Quick Guide |
January 2012
This 'Quick Guide' must be read before accessing the body of the manual.
Contents
- Display and Browser Options
- Structure of the Manual
- Amendments
- How to Find a Chapter
- Terminology
- Keywords
- Compliance
- Contact us
- Copyright
- Printing and Retaining Copies
1. Display and Browser Options
People with a visual impairment may have difficulty accessing this Manual.
To change the size of the text/layout - please use these accessibility buttons
which are on menu bar on the left side of every screen. Click a larger button to increase your text size, the very largest being high visibility mode.
2. Structure of the Manual
This manual contains the inter agency policies, procedures and guidance for Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire and Luton Safeguarding Children Boards.
PARTS: The manual is in three parts as follows:Part 1, Chapters 1 to 9 and the three appendices, contains the Inter Agency Procedures, which have been developed with Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Safeguarding Children Boards. Chapters 10 to 35 are the additional chapters agreed across Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire and Luton Safeguarding Children Boards.
Part 2 of the manual contains additional procedures and protocols which are relevant to Bedford Borough and Central Bedfordshire Safeguarding Children Boards
Part 3 of the Manual contains additional protocols and procedures local to Luton Safeguarding Children Board.
3. Amendments
This update includes the following changes:
The manual will be updated on a regular basis. When the manual is updated and a Chapter has been significantly amended or is new, it will be indicated in the Contents List and at the top of the relevant Chapter.
The next update will be in the summer of 2012 - a planning meeting for this update will take place on 20 March 2012.
Practitioners should send any amendments or additions that they wish to be incorporated into the manual to lscb@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk (for Bedford Borough and Central Bedfordshire Safeguarding Children Boards) or safeguarding@luton.gov.uk (for Luton Safeguarding Children Board).
4. How to Find a Chapter
Procedures and guidance are located in individual 'Chapters' which are available from a 'traditional' Contents List, which can be accessed by clicking on the button - on the left hand side of the screen.
4.1 Using the Contents List
The manual is divided into 'Parts' as described in Section 2, Structure of the Manual
CHAPTERS: In each Part, you'll find individual Chapters/Procedures e.g. ' Child Protection Conferences’.
4.2 You can search for a Chapter
If you are not sure which Part to look in, try 'Search' which will help you identify specific Chapters and sub headings within Chapters.
5. Terminology
We believe it is crucial to use consistent terminology, which we agree with individual customers, for example:
| 'Child' | The term 'child' is used to mean any child or young person under the age of 18 |
| 'Staff' or 'Carer' | Means all Staff and Carers whether employed or not |
| 'Line Manager' | Means the first Line Manager of a team/service |
| 'Parent' | Includes any person with Parental Responsibility |
| 'Regulatory Authority' | Regulatory Authority is the generic term used in this manual to describe the independent regulatory body responsible for inspecting and regulating services e.g. Ofsted. |
| 'Children's Social Care' | This term is used throughout the manual to mean the local authority children’s services department with lead safeguarding children responsibilities under the Children Acts 1989 and 2004. |
6. Keywords
The manual is accessed by practitioners from varying agencies, who may find terms that they are not familiar with. Therefore, a large glossary (Keywords) of terms such as Significant Harm (Try it: click on the highlighted text). We call them 'Keywords'. Once clicked, the definitions will appear in a new window or tab, depending on your browser. You can leave it open for reference, or close it using the "close" button at the bottom.
Many Keywords are highlighted in the body of procedures, but you can look for the Keyword you need: go to the Keywords Index, on the left hand side of the screen.
7. Compliance
7.1 Regulatory Compliance
Every effort has been taken to ensure regulatory compliance. If you discover any errors or mistakes, please alert your manager or contact us.
7.2 W3C Compliance
This manual meets the double A Standards of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), for example, it can be accessed by people with high levels of visual impairment. To find out more, click on 'Display Options' on the left hand side of the screen.
8. Contact us
If you have any comments or suggestions to make about this manual please contact us by using the button on the left hand side of the screen, from anywhere within the manual.
9. Copyright
The content of this website can be accessed, printed and downloaded in an unaltered form, on a temporary basis, for personal study or reference purposes. However any content printed or downloaded may not be sold, licensed, transferred, copied or reproduced in whole or in part in any manner or in or on any media to any person without the prior written consent of Tri-X-Childcare Ltd, Bedford Borough Safeguarding Children Board, Central Bedfordshire Safeguarding Children Board and Luton Safeguarding Children Board.
10. Printing and Retaining Copies
The Manual should normally be viewed on line but can be printed, for reference only.
To print a chapter, click on the 
icon which is in the top right hand corner of the relevant procedure
Please note, the Manual will be updated regularly, so staff should avoid retaining printed versions - hard copies are only valid for 72 hours.
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