Using this Manual

This West Berkshire's Children's Services Procedures Manual is produced and maintained in partnership with tri.x.

The manual layout has had a refresh and is laid out as following:

• Procedures (previously called contents) – contains the procedures that meet the national social work requirements required by the legislation and statutory guidance;
• Practice Guidance on the toolbar (previously called Local Resources) contains local guidance, tools and other information that supports and complements the main procedures. It is important that you use this area;
• The Multi-Agency Pan Berkshire Safeguarding Procedures be accessed from the button on the top toolbar titled SCP Procedures.
  The Berkshire West SCP Website also has a range of guidance on safeguarding topics that are relevant to your work.

The majority of electronic devices have the functionality to allow a shortcut to be downloaded to the welcome screen of their phone/tablet by loading the site using the web address above and tapping 'Add to Home Screen' from the menu on their browser.

These procedures use the word ‘must’ where the provision is a legal requirement. The word ‘should’ is used where the provision should be complied with but is not a legal requirement, such as where it is taken from non-statutory government guidance or accepted good practice.

For more information about this manual, please contact: csmanageradmin@westberks.gov.uk.

This manual will be updated on a regular basis and a summary of the changes can be accessed via the 'Amendments' button on the Home page. The next update for this manual will be December 2024.

If you would like to suggest a change to the procedures manual discuss your suggestion with your line manager in the first instance.

This manual contains a local resource section which can be accessed via the Practice Guidance button on the navigation bar (previously called Local Resources). It contains local guidance, tools and other information that supports and complements the main procedures. It is important that you use this area.

If there is a resource that you think should be added talk in the first instance to your manager. The nominated administrator for this area will be able to access online training in the use of the area from tri.x.

This library is populated and maintained locally and not by tri.x.

tri.x will not be responsible for content which is added into this area, and any concerns should be directed to the contact person with responsibility for the procedures.

The manual is accessed by readers who may find terms that they are not familiar with. Therefore, a glossary of definitions is available under the resource tab.

There is also a National Contacts resource populated with details of key national agencies and organisations likely to be relevant to procedures user.

Every effort has been taken to ensure regulatory compliance. If you discover any errors or omissions, please alert your manager.

We recommend that you register with us to automatically receive notification when this manual is updated, and to receive a monthly newsletter containing articles which may be of interest. Click on the 'Register for Updates' button on the home screen, to complete and send your details to us.

We will manage your data respectfully and in accordance with your preferences and we will never share your data with other organisations for marketing or other purposes.

The content of this website can be accessed, printed and downloaded in an unaltered form, on a temporary basis, for personal study or reference purposes. Content printed or downloaded may not be sold, licensed, transferred, copied or reproduced in whole or in part in any manner or in or on any media to any person without the prior written consent of tri.x and West Berkshire Council.

This website aims to achieve Double-A conformance to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines in accordance with government guidelines. 

The Manual is intended to be viewed on line to ensure only the most up-to-date version of procedures are being used. It will be updated regularly so, in the unlikely event there is a requirement for hard copies they should be destroyed after 72 hours.

It is recommended that this manual is viewed with the latest browsers, with Java Script and cookies enabled for maximum compatibility and functionality.

Recommended browsers are:

• Internet Explorer 11 (Windows 7, 8 and 8.1);
• Microsoft Edge (Windows 10);
• Google Chrome;
• Mozilla Firefox;
• Apple Safari.

This manual has been tested on a variety of mobile devices to ensure that it displays correctly. If you are using an older mobile device it is possible that the manual will not display correctly.

If you would like the text to be larger, resize the text under the accessibility options, alternatively if you would also like the buttons and the rest of the layout to be enlarged you can use the zoom function within your browser.

The majority of devices have the functionality to allow a shortcut to be downloaded to the homescreen by loading the site using the 'url' and using the upload function and tapping 'Add to Home Screen'. The functionality may vary between devices, please refer to the manufacturer's instructions.