Children and Young People Moving in and Out of Jersey

Jersey’s population has remained stable (2018 to date), the population at the end of 2022 was estimated at 103,200. In 2022 inward migration increased, as did outward migration with a net migration close to zero with around 850 people moving to the island and 900 moving out of the island, the main reason for moving to and out of the island being employment, cost of living and housing (click here for more information on the Jersey population and migration statistics).

At any stage when working with children and families, they may move from one household to another. Children who move home within Jersey are less likely to fall between the gaps in service provision as they may do on a house move in another area. The services provided across Jersey are likely to be provided by the same practitioners from the same organisations.

In certain circumstances home and carer moves can bring risk to the child or young person, this needs to be assessed and where home moves involve nursery, education or GP changes need to be taken into consideration when sharing information.

Children who move into and out of the Jersey may require attention to their wellbeing, health and development needs.

This guidance is for all practitioners (paid or unpaid) who work with children (including the unborn child), those who work with adults who are parents/carers and who therefore hold responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. It is intended to be read alongside the Children and Young People (Jersey) Law 2022, the commensurate Statutory Guidance and the Jersey Children’s First Framework (JCF). Practioners must follow the Statutory Guidance on sharing information (which follows the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018) and follow the SPB Jersey Child Protection Procedures and the Children and Young People Safeguarding Referrals Procedure.

This chapter contains information about the approaches and legal frameworks which can be used to support children and young people moving into and out of Jersey.

All practitioners must be particularly alert to the importance of sharing information to support and protect children who require a multi-disciplinary approach to meet their health and developmental needs or are risk of harm or significant harm. It is most important to share information about children in a timely way when they move from one place to another so that the knowledge pertaining to keeping the child safe is not lost.

Where children have identified wellbeing, health and development needs and require a multi-agency response in best case moves will be planned, and relevant information can be shared in advance with the team around the child or young person with a multi-agency co-ordinated response to meet the needs of the child, young person and their family or carers when they move.

Children and young people, especially those assessed to be in need or at risk, are likely to be vulnerable because of homelessness and the dislocation that may occur as a result of moving home. Those seeking to avoid statutory services may welcome the opportunity to severe relationships with those that have begun to understand them. Families may move for a variety of reasons. Failure to comply with the terms of their tenancy, eviction, homelessness, domestic abuse and victimization because of involvement in gangs or anti-social behaviour can all be reasons why families move between local authority areas.

In some circumstances, moves may take place in haste or as a deliberate attempt to avoid the involvement of Practitioners and agencies. In such circumstances, the agencies involved must consider the impact of the move on the child or young person, assess if this increases risk and take action to prevent children or young people from experiencing harm or significant harm.

When a practitioner (from any agency) becomes aware a child / family has recently moved to Jersey they should establish whether the family have registered with a GP / Heath Visitor?

Are the children attending school or early year's provision and if so, where?

In these circumstances practitioners should engage with the family to link them into services, as soon as possible.

To aid this process practitioners should:

• Ensure that all forenames and surnames used by the family are provided, and clarification is obtained about the correct spelling;
• Ensure that accurate dates and places of birth are obtained for all household members, wherever possible;
• Obtain the previous full addresses, and earlier addresses within the last 2 years;
• Clarify relationships between the child and other household members, if possible, with documentary evidence;
• Ask the child / family with which statutory or voluntary organisations they are in contact with if any, including those which they had contact with in their previous area;
• Provide information to the family about relevant services.

Always follow up to ensure that the family has managed to make contact and register with a local GP, school and other relevant services to which the child is entitled.

(The transfer of some agency records can be delayed until there is a request from the new provider of a service. It is unlikely therefore that GP records will be transferred until the family have been registered with their new surgery for some time.)

REMEMBER - Whenever a child or family moves to Jersey, securing support from universal services for the family in the new area should be a priority.

When a child or young person who was in receipt of a Wellbeing Plan and has service support, moves from one area to another area, the multi-agency team in the originating area/authority should assess the impact of the move on the child and their family.

If the move was planned, agencies involved with the child and family should ask the parents / carer to consent to the sharing of their information with the equivalent agencies in the receiving area/authority. If parents / carers agree, practitioners should be clear who is responsible for notifying the equivalent agencies and in what timescale. Where transfer of the management of the plan may be required if the child moves to a different school on island or Practitioners who receive this information in Jersey must make plans to ensure service providers are prepared for the arrival of the child or young person.

If no parental consent for transfer of information is given and there is no increase in risk or need, the agencies involved should ensure that their records are up-to-date and accurately reflect their involvement with the family. Practitioners working in universal services should forward records to the receiving authority in a timely manner in accordance with their own procedures.

If the move is unplanned, the agencies involved should hold a multi-agency meeting to discuss the change in circumstances and consider whether the needs of, or risks to the child may have increased because of the unplanned move. The outcome of this meeting should be recorded on the child's record. If practitioners are of the opinion that the unplanned move will not lead to an increase in need or risk, agreement should be reached about how information will be shared with universal services in the receiving authority.

Practitioners attending the multi-agency meeting should be clear who is responsible for notifying the equivalent agencies and in what timescale.

Before information on a family is transferred, the Lead Practitioner should ensure their records are up-to-date and accurately reflect their involvement with the family; these should then be forwarded to equivalent agencies in the receiving area in a timely manner in accordance with their own agency procedures for the transfer of records.

Where possible, a Lead Practitioner should be identified in Jersey and they should review, update the Wellbeing Assessment, and action plan within 4 weeks, and transfer information to local documentation/systems.

Wherever possible and to ensure continuous support, a handover meeting with the new Lead Practitioner should be arranged prior to a family moving. If any practitioner concludes that there is an increase in risk or that the child may be suffering or likely to suffer significant harm because of the move, a referral to Children and Families Hub should be made by practitioners in Jersey without delay.

If a family with children subject who have been subject to a Child in Need plan (from the UK) or have been subject to a Health, Development and Wellbeing Plan (Jersey) moves to or from Jersey, the originating authority should ensure that all relevant information is shared as soon as possible with the receiving authority, including:

• Copies of the most recent assessments of the children;
• Copies of the Child in Need Plan/ Health, Development Wellbeing Assessment;
• A case summary and, if the case summary is not up to date, with a social work report identifying the needs of each of the children (including unborn children) and young people.

If the children have previously been the subject of a Child Protection Plan, then the originating authority should ensure that the risks and protective factors are clearly described in the case summary.

Practitioners in Jersey should consider whether support services are still required and discuss with the child and family what might be needed, based on a timely re-assessment of the child's needs. The receiving authority should work with the original authority to ensure any changes to the services and support provided are managed carefully.

It is a statutory requirement for services in Jersey to hold such a meeting, especially where the family situation is complex, or the children have previously been the subject of a Child Protection Plan.

The transfer of cases where assessments are outstanding or incomplete (including because of parental avoidance or non-compliance) are particularly risky. In these cases, it is especially important that practitioners are clear about their primary concerns and sources of perceived risk.

If a family refuses to consent to sharing of information or move without notice to Jersey, this may indicate an increased level of risk to the child or young person and a referral to Children and Families HUB should be considered.

Where there are concerns about risk of Significant Harm, information should be shared immediately as all information about a child should be held in the area where the child is currently residing. Where a child moves from the UK to Jersey and a Section 47 Enquiry (UK) is being considered or vice versa moves from Jersey to the UK and an Article 42 Enquiry is being considered or is in progress and/or a Child Protection Conference is proposed but has not yet taken place, the local area where the concerns originated  must make decisions as to how to proceed.

In these circumstances, the originating area must continue with the Article 42 or Section 47 Enquiry and should convene a Strategy Discussion/Meeting - this should take place within 72 hours of notification of the child's move. Timescales may be vary depending on the individual circumstances e.g., the gravity of the situation. In all circumstances, the Strategy Discussion/Meeting will always involve representatives of both the originating and the receiving area, and their respective roles and responsibilities will be agreed. The Strategy Discussion/Meeting should consider how the timescales for the completion of the Article 42 or Section 47 Enquiry and holding of the Child Protection Conference (if appropriate) will be met. The social worker from the originating area will attend and provide a report for the Child Protection Conference.

Where children move to a new address - either within the same area or to a new area – and there are concerns about the welfare of the children such that it is considered that an Article 42 Enquiry is required, the local authority for the last known address must make every effort to locate the children and complete the Article 42 Enquiry (Section 47 in the UK). The child’s move may be temporary or permanent. If the parent is not prepared to give information or take advice, Children’s Services should assume the move is permanent and act accordingly.

Practitioners in all agencies should be alert to the possibility that a child or family who has moved may not be in receipt of universal services. Practitioners should engage with the family to link them into local services in the new area and ensure:

• All forenames and surnames used by the family are provided, and clarification is obtained about the correct spelling;
• Accurate dates and places of birth are obtained for all household members, wherever possible;
• They have their previous full addresses, where applicable earlier addresses within the last two years;
• Clarification of relationships between the child and other household members, if possible, with documentary evidence;
• They have proportionate information about the child / family on which statutory or voluntary organisations they are in contact with;
• Provision of information about relevant services;
• Follow up to understand the family has managed to make contact and register with a local GP, school and other relevant services to which the child is entitled.

Where there are concerns about risk of significant harm information should be shared immediately as all information about a child should be held where the child is residing.

Where an Article 42 (Jersey) or Section 47 (UK) Enquiry is in progress, as soon as the originating area/authority becomes aware of the child's move to a new area/authority, the following action should be taken:

The child's social worker or duty worker will:

• Notify the Children's Social Care Services in the receiving area of the change in the child's circumstances within 1 working day of discovering the move;
• Send the child's relevant personal details to Children's Social Services in the receiving area;
• Inform their line manager of the change;
• Inform any other agencies working with the family of the change in circumstances and ask them to inform their colleagues in the new area;
• Attend any handover meetings in the receiving area;
• Ensure that all information is updated, and the correct address is displayed on the child's electronic record.

The children’s social worker line manager will:

• Inform the relevant team manager in the receiving area of the current details and forward any relevant documentation;
• Agree any urgent action and roles and responsibilities;
• Agree the convening of a Strategy Meeting within 72 hours.

Care and attention must be paid where the family has a history of moving between areas and the timing of their moves appears to suggest that they are seeking to avoid the child protection process. If children and families about whom there are concerns move and cannot be contacted, this will heighten such concerns and lead practitioners must consider that the children are likely to suffer Significant Harm. In such circumstances the agencies involved must share information with one another so that every effort is made to locate the child/children. The responsibility for the family will remain with the local authority for the area of the child's last known address. If the child still cannot be located.

When a child who is the subject of a formal multi-agency Child Protection Plan moves to Jersey from another area, it is essential that prompt action be taken to ensure the safety of the child now resident in Jersey. Similarly, when a child (including unborn child) or young person moves away from the island, timely action must be taken to ensure their safety in their new location.

Any Practitioner receiving information about such of a child’s move to the island where they have had recent involvement with statutory services should inform Children’s Social Care Jersey as soon as possible, by referring to the Children and Families HUB. This should be done as soon as possible so that relevant information can be passed to all agencies as appropriate. Where in parallel agencies such as health and education should follow their own single agency procedures and seek information from Practitioners where the family have recently moved from

If a child (including unborn child) or young person parent/carers intend to leave Jersey and they have a child protection plan:

• If this is a planned move, the children’s social worker will inform the family that the facts of the child protection plan will be passed to the receiving authority;
• If it is an unplanned or sudden move, the first Practitioner to know should inform the Children’s Social Worker and/or Children’s Service who will notify other relevant agencies of the change of circumstances. It is essential that anyone having such information does not delay informing the Children’s Service and in normal circumstances it is expected that such notification will take place within one working day of the information becoming known;
• Each agency responsible for the child is responsible for the prompt transfer of all relevant reports/records about the child to the receiving authority or area office in which the child is now living. Each agency will be responsible for sending their own report, including reports submitted to Child Protection Conference. The Independent Safeguarding and Standards Service (ISS), or equivalent, is responsible for sending minutes of Child Protection Conferences about the child to the receiving authority or area office.

The Children’s Service will notify the staff member responsible at the receiving agency for the keeping of information about children (ISS or equivalent) in respect of when there is a formal multi-agency Child Protection Plan, giving them a brief outline of reasons for registration and enclosing copies of the minutes of all conferences held:

• The social worker is expected to attend the Initial Child Protection Conference in the receiving authority, if invited to do so;
• If the move is permanent, then the receiving authority should convene a Child Protection Conference within 15 working days of being notified of the move.

The child’s name will only be removed from the Jersey Child Protection Register when the move has been confirmed as permanent, normally following a Child Protection Conference in the receiving authority. Responsibility for the family is transferred to the receiving authority as soon as it has been informed of the move. The following applies to children moving to Jersey who are the subject of a Child Protection Plan in another authority. The authority in which the family have been living should:

• Inform the Children’s Service, giving full details of the family, and reasons for the Child Protection Plan;
• Attend a Child Protection Conference if it has been confirmed that the move is permanent. The conference should be convened within 15 days of being notified of the move, only after which event may the original Authority close the child’s case.

The responsibilities of the Children Service in Jersey are as follows:

• Contact the Practitioner counterpart in the area of departure and ascertain whether the child has immediately identifiable needs within remit of an agency;
• The child’s name to be placed on the Jersey Child Protection Register as a temporary registration until the conference takes place;
• Social workers from the place of departure to be invited to the conference;
• When a child moving to Jersey is safely placed, for example with their foster carers or relatives, and the responsibility for the case remains with Children’s Social Services of another Authority, the Child Protection Conference does not need to be convened. This matter should be discussed with the Child Protection Officer in Social Care Services of the relevant Authority.

Where a child subject to a Child Protection Plan moves out of their home area, anyone who becomes aware of the plan to move or the move taking place, must inform the allocated children’s social worker or the children’s social worker's line manager.

The Social Worker will:

• Immediately inform the Children’s Social Care Services in the new area of the change in the child’s circumstances;
• Send the child’s relevant personal details to the new area including a copy of the most recent Child Protection Plan;
• Inform the Manager with responsibility for Children subject to a Child Protection Plan of the changes;
• Inform the Core Group of the change in circumstances;
• Attend any Initial Child Protection Conference in the new area;
• Ensure that all information is updated and the correct address is displayed on the List of Children subject to a Child Protection Plan.

The Manager with responsibility for Children subject to a Child Protection Plan will:

• Inform the new area’s Manager with responsibility for Children subject to a Child Protection Plan of the current details and forward any relevant documentation such as copies of minutes of the Initial Child Protection Conference and the most recent Review Conference;
• Inform the local Designated Nurse of the relevant information in order for the health agencies in the new area to be informed;
• Ensure liaison with schools/early years settings.

A Child Protection Conference should be convened and following this the child’s details will removed from the List of Children who have a Child Protection Plan in the original area.

At the point of notification, the Manager with responsibility for Children subject to a Child Protection Plan, or their nominated representative, in the Jersey will place the child’s name, address and relevant known personal details on the child Protection Register.

• Request information from the originating Authority/area, including copies of the Initial Child Protection Conference and the last Review Conference minutes from the originating area;
• Inform the relevant Children’s Social work team of the details of the incoming child;
• Inform the Designated Nurse;
• Inform the Safeguarding officer at the Education Department and establishment if known;
• Plan to hold an Initial Child Protection Conference within 15 working days of the notification of the child moving in;
• Confirm the outcome of the Initial Child Protection Conference with the originating local authority’s/areas Manager with responsibility for Children subject to a Child Protection Plan and forward a copy of the Conference Minutes for their records.

The relevant Children’s Social Care Services team will:

• Undertake enquiries to ensure that protective action is taken to safeguard the child in Jersey until the Initial Child Protection Conference has taken place;
• Undertake an assessment to determine whether the child is likely to be at continuing risk of Significant Harm in Jersey and work with the child and family to prepare for the Initial Child Protection Conference.

A temporary move could cover a range of situations from holiday stays to short stay placement moves to relatives or residential units; the circumstances should always be checked with the child's Lead Social Worker.

Where it is known that the child has moved out of the area or into Jersey for a temporary period, however long or short, the area where the child is temporarily residing must be provided with the relevant information and contact numbers as follows:

• The allocated Social Worker must contact the Manager with responsibility for Children subject to a Child Protection Plan and the Children’s Social Care Services team where the child is temporarily resident, providing them with the relevant personal details and the last Child Protection Plan;
• The ‘home’ Manager with responsibility for Children subject to a Child Protection Plan must write to their counterpart in the area of the temporary residence and include any relevant information;
• The child‘s name and details will remain on the List of Children subject to Child Protection Plans in the permanent home area until the criteria for discontinuing the Child Protection Plan are met.

Looked after children and care leavers must be kept healthy and safe, and have the same opportunities as their peers, to move successfully into adulthood. Practitioners should support them by providing a space for them to speak and be heard and offer advice that meets their needs.

Practitioners should support them to access and make best use of their entitlement. An example of this might be providing practical housing and budgeting support or helping them fill in forms to engage a service provider. Their plans should ensure they are able to access, if they wish, their entitlement as per the Care Leavers’ Offer (e.g., home starter kit and grant to be used to buy furniture and white goods). Their plan should have arrangements for accommodation and housing and should provide options and advice to support independent and semi-independent living.

Care leavers moving to Jersey should have the offer of support from Children’s Social Care Leaving Care Team and any practitioner aware of a child who has left care and has moved to Jersey should refer them to Children’s Social Care through the Children and Families HUB.

Whenever practitioners are working with a family and there are outstanding concerns about a child (including unborn child) or young person’s safety or welfare, and they suspect that a family may have moved overseas. This also applies when a child who is subject to a Care Order has been removed from the UK. Children's Social Care Services and the Police should be informed immediately by making a referral to the named Children’s Social Worker and their Manager or through a referral to the Children and Families HUB.

Where a child subject of a Child Protection Plan moves abroad (whether planned or unplanned) the Lead Social Worker and Conference Chair must consider whether to reconvene a Review Conference or Core Group to determine what action to take. Appropriate steps must be taken to inform the relevant local and overseas authorities in the country to which the child has moved of any concerns.

Consideration needs to be given to appropriate legal interventions, where it appears that a child, who has outstanding concerns in relation to their safety and welfare, may be removed from the UK by their family to avoid the involvement of agencies with safeguarding responsibilities.

In the case of children taken overseas it may be appropriate to contact the Consular Directorate at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which helps British nationals in distress overseas (020 7008 1500). They may be able to follow up a case through their consular post(s) in the country concerned.

Practitioners should have access to regular internal agency safeguarding supervision.

Agencies should also consider multi-agency reflective supervision where cases are complex, stuck or drifting. Whenever a case is transferred but the worker in the receiving area is unable to contact the child / family, this should be a cause for concern; supervision and advice should be sought from the Lead or Designate Lead for safeguarding in the worker's organisation without delay.

Case transfer is a time when there is a need for clarity about the status of intervention that is required - Workers who are transferring cases / case records should make sure that there is clarity about the level of assessed risk and that it is easy for workers in the new area to identify the primary concerns and sources of risk.

Professional challenge should be welcomed and partnership working depends on resolving professional difference and conflict as soon as possible. Where staff experience professional differences, they must follow the SPB Resolving Professional Difference/Escalation Policy.

There can be uncertainty about whether the move is permanent or temporary, this can cause delay in the transfer of the case and the allocation of services to support the family in the new area. Fundamentally, the child becomes the responsibility of the area where they reside, regardless of the length of time they have been there.

The transfer of some agency records can be delayed until there is a request from the new provider of a service. It is unlikely that GP records will be transferred until the family have been registered with their new surgery for some time.

In addition to any safeguarding concerns, the priority should be creating support for the family in the new area from universal services. This includes registering the child and a new school roll and registering with a GP.

Please see SPB Core Procedures and Safeguarding Practice Guidance

Laws

Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018

Discrimination (Jersey) Law 2013

Sexual Offences (Jersey) Law 2018

Extra Reading

Article 4 cooperation to promote wellbeing Children and Young People (Jersey) Law 2022

Article 5 Where it is necessary to share information about a child to help safeguarding their welfare. Children and Young People (Jersey) Law 2022. You may share the information without consent as the right to private life is being interfered with lawfully, in a way that is proportionate to achieving a legitimate aim - the protection of health.

Article 2 Overriding Objective of the law Children and Young People (Jersey) Law 2022

Article 13 Health and Development Need Children and Young People (Jersey) Law 2022

Article 28  Children and Young People (Jersey) Law 2022), you may share the information without the consent of the individual whose information is being shared, if you consider the information is necessary to fulfil functions related to this purpose and if there is a legitimate aim for doing so, such as the protection of health.

 Children and Young People (Jersey) Law Statutory Guidance

 Jersey Children’s First Framework

 Children First Training and guidance

Children and Young People’s Plan reviewed 2024 to 2027.

 Participation Standards for Children and Young People

Children’s Commissioner for Jersey Making Children’s Rights a Reality in Jersey : A Children’s Rights Approach

Care of unaccompanied migrant children and child victims of modern slavery – statutory guidance for local authorities (2017)

Crime (Transnational Organized Crime) (Jersey) Law 2008

Human Rights (Jersey) Law 2000 (Article 4 Prohibition of slavery and forced labour)

Safeguarding Children who may have been Trafficked, Non-statutory Good Practice Guidance, Department for Education and the Home Office, 2011modern Slavery Helpline

Care of Unaccompanied Migrant Children and Child Victims of Modern Slavery: Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities (2017)

NSPCC – Child trafficking

Guidance on Appropriate Language Toolkit

NSPCC – Grooming

NSPCC – child trafficking

Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023: statutory guidance (not in statute in Jersey but of interest)

Working Together to safeguarding children 2023: summary of changes

Working Together to safeguarding children 2023: statutory framework  

Keeping Children Safe in Education