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Contents

1.	Introduction
2.	Procedure on Receipt of Notifications in relation to a Looked After Child placed in Croydon
	2.1	Responsibilities of the Children's Social Care Teams
	2.2	Maintaining the Register (Regulation 10)

1. Introduction

Where a Looked After child is placed in the area of another local authority (regardless of the type of placement), notification should be made by the placing authority to the local authority's Children's Social Care Services where the child is living. (The Education Service and the relevant Health Trust for the area in which the Looked After child is placed must also be notified.) The notification will include the address where the child is placed.

Each local authority (Children's Social Care Services) is required  to maintain a register of Looked After children for whom it is responsible and all looked after children placed in its area, including those children who are the responsibility of another local authority.

The register should include the following information:

• The name, gender and date of birth of the child;
• The name and address of the person with whom the child is placed and, if different, the name and address of the child’s parents and all those with Parental Responsibility;
• The name of the placing authority;
• Whether the child has a Child Protection Plan;
• Whether the child is Disabled;
• The date on which the placement was made and the date when it terminated including the reason for the termination
• The child’s legal status
• Where arrangements have been made by the host local Children’s Social Care Services to undertake the duties of the placing local authority; what those arrangements are and the name of the person within the placing authority with whom they were agreed

In Croydon, this information is maintained in the Children’s Quality Assurance and Safeguarding Service (see 2.2 below).

2. Procedure on Receipt of Notifications in relation to a Looked After Child placed in Croydon

2.1 Responsibilities of the Children's Social Care Teams

Any notification received from another local authority that a Looked After child has been placed in Croydon should be passed to the Children’s Quality Assurance and Safeguarding Service.

The Children’s Quality Assurance and Safeguarding Service will enter the child’s details on ICS and ensure, through communication with the placing local authority where necessary, that the information required has been provided by the placing authority and is recorded on ICS.

The Children’s Quality Assurance and Safeguarding Service will check and search the address on ICS to establish whether there is any information recorded in relation to the address. If so, this information must be communicated to the allocated social worker in the local authority with responsibility for the child.

Children Young People and Learners do not enter into arrangements that offer routine placement visits by CYPL Social Work staff, to children placed by another Local Authority in the London Borough of Croydon. It is CYPL view that best practice suggests the placing Local Authority should where possible promote the use of placements that enable the child to be seen and supported by the placing Local Authority, who will retain all responsibilities for compliance in visiting the child within statutory timeframe's, along with ensuring the placement conforms to all appropriate regulations. This local guidance does not affect CYPL duty to investigate a situation where a child may be at risk of Significant Harm in the London Borough of Croydon as defined within Section 47 of the 1989 Children Act.

2.2 Maintaining the Register

The Children’s Quality Assurance and Safeguarding Service  is responsible for maintaining the register of Looked After children (see Section 1, Introduction) and will ensure that the name of the child is added to the register.

This register is maintained in the Children’s Quality Assurance and Safeguarding Service and includes:

• Children looked after by Croydon
• Children looked after by another local authority but placed within Croydon, where there has been agreement that Croydon will carry out some of the responsibilities of the placing local authority

The Children’s Quality Assurance and Safeguarding Service will ensure that the following teams /agencies are notified:

• The Primary Care Trust (PCT)
• LAC Nurse
• The Education Service

End