Protocol for Managing Serious Incidents

This protocol has been created to deal with cases involving abuse or serious concerns about the welfare of children - primarily in institutional settings or settings that fall outside existing registration, regulatory or inspection arrangements - where there is a need for management and coordination at a regional or cross-regional level due to the complexity of the issues raised, or the number of agencies involved.

The protocol has been agreed by the Department for Education and Skills, the Department of Health, the Commission for Social Care Inspection, the Healthcare Commission and Ofsted. It is supported by strategic health authorities and the nine regional Government Offices.

The purpose of the protocol is to:

• Ensure effective coordination of agencies' work beyond the immediate local child protection enquiry
  
  
• Facilitate strategic management that is able to pick up and deal with policy and operational issues of regional or national significance
  
  
• Ensure that information is shared effectively between all the agencies concerned
  
  
• Ensure that all the commissioning agencies responsible for placing children in institutions exercise their duty to safeguard these children in a timely manner
  
  
• Clarify the respective roles of local authorities, NHS bodies, inspectorates, regulators and government departments

The protocol also seeks to introduce secure procedures for complex cases, including escalation of their management, by DfES and inspectorates, to appropriate regional or national levels.

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