ContactPoint

What is ContactPoint?

It is part of the Department for Children, Schools and Families’ Every Child Matters plan, which all councils follow. It will come into use across England from the start of 2009.

How will ContactPoint benefit children?

ContactPoint will help professionals to contact you, and each other quickly, if you or your child needs support. If professionals working with a child know about each other they can:

• Make sure that every child is getting the support they need;
• Find the right support quickly, before problems get more serious;
• Work together, which means that a child or a family doesn’t have to explain the same things lots of different times, which can be distressing; and
• Make sure they are not duplicating work already being done by others.

It will also help children and young people who access services in different local authority areas or move between areas.

Children, young people families should always be at the centre of what is happening, and have a say in the services and support they get.  Kelly’s story gives just one example of how ContactPoint can help.

What information will be on ContactPoint?

ContactPoint will only hold the following information:

• Name, address, date of birth and gender of every child in England up to their 18th birthday;
• Name and contact details for each children’s parents or carers; their school and their doctor’s surgery;
• Contact details for other services (e.g. health visitor) that are working with a child and, if there is one, a lead professional.

It will show if a child has or has had an assessment made under the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) and the contact details for the professional who wrote it. But it will not show the CAF itself.

To see what information will be held, please view the ContactPoint Chart

If you have any further enquiries regarding ContactPoint please email contactpoint@westminster.gov.uk

Shielding

Your right to request that a record is shielded on ContactPoint

There are strict security controls in place on ContactPoint and access will be restricted to trained, nominated staff who are in receipt of an enhanced criminal records bureau check. Only those who need to know, will have access to a record about a child.

The key aim is to enable workers to share information about a vulnerable child effectively and securely.

There will be a very limited number of circumstances where displaying a child’s address on ContactPoint may place them and/ or others at risk of significant harm. E.g. those fleeing domestic violence or who are part of a witness protection programme (other examples can be found by following the link to the Shielding Guidance).

In most cases, it will be the worker involved on a case that will make a shielding request for a child they have concerns about. However members of the public are also entitled to make a request.

Click on the links below to obtain a copy of the ContactPoint Shielding Request Form:

• ContactPoint Shielding Request Form (pdf)
• ContactPoint Shielding Request Form (word)

To read more about ContactPoint from the ContactPoint FAQ’s or www.everychildmatters.gov.uk