Effective information sharing is a vital element of both early intervention and safeguarding. Many reviews of practice experience have repeatedly shown that information sharing in order to keep children safe from harm requires practitioners to recognise the significance of information they have about:
- A child’s health and any known risk of possible harm;
- A parent who may need support to care for a child appropriately and safely
- Individuals who may present a risk to a child or children.
For safeguarding to be effective it is essential that information is shared appropriately and as quickly as possible with partner practitioners and organisations.
The government has produced the guidance document “Information Sharing” for safeguarding practitioners for safeguarding practitioners on the .gov website.