Safeguarding and welfare
Safeguarding chronologies
A chronology provides a concise summary of significant dates and events in a child's or carer's life. It helps build an emerging picture and allows us to identify patterns, which are crucial for recognising neglect and emotional abuse. Within Warwickshire we have two types of child specific chronologies.
A child specific chronology overview
This document can be used to log all incidents related to a specific child, including absences, existing injury forms, behaviour incidents, green forms, accidental injuries in the setting, referrals to Family Connect, Early Support Assessments and Domestic Abuse incidents.
Recording incidents in this structured way helps build a comprehensive picture of the child’s experiences. It allows you to identify patterns and connections between events, which means you are less likely to miss something small but significant.
A child-specific chronology overview is especially useful when contacting Family Connect or liaising with other professionals, as it provides a clear, single-page summary of all relevant dates and incidents, ensuring you have the necessary information readily available.
Child specific chronology overview (PDF, 124 KB)
A detailed child specific incident chronology
This document is designed to complement the child-specific chronology overview by recording key details such as dates, times, additional context, and any follow-up actions related to significant events in a child’s life.
Entries should be concise, ideally no more than three sentences and made in real time as events occur. Each entry should include the date and time, a brief summary of the event, meeting, or discussion, and any necessary follow-up actions.
This document is particularly useful during multi-agency discussions, as it provides a clear and succinct summary of events, actions taken, and the professionals or individuals involved.
It’s important to note that this chronology is not a substitute for green forms or other record keeping. Instead, it offers a high-level overview that helps identify patterns and ensures all relevant information is readily available during professional discussions.
Detailed child specific incident chronology (PDF, 122 KB)
Incident chronologies for the setting
This type of chronology can be useful as part of an audit of safeguarding. It enables early years settings to track the types, frequency, and volume of incidents, providing a clearer picture of what is happening within the environment.
Such a record helps early years providers gain oversight of recurring issues, making it easier to spot patterns. This insight can inform decisions about where additional staff training, updated risk assessments, or policy reviews may be necessary.
Additionally, maintaining a chronology can highlight areas where families might benefit from extra support, such as guidance on accident prevention or home safety.
