A missing episode is an incident with more attached to it than most: times away, a set of people who had to be told, a debrief, and an interview with a 72-hour clock on it.

Almost all of that follows from one decision made in the first minute — the type you choose.

Choose the right type

Three types open the missing-episode record:

Type	Use it for
Missing from care	Whereabouts unknown. Also flagged as a safeguarding type.
Unauthorised absence	Whereabouts known or believed known, but they should not be there
Failure to return at agreed time	Late back from an agreed absence

The distinction between the first two is not cosmetic — the notification thresholds that follow are different, and it is one of the things an inspector will look at.

Record it under any other type and the episode record and the return home interview do not follow. If you got it wrong, say so to the manager on duty rather than working around it in the description.

What the episode record holds

Beyond the incident narrative itself:

When they went, and when they returned
The notifications made — to the Police, the EDT / Local Authority, the IRO, and the Parent / Carer — each with the time it was made and who made it
Risk during the absence
The classification: missing, or unauthorised absence

Both times are needed before a manager can sign the incident off.

ARC tells nobody

The notification record is exactly that — a record of calls you made. ARC does not contact the police, the placing authority, the IRO or a parent, and never has.

Make the calls first. Write them down afterwards, with the time and the name of whoever made them, while you still remember which.

Police involvement

The incident form also carries a Police involvement field, set when the incident is recorded: Not involved · Notified · Attended · Investigating · Arrest made. It describes the police role in the incident as a whole; the notification record above is the specific fact of a call being made and when.

What has to follow

Debriefs. With the young person, and with each member of staff involved. Every debrief on the incident has to be filled in before a manager can sign it off. See Incident debriefs.

The return home interview. Offered within 72 hours of their return. A manager cannot sign the incident off until one exists on the record. See Return home interviews.

Trends are the point

One episode is an event. Four in a month, all on the same evening of the week, all returning from the same place, is a pattern — and the record only supports that reading if the times, the classification and the interview themes were recorded properly each time.

That is the argument for writing this up carefully at 3am, and it is the only one that holds.