Every record becomes part of a child’s story.
I know what it means for a childhood to be written by adults. I also know the responsibility carried by the adult trying to record a difficult moment at the end of a long shift.
The words may be written quickly, but they can follow a child for years. That is why recording must be honest, accountable and written with care.
I have lived on both sides of the record.
As a child in care, adults wrote about my life. As a Registered Manager, I now carry responsibility for the quality of the records adults write about children today.
That does not mean avoiding difficult facts or making a record sound softer. It means recording the whole picture: what happened, what the child communicated, what adults did and what needs to happen next.
Important records are often written when adults have the least space to think.
The child may still be unsettled. Other children still need support. Handover is approaching and the adult is trying to remember every detail accurately.
Once written, the words begin to travel.
The same record may be read by different people for very different reasons.
Continuity of care
Helping the next adult understand what happened, what support was offered and what remains outstanding.
Oversight and learning
Giving managers evidence to examine decisions, practice and follow-up.
Wider decisions
Informing social workers, reviewing professionals and safeguarding partners.
Their own story
One day, the child may read those words and use them to understand their own life.
Honest records can still be written with care.
Therapeutic recording is not about excusing unsafe behaviour, minimising risk or avoiding accountability. It is about preserving truth and context without deciding a child’s motives for them.
Factual
Record what was seen, heard and done. Keep observation separate from interpretation.
Child-centred
Include the child’s words, communication, choices and wishes where they are known.
Accountable
Show the support adults offered, the response, the outcome and the next actions.
Describe what happened before deciding what it meant.
A label can follow a child through their care. Clear observation gives the next reader enough information to understand the event without being told what to think about the child.
Language that reduces the child
Words such as “manipulative”, “attention-seeking”, “aggressive” or “refusing” can become conclusions rather than descriptions.
Language that preserves context
Record observable actions, the child’s words, what happened beforehand and how adults responded.
The child’s communication should not be replaced by an adult’s interpretation.
Keeping the child central does not mean speaking for them. It means making sure their own words, choices and communication are not lost.
- Use direct quotations only when the words were actually spoken.
- Describe non-verbal communication clearly and observably.
- Record choices offered and the child’s response.
- Make clear when the child did not wish to speak.
- Never invent feelings, motives, causes or explanations.
Better technology must strengthen responsibility, not remove it.
ORB can help an adult organise information, reflect and prepare a draft. It cannot own the record, determine what happened or make the professional decision.
ORB can support
Structure, reflection, clearer language, identifying missing information and preparing a draft for adult review.
The adult remains responsible
For accuracy, context, safeguarding action, professional judgement, policy compliance, approval and anything entered into the child’s record.
Every moment becomes part of a child’s journey.
The words we leave behind help shape how that journey is remembered.
ORB supports professional practice and human decision-making. It does not replace safeguarding procedures, statutory responsibilities, provider policies, management oversight or professional judgement.