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ℹ️Introduction
This article explains how to use the Ardens Child Safeguarding resources to identify and manage patients under the age of 18 years who have, or may have, a safeguarding concern. By the end of this article, you will be able to record safeguarding information consistently, identify children requiring review, monitor activity within your practice and produce safeguarding documentation.
Background
Effective child safeguarding relies on timely identification, accurate documentation, and clear communication between healthcare professionals and partner organisations.
The Ardens Child Safeguarding resources have been developed to support GP practices in recording safeguarding information consistently, monitoring children and young people with safeguarding concerns, and producing standardised documentation to support multi-agency working and local safeguarding processes.
How Ardens Can Help
Ardens provides a range of resources to help practices:
Identify children and unborn children who require safeguarding support
Record safeguarding information consistently using a dedicated clinical template
Complete safeguarding assessments and risk reviews
Maintain the safeguarding registers
Monitor safeguarding activity and referrals
Produce standardised safeguarding letters and reports
How to Access the Resources
👨⚕️Recognition
Safeguarding concerns can come up in any consultation, planned or opportunistic. Ardens helps clinicians recognise early warning signs, record what they've seen and decide on the right next steps for the child or unborn child.
Screening
Use the Ardens template to record early safeguarding considerations before a formal concern has been raised. This could include documenting concerns from carers or third parties, possible abuse or neglect , and any other worries supported by a risk assessment. Record the outcome, whether that is advice to return, a follow-up, a referral or a plan.
Concerns
When a concern is identified, record the status using the Ardens template. This ensures the child is flagged correctly across registers and alerts so the wider practice team can see.
📋Register
Once a child's safeguarding status has been coded, they're automatically added to the relevant Child Safeguarding register. The registers give the practice a clear view of every child with a safeguarding concern, which supports ongoing review and multi-agency working.
Case Finding
Case Finder reports identify children who may require a safeguarding review. These reports are particularly useful for identifying children who:
have risk factors recorded (such as drug or alcohol misuse in the household, or risk of violence in the home) but are not currently included on a safeguarding register
have not had a safeguarding risk assessment recorded within the last year
Running these reports regularly helps ensure safeguarding registers remain complete and up to date.
Record Status
Whenever a child's circumstances change, update their status using the Ardens Child Safeguarding template, so the register stays accurate. A newly coded child shows the child protection alert in their record. Recording the appropriate removal code takes the child off the register and removes the alert.
Register reports are available highlight coded patients.
Case Finders
Registers
Add to Child Protection Register
Access the Ardens Child Safeguarding template, and add the appropriate code using the Coding page
Recording there are no longer concerns for the patient
Open the Ardens Child Safeguarding template, select the Coding page and tick the appropriate 'no longer' code. This will remove the patient from the register reports and alerts.
🔄️Review
Children on a safeguarding register should be reviewed regularly to make sure their information is current and their care is coordinated. During a review, clinicians may want to use the Ardens Template to:
Confirm or update the child's safeguarding status
Record the lead professional involved in the child's care
Complete or update a safeguarding risk assessment
Referral
If a child needs further assessment, specialist input or multi-agency support, refer them to the appropriate service. That could be a safeguarding coordinator, a children's team, a multi-agency risk assessment conference or another external safeguarding organisation.
Standardised Child Safeguarding letters are available to support the referral and any information sharing with partner organisations.
⚠️ Please note: Practices should follow their local processes for generating referral documents and sending referrals.
📈Evaluate
Ardens provides several resources to help practices monitor child safeguarding activity and maintain oversight of safeguarding across the practice.
Activity
Activity reports monitor child safeguarding referrals recorded over the last year, helping practices review safeguarding activity over time. Referrals may have been made to a safeguarding coordinator, children's team, multi-agency risk assessment conference or other external safeguarding organisation.
Insights
For organisations using Ardens Manager, the Safeguarding dashboard provides a practice-wide overview of child safeguarding activity.
The dashboard includes information on:
Safeguarding referrals
Children on safeguarding registers (in need, of concern, at risk, looked after or on a protection plan)
Safety alerts requiring a discharge review
Case Finder reports
Safeguarding activity over the last year
Data can also be filtered by demographics, risk groups and other population characteristics to support monitoring and service planning.
Activity
❓FAQs
How do I add a child to the Child Safeguarding Register?
Record the appropriate safeguarding code using the Ardens Child Safeguarding template (the Coding (Safeguarding inc LAC) page in EMIS Web). Once coded, the child is automatically added to the relevant register.
Why is it important to record safeguarding information using SNOMED codes?
Recording safeguarding information using the appropriate SNOMED codes ensures children appear correctly within safeguarding registers, reports and alerts, supporting consistent monitoring and follow-up.
Why isn't a child appearing in a safeguarding register or report?
Check that the appropriate child protection SNOMED codes have been recorded. Run the Child Case Finder reports to identify children who have risk factors recorded but are not yet on a register.
How do I remove a child from a safeguarding register?
When a child's safeguarding circumstances change, record the appropriate removal code using the Child Safeguarding template. This also removes the child protection flag from the patient demographics bar.
Do Ardens safeguarding resources replace local safeguarding policies?
No. The Ardens safeguarding resources are designed to support consistent clinical recording and identification of safeguarding information. They do not replace professional judgement and should be used alongside your local ICB and safeguarding partnership policies and procedures.
🏫Additional Support
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