| 2.1 |
As these are family proceedings as defined by section 8(3) and (4) of the Children Act 1989, the court may make the order under that Act of its own volition or by application of the local authority. |
| 2.2 |
One or more of the following conditions must apply before the court can make a Child Safety Order. They are that:
- the child has committed an act which, if he or she had been aged 10 (the age of criminal responsibility) or over, would have constituted an offence (section 11(3)(a));
- a Child Safety Order is necessary to prevent the child committing an act which, if he or she were aged 10 or over, would constitute an offence (section 11(3)(b));
- the child has contravened a ban imposed under a local child curfew scheme as established under section 14 of the 1998 Act (section 11(3)(c)); or
- the child has acted in a manner that caused or was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household as himself or herself (section 11 (3)(d)).
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| 2.3 |
As with any proceedings which involve issues relating to the upbringing of a child, the child’s welfare is the court’s paramount consideration and it should also consider the ‘no order’ principle set out in 1(5) of the 1989 Act when considering child safety order applications. |
| 3.1 |
Receipt of a Form 78 from the police (notification of someone coming to police attention) is the most likely means by which an assessment will be triggered. The notification will describe an incident or incidents which fall into one of the categories listed in paragraph 2.2 above. |
| 3.2 |
Depending on the seriousness of the incident described and/or the existence of at least two previous reports received about the same child, the police report will trigger the Initial Assessment’ for the child to define whether or not he/she is a Child in Need. Where he/she is identified as a Child in Need, a Core Assessment will be initiated. All time frames for this work are as set out in the Assessment Framework. |
| 3.3 |
As part of the core assessment process, the case holder will arrange a network planning meeting, inviting representatives from all relevant agencies. Where the original referral was made within the context of a potential Child Safety Order being appropriate, a representative from the Youth Offending Service and Legal Services will be invited to the planning meeting. |
| 3.4 |
The planning meeting will consider the range of options and services available to meet the needs of the child and establish the most appropriate package of intervention. This may include an application to the Court for a Child Safety Order. The following themes should be explored when considering whether such an order is appropriate;
- which of the four conditions noted above (paragraph 2.2) are applicable
- the age of the young person
- the ‘no order’ principle (s1 (5) C.A 1989) – are there alternative means of achieving the same outcomes which do not require court intervention?
- the aims and objectives of the supervision period and the programme of work to be developed to meet these
- the length of the supervision period – please note where the local authority is applying for an order longer than 3 months it will need to produce compelling evidence to the court to justify its application.
- any additional requirements to be included in the order (see Section 5, The Court Hearing)
- the potential for co-working the case with a YOS member
- whether or not a Parenting Order should be sought at the same time.
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| 4.1 |
The application for a Child Safety Order will be made by the case holder from the Children and Families Team, usually a member of the Referral and Assessment Team. |
| 4.2 |
Applications will not be ex parte at this stage and should be made on application form C1 of Schedule 1 to the Family Proceedings Courts (Children Act 12989) Rules 1991 (SI 1991/1395 as amended). |
| 4.3 |
The proceedings are family proceedings for the purposes of the Children Act 1989; thus the Family Proceedings Courts (Children Act 1989) Rules 1991 will apply to child safety applications. |
| 4.4 |
When making an application the local authority should bear in mind - particularly in cases where the child is nearing his or her tenth birthday - that the age of the child is relevant at the time the court decides to make an order. |
| 4.5 |
In applying for a Child Safety Order, the local authority will need to provide information to the court in support of its application, the nature of which will depend upon the circumstances of the case and which of the four conditions above are applicable. For example:
- under section 11(3)(a)) evidence of the ‘offence’ and the child’s role within it as well as an assessment of the likely causes of the behaviour
- under section 11(3)(b)) information regarding those risk factors identified which suggest that the young person is at risk of committing an act which would constitute a criminal offence, e.g. truancy, exclusion
- under section 11(3)(c)) there would need to be evidence of the breach of the local child curfew, report of the follow up investigation by the local authority and some explanation of why a Child Safety Order might be a useful response to the breach.
- under section 11 (3)(d)) there would need to be evidence of the anti-social behaviour and the harassment, alarm or distress it causes or was likely to cause, plus some commentary on the causes of that behaviour.
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| 4.6 |
The application should advise the court as to how the Child Safety Order might best be used to address the identified problems. |
| 4.7 |
For a pro-forma for the application see Appendix A |
| 5.1 |
There is no requirement to appoint a Children’s Guardian when the application for an order is considered. Following breach however different arrangements apply (see below). |
| 5.2 |
The parties to the proceedings will be the local authority (applicant) and the parent/guardian of the child. As the proceedings are family proceedings, hearsay evidence given in connection with the upbringing, maintenance or welfare of the child is admissible. |
| 5.3 |
The local authority should provide the application to the court with a copy to be served on the child’s parent/guardian. On receipt of these documents the court will fix the date, time and place of the hearing and consider whether directions for the conduct of the proceedings need to be given. |
| 5.4 |
The court will set its own notice period although courts may find it helpful to have a view on what may be considered appropriate. In relation to the application for the order the notice period might reasonably be 14 days; in relation to the variation or discharge of the order this might be 7 days. |
i. |
Parent and guardians in the proceedings.
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| 5.5 |
The term ‘parent’ refers to the child’s natural parents whether or not they were married at the time of the child’s birth. |
| 5.6 |
The term ‘guardian’ includes any person who, in the opinion of the court, has for the time being the care of the child. This may include people who may not have Parental Responsibility for the child, such as step-parents. |
| 5.7 |
As a party to the proceedings there is a requirement for the parent(s) or guardian to receive written notification of the proceedings and attend as appropriate. The Rules allow flexibility to ensure that those who have the greatest influence on the child are involved in the proceedings. For example, where the child’s parents are estranged and one of them exerts no influence on the child it would be inappropriate to contact them. |
| 5.8 |
Every attempt should be made by the local authority to encourage the attendance of the parents at the hearing. However, where it is clear that the parent has made, or will make no attempt to be present, then the court will exercise its judgement as to whether a delay in the proceedings is in the child’s best interests. The court can deal with an application in the absence of the parent/guardian however it has a duty prior to making an order to explain the order to them (see below). |
| 5.9 |
There may be some rare cases where an application is made when Parental Responsibility for the child lies with the local authority itself. It is particularly important in such cases that the local authority is sensitive to the wishes of the child. |
ii. |
Information about family circumstances
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| 5.10 |
There is a requirement for the court to obtain and consider information about the family circumstances and the likely effect of the order on those circumstances. This information should be contained within the original application documents. Where additional information has been obtained subsequent to the submission of the original application to the court, this should be provided in the form of a short written addendum. |
iii. |
Explaining the order to the parent/guardian
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| 5.11 |
Before making the order the court is required to explain to the parent/guardian, the effect of the order and any requirements to be included in it; the consequences if the child fails to comply; and that the court has the power to review the order upon the application of the parent/guardian or the responsible officer. |
| 5.12 |
This requirement can be fulfilled orally where the parent/guardian is in court. Where they are not the court must consider an alternative way of complying with the requirement before the order can be made. This is more likely to be in writing with the letter indicating that the court has decided to make the order and the date of the next hearing. The parent/guardian should also be encouraged to attend the hearing within that letter. |
| 5.13 |
The child is not required to attend the hearing. The responsible officer, when appointed, should ensure that the child understands the order, any requirements and the consequences if those requirements are not met. |
| 6.1 |
The court should ensure, as afar as practicable, that any requirements specified in the order avoid conflict with the parent’s religious beliefs and any interference with the times at which the child normally attends school. |
| 6.2 |
The court should ensure that the requirements are desirable in the interests of securing that the child receives appropriate care, protection and support and is subject to proper control or that they are desirable in the interests of preventing further behaviour of the type that led to the order being made. Thus they should be proportionate and tailored to the problems of the child. |
| 6.3 |
Requirements which may be included are;
- attendance at school or other relevant educational activities, such as mentoring in literacy or numeracy or a homework club;
- avoiding contact with disruptive and possibly older children;
- not visiting certain areas unsupervised;
- being home during certain hours at night and being effectively supervised;
- attending a programme or course to address specific behavioural or other problems
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| 6.4 |
The court should state its reasons for making or not making a Child Safety Order. |
| 7.1 |
There are National Standards, which determine the operation of the Child Safety Order (see Appendix B for checklist) It is the responsibility of the YOS to supply the appropriate returns to the Youth Justice Board, the agency currently monitoring the application of these orders. When a Child Safety Order is made, the responsible officer should send a copy of the application and the order itself to the Operational Manager of the YOS. At the end of the order a copy of the National Standards checklist should also be forwarded to the Operational Manager of the YOS. |
| 7.2 |
When a court makes a Child Safety Order it must specify a responsible officer who will supervise the child and the requirements of the order. The responsible officer will be a social worker from the Family Support Team. This person should be identified before the court hearing. |
| 7.3 |
The responsible officer will also have a role to play in relation to the child’s family, particularly if the court decides that it is appropriate to make a parenting order in respect of the child’s parent/guardians (see separate guidance on parenting orders). It may be appropriate for the same responsible officer to be appointed for both orders. |
| 7.4 |
The responsible officer should make initial contact with the child subject to the order, and his/her family as soon as practicable and within five working days. The initial meeting will be an opportunity for the responsible officer to explain further to the child and parents/guardians the nature of the order; its purpose and how it will work in practice. The practical details of the requirements will need to be set out, the monitoring arrangements described and the consequences of failure to comply with any requirements explained. A copy of the order should be provided as soon as it is available. |
| 7.5 |
The responsible officer should prepare a plan to support the operation of the order within 10 working days of the order having been made. If practicable a draft should be available at the first meeting for discussion and though the child and parents’ consent to the plan is not needed, it is good practice to accommodate their views as far as practicable. A copy of the final plan should be made available to the family. It should set out how the requirements are to be met and monitored, how often the responsible officer will meet the child and the expected outcomes. |
| 7.6 |
For the first month of the order contact with the child should be at least weekly. |
| 7.7 |
The responsible officer should seek to work with the child’s parents as far as appropriate, regardless of whether or not a Parenting Order has been made. The parents should be encouraged to take proper responsibility for their child and support him/her during the period of the order and beyond. |
| 8.1 |
These can be made at the application of the responsible officer or the parent/guardian to the court, which imposed the original order. |
| 8.2 |
These are civil procedures and are governed by sections 51-57 of the Magistrates Courts Act 1980 and Rules 4 and 98 of the 1981 rules. These sections and rules deal with, amongst other things, the issuing of summonses and the non-appearance of parties. |
| 8.3 |
The order may be varied either by inserting in the order (in addition to or in substitution for any of it’s provisions) any provision that could have been included at the time the order was made, or by cancelling any provision included in it. For example where the family moves to another area, or the requirements are not proving effective in meeting the original aims, or conversely where the child has made good progress such that the behaviour which led to the order have been effectively addressed. |
| 8.4 |
There is no provision for the order to be extended once made. |
| 8.5 |
Where an application for the discharge of a child safety order has been dismissed, no further application can be made without the court’s consent. |
| 9.1 |
Where there is apparent failure to comply with a requirement of the order the responsible officer should, as soon as possible, talk to the child and family to find out the reasons why. The problem may be addressed satisfactorily as a result of this discussion. |
| 9.2 |
Under National Standards, if the child fails without reasonable excuse to comply with the requirements of the order on more than two occasions the responsible officer should convene a meeting of all the agencies involved in working with the child and family and encourage the parent(s)/guardian to attend. A representative of the Legal Department should also be asked to attend. The meeting will consider what action should be taken to enforce the order and whether a breach application should be made. Where the meeting concludes referring the matter back to the court for a breach hearing it should also consider what action it will be asking the court to take if the breach is proved. |
| 9.3 |
The breach application is made by the responsible officer and the parents/guardians should also be present at the hearing. If the court is satisfied that the order has been breached it will expect the responsible to provide advice on the appropriate response. |
| 9.4 |
Where the court is satisfied that the child has failed to comply with any requirement of the order the court may vary the Child Safety Order, according to the circumstances of the case or discharge the order and make a Care Order. |
| 9.5 |
The court will need to decide whether the failure to comply is serious as to warrant the imposition of a Care Order and the placing of the child under the care of the local authority. Where it decided that is the case there is no requirement for the court to be satisfied that the conditions set out in section 31(2) of the 1989 Act are fulfilled. These limit the making of a Care Order to those situations where the child is suffering or likely to suffer Significant Harm, and that the harm or likelihood of harm is attributable to the care given to the child not being what it would be reasonable to expect a parent to give or to the child being beyond parent control. The court is however, bound by the welfare and ‘no order’ principles contained in Children Act 1989. |
| 9.6 |
If the court decides a Care Order is appropriate the existing arrangements which apply in the case of care order applications will come into effect, such as considering whether to appoint a Children’s Guardian and the need to draw up an appropriate Care Plan. At the point that the court decides that it should proceed down the care order route the proceedings become specified for the purposes of section 41 of the 1989 Act. As soon as practicable thereafter the court should consider the appointment of a Children’s Guardian in the same way as it would when proceedings under the 1989 Act become specified. The powers and duties of the Children’s Guardian are as set out in the 1991 rules. |
