Guidance for consulting with and referring to the lado

GUIDANCE FOR CONSULTING WITH AND REFERRING TO THE LADO
Allegations Against Persons who work with Children, Protocol 8.3 needs to be read, when making a referral to Norfolk LADO service. http://norfolkscb.proceduresonline.com/chapters/contents.html#individuals
Working Together to Safeguard Children, March 2015, also gives information about Section 11 of the Children Act 2004, which places duties on a range of organisations and individuals in relation to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
All allegations of abuse of children by those who work with children must be taken seriously.
DEFINITIONS

• 
  A child is anyone under the age of 18.
  
• 
  An employee (person) is anyone working with children, be it in an employed (all sectors and settings) or voluntary capacity.
  
• 
  An employer is anyone working with or providing services to children (all sectors and settings)
  

An allegation may relate to a person who works with children who has:

• 
  behaved in a way that has harmed a child, or may have harmed a child:
  
• 
  possibly committed a criminal offence against or related to a child:
  
• 
  behaved towards a child or children in a way that indicates they may pose a risk of harm to children.
  

TIMESCALES

• 
  Any allegation against a person who works with children should be reported immediately to a senior manager within the organisation.
  
• 
  The Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) should be informed within one working day of all allegations that come to an employer’s attention or that are made directly to the police.
  

THE ROLE OF THE LADO

The role of the LADO is to be involved in the management and oversight of allegations against people who work with children. They are not responsible for undertaking investigations. They can provide advice and guidance to employers and voluntary organisations. Please note:

• 
  Incidents where one child harms another child, or a parent who does not work with children harms their own children do not need to be reported to the LADO Service, these need to referred directly to Norfolk Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH). 0344 800 8020.
  
• 
  Norfolk LADO service do not deal with allegations re bullying , unless there is clear evidence that it is by an adult  working with children.
  
• 
  Parental complaints need to go through the organisational complaints process, initially raising the complaint with the Head teacher/ Manager of the setting in the first instance.
  
• 
  General dissatisfaction with a school/setting/team or individual needs to go through the settings complaints process.
  

NEXT STEPS

Fill in a referral/consultation form if you want advice if the behaviour you are reporting meets the LADO criteria or you are unsure. Sometimes behaviours may concern you and make you wonder whether someone is suitable to work with children i.e. there has been a pattern of inappropriate behaviour that has been addressed via disciplinary procedures but the behaviour continues to occur.

For both forms please ensure you give as much detail as possible so we are able to make an informed decision on the way forward.
Once the LADO Referral/Consultation form has been completed, it needs to be returned to [e-mail] where it will be read by the duty LADO who will then respond with the appropriate advice and information.