48 Hours and preferably with 24 hours Child Protection Enquiries (Section 47)

A section 47 enquiry (under Section 47 of the Children Act 1989) is initiated to decide whether, and what type of, action is required to safeguard and promote the welfare of a child who is suspected to be suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm.

A strategy discussion/meeting should be held to decide whether to initiate enquiries under Section 47. Strategy discussions/meetings should be held as soon as possible, bearing in mind the needs of the child.  

See Flowchart 3 Immediate Protection in Working Together to Safeguard Children.

A Lead Practitioner should convene the strategy discussion and make sure they:

• Consider the child’s welfare and safety, including through speaking to the child, and identifying whether the child is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm;
• Decide what information should be shared with the child and family (on the basis that information is not shared if this may jeopardise a police investigation or place the child at risk of harm);
• Agree what further action is required, and who will do what by when, where an EPO is in place, or the child is the subject of police powers of protection;
• Record agreed decisions in accordance with local recording procedures; and
• Follow up actions to make sure what was agreed gets done.

See Flowchart 5: Action Following a Strategy Meeting in Working Together to Safeguard Children.

The Lead Practitioner should always be a social worker for child protection enquiries.

A multi-agency assessment (see Assessments Procedure) is the means by which Section 47 Enquiries are carried out. The assessment will have commenced at the point of referral and must continue whenever the criteria for Section 47 Enquiries are satisfied. The timescale within which the assessment must be completed is no longer than 45 working days from the point of referral into local authority children’s social care. The outcome of enquiries under Section 47 must be available in time for an initial child protection conference which (if required) must be held within 15 working days of the Strategy Discussion/Meeting where the enquiries were initiated.

A section 47 enquiry is carried out by undertaking or continuing with an Assessment in accordance with the guidance set out in this chapter and following the principles and parameters of a good assessment as set out in the Assessments Procedure.

It is for the local authority to decide whether to make enquiries and the strategy discussion should inform this decision.

A Section 47 Enquiry is initiated to decide whether, and what type of, action is required to safeguard and promote the welfare of a child who is suspected of, or likely to be, suffering significant harm. The enquiry is carried out by undertaking or continuing with an assessment in accordance with the guidelines set out in this chapter and following the principles and parameters of a good assessment (see Assessments Procedure for further details).

Local authority social workers should lead assessments under section 47 of the Children Act 1989. The police, health practitioners, teachers and school staff and other relevant practitioners should help the local authority in undertaking its enquiries.

The Lead Practitioner for section 47 enquiries should be a social worker.

Lead Practitioners should:

• Lead the Assessment in accordance with the guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children;
• Carry out enquiries in a way that minimises distress for the child and family;
• See the child who is the subject of concern to ascertain their wishes and feelings; assess their understanding of their situation; assess their relationships and circumstances more broadly, and understand the child’s experiences and interactions with others, especially where there are concerns of extra-familial harm;
• Explain to parents or carers the purpose, process and potential outcome of the enquiries and be prepared to answer questions openly, unless to do so would affect the safety and welfare of the child;
• Interview parents and/or caregivers and determine the wider social and environmental factors that might impact on them and their child, including extra-familial contexts;
• Systematically gather information about the child's and family's history;
• Analyse the findings of the Assessment and evidence about what interventions are likely to be most effective with other relevant practitioners  to determine the child's needs and the level of risk of harm faced by the child to inform what help should be provided and act to provide that help; and
• Follow the guidance set out in Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal Proceedings: Guidance on interviewing victims and witnesses, and guidance on using special measures, where a decision has been made to undertake a joint interview of the child as part of any criminal investigation.

The Lead Practitioner, when conducting a Section 47 Enquiry, must assess the potential needs and safety of any other child in the household of the child in question. In addition, Section 47 Enquiries may be required concerning any children in other households with whom the alleged abuser may have contact.

In determining which practitioners should be involved in a Section 47 Enquiry, consideration could include who are the family most likely to cooperate with. In all cases where there is a known propensity to violence within the family household, consideration should be given to the strategy to be adopted, with police advice or assistance if appropriate, about how to reduce the risks before any visits take place.

The child must always be seen and communicated with alone in the course of a Section 47 Enquiry by the Lead Practitioner, unless it is contrary to their interests to do so. The strategy discussion/meeting will plan any interview with the child. The Record of Section 47 Enquiry and Reports to Child Protection Conferences should include the date(s) when the child was seen alone by the Lead Practitioner and, if not seen alone, who was present and the reasons for their presence.

Parents should be involved at the earliest opportunity unless to do so would jeopardise a police investigation or place the child at risk of harm.

This might include circumstances such as:

• The possibility that a child would be threatened or otherwise coerced into silence;
• A strong likelihood that important evidence would be destroyed; or
• That the child in question did not wish the parent to be involved at that stage, and is competent to take that decision.

In such circumstances, the social worker must take legal advice about how to proceed and whether legal action may be required, for example through an application for an emergency protection order or a child assessment order.

The police should:

• Help other agencies understand the reasons for concerns about the child's safety and welfare by sharing information and analysis;
• Decide whether or not police investigations reveal grounds for instigating criminal proceedings;
• Make available to other practitioners any other relevant information gathered or known to inform discussions about the child's welfare; and
• Follow the guidance set out in Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal Proceedings: Guidance on interviewing victims and witnesses, and guidance on using special measures, where a decision has been made to undertake a joint interview with the child as part of the criminal investigations.

Health practitioners should:

• Provide appropriate specialist assessments. For example, paediatric or forensic medical assessments, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and/or child psychologists may be involved in specific assessments relating to the child's developmental progress. The lead health practitioner (probably a consultant paediatrician, or possibly the child's GP) may need to request and coordinate these assessments; and
• Ensure appropriate treatment and follow up health concerns, such as administering missing vaccines.

All involved practitioners should:

• Contribute to the Assessment as required, providing information and analysis about the child and family;
• Consider whether a joint enquiry or investigation team may need to speak to a child without the knowledge of the parent or carers;
• Approach the work with parents and carers in line with the principles in chapter 1 of Working Together to Safeguard Children;

• Seek advice and guidance as required and in line with local practice.

The National Multi-agency Practice Standards for Child Protection provide that:

Practitioners should:

• Satisfy themselves that conclusions about the likelihood of significant harm give sufficient weight to the views, experiences, and concerns of those who know the child and/or parents well, including relatives who are protective of the child, and other relevant practitioners;
• Share their thinking and proposed recommendations with other practitioners who hold relevant information and insight into the child and adults involved with the child.
• Comment, challenge, and jointly deliberate, before making a final decision about the likelihood of significant harm;
• Together with other agencies, clarify what family help from multiagency partners is necessary to reduce the likelihood of significant harm and maintain reasonable care for the children. They should seek assurance that this resource is available and of sufficient skill and intensity;
• Remain alert to changes in circumstances for the child and family and respond as new information comes to light that needs to be reflected in the child protection plan;
• Reflect on the proposed protection plan and consider adjustments to strengthen the protection plan. The protection plan should be specific, achievable, and relevant to the likelihood of significant harm and the context in which it is occurring.

The Lead Practitioner (social worker) is responsible for deciding what action to take and how to proceed following Section 47 Enquiries. They should make these decisions based on multi-agency discussions informed by the voice of the child.

A Section 47 Enquiry may conclude that the original concerns are:

• Not substantiated; although consideration should be given to whether the child may need services as a Child in Need;
• Substantiated and the child is judged to be suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm and an initial child protection conference should be called.

If the local authority Children’s Social Care decides not to proceed with a Child Protection Conference then other practitioners involved with the child and family have the right to request that a conference be convened, if they have serious concerns that a child's welfare may not be adequately safeguarded. As a last resort, the safeguarding partners should have in place a quick and straightforward means of resolving differences of opinion. In the event of a continued difference of opinion, the Doncaster Safeguarding Children Partnership Online Procedures, Resolving Professional Differences Protocol should be followed.

Section 3 in Working Together to Safeguard Children sets out national multi-agency practice standards for child protection for all practitioners working in services and settings who come into contact with children who may be suffering or have suffered significant harm within or outside the home.

Local safeguarding partners need to ensure all practitioners are supported to be able to achieve the national multi-agency practice standards for child protection, including through:

• An unrelenting focus on protection and the best outcomes for children;
• Creating learning cultures in which practitioners stay up to date as new evidence of best practice emerges;
• Creating an environment in which it is safe to challenge, including assumptions that relate to ethnicity, sex, disability, and sexuality.