Guidance for Local Authority Designated Officers (LADO)
Reference for LADOs handling allegations against people in positions of trust. Threshold, process, outcomes, multi-agency coordination, and record retention.
As a Local Authority Designated Officer, you oversee the management of allegations against adults who work or volunteer with children. Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 and KCSiE 2025 set out the framework you operate within, but the day-to-day reality is judgement under pressure: balancing the rights of an accused adult, the protection of children, and the legitimate interests of the employer. This page is a working reference for practitioners, not an introductory text.
Why this matters
LADO decisions shape the lives of children who may be at risk, adults whose careers may be on the line, and organisations whose culture is under scrutiny. Consistent thresholds, clear written rationale, and timely multi-agency working are what separate a strong LADO service from one that loses cases at panel. The role is also a barometer of organisational health — a sharp rise or fall in referrals from a particular setting is itself information.
Quick wins
Audit a month of recent referrals for time-from-allegation-to-initial-evaluation
Time: 2 hours
Refresh your reference card for the DBS duty-to-refer threshold and route
Time: 20 minutes
Share trend data with employer designated safeguarding leads at your next forum
Time: 30 minutes
Common challenges
Holding the threshold line when an employer wants to manage a case internally
Refer back to KCSiE 2025 Part Four: where an allegation suggests a person has behaved in a way that has harmed, may have harmed, or poses a risk of harm to a child, the LADO must be consulted within one working day. Internal disciplinary action does not replace this duty. Document every conversation in which an employer attempts to bypass.
Coordinating with police and Children's Social Care on parallel investigations
Hold an early strategy discussion. Agree who leads on which line of enquiry, the sequencing of interviews, and information sharing under the Children Act 1989 and 2004. The child's safety drives the timeline; the police investigation is one strand within it, not above it.
Managing outcomes that are 'substantiated but no criminal action'
A substantiated outcome under LADO procedures is independent of any criminal charge or conviction. Where an individual is not prosecuted but the allegation is substantiated, consider a referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) under the duty to refer in the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006. The civil and criminal standards of proof are different for good reason.