Early Years Practice- 3.03 Working in Partnership with Other Agencies
Policy statement
We work in partnership with local and national agencies to promote the well-being of all children.
Procedures
- We work in partnership, or in tandem, with local and national agencies to promote the well-being of children.
- We have procedures in place for the sharing of information about children and families with other agencies. These are set out in our Information Sharing Policy, Safeguarding Children and Child Protection Policy and the Supporting Children with Special Educational Needs Policy.
- Information shared by other agencies with us is regarded as third party information. This is also kept in confidence and not shared without consent.
- When working in partnership with staff from other agencies, we make those individuals welcome in our setting and respect their professional roles.
- Parents and carers are given a ‘Other Settings’ document to complete before the child starts with us at the setting. This is to allow us to liaise with the child’s other childcare providers.
- We work closely with other early years settings that the child attends liaising with them regarding their development and any concerns that we need to be aware of including safeguarding if necessary. Currently children are only attending one setting due to Covid-19.
- We ensure that staff from other agencies do not have unsupervised access to the child they are visiting in the setting and do not have access to any other child(ren) during their visit.
- Our staff do not casually share information or seek informal advice about any named child/family.
- When necessary, we consult with and signpost to local and national agencies who offer a wealth of
- advice and information that help us to develop our understanding of the issues facing us and who can provide support and information for parents. For example, ethnic/cultural organisations, drug/alcohol agencies, welfare rights advisors or organisations promoting childcare and education, or adult education.