Children Act 2004 - guidance
The Children Act 2004 provides the legal underpinning for the transformation of children's services as set out in the Every Child Matters: Change for Children programme. A series of documents have been published which provide guidance under the Act to support local authorities and their partners in implementing statutory duties. In 2005, an overviewof these, and other guidance supporting the Every Child Matters programme, was published.
Inter-Agency Cooperation to Improve the Well-being of Children: Children's Trusts
This guidance on the duty to cooperate (section 10 of the Children Act 2004), provides the underpinning framework for Children's Trusts. Well-being is the term used in the Act to define the five Every Child Matters outcomes:
- Be healthy
- Stay safe
- Enjoy and achieve
- Make a positive contribution
- Achieve economic well-being
The Children's Plan
The Children's Plan: building brighter futures recognises the importance of Children's Trusts in forging collaborative partnerships, improving integration of services and delivering measurable improvements for all children and young people.
To help drive forward this ambition the Government is committed to considering whether Children's Trust arrangements need to be strengthened, including through further legislation. To this end, on 3 April 2008, the Secretary of State, Ed Balls, launched a consultation on the updated guidance Children's Trusts: Statutory guidance on inter-agency cooperation to improve the well-being of children, young people and their families, which supplements the existing guidance issued in 2005.
The consultation will run for three months, from 3 April 2008 to 26 June 2008. To download copies of the guidance, and to respond to the Children's Trust consultation, go to the DCSF website.
Guidance on the Children and Young People's Plan (CYPP)
A key element in the implementation of Children's Trusts is the development, by the local authority and its partners, of a single, strategic, overarching plan for all services affecting children and young people - the Children and Young People's Plan (see section 17 of the Children's Act 2004).
Click to read guidance on the CYPP or to read more about the Children and Young People's Plan.
Guidance on the roles and responsibilities of the Director of Children's Services and the Lead Member for Children's Services
This guidance, which accompanies sections 18 and 19 of the Children Act 2004, emphasises the key leadership roles and responsibilities of the Director of Children's Services and Lead Member for Children's Services, both within the local authority and in building Children's Trust partnerships.
Click to read the guidance or to learn more about Directors and Lead Members of Children's Services.
Local Safeguarding Children Board Guidance
The establishment of local safeguarding children boards (LSCBs) is an
important element of the improved safeguards for children put in place by
the Children Act 2004 - the creation of LSCBs fulfils sections 13-16 of the
act. The LSCB and its activities are part of the wider context of
children's trust arrangements. Each local authority needs to have an LSCB
in place by April 2006.
The LSCBs guidance forms chapter three of Working Together to Safeguard
Children.
Click to read the guidance
on LSCBs or to read more about LSCBson this site.
Working Together to Safeguard Children
Working Together to Safeguard Children sets out how individuals and organisations should work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. The guidance has been updated since the previous version which was published in 1999. The new version reflects developments in legislation, policy and practice.
Click to read the guidance.
Guidance on the Duty to Safeguard and Promote the Welfare of Children
Working Together and the Guidance on the Duty to Safeguard and Promote the Welfare of Children, both deal with the key cross cutting issue of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.
Click to read the guidance.
Children Act 1989, Guidance and Regulations, Volume 1 Court Orders
Children Act Guidance and Regulations, published originally in 1991, provided a suite of guidance, primarily addressed to local authorities. Volume 1 addresses the court-related provisions set out in the Act. Following the Review of the Child Care Proceedings System in England and Wales, published in May 2006, and public consultation on draft guidance between June and September 2007, revised guidance has now been prepared, which is being published alongside this letter. This replaces the 1991 edition and comes into effect from 1 April 2008.
Read the guidance and letter, available on the DCSF website.
Documents
Every
Child Matters: Change for Children - An Overview of Cross Government
Guidance
This document provides details of all the cross-government guidance supporting
Every Child Matters: Change for Children, including the aspects covered on this
page.
This page was last updated on 05 June 2008
