What is ContactPoint?
ContactPoint will be the quick way to find out which professional knows a child or young person, making it easier to deliver more coordinated support.
What information will be held on ContactPoint?
ContactPoint will only contain the following basic information:
- Name, address, gender, date of birth and an identifying number of all children in England (up to their 18th birthday).
- Name and contact details for:
- parents or carers
- school (or other educational setting)
- GP
- other services.
There will also be the facility to indicate if there is a lead professional for a child and/or if he/she has completed an assessment under the Common Assessment Framework (the assessment itself will not be held on ContactPoint).
The information that can be held on ContactPoint is set out in law - Section 12 of the Children Act 2004 - and the supporting Regulations specify what information can be held on ContactPoint.
Will ContactPoint have medical histories, exam results etc on it?
No. ContactPoint cannot hold any case information. It will not contain any information such as case notes or details of any assessments, medical data or exam results. It will not hold subjective observations about a child or their family.
Section 12 of the Children Act 2004 and the supporting regulations specifically prohibit the inclusion of any personal information. ContactPoint can only hold the information specified in the regulations.
Why is ContactPoint needed; what are the benefits?
A quick way for practitioners to find out who else is working with the same child will provide key benefits such as:
- Improved service experience for children, young people and families through more coordinated service delivery, more timely response to their needs and reduced number of unnecessary repeat assessments and referrals.
- Faster and more effective intervention before problems become serious because practitioners can build a fuller picture of children and young people’s needs.
- Less unproductive time spent by practitioners trying to find out which other services are involved with a child and then trying to contact the right person. This means that practitioners can spend more time working directly with children and young people.
- As ContactPoint will be national, it will benefit children and young people who access services in different local authority areas or move between areas.
Who will use ContactPoint?
Access to ContactPoint will be strictly limited to those who need it as part of their work and subject to stringent security controls. Authorised users will include those working in health, education, youth justice, social care and voluntary organizations.
Everyone with access will have completed relevant mandatory training, have security clearance (including enhanced Criminal Records Bureau disclosure) and have a user name, a password, a PIN and a security token to access ContactPoint.
All users will be made aware that all use of ContactPoint will be closely monitored and that misuse will result in disciplinary action or criminal procedures.
How will ContactPoint be kept secure and not be misused?
Security is of paramount importance in the development of ContactPoint. A number of measures will be in place to ensure security:
- ContactPoint security has been audited and approved, at all stages, by relevant security bodies. All data supplied to ContactPoint will be strongly encrypted and extensive measures are being taken to ensure that the data will be transmitted securely.
- Assessments and rigorous testing has been, and will continue to be, undertaken by independent security experts. ContactPoint will not go live until it has passed these tests. Auditing will continue during operation.
- Access will be limited to those who need it as part of their work. The vast majority of users will only be able to view child data on screen – they will not be able to extract or download data to CD or memory stick for example.
- Before being granted access, all users will complete mandatory training, including safe and secure use of ContactPoint and the importance of compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and Human Rights Act 1998.
- All users will have to state clear reasons in order to gain access to a child’s record and all use of the system will be monitored and audited. Users will be made aware that any misuse will lead to appropriate sanctions. These sanctions can include, if appropriate, fines or imprisonment under the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 and Computer Misuse Act 1990.
When will the local authority start using ContactPoint?
In Waltham Forest, the Children & Young People Service is responsible for local implementation of ContactPoint, within the council and across local partner agencies. A number of national and local activities need to be completed before ContactPoint can ‘go live’ here. Based on current national progress we expect to start using ContactPoint in Waltham Forest in summer 2009.
How will ContactPoint be kept accurate and up-to-date?
Wherever possible, ContactPoint will be automatically updated from existing systems so that practitioners will not need to enter the same information twice. When information has been updated in these systems it will be sent automatically to ContactPoint as an update.
ContactPoint will only be able to receive the basic information as set out in Section 12 of the Children Act 2004 and the supporting Regulations, which specifically prohibit the inclusion of any personal information.
Those required or permitted to supply information to ContactPoint must take reasonable steps to ensure the information is accurate; they already have obligations for data accuracy under the Data Protection Act 1998.
If the local authority considers that there are inaccuracies or omitted information in a record for which we are responsible, we must take steps to correct the inaccuracy or to complete the record.
It will not be possible to access any case management system or case data from ContactPoint.
Will children and young people be able to see their data?
Yes. Children and young people, and parents when acting on a child's behalf, have rights under the Data Protection Act 1998 to see the information that is held about them and, if any data is found to be incorrect, to request that it be corrected. The local authority will be required to publicise the mechanisms for making a request and we will do this when ContactPoint is operational.
What will happen to the record when a young person turns 18?
In most cases, a record will be removed from ContactPoint when a person turns 18. There is a facility for the records of some young adults to stay on ContactPoint until they are 25, but only for very limited reasons and only with explicit consent.
When a record is removed from ContactPoint it will be held in a secure archive for six years and then destroyed. The archive can only be accessed for the limited reasons which are set out in Regulations (this includes a Local Safeguarding Children Board serious case review or investigation into a child death).
As a parent, can I choose to exclude my child’s information from ContactPoint?
No. In law, ContactPoint will hold records on all children who are ordinarily resident in England.
What is ‘shielding’?
Records of any children whose circumstances may mean that they, or others, are at increased risk of harm may be partially hidden, so that only the name, gender, date of birth, unique identifying number and parents’ name will be visible to most ContactPoint users. This is known as shielding. These decisions will be taken on a case by case basis and will be based on the level of threat posed if address information becomes more widely available.
‘Shielding’ records is not a new concept. The practice of withholding certain records is not confined to ContactPoint. The circumstances of some families (e.g. those fleeing from domestic violence) mean that they may be placed at risk if certain details are known and special precautions need to be taken by them and by others.
Having the ability to shield some information is not related to security of the system but to reflecting the circumstances and needs of individual children and families.
What are the guidelines for shielding children’s records?
Records would only be shielded exceptionally and in particular circumstances, when not doing so would:
- place a child at increased risk of significant harm;
- put a child’s placement at risk (in the case of adoption);
- place an adult at risk of significant harm; and/or
- prejudice the prevention or detection of a serious crime.
Such cases could arise for example where the:
- child/young person is adopted where there is little or no contact with birth parent(s) or wider family members;
- child/young person and/or their parent/carer, are fleeing abuse or domestic violence; and/or
- child/young person and/or their parent/carer or family member are subject to police protection.
Shielding decisions will be taken on a case by case basis. All shielding decisions will be reviewed every six months.Child records cannot be shielded simply because the child or young person, or the parent/carer acting on their behalf disagrees with ContactPoint.
How does a family apply to have their children’s records shielded?
If anyone has concerns for a child’s safety, the priority is to ensure appropriate safeguarding measures are put in place. More information about child protection is available here. We, as a Local Authority, and our local agencies have existing procedures to deal with this. This may include shielding records on ContactPoint, when it is available.
Individuals who believe that a record on ContactPoint needs to be shielded will be given information about how to do this when the processes have been agreed. Instructions for starting this process will be published here when they are ready.
Further information
Please contact Waltham Forest Direct if you have further queries.
Details about ContactPoint from a national perspective are available on the Every Child Matters website
