Information sharing
Information sharing is key to the Government's goal of delivering better, more efficient public services that are coordinated around the needs of children, young people and families. It is essential to enable early intervention and preventative work, for safeguarding and promoting welfare and for wider public protection. Information sharing is a vital element in improving outcomes for all.
Guidance
In Every Child Matters (December 2004) the Government made a commitment to produce clear guidance for all children's services practitioners on information sharing. Cross-government guidance was published in April 2006.
In October 2008 a new version of this guidance was published to reflect current policy, and was extended to cover practitioners working with adults and families as well as those working with children and young people. The guidance and associated materials (available below) aim to support good practice in information sharing by offering clarity on when and how information can be shared legally and professionally.
The guidance is for practitioners who have to make decisions about sharing personal information on a case-by-case basis, whether they are:
- Providing services to children, young people, adults and/or families
- Working in the public, private or voluntary sectors as an employee, a contractor or a volunteer
Training
Training materials based on the 2008 information sharing guidance are currently in development and will be made available in the near future. The existing training materials, based on the 2006 information sharing guidance, are still available on the Integrated working: training page for local multi-agency training, and for use by providers of initial training and continuous professional development for the children's workforce.
Documents
HM
Government Information Sharing Guidance (October 2008)
Suite of guidance offering clarity on when and how information can be shared
legally and professionally. This includes guidance for practitioners and
managers; a pocket guide; case examples and further guidance on legal
issues
Statement
on Information Sharing Agreements and Protocols (August 2008)
This statement aims to summarise how information sharing governance can support
good practice at the front-line and to clarify the role of information sharing
protocols. It details why agreements and protocols are unnecessary for sharing
information about individual children.
Information
Sharing Q&A (October 2008)
Integrated
Working Factsheets
Includes a factsheet on information sharing guidance.
Better
Information Sharing in Practice
Case studies showing how the function of the lead professional, use of the
Common Assessment Framework and multi-agency working contribute to better
information sharing.
The Children's Workforce Development Council supports the implementation of integrated working.
This page was last updated on 22 October 2008
