4. Safeguarding children missing from care and home procedure

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1.

Introduction

2.

Principles

3.

Definitions & Other Procedures

3.1

The London Child Protection Procedures

3.2

Children Missing from School

3.3

Asylum Seeking Children

4.

Children at Risk - Prevention & Planning

4.1

Looked After Children

4.2

Children who go Missing from Home

4.3

Social Care Pre-incident Risk Assessment

4.4

Information Sharing Form

4.5

Significance of Children Missing from Home/Care

5.

Responding to an Incident

5.1

Category of Absence

5.2

The Social Care Risk Assessment Record

5.3

Notifying the Police

5.4

Working with the Police

5.5

Information to be Made Available

5.6

Children for whom there is a Child Protection Plan who go Missing

5.7

Looked After Children going Missing

5.8

Further Action

5.9

National Missing Person's Helpline

5.10

Monitoring

6.

Children who go Missing During External Activities

7.

Communication

7.1

Informing the Press

7.2

Recording

8.

Locating the Child and their Return

8.1

Planning for when the Child is Located and their Return

8.2

Interviews

8.3

Communication & Further Action

9.

Longer Absences

9.1

Strategy Meetings and Keeping Cases Open

10.

Information Sharing

Appendices

Appendix 1: Current Research Findings in Relation to Children Going Missing from Care and Home

Appendix 2: Social Care Pre-incident Assessment

Appendix 3: Missing Child Risk Assessment Record

Appendix 4: Looked After Child Information Sharing Form, Police Missing Persons Unit

Appendix 5: Children Missing From Care And Home: Return Questionnaire

Appendix 6: Children Missing Monitoring Form

Appendix 7: London Notification of Children with Child Protection Plans and Vulnerable Persons going Missing

Appendix 8: London Notification of Missing Children/Persons

Appendix 9: Key Actions for Referring & Responsible Agencies Flowchart

This Procedure is designed to support an effective collaborative safeguarding response from all agencies involved when a child goes missing. It aims to provide guidance for assessing both the risk of the child going missing and the risk to the child when they are missing. The Procedure describes appropriate staff/agency actions to locate the child, to effect their return and to identify the issues which caused, and may continue to cause, the child to go missing.

This procedure should be used in conjunction with the London Child Protection Procedures, LCPC 2006.

The following principles should be adopted by all agencies in relation to identifying and locating children who go missing:

• The safety and welfare of the child is paramount

• Locating and returning the child to a safe environment is the main objective

• Child Protection Procedures will be initiated whenever there are concerns that a child who is missing may be at risk of significant harm

• Notification to the Police will only take place following a Risk Assessment and in clearly defined circumstances as set out in this Procedure

• The Police will act on any report of a child missing on the understanding that a Risk Assessment has been completed.

• Every 'missing' child who returns will be interviewed by someone other than the direct carer.

• Where the child is known to the Children's Social Services or meets the criteria for referral to the Children's Social Services, the Local Authority will ensure that there is a range of service options to address the child's needs when they return.

Missing:

For the purpose of this Procedure a child (i.e. a young person under the age of 18 years) is to be considered 'missing'  if their whereabouts are unknown, whatever the circumstances of their disappearance. They will be considered missing until they are located and their well-being or otherwise is established.

Only a quarter of children who runaway from home every year are reported as missing (SEU, 2002). The majority of children who run away do so to avoid their home circumstances, they typically see themselves as 'runaways' rather than 'missing' children. In terms of the steps which need to be taken to locate these children and safeguard their welfare, this Procedure includes them as 'missing' children.

Unauthorised Absence:

This category is critical to the clarification of roles of the Police and Children's Social Services. Some children absent themselves from home or care for a short period and then return, often their whereabouts are known or may be quickly established through contact with family or friends or are unknown but the children are not considered at risk. Sometimes children stay out longer than agreed as a boundary testing activity which is well within the range of normal teenage behaviour. These children have taken 'unauthorised absence', and would not usually come within the definition of 'missing' for this Procedure. If a child's whereabouts are known then they cannot be 'missing'. Unauthorised absences must be carefully monitored as the child may subsequently go missing.

3.1 The London Child Protection Procedures

The London Child Protection Procedures provide information which may help staff to recognise and/or manage circumstances in which children who are missing may be experiencing harm or be at risk of harm (See London Child Protection Procedures section 4, Recognition and Response and section 9, Implementation of Child Protection Plans). This includes: children subject to fabricated or induced illness or female genital mutilation; abuse by children, abduction by family or others, domestic violence, missing children and families, sexually exploited children, trafficked children and asylum seeking children.

For several of these circumstances there are supplementary, detailed London multi-agency procedures:

• Safeguarding Children Missing from School, LCPC 2006

• Safeguarding Trafficked and Exploited Children, LCPC 2006

• Safeguarding Children Abused through Sexual Exploitation, LCPC 2006

These, and the London Procedures can be accessed on the London CPC website

3.2 Children Missing from School

Children who are missing from school may also be missing from care or home and at risk. Education staff should follow the London Guidance on Safeguarding Children Missing from School (LCPC, 2006).

If a member of Education staff becomes aware that a child may be missing, they should try to establish with the parents or carers, what has happened. If this is not possible, or the child is missing, the Designated Safeguarding Children Teacher should, together with the class teacher, assess the child's vulnerability, as per the Guidance on Safeguarding Children Missing from School, LCPC 2006 or by completing the Risk Assessment (See Appendix 7).

Based on the assessment they may complete the Police Referral Form (See Appendix 7) and refer the child to the Police Missing Persons Unit (See Section 5 for the definition of missing).

If it comes to the notice of a member of Education staff that a child who was missing, has returned, that member of staff should establish whether Police or Children's Social Services were involved in returning the child to their home and if not, inform Police and/ or Children's Social Services.

Children who go missing frequently place themselves at risk and the child's safety must be prioritised over any requests to keep information confidential.

3.3 Asylum Seeking Children

There are complex issues facing Asylum Seeking children. Information about some children's whereabouts is not always maintained due to the transient nature of their accommodation arrangements. Agencies must however, be alert to the fact that some children are trafficked into, within and out of the UK for custom related reasons, to be abused and exploited for commercial gain, including through sex, for domestic servitude etc. (See Safeguarding Trafficked and Exploited Children, LCPC 2006 & Safeguarding Children Abused through Sexual Exploitation, LCPC 2006).

The Local Authority, Police and other agency response to an Asylum Seeking child going missing should be exactly the same as for all other children, whether they are Looked After or living in the community.

4.1. Looked After Children

Research shows that children looked after by the Local Authority are over-represented in the cohort of children who go missing.

Prior to each placement of child Children's Social Services staff (placing Social Workers, Residential Workers and Foster Carers), must assess the risks of the child absenting him/herself. The points set out in Paragraph 4.3 should be considered and be recorded in the Placement Plan.

4.2. Children who go Missing from Home

Children living in the community are often well known to Accident & Emergency Services, Schools and other Education Establishments or the Youth Service. Where a parent or staff member has concerns that a child may go missing, the level of concern and support plan for the child should be based on the points set out below.

4.3. Social Care Pre-incident Risk Assessment

Where there is concern that a child may go missing from Care or home, the Social Care Pre-incident Risk Assessment in Appendix 2 should be used to assess:

• Child's view on current placement/stability of their relationships at home

• Level of supervision/support that care staff propose to provide for the child

• The degree of risk to the child if they go missing - using the Social Care Risk Assessment Record in Appendix 3

• The views of parents/carers on their child's needs and the action that needs to be taken if their child is missing

• Consideration of any external influences which may result in a child's removal without consent (See also Safeguarding Trafficked and Exploited Children, LCPC 2006)

It should be explained to the child what actions will be taken if he/she absents him/herself without permission. Where considered appropriate, the child should be given a copy of this pre-incident assessment. The Social Care Pre-incident Risk Assessment should be recorded on the child's file in all agencies working with the child.

Wherever possible staff should enhance their ability to make a Social Care Pre-incident Risk Assessment by acquainting themselves with the current body of knowledge about children who go missing (See Appendix 1, Current Research Findings in Relation to Children Going Missing from Care and Home).

4.4. Information Sharing Form

Where the Risk Assessment indicates that there is a high risk of a child going missing, it is good practice for residential unit Staff/Foster Carers to prepare an Information Sharing Form containing the information the police and other agencies will need to locate the child if they do go missing (See Appendix 4 for the Looked After Child Information Sharing Form). This form should always be provided to the Police at the time of reporting a Looked After Child missing.

4.5  Significance of Children Missing from Home/ Care

There is an expectation that parents/ guardians will report their child/ young person is missing. Failure to do so may be raised as a child protection issue and the London Child Protection Procedures (Sections 5, Children in Specific Circumstances to 8, Child Protection Conferences) must be followed.

In responding to and managing an individual child/ young person's absence from home/Care, agencies should be alert to the potential significance of repeat missing episodes by a child. Often children who repeatedly go missing are viewed as 'a problem' and insufficient consideration is given to the reason why they keep absenting themselves (See Reasons for Going Missing in Appendix 1).

5.1 Category of Absence

Proper consideration needs to be given to whether the child's circumstances are an 'unauthorised absence', or whether he/she is 'missing'.

The agency first alerted to the child's absence should (together with the child's parents, if the child lives at home), decide whether the child is having an 'unauthorised absence', or whether he/she is 'missing'. In order to inform this judgement the agency should (together with the child's parents, as appropriate), attempt to locate the child and encourage him/her to return as quickly and safely as possible, ensuring he/she is treated positively on return.

5.2 The Social Care Risk Assessment Record

The Social Care Risk Assessment Record in Appendix 3 should be completed immediately on every occasion a child is 'missing' (even if it has previously been completed as part of a Social Care Pre-incident Risk Assessment).

Practitioners should use their professional judgement when carrying out the risk assessment and should take into consideration any factors, which might have a bearing on the level of risk to the child or to others.

The Risk Assessment is an aid to action, and to information sharing and recording:

Aid to action: As an action tool the purpose of the Risk Assessment is to inform single and multi-agency agency decision-making and planning to locate a 'missing' child. The Risk Assessment provides an indication of:

• The urgency of inquiries

• Areas of inquiry e.g. where drugs are available or locations and networks that certain adults frequent, country of origin or country children are trafficked on to etc.

• Type of specialist knowledge that might be needed

• The supervision that may be required

• Agencies who may be first alerted e.g. local Accident & Emergency services

Aid for information sharing and recording: At the time that a child goes 'missing' the completed Risk Assessment should be shared with all agencies working with the child and kept on the child's file in each agency. In cases where new information becomes available and/or the child remains absent for a protracted period, the risks should be re-assessed led by the agency which has current or most recent responsibility for the child. The new risk assessment should be shared with the agencies and kept on the child's file in each agency. The most recently completed Risk Assessment should remain on the child's file in all agencies working with the child.

5.3 Notifying the Police

5.4  Working with the Police

Police are the lead agency for the investigation of missing children. If the child is a Looked After Child then Children's Social Services are responsible for children in their care at all times and this responsibility is not absolved when a child is reported missing to the Police.

Appropriate application of the risk assessment process by other agencies should allow the Police to be confident that all children reported to them as 'missing' fit the agreed criteria. Referring professionals should supply the Police with a copy of the Social Care Risk Assessment Record.

Relevant agencies must provide sufficient information to the Police to enable all the risk factors to be considered. Following this a full investigation should be conducted by the Police.

Until such time as a child is no longer missing, regular liaison and communication should take place between the Police and referring/involved agencies, including the Social Worker and management of the placing Authority, for a Looked After Child.

5.5 Information to be Made Available

When reporting a missing child to Police (or other agencies, as appropriate), the person making the referral should complete and provide to the Police the Information Sharing Form for a Looked After Child, and as much of the Form as possible for any other child. The minimum information should be:

• A description of the child (name, date of birth, physical appearance). Recent photograph, if possible

• When the child was last seen and with whom

• Family addresses

• Known acquaintances

• The basis of the risk assessment and classification of High Risk

• The name and address of the child's GP and Dentist

The Police will want to search the address at which the missing child was last seen, this should be negotiated so as to cause minimum disruption to the child's family home/residential unit/foster carer's home.

5.6 Children for whom there is a Child Protection Plan who go Missing

Children who have a Child Protection Plan or who are subject to a Section 47 enquiry, need additional action to that required for other children. This includes:

• Informing the Local Authority Custodian of the Child Protection Register or equivalent, and the local Primary Care Trust's Designated Nurse

• Ensuring that a Strategy Meeting is arranged - as soon as practicable and in any event within 7 days, the social worker should arrange a strategy meeting if the child is still missing. Representatives from both the Police Missing Persons Unit and Child Abuse Investigation Team should attend the strategy meeting, as well as other practitioners involved with the child. (See Sections 5, Children in Specific Circumstances to 8, Child Protection Conferences of the London Child Protection Procedures)

• Where a child with a Protection Plan has gone missing with/without their family, Children's Social Services must implement the London Notification of Missing Children/Persons Procedure attached as Appendix 8

5.7  Looked After Children going Missing

Whoever discovers that a child is absent without permission from a residential unit or foster home should immediately inform the Residential Unit Manager/Shift Leader/Supervising Social Worker on duty.

The residential unit Manager/Shift Leader/Foster Carer should conduct the Risk Assessment. Where, initially, the assessment indicates that the child's circumstances are an 'unauthorised absence', they should take all reasonable and practical steps, which a good parent would take, to secure the safe and speedy return of the child e.g. visiting addresses where the child may be or telephoning around known friends.

Children who fall within the category of 'unauthorised absence' must be the subject of continuous risk assessment whilst they remain absent. During their absence circumstances may change and the Social Worker/Emergency Duty Team and the Residential Unit Staff/Foster Carer need to be in a position to respond accordingly. The child's parents must be kept informed.

Any unauthorised absence in excess of 48 hours should be reported to the Group Manager/Service Manager/placing Authority by the Residential Unit Manager or Supervising Social Worker.

Joint consideration should be given to adopting a finite time limit within which any child may stay in the 'unauthorised absence' category, after which they would be deemed 'missing'. Initial completion or updating of the Social Care Risk Assessment Record in Appendix 3 should to inform this decision.

If there are thought to be specific issues of safety or public order difficulties involved in returning the child, then action should be agreed between the Police, the Residential Unit Staff/Foster Carer and the Social Worker/Emergency Duty Team. (If the Local Authority think they know where a Looked After Child is, they should actively consider approaching the courts for a Recovery Order). These circumstances would not necessarily mean the child should be categorised as 'missing'.

5.8  Further Action

In addition to the notification of absence specified above, the following action should be taken:

• In all cases where a child is 'missing', the child's parents should be informed

• In all cases where a child is 'missing', a Police investigation will be initiated. Children's Social Services must convene a Strategy Meeting on the first available working day

• In high risk cases the Manager of the Residential Unit should notify the registration authority (DfES) and Social Workers should inform the Local Authority Child Protection Lead.

5.9 National Missing Person's Helpline

Local Authorities in England and Scotland together fund the Helpline's Missing from Care Team which provides a specialist service to Children's Social Services when any of their 'looked after' children go missing, including asylum seeking children. This working arrangement with local authorities forms the basis of an information sharing agreement with Social Services.  The Missing from Care Team can be contacted on 020 8392 4527.

The National Missing Persons Helpline (NMPH) is dedicated to helping missing people, their families and those who care for them.  It has information sharing agreements with the police. 

The NMPH 24-hour Freefone confidential Helpline 0500 700 700 takes calls from families and police reporting missing people.

NMPH's Runaway Helpline 0808 800 70 70 is a national 24 hour freefone Helpline for anyone aged 17 or under who has run away or been forced to leave home.  Confidential advice is given, referrals made to other organisations and it can help a child or young person get to a place of safety or pass on a message.

5.10 Monitoring

Managers of children's residential units are expected to maintain records of each occasion when a Looked After Child is identified as 'missing' or having taken 'unauthorised absence'. These records should be made available for inspection under the Children Act 1989.  Foster Carers should record similar information. The records should include:

• The child's name and date of birth

• If possible, a recent photograph of the child

• Date and time the child was  reported missing or absent

• A completed Social Care Social Care Risk Assessment Record  (Appendix 3)

• Category of absence ('missing' or 'unauthorised')

• Whether the Police were informed and the concerns conveyed to the Police/reasons for not informing the Police

• Whether the Social Worker was informed

• Action taken by Social Worker

• The date and time the child returned

• The outcome of the independent interview with the child on their return (See Paragraph 8.2)

(See Appendix 6 for the Children Missing Monitoring Form).

Children living in the community and Looked After Children participate in external activities. If a child goes missing whilst involved in an external activity, the person in charge of the activity will:

• Notify the local Police in that area (the investigation will be conducted by the missing persons unit where the child normally resides with the assistance of the unit where the child went missing)
• Notify their Manager
• Notify the child's parents and If the child is a Looked After Child, those who care for/have responsibility for the child - Residential Unit Staff/Foster Carer/
• If the child is a Looked After Child, notify the Social Worker with case work responsibility for the child, if  there is one
• If the child is a Looked After Child, notify the Social Services Emergency Duty Team for any Local Authority which holds case responsibility for the child
• Look around the local area, known favourite locations as staffing levels permit

If the child is a Looked After Child the Manager of the Residential Unit and Supervising Social Worker for the Foster Carer will be responsible for ensuring the general procedures in relation to a child going missing are followed.

The person in charge of the party of children and the child's parents (or if he/she is a Looked After Child, the Manager of the Residential Unit and Supervising Social Worker), must decide within 24 hours of the child's absence whether to return the party of children to their parents/residential unit/foster carers. For Looked After Children, where possible, this should be done in consultation with the missing child's social worker.

Communication regarding the missing child must be maintained between all those who have been notified and the Police (where the child normally resides) (See Appendix 7).

Should a child's absence continue, the Residential Unit Manager should make arrangements to inform all children and staff within the unit. Foster carers should talk to any other foster children they may have placed with them. For children in the community and known to local services, the agencies involved will need to decide who should be told.

The child's school should always be informed, they may have valuable information which would assist in establishing his/her whereabouts. Any such information should be passed immediately to the Police.

7.1  Informing the Press

For a child who is missing from home, the parents and the police will liaise with the child's parents about informing the press. For a Looked After Child who is missing a decision to publicise by press and/or television will be made by the Police in consultation with the Social Worker/Team manager/Residential Unit/Foster Carer's Agency Manager, and with prior warning in order to allow the child's parents to be informed. This may be arranged at a local level, by the Borough Commander (or nominee).

7.2  Recording

If a child's absence continues beyond a few hours and falls within this Procedure, all agencies should note their discussions, decisions, actions taken and messages received/given; and the child's Social Worker (or other agreed key worker/lead professional) should keep a single agreed record on the child's file. Residential Unit Staff and Foster Carers should record the information in the daily log/diary, with a duplicate entry for the child's file (e.g. photocopies).

8.1  Planning for when the Child is Located and their Return

If a child is 'missing' the Police and parents, Social Worker, Residential Unit Staff/Foster Carer and Police should commence contingency planning for when the child is located. Plans should include:

• Will the child return to the placement/home address or are they safe in the location where they are found?

• If the child is to return, how will s/he be conveyed to their placement/home address?

• Do the Police wish to interview the child where they are located or after they have returned their placement/home address?

• Who will be an appropriate 'independent person' to talk to the child when s/he is located/returned? (See Paragraph 8.2)

• Children who have repeated 'unauthorised' absences should also be offered an independent person to talk to. Consider activating this when a set number of absconsions are exceeded in a given period such as 3 occasions in 28 days. 

Normally the Residential Unit Staff/Foster Carer or Social Worker/Emergency Duty Team out of hours will make arrangements for the transportation of a child to his/her placement/home address.

The police are however not given the power to use force to take children into Police Protection. There will be occasions when a child is found in a location that may be considered unsuitable, but where there would be no legal grounds for taking them into police protection or where to do so would be unsustainable because of the child unwillingness to co-operate. In these cases police and the accountable manager from Children's Social Services will need to liaise to discuss what steps may be necessary in order to safeguard the child's welfare.

8.2  Interviews

Police interview: the Police will interview all children when they return. The interview consists of a simple series of questions about where the child was whilst missing, where they went, what they did, who they were with etc. If the child makes an allegation of crime that occurred whilst they were missing or that contributed to him/her running away, the Police will record this allegation and take appropriate action.

Independent interview: children should be informed that they would be expected to talk about their absence to someone independent of their parents/carers on their return. Providing children with an opportunity to talk is key to safeguarding them. The interview and the actions that following from it must:

• Identify and deal with any harm the child has incurred (his/her medical condition should be discussed immediately and any need for medical attention assessed)

• Understand and address the reasons the child ran away (the child's living arrangements/placement might need to be reviewed)

• Try to avoid it happening again

The child must receive the interview with the independent person within 72 hours of being located or returning from absence:

• For Looked After Children, it is the responsibility of the residential unit Manager/Supervising Social Worker and placing Authority to ensure that this happens

• For children living in the community, the Police and Children's Social Services have responsibility for ensuring that opportunity for an independent interview is provided

The independent person could be a social worker other than the child's social worker, if they have one, or a teacher, school nurse, Connexions, Youth or YOT Worker, a voluntary sector practitioner or a police officer whom the child knows and trusts. The independent interview should be with someone the child trusts and who is separate from the police and children's social services interview. The child should be asked who they wish to speak to.

8.3  Communication & Further Action

The child's parents/carers and all agencies informed of the absence should be advised of the child's return without delay.

Involved agencies should decide whether a Strategy Meeting is required or should be requested (See the London Child Protection Procedures, Sections 5. (Children in specific circumstances) to 8. (Child protection conferences).

9.1  Strategy Meetings and Keeping Cases Open

Whenever a child is missing for more than 28 days, a Strategy Meeting should be held, arranged by Children's Social Services and the Police invited (if the child has a Child Protection Plan, then officers from the Missing Persons Unit and the Child Abuse Investigation Unit or if not then the Missing Persons Unit only) (See the London Child Protection Procedures, Sections 5, Children in Specific Circumstances to 8, Child Protection Conferences. All agencies who attend/are invited to this meeting are responsible for ensuring that there is a clear statement of the actions being taken in respect of the child's absence and should satisfy themselves that all that should be done is being done.

For Looked After Children or those known to Children's Social Services, whilst the child remains absent, his/her case should be identified as 'open' on the Children's Social Services client database. It is recommended that a senior manager in Children's Social Services or equivalent in responsible partner agencies, should formally review all cases where children have been absent for six months or more and should satisfy him/herself on the actions taken to recover the child.

All Police missing person's files will remain 'live' until the child is located and returned to their home, or whose circumstances are considered to be appropriate.

Each Local Authority should have a Named Person with responsibility for Missing Children. The named person must be informed of all children who go missing and will record the details on the Children's Social Services client database.

Children's residential units should supply monthly information to the Commission for Social Care Inspection about children who have gone missing.

Partner agencies should receive information from each other on the basis of their need to know and take action to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child.

There should be regular inter-agency meetings to monitor the implementation of this Procedure and exchange information. There should be regular reports on children who go missing to the senior management, elected members, trustees and/or governors of all partner agencies.

The majority of children under the age of 16 who go missing are runaways.

1.  Prevalence:

• Research has shown that every year approximately 77,000 under 16s run away overnight.

2.  Profiles of the children:

• Peak ages for running away are between 13 and 16 years old and a quarter are under 11 years old. The risk of harm to a child is increased the younger the child is, and the more frequently they run away

• The main causes of running away are family conflicts and personal problems such as relationships, substance misuse, bullying and truancy. Children who run away from care are often unhappy with their placement or are influenced by others and do so to 'fit in' with the group

• Girls are more likely to run away from home than boys, but boys are likely to first run away at an earlier age and to run away more often

• Among children who go missing from care, those assessed as having emotional and behavioural difficulties are a high risk group often. They go missing at a younger age, more often and to stay away longer. They are far more likely to have been excluded from school and to have past convictions for offending than others who go missing

3.  Patterns of going missing:

• Four out of five children who run away do so only once or twice

• Twenty percent of children going missing under the age of 16 had been forced to leave home

• Very few children go outside their local area while away

• Children under 16 are most likely to run away because of abuse and neglect. Whilst those who first run away or are forced to leave at the age of 16 or 17 are more likely to do so for reasons of family conflict and breakdown

• Children in residential placements were likely to have gone missing more often in the past than those going missing from foster placements. Children aged 14 and 15 tended to stay away longer

• For children who go missing often, there is a progressive risk of detachment from family, carers and school (exclusion or non-attendance)

• Evidence would suggest that once patterns of school non-attendance and running away become established they are mutually reinforcing

• Children who go missing often are also more likely to have problems with depression, drugs and alcohol and to have involvement in offending

• Children with previous convictions were far more likely to run away than those who had none

4.  Reasons for going missing:

• For those who ran away repeatedly, particularly high levels of family problems and disruption were identified.

• Conflict with parents or step-parents is the most common reason by children for running away. The need to escape difficulties between parents - including domestic violence, drug and alcohol problems and persistent arguments - were a major influence for some young people; as were boundary and control issues and feelings of unfair treatment for others. Running away was rarely motivated by the need for excitement

• Over a quarter of the children in the Safe on the Streets survey were attempting to escape physical and Emotional Abuse, rejection or neglect. British and American studies support the finding that abuse and neglect are important factors underlying the decision to run away, especially for children who first run away from home before the age of 11; and even among those who have run away only once or twice

• Problems at school are only likely to be a direct trigger for running away for a relatively small minority of children

5.  Follow-up Schemes

• Follow-up schemes which:

1. Provide children who run away with an opportunity to talk about their reasons for running away, and

2. Link children who run away and their families into longer-term help if they need it,

have been successful in reducing the numbers of young people who run away repeatedly by up to two-thirds and have also achieved a reduction of one-fifth in the number of runaways arrested

Please click here to view the Social Care Pre-Incident Risk Assessment.

Please click here to view the Missing Child Risk Assessment Record.

Please click here to view the Information Sharing Form.

Please click here to view the Return Questionnaire.

Please click here to view the Monitoring Form.

This note clarifies the London arrangements, in line with the London Child Protection Procedures, LCPC, 2006 (Sections 9.7.3 & 4 and 9.7.20, as seen below), for notification of missing children and vulnerable persons.

The arrangements address four areas:

• Communication medium & arrangements

• Contact person & address

• Format of notifications

• Removal of notifications  

1.1

Notification of missing children and persons should be made via email (Although the email system is not totally secure, the professional judgement of the London Child Protection Co-ordinators is that in this context the need to share information quickly to protect children and vulnerable persons outweighs the need to protect sensitive data.).

1.2

Every London Children's Services has a missing children/persons email address, which reads: missing@boroughname.gov.uk

2.1

The London Child Protection Co-ordinators maintain an up-to-date list of their contact names and details (formerly the list of the custodians of the child protection register). The list can be accessed at: London Safeguarding Children Board website

3.1

All notifications of missing children/persons will be recorded and transmitted on the form attached as Appendix 1.

3.2

Originating authorities who want confirmation that the notification has arrived should set their email system to alert them when mail is read.

4.1

The details of missing children/persons should be removed from the list by the receiving authority after six months.

4.2

To assist with 4.1, administrators can use the missing children/persons email inbox to check when the notification was received.

4.3

If a child/person is still missing after six months then the notifying authority should re-notify other agencies/authorities this process 1 - 4.

The London Child Protection Procedures  (LCPC 2003) sections 9.7.3/4 and 9.7.20/1;

Please click here to view the Referral form.

Click here to view flowchart.