Welfare Secure Placement Unit
UPDATE: March 2021
• Secure Welfare Coordination Unit – New referral form
The Secure Welfare Coordination Unit has updated the SWCU’s referral form, to support Secure Children’s Homes with decision making and national data collection. From 1 April 2021 the Unit will only be able to accept referrals on the updated version of the SAN referral form.
Please contact the SWCU if you require any further information regarding the email or referral form changes.
Telephone: 01962 846432
UPDATE: March 2021
Please note the Unit now has a new secure email address for local authorities to use when seeking a referral for a secure welfare placement from 1 April 2021 onwards - securewelfare@hants.gov.uk - please update your records.
UPDATE: Monday 3 December 2018
The team at the Secure Welfare Coordination Unit have created a guidance booklet to support the referral process for a welfare bed, it includes an FAQ’s section and mock referrals. more.
Welfare secure placement unit The Secure Welfare Coordination Unit (SWCU) is a small unit grant funded by the Department for Education (DfE) for the purposes of administering placements and collecting data on secure welfare. It is not a legal entity and therefore does not have a Director.
The SWCU provides a transparent, dedicated single point of contact for local authorities in England and Wales, to arrange secure welfare placements and aims to streamline the process of finding the most suitable placement to meet the individual needs of each child or young person needing secure care.
The SWCU is committed to ensuring the best outcomes for all children needing secure placements. Data from the Secure Children’s Homes is collected by the SWCU on a daily basis and open referral forms are then sent to homes with a bed available. The home will then indicate whether they can or cannot accept the placement request based on the child or young person’s needs.
The unit operates Monday to Friday from 08:30am to 17:00pm with a voicemail facility for out of hours updating on the daily bed availability.
Further information about the unit can be found here.
A draft copy of the referral form can be found here.
Referral guidance and mock referral forms can be found here.
Unit contact details
Tel: 01962 846432
New email: securewelfare@hants.gov.uk
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