Notification of Children - Arrangements for the Placement of Children (General) Regulations 1991

The current procedures for notifying other Local Authorities of the placement of a child/young person in their area, and the reciprocal notification to Nottinghamshire of a new placement, require clarity in terms of the lines of communication and roles and responsibilities of Officers within each Authority.

The general purpose of this procedure is:

• To ensure that NCC has a simple and consistent method of notifying other Local Authorities of the placement, or change/end of placement, for children and young people placed in their area and to ensure we consistently record and register placement of young people in Nottinghamshire by other Local Authorities;
• To ensure that as a Local Authority we are clear about the responsibility to notify the range of Agencies required by the regulation of the placement, or change of placement, for a child accommodated in their service;
• To ensure that as a Local Authority we set out a clear procedure to ensure these responsibilities are carried out effectively.

1. Children defined as looked after and placed by NCC in other Local Authority areas;
2. Children who are looked after by another Local Authority and placed in the NCC area;
3. Children who are subject of a Child Protection Plan who move to live in the area, either temporarily or permanently;
4. Children placed for Adoption in another Local Authority area.

The notifications e-mail address and a general register of contacts for each Local Authority will be established and maintained by the Placement Team.

This will contain the contact details of the relevant officer whom we should receive/send notifications from/to in each LA area and will include the contact for the relevant Education and PCT/Trust. All notifications from other Local Authorities regarding placement of children and young people in Nottinghamshire will be received by the Placements Team via the notifications’ e-mail.

1. Cohort 1 - Children defined as looked after and placed by NCC in other Local Authority areas
   
   NB: A separate Administrative procedure is maintained for this purpose and should be referred to for more detailed information - Notification to other Local Authorities when a child is placed in their area - admin procedure.
   
   At the point the placement team commission a placement, or are notified of a child placed outside of the NCC boundary that is categorised as looked after, the Placement Team will send a standard letter to the relevant LA notifying them of the placement.
   
   As and when a placement changes or ends the placement team will, if so informed, notify the relevant LA of such a change in circumstances - Notification to other Local Authorities when a child moves out of their area - admin procedure.
   
   The letter will request the relevant office for the DCS to forward the letter to the relevant Health and Education representative, or alert the Placement Team to those Agency contacts in order that the letter can be copied accordingly.
   
   This must be completed within 5 days of placement.
   
2. Cohort 2 - Children placed in the NCC area by another Local Authority:
   1. Notification of Young People living in Nottinghamshire who have been placed there by another Local Authority will be sent to the placements team via the Notification e-mail: Childrens.Notifications@nottscc.gov.uk;
   2. The Notifications e-mail will be checked daily by the business support team;
   3. Business support will ensure that all notifications will be passed to health and education services;
   4. Business support will open an Episode on Framework which contains details of the child and young person and their carers. Including name, address and date of birth of young person, legal status of the young person and of their placement; whether they are subject of a safeguarding plan; any disabilities/ Special Needs/ Vulnerabilities; names of people with P.R.; Placing authority; name and contact details of social worker and Team Manager; details of EDT for placing authority. Dates of commencement and termination of placement will also be recorded. These Episodes will form a register of Young People placed by other authorities within Nottinghamshire County Council;
   5. These records will be supplemented with an annual audit undertaken by the Service Manager for Children’s Placements and Commissioning.
      
      
3. Cohort 3 - Children who are Subject of a Child Protection Plan who Move to Live in the Area, either Temporarily or Permanently
   
   This is currently managed by Social Care Information Management Team (SCIMT).
   
   Similarly, NCC children who are subject of a Child Protection Plan and who are placed in another area are managed through this Team (contact; Nikki Millsop - cimt.safeguard@notts.cc.gov.uk).

This is currently managed by the Adoption Team.

Click here to view Appendix 1: East Midlands Regional Protocol.