About the Child Protection Procedures 

What are the Child Protection Policies & Procedures?

These are Gloucestershire's Safeguarding and Promoting the Welfare of Children, Child Protection Procedures.  They are overseen by the Policies and Procedures Sub-committee and the South West Region Child Protection Procedures Consortium through Reconstruct Ltd.

The GSCB procedures (ie all the selections on the bar on the left) should be read in conjunction with Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006 and the Framework for Assessment of Children in Need and their Families.  

The Procedures page looks a lot different now and I can't seem to find the full procedures document easily?

Gloucestershire has signed up to the South West Region Procedures but the first point of call for staff in Gloucestershire should always be the GSCB website as it includes local procedures which must be followed.  

On the left hand side bar are the following options:

Summary: Flowcharts of the Child Protection Procedure

General: Takes you to the South West Region shared procedures which contain the general procedures that must be followed now.

Tutorial: An online tutorial on how to use the South West Region shared procedures.

Logging a child welfare concern: Gloucestershire's procedure when professionals have concerns about the welfare of a child.

Further Advice: Gloucestershire's procedures that staff must follow and which have not yet been included in the South West Region Procedures.

About CP Procedures: More about what the child protection procedures are and some helpful hints and tips.

Useful Contact Details: Multi-agency contact numbers.

Safeguarding Children Service: Information regarding the work of the SCS, contact details and structure.

However staff must make sure that they visit this website every few months in order to be kept up to date with the regular changes that are anticipated whilst the GSCB start to incorporate more and more of the SW Region Procedures or to sign up with the GSCB Mailing list.

What are the South West Region Procedures?

These are shared procedures which various counties in the South West have signed up to including Gloucestershire.  They are not just procedures but include information on good pr actice, evidence from research and what the government guidance says using clear flow charts and an index system.  Currently the GSCB have signed up to the procedures on how to manage and process concerns through to the Child Protection Conference process.  However staff in Gloucestershire must continue to follow through the GSCB website as it contains important local procedures and contact details.    

What was the Green Manual?

The Green Manual was Version 1 of the Gloucestershire ACPC Child Protection Procedures.  These were drawn up in June 2001 and issued in the form of a Green Manual.  These procedures are now superseded with an online version, which is regularly updated.  Thus if you have any copies of the Green Manual, we request that you throw them away.  

Who do these Policies & Procedures apply to?

They apply to all staff who work for the GSCB Partner agencies and are intended as a guide for all staff working with children and families in Gloucestershire, whether for the local authority, private or voluntary organisations.

What is the purpose of these Policies & Procedures?

These procedures have been written in such a way as to encourage closer working between agencies regarding the assessment of need, the planning and the delivery of services. The purpose being that early intervention in a supportive way is likely to be of greater use to the family and child and will avoid the need for the heavy end approach of the child protection conference and care proceedings.

Why do we have to throw away the Green Manual?

This became necessary because the Green Manual has become significantly out of date. The green manual has been in use in Gloucestershire since 2001 and since that time there have been a number of changes in Government guidance, including the issuing of procedures to support children and young people abused through prostitution, guidelines for complex abuse cases and clarification of Government intention through the publication of the �What to if you are worried a child is being abused�. There have been a number of changes agreed locally, following the completion of Serious Case Reviews for instance. It has also been necessary to update some of the terminology used within the procedures such as the ceasing use of the term "Checking the Child Protection Register" and "Schedule One Offender".

Will hard copy versions of the revised procedures be available?

After a lot of discussion and debate the GSCB has decided that from now on the Gloucestershire Child Protection Procedures will b e publicised on the GSCB Web Site, there will be no new hard copy or green manual.

We are currently experiencing great change in the field of child protection (Safeguarding) and support for children and families, and further change is anticipated in future as Gloucestershire implements the Change for Children agenda, specifically with the creation of the Gloucestershire Safeguarding Board in April 06.

It is felt that it is too complex, too risky and too expensive to try and keep on top of the many changes through the issuing of paper copies, there are well over two thousand Green Manuals out there in Gloucestershire.

Please remember:  

In order to speed up opening internet pages, your browser will often save pages so that it can be recalled from your hard drive.  As these pages will be regularly updated, we recommend that you press CTRL and F5 on your keyboard in order to perform a strong refresh of your screen each time you visit the procedures page.

What if I don't have access to a computer?  

If you have difficulty getting access to a computer it is appropriate to print relevant sections from the web site providing care is taken that it is kept up to date. You will need to nominate a member of your staff team to be responsible for ensuring the most recent versions of the procedures is in print.  

GSCB Procedures Launch Leaflet:

Click: v3 Child Protection Procedures Launch Leaflet

How do I create a shortcut for the Procedures page on my desktop?

You can do this by first adding the site to your "Favourites".

a. Go to www.gscb.org.uk/procedures 

b. Click on "Favourites" in the browsers top toolbar.

c. Click on "Add to favourites..."

d. Select OK.

e. Click again on "Favourites" in the top toolbar.

f. Right click on the name you just saved the favourite as.

g. Click on "Send To".

h. Click on "Desktop (create shortcut").

i. This will have created a shortcut on your desktop which you can double click to access the above site.

j. It is also possible to rename the shortcut - by Right Clicking on the Shortcut and selecting "Rename".

What if I have more queries?

If you have any queries just e-mail the GSCB office by clicking:

[email protected]