Reading List

These official sources underpin the course content. The legal and practice framing is primarily England-specific because the children's homes guidance, Children Act care-planning guidance and Ofsted context apply to England. Wales shares much of the Children Act background but uses different local systems; Scotland and Northern Ireland use different legal and practice frameworks in several areas.

• Children's homes regulations, including quality standards: guide
  Primary England source used for participation, child voice, day-to-day care and professional expectations.
• Children Act 1989: care planning, placement and case review
  England source for looked-after children context, placement planning and decision-making arrangements.
• Understanding and dealing with issues relating to parental responsibility
  GOV.UK guidance on the practical meaning of parental responsibility.
• Working Together to Safeguard Children
  England safeguarding guidance for information sharing and escalation principles.
• Information sharing advice for safeguarding practitioners
  GOV.UK guidance on sharing child-safety information lawfully and proportionately, including why consent is not usually the correct lawful basis in safeguarding.
• NHS: Consent to treatment - children and young people
  NHS guidance explaining children's consent and the position of many 16 and 17 year olds.
• ICO: What rights do children have?
  Guidance on child information and privacy, including when children may act on their own behalf and the role of parents or advocacy services.
• Advocacy services for children and young people
  GOV.UK guidance referenced for the advocacy section of the course.
• Care Inspectorate Wales: National Minimum Standards for Children's Homes
  Wales guidance on children's homes standards and local service expectations.
• gov.scot: National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021 - updated 2023
  Scotland guidance on information sharing, child protection and decision-making context.
• Co-operating to Safeguard Children and Young People in Northern Ireland
  Northern Ireland guidance on safeguarding and information sharing context.
• RQIA: Minimum Standards for Children's Homes
  Northern Ireland guidance on children's homes standards and oversight expectations.

Across all four nations, the safest shared principle is this: listen to the child, know your role, share information carefully and escalate early when the decision is bigger than the shift.