Pathway Guidance

Pathway Guidance is provided to enable practitioners to interpret Greater Manchester procedures for implementation in Salford.

Pathway Guidance is only required for certain GM procedures. If there is no Pathway Guidance listed here for the specific GM procedure you are looking for then that means that the GM procedure can be used directly for implementation in Salford and does not need local interpretation. (Please note that some SSCP policies and procedures will continue to be used).

Worried about a child? Pathway for referrals

This is the most important pathway. If you have a concern about a child's welfare or safety you should contact the Bridge Partnership which can be contacted by telephone on 0161 603 4500 or email worriedaboutachild@salford.gov.uk

More information about this service.

If a child is in immediate danger of being harmed, or if a child is home alone, the police should be called on 999.

Worried about the behaviour of an adult who works with children?

If your concern is about the behaviour of an adult who works with children in a paid or voluntary capacity contact your line manager and/or the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) for Salford on 0161 603 4350.

GM section 3.0.5 Resolving Professional Disagreements/Escalation Policy

Please see Salford's Effective challenge and escalation policy

GM Section 4.0.5 Section 47 Enquiries

• Local pathway guidance on how to obtain a child protection (Section 47) medical assessment in Salford .
• The Child Protection medical process in Salford.

GM section 4.0.10 Pre-Birth Assessments

The GM Pre-Birth Procedure provides an overview of best practice. However, the timescales used in Salford vary slightly from those set out in the GM procedure. In relation to section 3 - Sharing Concerns, Salford's Policy is: If at booking any of the concerns listed in 1.2 of the GM Pre-Birth Assessment Policy are present, the Health Professional should contact Bridge Partnership. Bridge Partnership will record this contact, and if it is before week 18 of the pregnancy they will signpost to the Strengthening Families Project (Early Intervention and Prevention Services).

This intensive early intervention from a parenting worker, midwife and family support worker supports parents and contributes to the pre-birth assessment which would commence at 20 weeks by a Social Worker (Child Protection and Child in Need Team). If it is week 18 or later, a referral will be made to the Child Protection and Child In Need Team for allocation to a Social Worker.

Local pathway guidance for Salford can be accessed below:

• Pre-Birth Flowchart
• Pre-Birth Strategy Theory of Change

GM section 5.1.1 Bullying

Anti-bullying is one of the key priorities for Salford's Children & Young People's Trust. The Salford approach to anti-bullying is consistent with the GM procedure.

Please note that Appendix 2 of GM section 4.1 'Recording and Monitoring tool' is not in use in Salford. 

GM section 5.7.1 Safeguarding Children and Young People Online

The E Safety Practice Guidance provides additional guidance for practitioners in Salford and will complement the GM procedure.  

GM section 5.11.1 Safeguarding Children and Young People Abused Through Sexual Exploitation

Please see attached Salford's local pathway response to CSE 

GM Section 5.3.6 Domestic Abuse

Please see Salford's local domestic abuse pathways.

GM section 5.3.2 Children of Parents with Learning Difficulties

Referrals in respect of Salford children should be via the Bridge, as above.

Please note that escalation of need or concern can be activated before the threshold for a child protection enquiry is reached. See above for more information on escalation.

GM section 5.3.3 Children of Parents with Mental Health Difficulties

Parents who are concerned about their own mental health or the impact on their children should speak to their GP. Practitioners who have concerns about a parent or carer's mental health should consult with the Community Mental Health Teams as described here. If this concern involves concern about the welfare of the child then a referral should be made as described above to the Bridge.

GM Section 5.11.3 Harmful Sexual Behaviours Presented by Children and Young People

Please see the documents below:

• Brook Traffic Light Tool, including example scenarios.
• Safety Planning Guidance (home, community, school)
  • Safety planning guidance (Microsoft Word format, 26kb)
  • Safety plans (Adobe PDF format, 942kb)
• Assessment of parents' capacity to protect (Adobe PDF format, 197kb).

GM section 5.8.2 Female Genital Mutilation Multi-Agency Protocol

Salford's Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Assessment Toolkit and Guidance is available on the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) page. Its purpose is to support in multi-agency assessment of whether FGM has taken place or there is a risk of FGM to an adult, child or close family member. 

GM section 5.10.1 Children Living Away From Home

The Salford approach to Private Fostering is consistent with the GM procedure. Additional information about Private Fostering in Salford.

Please note that in Salford, there is a specific interpretation of timescales - namely, an arrangement is classed as private fostering when it happens for the majority of a 28-day period or more (or is intended to).

GM section 5.2.2 Safer Sleep Guidance

The SSCP has a set of guidance and other information for use in Salford.

GM section 4.15.1 Provision of Accommodation for Children under PACE

Please see attached Salford's local pathway response to a PACE bed request.

GM section 6.2 Managing Allegations of Abuse made against Adults who Work with Children and Young People

In Salford, 5.4.5 in this procedure is augmented by an Appeal Process. If the subject of the managing allegations meeting wishes to appeal against the outcome of the meeting s/he should write to the Head of Safeguarding, Sutherland House, 303 Chorley Road, Swinton M27 6AY outlining the reasons for the appeal. 

Additionally if at any point in the process the LADO considers that the progress of recommendations made at a managing allegations meeting is unnecessarily delayed a management alert will be sent to:

• The manager 
• Their line manager 
• The Head of Safeguarding

5.3.8 Neglect

Additional resources are available on the Salford Neglect page

5.4.4 Children who are Victims of Modern Slavery, Trafficking and Exploitation

Section 1.2.1 Age Assessments- Please note Salford have developed a new integrated adults and children’s social care pathway for referrals and response to Age dispute related referrals to either service.