For managers and team leads

Manager hub

No jargon, no long reading. Pick the situation you are in, tick off the steps, and hand your team a short brief they can actually follow. Everything you tick stays in this browser.

What is going on right now?

Something is urgent today

A move, a discharge or a decision that cannot wait. Find out what counts as urgent and what to do in the next few hours.

Urgent steps

A best-interests meeting is coming up

Who should be in the room, what to circulate beforehand, and how to record the decision so it stands up later.

Prepare the meeting

A placement or package is changing

The steps before a move, what the family must be told, and when the court needs to be involved.

Placement change

People disagree about capacity

How to log the disagreement calmly, get a fresh assessment and keep everyone on the same page.

Capacity disagreement

Your first week on a new case

Six things that save weeks later. Do them in order and you will rarely be caught out.

Tick as you go

0 of 6 done

Write down, in one paragraph, the decision that actually needs making.
Check whether anyone already holds legal authority (deputy, LPA, DoLS).
Name one person on your team who owns this case day to day.
Tell the family who that person is and how to reach them.
Start a dated log of every call, visit and decision.
Diarise any deadline you already know about.

Best-interests meeting prep

A meeting that is recorded properly is the single most useful document a court sees.

Before, during, after

0 of 6 done

Circulate the question and the papers at least 5 working days ahead.
Ask the person what they want — record it in their own words.
Invite the family, advocate and anyone with a genuine role.
List the realistic options, with the pros and cons of each.
Record who decided, on what basis, and who disagreed.
Send the written outcome to everyone within 5 working days.

Briefing casual and bank staff

Casual, bank and agency staff often meet the person on their hardest day. Keep the brief to one page, plain English, and no full names in anything shared outside the team.

Before their first shift

0 of 6 done

Everyone on shift knows the person's communication needs.
Casual and bank staff get the one-page brief before their first shift.
Staff know what they may and may not decide for the person.
Staff know who to ring out of hours, and when to ring straight away.
Every entry in the log says what happened, not what someone assumed.
No supported person's full name goes in anything shared outside the team.

One-page brief — copy this shape

Who the person is (initials only) and what a good day looks like.
How they communicate, and what helps when they are distressed.
What is currently being decided, in one sentence.
What staff may decide, and what must be escalated.
Who to ring, in office hours and out of hours.
Where to write things down, and what never goes in writing.

Template library Contact & incident log Template emails

Tools your team will use most

Deadlines & calendar Evidence timeline Printable COP checklist Plain-English glossary Complaints & escalation Tell us what is missing

General information only — not legal advice. Follow your own organisation's policies and take legal advice on any specific case.