Information sharing
‘Every Children’s Trust should assure themselves that partners consistently apply the Information Sharing Guidance published by the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department for Communities and Local Government to protect children.’
The Protection of Children in England: A Progress Report, March 2009, Lord Laming
In his report Lord Laming recommended that Children’s Trusts should ensure that the Government’s Information Sharing guidance is applied consistently by all partners.
The guidance is also applicable to those services working with adults who are parents or carers. It aims to promote good information sharing practice between adult and children’s services, including transition points, to ensure that services can work together effectively to support families.
The guidance has been endorsed at the highest possible national level by a wide range of partners and trades unions including police, health, Directors of children’s and adults services and voluntary sector organizations.
The guidance outlines seven ‘golden rules’ and also seven key questions to ask when information sharing and the process to follow when deciding whether and how to share information. The following questions, detailed in the guidance, have been developed to help practitioners to share information appropriately:
- is there a clear and legitimate purpose for sharing information?
- does the information enable a living person to be identified?
- is the information confidential?
- do you have consent to share?
- is there sufficient public interest to share the information?
- are you sharing information appropriately and securely?
- have you properly recorded your information sharing decision?
The guidance is available here;
There is also a poster available for practitioners: here;
- Information sharing: Poster
(215KB).
The guidance is supported by a range of tools and resources for managers and practitioners, including case study examples and further guidance on legal issues.
A multi-agency training course that supports the guidance is available in Barnet as an element of the Common Core Training provided through the Children’s Workforce Development Team . It is also included as a ‘stand alone’ course in the Barnet Safeguarding Children Board Training programme. The course runs at regular intervals and further details can be found on Safeguarding Children Board training page on Barnet online.
Email this pageLast modified by: Steve Lawlor on 30/07/2010