Runaways

In March 2010, the Government Office for London published a report assessing the provision for runaways in London and making a number of recommendations to achieve more co-ordinated and comprehensive systems across London. You can download a copy of the report, and a response from the London Safeguarding Children Board, via the links below:

  A Report on the Young Runaways Situation in London
  A Report on the Young Runaways Situation in London - London Board response

Resources from the Children's Society 

The Children's Society have launched an online young runaways resource pack funded by the DCSF.  It aims to warn young people about the dangers of running away and looks at the support networks available to those contemplating it.  The resource pack is targeted at young people between 10-12 years and is available free via The Children’s Society website at http://mylife.edcoms.com/MyLife/home.aspx.  It can be used by both schools / alternative education providers and youth groups, and offers lesson plans for teaching National Curriculum PSHE Key Stage 2.

Statutory guidance on children who run away and go missing from home or care

New statutory guidance has been developed to help LAs put better systems in place to support young runaways from both home and care. This guidance replaces Children Missing from Care and from Home (2002).

The new guidance, entitled Statutory guidance on children who run away and go missing from home or care, puts more emphasis on the importance of young runaways being offered a return interview and stresses the importance of information sharing and using common assessment. It also explains the need for a named person to have responsibility at local level.

Three summary versions of the statutory guidance have also been developed for lead members of children's services; directors of children's services; and for care workers and foster carers explaining their specific responsibilities to support these vulnerable young people.

See http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters/safeguardingandsocialcare/safeguardingchildren/youngrunaways/youngrunaways/ to download a copy of the statutory guidance and summary guides.

London procedure for safeguarding children missing from care and home

This procedure supports an effective collaborative safeguarding response from all agencies involved when a child goes missing. It provides guidance for assessing both the risk of the child going missing and the risk to the child when they are missing. The procedure describes appropriate staff / agency actions to locate the child, to effect their return and to identify the issues which caused, and may continue to cause, the child to go missing.

  Safeguarding missing children procedure
  Safeguarding missing children appendices