Information Sharing Policy

 

Information sharing is vital to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. A key factor identified in many serious case reviews (SCRs) has been a failure by practitioners to record information, to share it, to understand its significance and then take appropriate action.

Sharing information is an intrinsic part of any frontline practitioners’ job when working with children and young people. The decisions about how much information to share, with whom and when, can have a profound impact on individuals’ lives. It could ensure that an individual receives the right services at the right time and prevent a need from becoming more acute and difficult to meet. At the other end of the spectrum it could be the difference between life and death. Poor or non-existent information sharing is a factor repeatedly flagged up as an issue in Serious Case Reviews carried out following the death of, or serious injury to, a child.

Golden rules as taken from ‘Information sharing: Advice for practitioners providing safeguarding services’:

• The Data Protection Act 1998 and human rights law are not barriers to justify information sharing but provide a framework to ensure that personal information about individuals is shared appropriately.

 

• Be open and honest with the person (and/or their family where appropriate) from the outset about why, what, how and with whom information will, or could be shared, and seek their agreement, unless it is unsafe or inappropriate to do so.

 

 

• Seek advice from other practitioners if you are in any doubt about sharing the information concerned, without disclosing the identity of the person where possible.

 

• Share with consent where appropriate and, where possible, respect the wishes of those who do not consent to share confidential information.  You may still share information without consent, if in your judgment, there is good reason to do so, such as where safety may be at risk.

 

 

• Base your information sharing decisions on considerations of the safety and well-being of the person and others who may be affected by their actions.

 

• Ensure that the information you share is necessary for the purpose for which you are sharing it, is shared only with those people who need to have it, is accurate and up-to-date, is shared in a timely fashion, and is shared securely.

 

 

• Keep a record of your decision and the reasons for it – whether it is to share information or not.  If you decide to share, then record what you have shared, with whom and for what purpose. Also add if a decision is made not to share you should record it, and explain the reasoning.

It is important that we do not let concerns about sharing information stand in the way of protecting children who may be at risk of abuse or neglect.

Fears about sharing information cannot be allowed to stand in the way of the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children at risk of abuse or neglect. No practitioner should assume that someone else will pass on information which may be critical to keeping a child safe.

 

We are committed to reviewing our policy and good practice annually.

 

This policy was last reviewed in: August 2023

Next review date: August 2024

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Signed:           S.Green                          Role: Deputy