LADO Concerns Professionals Bristol Referral Form

Every Local Authority has a statutory requirement to have a Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) who is responsible for overseeing investigations into safeguarding concerns or allegations regarding an adult who works or volunteers with children and young people.

The LADO Threshold

An allegation may relate to a person who works with children who has:

behaved in a way that has harmed a child or may have harmed a child
possibly committed a criminal offence related to a child
behaved in a way that indicates they may pose a risk of harm to children
behaved in a way that indicates they may not be suitable to work with children

The LADO’s Key Role is to:

provide advice and guidance to employers and voluntary organisations
ensure allegations are handled promptly and in line with statutory guidance
liaise with relevant agencies, including the police and children’s social care
chair Allegation Management Meetings and ensure effective multi-agency communication
monitor the progress of cases to ensure resolution without undue delay
identify local themes and trends and learning from cases
identify training needs

The LADO team should be notified via referral form within one working day when an allegation that potentially meets the LADO Threshold is made.

LADO Referral Form

The LADO team are not able to provide advice and guidance over the telephone or via email prior to receiving a completed referral form. This includes advice regarding whether a referral meets the LADO Threshold.

LADO advice where the LADO Threshold is met

If the allegation or concern does meet the Threshold for LADO involvement and oversight, the LADO will advise on next steps. No action should be taken by the employer until LADO advice has been sought.

In most cases the next step will likely be an Employment Safeguarding Investigation by the employer (see suggested template below).
If a criminal offence may have been committed, a police investigation would take precedence.
LADO team will advise on the implementation of safeguards regarding the subject of the allegation, while an internal safeguarding investigation is being progressed.
Provision by the employer of independent welfare support for the subject of the allegation.
The LADO will advise on the need for a LADO Allegation Management Meeting to share information between relevant agencies.
Consideration for a referral to Children’s Social Care (First Response) where a child or children may have suffered or are at risk of suffering harm
The LADO team will ensure that investigations are carried out in a fair, timely and transparent way

If there is to be no investigation by the police or children’s social care, the LADO will refer the concerns back to the employer for an Employment Safeguarding Investigation.
If there is an investigation by children’s social care or the police, these agencies will inform the LADO of the outcome. The LADO will advise the employer of the need for an Employment Safeguarding Investigation, which will take into consideration the outcome of the earlier investigation.
The employer will be asked to share the investigation report with the LADO team, who will need to be satisfied the investigation has been thorough in exploring the safeguarding concerns and there is a clear LADO outcome and recommendations.

Possible LADO outcomes

On conclusion of the investigation, LADO outcomes will be recorded by the employer as: