Records & plans
What is a low-level concern record?
A low-level concern record captures behaviour by an adult that is inconsistent with expected conduct but falls below the threshold for a referral. Recording them is how patterns become visible.
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<img src="https://careoptix.co.uk/glossary/concern-record/diagram.svg" alt="low-level concern record — diagram from CareOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
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<a href="https://careoptix.co.uk/glossary/concern-record">What is a low-level concern record?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://careoptix.co.uk">CareOptix</a>
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</figure>Individually these concerns mean very little, which is why they go unrecorded and why patterns are missed. A pattern across months is a different thing from any of its parts.
Recording is not accusing. The record is that something was noticed, and the purpose is to allow a picture to form rather than to start a process.
Where concerns do reach the threshold, the route is to the local authority designated officer rather than through an internal investigation.
What goes wrong in practice
- Concerns held informally by a manager rather than recorded.
- Treated as a disciplinary step, which discourages anyone from raising them.
- Never reviewed as a set, so no pattern is ever seen.