to do if you’re worried a child is being

abused

Working Together to Safeguard Children

Herefordshire Safeguarding Children Board

Herefordshire Levels of Need -

http://westmidlands.procedures.org.uk/local-

content/2gjN/thresholds-guidance

Herefordshire Safeguarding Children Checklist for

Early Years and Childcare Settings

Herefordshire Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub

Herefordshire Records Management – Record

Retention Schedule

NSPCC Child protection records retentionand

storage guidelines(EnglandandWales)

Page 5

GuidanceonManagingRecordsforVulnerableChildren intheEarlyYears

(SEN, Safeguarding)

Appendix A

Individual Record: Front Sheet

Name: Also known as:

D.O.B: Gender: M F

Home Language: Ethnicity:

Name of Parent/Carer:

Address:

Contact numbers:

Email:

Name of Parent/Carer:

Address:

Contact numbers:

Email:

LAC Child in need Subject to a Child Protection Plan EHA

Start

Date

Inclusion Funding? YES NO Date started:

Admission Date:

Other settings including specialist settings e.g. CDC, Megan Baker House (if applicable)

Other agencies involved:

Herefordshire

Psychology

Service

Social Care Sensory

Impairment:

VI / HI

Child

Development

Centre

Portage

PCT

eg.CAMHS/OT/

SALT

Physical

Disability Team

Family

Support

Other

Page 6

Appendix B

Individual File: KEY EVENTS/ CHRONOLOGY

Childs Name:

Date: Event (e.g. telephone conversation with parent

or professional/ discussion with colleague /case

conference/ core group/ disclosure by child/ incident/

evidence of injury, self-harm etc)

Outcome/ Action/ Communication/

Reference (Relevant document in main

file if applicable e.g. recording a concern,

case conference minutes etc.)

Page 7

GuidanceonManagingRecordsforVulnerableChildren intheEarlyYears

(SEN, Safeguarding)

Appendix C

Checklist for recording suspected abuse

Name of child:

Age and date of birth: Ethnicity:

Religion: First language:

Disability: Any special factors:

Parent’s/carer’s name(s):

Home address (and phone no. if available):

Are you reporting your own concerns or passing on those of somebody else? Give details.

Brief description of what has prompted the concerns: include dates, times etc. of any specific incidents.

Any physical signs? Behavioural signs? Indirect signs?

Have you spoken to the child? If so, what was said?

Have you spoken to the parent(s)? If so, what was said?

Page 8

Appendix C

Has anybody been alleged to be the abuser? If so, give details.

Have you consulted anybody else? Give details

Your name and position.

To whom reported and date of reporting.

Signature Today’s date

Page 93

GuidanceonManagingRecordsforVulnerableChildren intheEarlyYears

(SEN, Safeguarding)

Appendix D

Overview of Significant Events

Name of child: DOB:

Date: Event:

Page 10

Appendix E

Retention schedulefor private,voluntaryand

independent Early Years Settings

This retention schedule contains recommended

retention periods for the different records created and

maintained by Private, Voluntary and Independent

Early Years Settings in the course of their business.

The schedule refers to all information regardless of the

media in which it is stored.

Some of the retention periods are governed by statute.

Others are guidelines following best practice. Every

effort has been made to ensure that these retention

periods are compliant with the requirements of the

General Data Protection Regulations and Data

Protection Act 2018.

Managing record series using these retention

guidelines will be deemed to be “normal processing” under the legislation mentioned above. If records

are to be kept for longer or shorter periods than laid

out in this document the reasons for this need to be

documented.

The template and content for this schedule have been

provided by the Records Management Society of

Great Britain, and tailored to the local requirements

of Private, Voluntary and Independent Early Years

Settings.

GuidanceonManagingRecordsforVulnerableChildren intheEarlyYears

(SEN, Safeguarding)

Children’s Records Retention Period Comment Action at the end of the administrative life of the record.

Admission registers. Date of last entry in the book After that period the records Retain in the setting

(orfile) +25 years should be destroyed. then transfer to

storage.

Children’s Records, Standard cases – Standard cases – after

including: recommended: six years that period the records after the child has left the should be destroyed unless setting. legal action is pending.

Attendance register.

Medication records.

Parental permission forms.

Please note special circumstances below.

Complaints book.

Contractual documentation.

L/A data for funded Special circumstances Special circumstances -children. e.g.: recommend you take legal Daily Diaries. advice in special

Serious complaint. circumstances.

Issues of child protection. Recommend retaining

A child is badly injured. records until the child

A child is on regular reaches 25 years of age,

medication. but after that period the records should be

A child has sever allergies. destroyed. You should A child has a serious also take legal advice illness. about making and

retaining copies,

Seek legal advice – see particularly if you are

comment for further required to provide

details. information to a third party.

Other records which may Keep After that period the records

contain personal photographic/video/audio- should be destroyed

information or images of visual permissions given by

children or families. parents on behalf of children Ensure you have up-to-date

for 21 years and 6 months. permission from parents to

take and /or post online Photographs/videos.

photos or videos. Websites.

Social media posts. Ensure you register with Texts. the Information Emails. Commissioner’s Office if Apps. storing personal Cloud storage. records/photos digitally.

Ensure data is secured in

line with data

protection/confidentiality

policy.

Page 12

Children’s Records Retention Period Comment Action at the end of the administrative life of the record.

Accidents reportable to

Ofsted and other

organisations such as

RIDDOR. Records of any

reportable death, injury,

disease, dangerous

occurrence,

accident/incident records

and risk assessments

specific to a child.

As these incidents could result in potential negligence claims, or evolve into a more serious health condition, records must be kept until the child reaches the age of 21 years and 3 months.

If relevant to child protection it is

recommended these are kept for the recommended Local Safeguarding Children Boards retention period until the child/young person has reached 25 years. As best practice it is recommended that registers relating to any child protection records are kept as per child protection guidelines. They may need to be used in the future to prove if a child was or was not attending your setting. Types of Accidents:

Fractures, broken limbs, serious head injuries, hospitalised.

After that period the records should be destroyed unless legal action is pending.

Retain in the setting for one year after file closure, then transfer

to storage.

Safeguarding Records

and Cause for Concern

forms.

It is recommended these

are kept for the

recommended Local

Safeguarding Children

Boards retention period

until the child/young person

has reached 25 years.

After that period the records should be destroyed unless legal action is pending.

Visitors’ book As a minimum this must be kept between inspection periods.

Seek legal advice if a special circumstance, see above.

After that period review to see whether it is still required.

Destroy, or transfer to Herefordshire Record Office for future historical research.

Records relating to It is recommended you After that period the records Retain in the setting

Looked After Children. retain records for 25 years

after closure.

should be destroyed unless legal action is pending.

for one year after file closure, then transfer

to storage.

GuidanceonManagingRecordsforVulnerableChildren intheEarlyYears

(SEN, Safeguarding) Children’s Records Retention Period Comment Action at the end

of the administrative life of the record.

Records relating to

individual children e.g.

Special Educational

Needs files, reviews,

Individual Education

Plans, Care Plans, Early

Help Assessments,

speech and language

referral forms, EHC Plans,

attainment records

These would usually be

passed on to the child’s next

school or setting.

DOB of the child + 35 years

After that period the records should be destroyed unless legal action is pending.

Any other records created

in the course of contact

with a child.

Current year + 3 years Review at the end of 3 years and either allocate a further retention period or destroy.

Exclusions and Appeals. 25 years after last action. After that period the records should be destroyed unless legal action is pending.

Retain in the setting then transfer to the child’s primary school.

Observation, planning and assessment records of children.

As good practice it is recommended that you keep planning since the last inspection so there is a paperwork trail if the inspector would like to see it. These can be stored on a data file and do not necessarily need to be in paper form.

You may also choose to keep a copy of some of these as evidence of how/if these have been developed/improved over time as evidence for self-evaluation and continuous improvement.

Usually information and assessments about individual children would either be given to parents when the child leaves or the next setting/school that the child moves to (with parents’ permission).

Records should be retained

for three years after children

have left the provision. After

that period the records

should be destroyed.

Page 14

Children’s Records Retention Period Comment Action at the end of the administrative life of the record.

Ofsted Reports. As a minimum this must be kept between inspection periods.

After that period review to see whether it is still required.

Transfer to Herefordshire Record Office.

Risk assessments. Minimum of 7 years from the date recorded unless need to be kept following a special circumstance as

above.

After that period the records should be destroyed unless legal action is pending.

Data protection audit. It is recommended you review and update annually and retain records for 6 years from the date of the audit.

After that period the records should be destroyed unless legal action is pending.

GuidanceonManagingRecordsforVulnerableChildren intheEarlyYears

(SEN, Safeguarding)

Appendix F

Transfer of Individual Child Record on transition of child from Pre-school to School

This record for: (name of child)

is beingtransferred (name of Early Years setting)

from: to: (name of school)

Date:

Signed by: (for early years setting)

(for school)

Please keep a copy of this sheet in the child’s Individual Record and give one copy to the Early Years setting.

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Guidance on Managing Records for Vulnerable Children in the Early Years (SEN, Safeguarding)

If you would like help to understand this document, or would like

it in another format or language, please call 01432 261741 or

email sjsharp@herefordshire.gov.uk