Using this Manual

This is the updated manual for Swindon Borough Council Children’s Services, replaceing any previous Swindon Children, Families and Community Health Policies and Procedures. Any copies of these old policies should be discarded.

This manual contains the policies, procedures and guidance for Swindon Children, Families and Community Health. It also includes a Resource Library where you will find many useful assessment tools, longer policy documents and other resources relevant to your role.

This manual will be updated regularly, and a summary of the changes can be accessed via the 'Amendments' button on the Home page. The manual will be updated twice a year. The next scheduled update will be in March 2026.

If you want to suggest an amendment to an existing chapter in the manual for inclusion at the next update, please get in touch with your Manager.

The Amendments Table shows a brief guide of what has been updated on this occasion. tri.x retains a full copy of earlier versions of the manual, so if you need to check the procedures in force at any particular time since 2013, we can provide them to you.

This manual includes a Resource Library, accessible via the navigation bar. If there is a resource you think should be added, talk to your manager in the first instance. The nominated administrator for this area will be able to access online training in the use of the area from tri.x.

This library is populated and maintained locally and not by tri.x.

tri.x will not be responsible for content added to this area, and any concerns should be directed to the contact person responsible for the procedures.

The manual is accessed by readers who may encounter unfamiliar terms. Therefore, a glossary of definitions is available under the resource tab.

There is also a National Contacts resource populated with details of key national agencies and organisations likely to be relevant to procedure users.

Every effort has been made to ensure regulatory compliance. If you discover any errors or omissions, please alert your manager.

We recommend that you register with us to receive automatic notifications when this manual is updated and a monthly newsletter containing articles that may be of interest. Click on the 'Register for Updates' button on the home screen to complete and send your details to us.

We will manage your data respectfully, in accordance with your preferences, and never share it with other organisations for marketing or other purposes.

The content of this website can be accessed, printed and downloaded in an unaltered form, temporarily, for personal study or reference purposes. Content printed or downloaded may not be sold, licensed, transferred, copied or reproduced in whole or in part in any manner or in or on any media to any person without the prior written consent of tri.x and Swindon Borough Council.

tri.x is committed to ensuring its platform is accessible to all users and has embedded accessibility into its design, development, and testing processes. The platform is currently partially conformant with WCAG 2.2 Level AA, meaning most content meets accessibility requirements, with ongoing improvements to areas such as form behaviour, colour contrast, control sizing & responsiveness.

Accessibility is regularly reviewed through internal assessments, automated testing tools, audits, and user feedback, with amendments evaluated on each release. tri.x supports modern browsers and assistive technologies and now includes a text-to-speech feature to better support users with visual impairments. Users are encouraged to report any accessibility issues so they can be triaged and addressed in future releases.

For more information, please see our Accessibility Statement.

Users can print individual chapters FOR REFERENCE. The entire manual CANNOT be printed. The manual is updated regularly; therefore, hard copies could be out of date.

There is a print icon at the start of every chapter.

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