Notification of Significant Events

1. Children Placed with Independent Fostering Agencies

Regulation 36 and Schedule 7 of the Fostering Services Regulations 2011 set out the arrangements for notifications in relation to specified events.

Click here to view Schedule 7 Events and Notifications table.

Independent Fostering Agencies should use the online notification form to notify Ofsted of a specified event. Any member of staff can complete the notification form, but the manager or proprietor is responsible for ensuring notifications are made. To complete the form you will need your URN (Unique Reference Number), and full postal address and details of the incident and those involved. Local Authority Fostering services do not currently have the same expectations regarding notification as Independent Fostering Agencies, but need to ensure the latest guidance is followed. This includes temporary changes linked to Covid 19.

Independent Fostering Agencies should have a system in place to ensure notifications are made within 24 hours and that a written record of actions and outcomes is kept. In urgent situations, particularly where there is likely to be media interest in the incident, Ofsted can be contacted by telephone (0300 123 1231).

Whenever there is a serious injury or safeguarding concern, the Independent Fostering Agency should also notify the placing/responsible authority and, where the placement is located in a different local authority to the placing/responsible authority, the area authority should also be notified, (particularly where there may be a need for ensuring appropriate enquiries are made under Section 47 Children Act 1989).

Note also that the National Minimum Standards (NMS 29.3) requires notification to the responsible authorities, (the Responsible Local Authority and Integrated Care Board), of any serious concerns about the emotional or mental health of a child, such that a mental health assessment would be requested under the Mental Health Act 1983.

2. Children Placed in Children's Homes

See: Tell Ofsted about an Incident - Online Forms and Guidance.

Regulation 40 (safeguarding notifications) of the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 sets out the arrangements for notifications by the registered person in relation to serious incidents which should be shared with Ofsted. The intention is that Ofsted should only be notified of the most serious incidents.

Notifications to Ofsted should be made by using the online notification form. Any member of staff can complete the notification form, but the manager or proprietor is responsible for ensuring notifications are made. You will need your URN (Unique Reference Number), full postal address and details of the incident and those involved when completing the form.

In urgent situations, particularly where there is likely to be media interest in the incident, Ofsted can be contacted by telephone (0300 123 1231).

[1] "relevant person" means any person, body or organisation that the registered person considers to be relevant in relation to the care, protection or safeguarding of a particular child in all the circumstances.

The Children's Homes Regulations also require notifications to be made to Ofsted, the placing authority and other relevant persons in the following circumstances:

1. A serious incident requiring Police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. Police involvement means the Police are actively doing something concerning the incident, for example making an arrest or taking witness statements; and
2. There is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘serious’ as: ‘significant or worrying because of possible danger or risk; not slight or negligible’.

The line between what is serious, and what is not, can be blurred and is always a matter of judgement. Deciding whether an incident is 'serious' and warrants notification to Ofsted will depend on many factors, including the age of the child, the frequency of the incident(s), the nature of any injuries sustained, any additional needs the child has and the context of the home, In some instances the cumulative effect of frequent incidents may make a notification appropriate even if the individual event would not warrant this.

Incidents which are likely to be considered serious, and thus warrant notification to Ofsted as well as the placing authority, include:

• A child being the victim or perpetrator of a serious assault;
• A serious incident of self harm;
• A serious illness or accident;
• Serious concerns over a child's missing behaviour, such as where you consider the child to be at grave risk due to their age or vulnerability, where they have been missing for a considerable period of time and their whereabouts are unknown, or there is a pattern of repeated absence. (Please note - Ofsted do not need to routinely know about children going missing, even if the Police are called out to help look for them. However, this information should always be shared with the placing authority).

A serious illness or accident would include matters such as fractured bones, when a child loses consciousness or situations that require admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours. Ofsted do not need to be notified about injuries such as sprains, strains or falls that have happened in the course of regular childhood experiences. This is the case even if the child is taken to the local accident and emergency department to have the injury checked out, unless it results in the child being admitted to hospital for more than 24 hours. If the injury has been sustained as part of a wider incident, for example a restraint or during a child running away, it may be appropriate to notify Ofsted. However Ofsted do not need to know if a child becomes ill and is not admitted to hospital.

Self-harm incidents that result in minor or superficial injuries do not need to be reported to Ofsted. However, homes should have in place a system for notifying responsible authorities of any serious concerns about the emotional or mental health of a child to the extent that a mental health assessment would be requested under the Mental Health Act 1983. Ofsted should be notified if a child living in the home requires a Mental Health Assessment.

This is not an exhaustive list, and each case must be assessed individually taking into account any patterns of behaviour or unusual behaviour that may indicate an increased risk to the child.

Children’s Home managers need to ensure they frequently review the relevant statutory guidance and follow any amendments.

Sharing Information with the Placing Authority

Regardless of whether Ofsted are notified, the home must always share any concerns about the child or their behaviour with the placing authority, in order to safeguard the child and promote their welfare.

Quality of Notifications

Notifications should not just be a chronology of events. The notification should include a brief summary of the event, the actions taken by staff and managers at the time, and further actions planned to reduce the likelihood of a similar incident occurring again.

Registered managers and providers are responsible for the quality of the reports completed by their staff.

As part of the inspection process, Ofsted will discuss incidents to gain a shared understanding of what happened and the actions staff took to address the situation.

This conversation will be wider than the process of notifying (or not notifying) Ofsted, and will focus on your response to any incidents in terms of safeguarding practice and outcomes for children.

Sending Updates to Ofsted

Ofsted do not need to be sent updates in relation to any notifications made, unless there is a significant development. Even if Ofsted are not updated, it will be appropriate to share updates with the placing authority and other relevant persons. Ofsted guidance regarding notifications is regularly updated on the Ofsted website so relevant managers need to ensure they are following the latest guidance.

There may be occasions when an inspector will ask for an update following a serious incident because this would be helpful in understanding what has happened and the action that you have taken. In these situations, the inspector is likely to ask for additional information directly by email rather than through a series of further notifications.

Learning from Notifications

It is important that managers and providers consider the wider implications of incidents which have led to notifications. The notification should not be seen as the end of the process, rather the circumstances of the incident should be reviewed and any implications for safeguarding or outcomes for children identified. Wherever possible, actions should be planned to reduce the likelihood of similar incidents occurring again. Inspectors will ask for information on learning from notifications during subsequent inspections.

3. Accidents or Infectious Diseases - Notifying the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

Where a child, visitor or member of staff is involved in a serious accident in the home, the HSE should be informed. The outbreak of any infectious disease (which in the opinion of a registered medical practitioner is sufficiently serious to be so notified) should also be reported.

See HSE website for forms to report incidents to the HSE.

For more information, see HSE – Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences.