Only practitioners who have a need to find out who else is delivering services will have access to ContactPoint.  The regulations approved by Parliament in July 2007 list those practitioners who have access. 

As a rule of thumb, if you have to spend a significant amount of time searching for information about who else is involved with a child you are working with, then ContactPoint will be a benefit to you.  The following are some examples; Headteachers, Deputy Heads, Teachers with pastoral responsibilities, in health, health visitors, school nurses and midwives, in social care, social workers.  For contact details of the ContactPoint Project Team, and links to Every Child Matters (ECM) websites, please refer to the Further Information section below.

Access to ContactPoint will be restricted to the authorised users who need it as part of their work. Before they are granted access, all users will have completed mandatory ContactPoint training and other relevant training (such as Information Sharing).  They must have security clearance (including enhanced Criminal Records Bureau disclosure) and will need a username, a PIN, a personal security token and a password. Every access will be detailed in the audit trail, which will be reviewed regularly.

Authorised users will be able to access ContactPoint through their case management systems, through a secure web link or through another authorised user. It will not be possible for any user to access a case management system held by another agency.

Wherever possible, ContactPoint will be automatically updated from existing systems, so that practitioners will not need to enter the same information twice.

If you want further information about ContactPoint, then either take a look around this website, or you may wish to look at the Government's Every Child Matters (ECM) website: Every Child Matters - ContactPoint There's specific information about how the national ContactPoint Project has been consulting with practitioners available from the Engagement section of the ECM website.

Other pages in this section

ContactPoint Home

Facts about ContactPoint

Children and Young People

Parents and Carers

Further Information