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3. Child Protection Conferences and Child Protection Plans

SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER

This section has been updated to incorporate changes made by Working Together 2010. The changes, which are in parts 9,11 and 16, are shown in italics.


Contents

1.0 Purpose of Initial Child Protection Conference
2.0 Timescales
3.0 Requesting an Initial Child Protection Conference
4.0 Pre-birth Conferences
5.0 Attendance at the Initial Child Protection Conference
6.0 Participation of the Child
7.0. Participation of those with Parental Responsibility /the Child's Carers
8.0 Exclusion of those with Parental Responsibility/the Child's Carers
9.0 Conference Reports
    Social Worker's Report
    Medical Report
    Other Professionals
10.0 Chairing the Conference
11.0 Decisions and Recommendations
12.0 Child Protection Conference Records and Distribution
13.0 Complaints / Representations
14.0 The Lead Social Worker
15.0 The Core Group
16.0 The Child Protection Plan
17.0 Recording that a Child is Subject to a Child Protection Plan
18.0 Movement of Children
    Movement within Wolverhampton
    Movement out of Wolverhampton
    Movement into Wolverhampton
    Children who go Missing
19.0 Child Protection Review Conferences
20.0 Looked After Children with a Child Protection Plan
21.0 Discontinuing the Child Protection Plan


1.0 Purpose of Initial Child Protection Conference

1.1 A Child Protection Conference must be called when Section 47 Enquiries conclude that a child has suffered or is likely to suffer Significant Harm and a Child Protection Plan is required to safeguard his/her welfare.
1.2

The Initial Child Protection Conference brings together family members, the child where appropriate, and those professionals most involved with the child and family. Its purpose is to:

  • Bring together and analyse, in a multi agency setting, the information obtained about the child's health and development needs, and the parents' or carers' capacity within the context of their wider family and environment to respond to those needs in order to ensure the child's safety and to promote the child's health and development;
  • Make judgements about whether the child is at continuing risk of Significant Harm and the likelihood of a child suffering Significant Harm in the future;
  • Decide what future action is needed to safeguard the child and promote his or her welfare, how action will be taken forward and with what outcomes.
1.3

The initial conference will:

  • Check the accuracy of basic information, e.g. present name, aliases, previous names, dates of birth etc;
  • Share all the relevant information obtained in the enquiries about the family;
  • Consider whether any additional information is needed to complete a comprehensive assessment;
  • Assess the level of risk to the child or young person and any other children in the household;
  • Agree provision of services for the child and family within a Child Protection Plan;
  • Recommend to agencies with statutory powers whether statutory action needs to be taken;
  • Decide whether a child or young person should become the subject of a Child Protection Plan and the category of abuse to be recorded in respect of the child. If the level of risk is not at a level which requires a Child Protection Plan, consideration should be given to the continuing needs of the child/young person/family and the need for further involvement of the agencies within a Child In Need Plan;
  • Nominate a Lead Social Worker;
  • Establish the members of the Core Group;
  • Set the date and time of the Child Protection Review Conference.


2.0 Timescales

2.1 The timing of an Initial Child Protection Conference will depend on the urgency of the case and on the time needed to obtain relevant information about the child and family. It should take place following adequate preparation and assessment to enable well formed decisions to be taken at the conference, but this should be within no more than 15 working days of the Strategy Discussion decision to initiate Section 47 Enquiries.
2.2 The holding of a Child Protection Conference should not delay any action necessary to ensure the immediate protection of the child such as a voluntary agreement or compulsory action to place the child elsewhere or the removal of the alleged abuser from the home. In these circumstances the investigating team will need to consider how quickly they can make an interim assessment of the situation in order to inform the conference.
2.3 Undue delay in holding a Child Protection Conference may lead to unco-ordinated and inappropriate action by people unsure of the current situation.
2.4 In exceptional circumstances where there is a delay in convening a Child Protection Conference a further Strategy Meeting should be held whenever possible in order to co-ordinate actions. The Deputy Head of Safeguarding should be informed in writing of the reasons for the delay.


3.0 Requesting an Initial Child Protection Conference

3.1 All requests for a Child Protection Conference should be made to the Safeguarding Children Support Service, who will make the necessary arrangements.
3.2

The person requesting the conference will provide details of family members and other invitees. This will normally include:-

  • The child/ren/young person (if they are of sufficient age and understanding);
  • Those with Parental Responsibility;
  • Other carers/ significant adults;
  • Professionals currently involved with the child/ren/young person/family (identified in the SC3 Agency Check) and those who may become involved in the provision of services.
3.3 A letter of invitation will be sent to all those identified. However for family members it will be necessary to establish whether it can be sent directly to child/ren/young person/parents/carers or needs to be hand delivered by the social worker
3.4 It is the social worker's responsibility to identify whether interpreters or signers are needed, to arrange for them to attend and to address any other logistical difficulties associated with the child or parents attendance.
3.5 Responsibility for inviting supporters lies with family members. The Safeguarding Children Support Service will not send invitations to supporters. The number of supporters should be limited to a maximum of two so as not to impede the process of the conference.
3.6 Any agency may request a Child Protection Conference if they have serious concerns that a child/ren may not otherwise be adequately safeguarded. In the first instance the request should be made to the relevant Team Manager who will make the appropriate arrangements if there is agreement about the concerns raised. The Team Manager will confirm the decision and the reasons for it, in writing to the agency. If an agreement cannot be reached the matter will be referred to the Deputy Head of Safeguarding.


4.0 Pre-birth Conferences

4.1 A pre-birth conference must be held under these procedures where there is concern that an unborn child will not receive adequate care after birth. Wherever possible, the conference should be held before 28 weeks gestation to give sufficient time for an appropriate assessment and plan to be made. If this is not possible, it should be held as soon as the need for a conference becomes apparent. A Notification of a Child in Need should be sent to the Children & Young People's Service to initiate an assessment.
4.2 If the family is not previously known the notification will be managed by the Locality Team. If the family is previously known the notification will be managed by the Safeguarding Children Support Service. A Core Assessment should be completed by the allocated social worker.
4.3

A pre-birth conference should be held if any of the following situations apply:

  1. Either parent:
    • Has suffered or is suffering from a serious mental illness and a multi-agency assessment has concluded that parenting capacity is consequently impaired;
    • Has severe learning difficulties;
    • Has demonstrated a serious lack of ability to care for them self. This is of particular relevance in the mother-to-be;
  2. Alcohol or substance abuse is thought to be affecting the health of an unborn baby, or where alcohol or substance abuse may significantly impair parenting skills;
  3. There is a history of abuse in the family, including neglect;
  4. Previous children in the family have been removed because they have suffered harm;
  5. There are concerns regarding either parent's ability to protect or parent and it is believed that any child of the family might suffer Significant Harm;
  6. There is a previous history of post natal psychosis;
  7. The expectant parent is very young and a dual assessment of her/his needs as well as her/his ability to meet the baby's needs, is required;
  8. The expectant mother has a partner, or is in contact with someone, who has abused a child or has committed an offence against a child.
4.4 A conference convened in these circumstances will be an initial Child Protection Conference and should consider, before the birth of the child, the need to develop a Child Protection Plan.
4.5

The people to be invited to the conference include:

  • All relevant participants of any previous Child Protection Conference;
  • Legal representative;
  • Medical personnel including the appropriate gynaecologist, obstetrician and paediatrician;
  • Nursing staff including midwifery. The involvement of midwifery services is particularly vital in these cases.
4.6

The conference should consider, in addition to the normal agenda items:

  • Actions to be taken at birth;
  • The possible provision of sufficient monitoring and support to allow the child to remain in parental care;
  • The possible removal of the baby to a 'safe place' following delivery;
  • The initiation of legal proceedings;
  • Arrangements for parental contact with the baby whilst in hospital;
  • Arrangements for feeding and care of the baby by the parents;
  • Participation by professionals in the Core Assessment while the baby is in hospital;
  • The communication of care plans to agencies and units within and outside of the city to ensure appropriate responses are made.
4.7

If the conference decides a Child Protection Plan is needed in respect of the unborn child a Core Group will be established. The Core Group should ensure that the Child Protection Plan includes communication of the plan to:

  • Hospital and nursing staff;
  • Emergency Duty Team Social Work Service;
  • Police;
  • Legal Services;
  • Any relevant Health Authorities outside Wolverhampton.
4.8 If the conference decides a Child Protection Plan is not needed in respect of the unborn child a Family Support plan will be identified.
4.9 The Core Group should meet within no more than 10 working days of the conference and a written agreement should be drawn up.
4.10 A Child Protection Review Conference must be held within four weeks of the birth of the child, or sooner if legal action is considered.


5.0 Attendance at the Initial Child Protection Conference

5.1 Those attending conferences should have a significant contribution to make arising from professional expertise, knowledge of the child or family or both. They should, through personal representation and written reports, bring sufficient information and expertise to enable the conference to make an informed decision about what action is needed to safeguard the child and promote his/her welfare, and to develop a realistic and workable Child Protection Plan.
5.2

Those who have a relevant contribution to make may include:

  • The child;
  • Family members (including the wider family);
  • Children & Young People's Service staff who have undertaken an assessment of the child and family;
  • Foster carers/residential care workers providing direct care of the child;
  • Professionals who are or may become involved with the child (e.g. health visitor, midwife, school nurse, paediatrician, Education staff, Early Years staff, the GP);
  • Professionals who are or may become involved with the parents (e.g. Family Support Services, Adult Mental Health Services, the Probation Service, the GP);
  • Those involved in enquiries (e.g. the Police and hospital doctors);
  • Local authority legal services (child care) if appropriate;
  • Any Voluntary Organisations involved;
  • A representative of the Armed Forces in cases where there is a Service connection;
  • Staff in the youth justice system where relevant.
5.3

Others may attend and may contribute and acquire information, but will not participate in any decision-making. These will include:

  • A CAFCASS Children's Guardian;
  • Interpreters, advocates and supporters.
5.4 Occasionally, it may be appropriate for students on practice placement or new staff during induction, to accompany a professional colleague who is attending a Child Protection Conference. This will be where the experience is felt to be relevant to their particular training or occupation. Prior agreement must be sought from the chairperson of the conference, who will ensure that the agreement of the parent is also obtained.
5.5 As a minimum, at every conference there should be representation from the Children & Young People's Service's social work service and at least two other professional groups or agencies who have had direct contact with the child. One of these should be either the education service or Health. The third agency may be any other agency working directly with the child and/or family.
5.6 In exceptional circumstances, where the child has not had direct contact with three agencies, this minimum quorum may be breached. This is at the discretion of the conference chairperson.
5.7 The conference chair must decide on the key agencies needing representation at the conference in order to make informed decisions about the safeguarding of the child. If a key agency is not represented, the conference chair will decide whether to proceed with the conference and to obtain that agency's contribution following the conference or whether to reconvene the conference at another time.
5.8 Professionals and agencies who are invited but unable to attend the conference should still submit a written report.
5.9 Any individual who receives an invitation to attend a conference should immediately notify the Safeguarding Children Support Service if they are unable to attend or send a representative.


6.0 Participation of the Child

6.1 It is the policy of Wolverhampton Local Safeguarding Children Board that children of sufficient age and understanding should be invited to attend Child Protection Conferences except in exceptional circumstances. If the child is unable to attend the conference, they should be enabled to present their views in whatever format is appropriate. It is essential that the child's views are made known to the conference.
6.2 If a child wishes to attend a Child Protection Conference, this should be discussed in the first instance with the Safeguarding Review Manager. The Safeguarding Review Manager  will consider along with the social worker any specific difficulties or potential conflicts of interest which may arise in relation to the child's attendance at the conference. This may include that the child does not feel able to attend the conference at the same time as their parents or that because of bail conditions an alleged perpetrator will need to be excluded whilst the child attends. In these circumstances arrangements must be made for the child's view to be given to conference in the absence of the parents or the alleged perpetrator. The final decision about whether a child attends the conference rests with the Safeguarding Review Manager.
6.3 The social worker is responsible for ensuring that the child understands the nature and role of the Child Protection Conference. A leaflet explaining the conference procedure should be given to the child as a supplement to a verbal explanation of the purpose of the conference, who will attend and what will happen. The leaflet should be in their preferred language and/or arrangements made for interpretation or translation.
6.4 The social worker is also responsible for ensuring that the child has any assistance necessary to allow them to participate, whether by attending the meeting or by conveying their views in writing, on tape or through a representative. The social worker, other professionals involved with the child, advocate, interpreter, friend, family member or other supporter may be involved in providing this assistance, provided there is no conflict of interest. It is essential that a child attending a conference has assistance to prepare for the meeting and to rehearse any points they wish to make.
6.5

Children should be encouraged to attend conferences provided they have the capacity to benefit from the attendance. This is more likely to be the case when:

  • They are of sufficient age and understanding, are able to express their wishes and feelings and want to attend; and
  • Their attendance would not cause them distress or further abuse; and
  • Their attendance would not increase the risk to their welfare.

They must also have the opportunity to be accompanied by an advocate, friend or supporter, who may represent them if the child so wishes.
6.6 If the conference is to consider more than one child, care should be taken to ensure that confidentiality is maintained. It may not be appropriate for one child of a family to hear information about another. Similarly, it may be necessary to consider how the parent's or carer's confidentiality is to be respected.
6.7 Consideration would also need to be given to managing the child's attendance where there is likely to be conflict with or between the parent and carer.
6.8 Account must be taken of the child's  language of choice, communication difficulties or any other special needs. Interpreters, signers and different media should be available, if necessary. The conference venue should be accessible to those with impaired mobility.
6.9

The role of the Safeguarding Review Manager is critical in enabling the child to have a positive experience which is not damaging in any way. The Safeguarding Review Manager should:

  • Meet with the child beforehand to ensure they have understood the information they have been given about who will be at the conference, what will happen and how they can contribute;
  • Offer the child an opportunity for immediate debriefing after the conference. This should be followed up with a visit from the key worker as soon as possible or at the most within 72 hours;
  • If a child disagrees with the conference decisions, the chairperson should advise her/him about the complaints/representation procedure.
6.10 Any decision to exclude a child who wishes to attend from the whole or part of a conference must be recorded in the conference notes with the reasons for the exclusion.


7.0 Participation of those with Parental Responsibility /the Child's Carers

7.1 It is the policy of Wolverhampton Local Safeguarding Children Board that adults with Parental Responsibility and other significant adults who have day to day care of the children should be invited to attend Child Protection Conferences except in exceptional circumstances. If a parent/significant adult is unable to attend the conference, they should be enabled to present their views in whatever format is appropriate.
7.2 Parents should be encouraged to participate by attending the conference because they have an important contribution to make in developing plans to ensure the protection of their children. The importance of working in partnership with parents and family members underpins all child protection work and there is a need to establish openness and honesty between professionals and families from the outset of the enquiries.
7.3 However parents/carer should not be encouraged to attend at the cost of excluding a child who wishes to be present. Adults (and any children) who wish to make representations to the conference may not wish to speak in front of one another and there may be a need to protect the individual's right to confidentiality.
7.4 It may not always be possible to accommodate all family members at all times, particularly if one parent is the alleged abuser or there is a high level of conflict between family members.
7.5 The social worker initiating the conference should inform the parents/carers of the process that will be followed and ensure that they understand the purpose of the conference, the concerns that are likely to be discussed and who will attend. A leaflet explaining the conference procedure should be given to the parents/carers as a supplement to a verbal explanation. The leaflet should be in their preferred language and/or arrangements made for interpretation or translation.
7.6 Parents/carers may need assistance to participate fully in the conference. They may need help in preparing what they want to say as well as practical assistance with any child care or transport difficulties.
7.7 Parents/carers should be encouraged to bring to the conference a supporter, provided the person concerned is not a suspected or known abuser. The presence of the supporter should, however, be subject to consideration of the child's wishes and feelings. The parents/carers solicitor may attend in the capacity of supporter provided they do not use the conference as a rehearsal of any court proceedings by inappropriately questioning or challenging the professionals present. Parents/carers may also choose to have a supporter who is a professional representative from their own culture.
7.8 Account must be taken of the parent's/carer's language of choice, communication difficulties or any other particular needs. Interpreters, signers and different media should be available, if necessary. The conference venue should be accessible to those with impaired mobility.
7.9 The Safeguarding Review Manager should meet parents/carers beforehand and explain to them how the meeting will be conducted and what the ground rules are. If the conference decides the child should be subject to a Child Protection Plan, parents should be told how they will be involved in further case planning and review.
7.10 If parents disagree with the conference decision, they should be told about the LSCB complaints/representation procedure.


8.0 Exclusion of those with Parental Responsibility/the Child's Carers

8.1

Exclusion of those with Parental Responsibility/carers from a conference, in whole or in part, must be kept to a minimum. Circumstances when full or partial exclusion may be justified include:

  • One parent is the alleged abuser;
  • There is a high level of conflict between family members;
  • Adults and children may not wish to speak in front of each other or another adult;
  • There may be a threat of violence or intimidation from a particular adult;
  • Advice is received from the police or the Crown Prosecution Service that attendance might jeopardise criminal proceedings;
  • The authority's legal advisor is providing confidential legal advice;
  • There is evidence that substance misuse is significantly impairing the parent's/carer's functioning at the time of the conference;
  • The Safeguarding Review Manager considers their presence will preclude a full and proper consideration of the child's interests.
8.2 The decision to exclude a parent, carer, or person with Parental Responsibility from the conference rests with the Safeguarding Review Manager, who should base the decision on the exclusion criteria.
8.3 If parents, carers or others with Parental Responsibility are excluded, or unwilling to attend the conference, it is important that they are encouraged to find a method of communicating their views to the conference. This may be done by means of a letter, or a tape recording, or the social worker or another professional may agree with the parent that they should represent the parents' views and wishes.
8.4 Any professional can request the exclusion of a parent/carer from the conference, particularly if there are professional concerns about possible violence or intimidation. The request must be made to the Safeguarding Review Manager at the earliest opportunity. The chairperson should discuss the request with the relevant agency manager before coming to a decision about whether to exclude.
8.5 Any decision to exclude a child and/or his or her parent/s, and the reason for so doing, must be recorded on the Child Protection Conference minutes and on the child's file.


9.0 Conference Reports

9.1 Each agency invited to attend the conference should provide, in advance if possible, a written report which summarises their involvement with the family and their knowledge of the child's health and development as well as their view of the parents' capacity to safeguard the child and promote the child's welfare. This report should be written in a format consistent with the Initial Child Protection Conference Report (Department for Education).
9.2 If possible the authors of the reports should arrange to explain and discuss the report with families at least 24 hours before the conference, except where to do so would jeopardise the safety of the child or any criminal investigation/proceedings. This is a particular requirement for the author of the social work report. Agency representatives must come to the conference expecting to share the report they have prepared and to highlight all important points.
9.3 Report writers should address the needs of each child within the family separately even though only one report may be produced. They should check their records for factual data such as immunisation history, clinic attendance, school attendance etc. Relevant adult records should also be scrutinised.
9.4 All those providing information should take care to distinguish between fact, observation, allegation and opinion.
9.5 Any particularly sensitive or confidential information should be drawn to the attention of the Safeguarding Review Manager.
9.6 Authors of reports should ensure there are sufficient copies available to the conference meeting. Following the conference, the Safeguarding Review Manager will retain one copy of each report and all other copies will be returned to the authors.


Social Worker's Report
9.7

The social worker's report summarises and analyses the information obtained in the course of the Initial Assessment and Section 47 Enquiries. The report should be recorded on the relevant Integrated Children's System pro forma. It should include:

  • The Initial Assessment and information from the work that has been done on the Core Assessment so far;
  • A Chronology of significant events and agency and professional contact with the child and family, including a list in date order of the events which brought the case to the Child Protection Conference. Areas where more information is needed should be highlighted;
  • The date(s) when the child was seen by the Lead Social Worker during the Section 47 Enquiry, if the child was seen alone and, if not, who was present and for what reason;
  • Significant aspects of the child's current and past state of health and development;
  • Report of the Section 47 enquiry and brief description of events;
  • Information on the capacity of the parents and other family members to ensure the child's safety from harm, and to respond to the child's developmental needs, within their wider family and environmental context;
  • Information on the family history and both the current and past family functioning;
  • The expressed views wishes and feelings of the child, parents and other family members;
  • Assessment of risk and any child protection action taken;
  • An analysis of the information gathered and recorded using the Assessment Framework dimensions to reach a judgment on whether the child is suffering, or likely to suffer, Significant Harm, and consider how best to meet his/her developmental needs. This analysis should include
    • how the child's strengths and difficulties are impacting on each other;
    • how the parenting strengths and difficulties are affecting each other;
    • how the family and environmental factors are affecting each other;
    • how the parenting that is provided for the child is affecting the child's health and development both in terms of resilience and protective factors, and vulnerability and risk factors; and
    • how the family and environmental factors are impacting on parenting and/or the child directly; and
  • The local authority's recommendation to the conference;
  • Recommendations for future work with the child and family.
9.8 The social worker's report should be submitted to the Safeguarding Review Manager at least one working day before the conference to allow the Safeguarding Review Manager sufficient time to prepare the conference.


Medical Report
9.9 Medical personnel will collate all relevant medical information including imaging, e.g. x-ray, and provide written reports. Where medical advice is crucial to the conference deliberations, wherever possible the conference should be scheduled to ensure that the examining doctor(s) or community paediatrician can attend.
9.10

If, due to exceptional circumstances, the doctor cannot attend, he or she must submit a report and the Safeguarding Review Manager should read the medical findings in full to the conference. Any further interpretation of the report should only be undertaken by a medical practitioner. If conference is not clear as to the contents or the interpretation of the report, arrangements should be made by the Safeguarding Review Manager to seek clarification.

Any delay should not prejudice the safety of the child.
9.11 In cases of conflicting medical opinion, the Safeguarding Review Manager should request that the doctors involved review their findings jointly with the interests of the child in mind. If they are unable to establish common ground, they should be asked to explain their differences. Their views must be considered in the context of the other information available. If resolution is not possible, a further expert opinion should be commissioned to review the medical findings in order to offer a definitive opinion.


Other Professionals
9.12

Other professionals will be required to provide reports that should be consistent with the domains and dimensions of the Assessment Framework. Professionals must be prepared to interpret, analyse and explain their information for the benefit of other conference attendees.

  • Health personnel will provide reports which will collate all the other relevant health information appropriate to that professional, including that pertaining to parents (and carers) as it affects parental capacity to adequately provide for the health, safety and welfare of the children;
  • Education personnel will collate and check all relevant records, including school attendance and pastoral information and provide a written report;
  • The Police will check records of all known adults who have a significant involvement with the child and also check domestic abuse records. Their report needs to contain all previous convictions relating to drugs or alcohol, violence including domestic abuse, sexual offences or dishonesty where relevant to the child's welfare;
  • The Probation Service will check records including licence conditions and provide a written report if it is a statutory case or has recently closed.


10.0 Chairing the Conference

10.1

A Safeguarding Review Manager who has  no operational or line management responsibilities for the case will chair the conference. Wherever possible, the same person will also chair the subsequent child protection reviews in respect of that specific child. The responsibilities of the chairperson include:

  • Meeting the child and family members in advance, to ensure that they understand the purpose of the conference, what will happen, checking they have received the Child Protection Conference explanatory leaflets and answering any queries they may have;
  • Setting out the purpose of the conference to all present, emphasising the confidential nature of the meeting and determining the agenda;
  • Ensuring that all those present are aware of the identity and professional responsibility of all the participants at the conference;
  • Ensuring that the conference is conducted in an anti-discriminatory manner and gives proper consideration to issues of race, culture, language, religion, gender, sexual orientation and disability;
  • Managing any proposed exclusions from the conference or from receipt of conference minutes;
  • Enabling all those present, and absent contributors, to make their full contribution to discussion and decision making. This particularly applies when children are attending the conference;
  • Ensuring that the conference maintains a focus on the child/ren as the primary client, whose interests must supersede those of the parents/family members;
  • Ensuring that the conference takes the decisions required of it in an informed, systematic and explicit way;
  • Ensuring that the recommendations forming the outline Child Protection Plan, if appropriate, are based on the available information and agreed by all agencies;
  • Ensuring the appointment of a Lead Social Worker if the child is to be subject to a Child Protection Plan;
  • Ensuring that the reasons for parents not receiving an invitation to attend the conference are recorded and agreed;
  • Ensuring the accuracy of minutes and the distribution of minutes;
  • Ensuring the date of the first Core Group meeting is arranged at the end of the conference (if appropriate) to take place within 10 working days;
  • Setting a date and time for the first review conference;
  • Ensuring that agreement is reached about how and when non-attending child/ren//parents/carers are informed of the decisions and recommendations.
10.2 The Safeguarding Review Manager who chairs the conference is accountable to the Director of the Children & Young People's Service for the conduct of the conference.
103.

The Child Protection Conference will normally follow a standard format with five phases:-

  1. Opening and introductions;
  2. Fact sharing - incident or presenting concerns;
  3. Fact sharing - relevant history and background information;
  4. Evaluation;
  5. Decision making.

However this may be modified at the Safeguarding Review Manager's discretion.


11.0 Decisions and Recommendations

11.1

The conference should consider the following question when considering whether a child should be the subject of a Child Protection Plan:

  • Has the child suffered Significant Harm? And is the child likely to suffer Significant Harm? The test for the likelihood of the child suffering Significant Harm in the future.
11.2

should be either:

  • The child can be shown to have suffered ill-treatment or impairment of health or development as a result of physical, emotional or sexual abuse or neglect, and professional judgement is that further ill-treatment or impairment are likely; or
  • Professional judgment, substantiated by the findings of enquiries in this individual case or by research evidence, is that the child is likely to suffer ill treatment or the impairment of health or development as a result of physical, emotional or sexual abuse or neglect.
11.3

Issues to consider would include:

  • The child's age, level of development, wishes and feelings;
  • The reason for the concern;
  • Past history;
  • Parent(s) acknowledgement of the problem;
  • Co-operation of the parents;
  • Whether the concern relates to a one-off incident or continuing harm;
  • The degree of injury or harm to the child;
  • Contributing factors;
  • Whether there is an identified protective adult;
  • Support networks accessible to the child.
11.4

Where a child has suffered, or is likely to suffer in the future, Significant Harm, it is the local authority's duty to consider the evidence and decide what, if any, legal action to take. The information presented to the Child Protection Conference should inform that decision-making process but it is for the local authority to consider whether to initiate, for example, care proceedings.  When a child who is the subject of a Child Protection Plan becomes Looked After, the Child Protection Plan should form part of the child's Care Plan.

If the child is at continuing risk of Significant Harm, it will be the case that safeguarding the child requires inter-agency help and intervention delivered through a formal Child Protection Plan. It is the role of the initial child protection conference to formulate the outline child protection plan, in as much detail as possible.
11.5 Conference participants will base their judgments on all the available evidence obtained through existing records, the Initial Assessment and the Core Assessment commenced following the initiation of Section 47 Enquiries.
11.6 The decision making process will take account of the views of all agencies represented at the conference and the written reports submitted by absentee agencies.
11.7 Each child should be considered individually and a decision made in respect of the individual child should take into account all the evidence that pertains to that individual child.
11.8 If a decision is taken that a child is at continuing risk of Significant Harm and in need of a Child Protection Plan, the Safeguarding Review Manager should determine what category of abuse or neglect applies to that child. The category used (i.e. physical, emotional, Sexual Abuse or neglect) should indicate the primary presenting concerns at the time the child became subject of a Child Protection Plan.
11.9 A child may not become the subject of a Child Protection Plan, but nonetheless, may be in need of help to promote his/her health or development. In these circumstances, the conference will ensure that arrangements are in place to consider with the family what further help and support might be offered through a Child in Need/family support plan.
11.10

If the child is made the subject of a Child Protection Plan, the conference needs to consider:

  • Appointment of a Lead Social Worker - this will be a suitably qualified and experienced Children & Young People's Service social worker;
  • Membership of the Core Group;
  • Involvement of child/ren and family in ongoing assessment, planning and implementation of the plan;
  • Timescales for Core Group meetings, production of Child Protection Plan and Child Protection Review Meetings;
  • Completion of core and specialist assessments;
  • Outline of the Child Protection Plan, identifying:
    • Risk factors and what needs to change in order to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child;
    • Short and longer term aims and objectives linked to reducing the likelihood of harm. This may include contact arrangements with family members;
    • Who has responsibility for what actions and within what timescales;
    • Arrangements for reviewing progress against the planned objectives;
  • Contingency plans if agreed actions are not completed or circumstances change e.g. a caregiver fails to achieve what has been agreed, a court application fails or a child is removed from a place of safety.
11.11 The chairperson will always try to facilitate unanimous decisions but when this is not possible the decision about whether the child should be the subject of a Child Protection Plan and the category of abuse or neglect to be applied rests with the chairperson. The reasons for any dissent should be recorded.


12.0 Child Protection Conference Records and Distribution

12.1 All Child Protection Conferences will have a dedicated person to take notes and produce minutes of the meeting.
12.2

A record of the Conference should be made on the relevant Integrated Children's System pro forma, showing clearly:

  • The essential facts of the case;
  • A summary of discussion at the conference;
  • The child's and parents views;
  • The decisions taken and recommendations made;
  • The outline Child Protection Plan and the personnel responsible for the Child Protection Plan.
12.3 The minutes should include a note of any dissent from the conclusions, decision or recommendations of the conference.
12.4 A copy of this record should be sent to every person invited to the conference, including family members (except for any part of the conference from which they were excluded), within 15 working days of the conference. This applies to initial and review Child Protection Conferences.
12.5 A separate Decisions and Recommendations Record will be produced at the end of the conference by the Safeguarding Review Manager. The Decisions, Summary and Recommendations Record will be sent to everyone in attendance at the conference, or invited to attend, by the Safeguarding Review Manager within 24 hours of the conference decision.
12.6 The social worker should ensure that, where appropriate, children who did not attend the conference are informed of the outcome within 24 hours.
12.7 The conference minutes and the Decisions and Recommendations Record are confidential and should not be passed by professionals to third parties without the consent of the conference chairperson. However, in cases of criminal proceedings, the police may reveal the existence of the record to the Crown Prosecution Service in accordance with the Criminal Procedure & Investigation Act 1996.


13.0 Complaints / Representations

13.1

Parents, carers, children and anyone attending a conference can challenge its decisions using the Wolverhampton Safeguarding Children Board Complaints/Representation Procedure. This procedure can be invoked when the individual:

  • Believes that the Child Protection Conference has not been run in accordance with Wolverhampton Safeguarding Children Board Procedures;
  • Disagrees with the facts and/or category of primary concern which resulted in the child being made subject of a Child Protection Plan;
  • Disagrees that the child has been made subject to a Child Protection Plan or that the Child Protection Plan has been discontinued.
13.2 The complaints/representation procedure is outlined in detail in Appendix 21 Complaints/representations about inter-agency  Child Protection Conferences
13.3 Complaints about individual agencies, their performance and provision (or non-provision) of services should be responded to in accordance with the relevant agency's complaints handling process.


14.0 The Lead Social Worker

14.1 Each child subject to a Child Protection Plan will have a named key worker to carry future professional responsibility for the case. The Lead Social worker will be identified by the Safeguarding Review Manager at the initial conference. The Lead Social worker will always be a qualified social worker with relevant experience. If a Lead Social worker is not identified at the initial conference, the relevant Team Manager will be named as the link worker until a Lead Social worker is appointed. The link worker will undertake all functions as specified for the Lead Social worker.
14.2

The Lead Social worker should:

  • Initiate any legal action recommended by the Child Protection Conference as necessary to safeguard the child;
  • Initiate and/or undertake appropriate action is there is any evidence of harm to the child or if there is any increased level of risk;
  • Ensure that the outline Child Protection Plan is developed by the Core Group into a more detailed inter-agency Child Protection Plan;
  • Co-ordinate the completion of the Core Assessment of the needs of the child and the family;
  • Take the lead in inter-agency work with the child and family;
  • See the child at least every six weeks;
  • Co-ordinate the contributions of family members and other agencies to the implementation of the Child Protection Plan;
  • Provide a focus for communication;
  • Review progress on objectives for the child's safety and welfare in relation to the Child Protection Plan;
  • Inform their Team Manager when the Lead Social worker is unable to fulfil any of their duties. If access to the child is prevented for whatever reason, this should be referred to the Team Manager for a decision on action to be taken;
  • Ensure that the children and parents have a clear understanding of the objectives of the plan, and that they know of their right to make a complaint and how to do so;
  • Inform relevant personnel of any important change of circumstances involving the family. This is crucial where a family goes missing or moves to another area;
  • Maintain written records consistent with Children & Young People's Service's recording policy and procedure, including recording the Core Group meetings;
  • Be responsible for initiating cover for their role during periods of planned absence;
  • Ensure that any professional who becomes involved in the case after the initial conference is aware of the date, time and venue of any subsequent Review Conference.
14.3 In certain circumstances some of the Lead Social worker's responsibilities may be delegated to another agency. This may occur, for example, when access is refused by a family to a certain agency. Even in these circumstances the Lead Social worker will maintain professional responsibility for the case and must ensure that other agencies report to them their actions and outcomes of any visits. The Lead Social worker is responsible for recording details of all the visits and including any reference to whether or not the child has been seen alone.
14.4 All professionals have a duty to inform the Lead Social worker of significant events or changes of circumstance relevant to the child.
14.5 Any permanent change of Lead Social worker must be notified verbally and confirmed in writing to all relevant agencies and the family within 5 working days.


15.0 The Core Group

15.1 The Core Group is responsible for developing and implementing the Child Protection Plan as a detailed working tool within the outline plan agreed at the Initial Child Protection Conference. Membership of the Core Group is decided at the initial conference and will include the Lead Social worker, relevant family members (including children) and professionals/foster carers who have direct contact with the family.
15.2 The first meeting of the Core Group should take place within 10 working days of the Initial Child Protection Conference. The Core Group should continue to meet regularly at least once every 6 weeks.
15.3 Core Group meetings will be chaired by the Lead Social worker or their team manager, depending on the complexity of the case.
15.4 Although the Lead Social worker has the lead role, all members of the Core Group are jointly responsible for preparing and implementing the detailed Child Protection Plan, and members of the Core Group can undertake specific work as part of the plan.
15.5 Core Group members should ensure that, in the event of them being absent from meetings, they send a report, either verbal or written.
15.6

The tasks of the Core Group are to:

  • Agree objectives and timescales at the first meeting;
  • Develop and expand the outline Child Protection Plan;
  • Assist the Lead Social worker in the preparation of the Core Assessment of the child and family;
  • Decide what steps need to be taken, by whom, to complete the Core Assessment on time;
  • Plan and implement the inter-agency work in accordance with conference recommendations;
  • Monitor progress against the objectives specified in the plan and refine the plan as needed;
  • Ensure that parents and children where appropriate, are fully engaged in the implementation of the Child Protection Plan, and understand the expectations and objectives of each agency involved.
15.7 Each Core Group meeting should fix the date of the next meeting.
15.8 The Lead Social worker should produce a record of the Core Group meeting, using the relevant pro forma. The record should include attendance, the action agreed and decisions taken to inform the review conference. This record should be distributed to Core Group members.
15.9 Following Core Group meetings the Child Protection Plan should be updated as necessary.
15.10 Any necessary protective action to secure the safety and well-being of any child at risk of Significant Harm must not be delayed because a Core Group meeting is pending or imminent.


16.0 The Child Protection Plan

16.1 A Core Assessment should be completed within 35 days and should be recorded using the relevant Integrated Children's System pro forma. The Core Group will assist in completion of the Core Assessment and the information from the assessment will be used to develop the Child Protection Plan.
16.2

The assessment must aim to collect and evaluate information about the family, with a view to establishing a clear picture of:

  • The nature of the concern about the child;
  • The child's physical and emotional development, health and personality, highlighting any problems;
  • The composition of the family;
  • The financial resources and physical environment of the family;
  • Each parent's (or partners) background, personality, attitudes, strengths and problems;
  • Family interactions, including the couple's relationship with each other and with the child, with particular attention to their ability to meet the child's needs;
  • The nature of the child's and family's networks of relatives, friends and links with professional and other organisations;
  • The factors which appear to have led to concern;
  • The parents degree of acceptance or responsibility for the concerns about their child, their wish to bring about change, and their ability to do so;
  • What help the family will require and the likely timescale needed for changes to occur;
  • In the case of Sexual Abuse, the dangerousness of the alleged abuser, in terms of strength of his/her denial, the time period during which his or her offending behaviours have been exhibited (with any child, not just the child under consideration), the attitudes of each of the adults in the household to the offending behaviours and their understanding of the role the child played in the abuse.
16.3 The Initial Child Protection Conference agrees the outline Child Protection Plan and the Core Group develops the details of the plan at its first meeting, recording it on the relevant Integrated Children's System pro forma. The plan should then be distributed to all members of the Core Group and to the Deputy Head of Safeguarding within 28 days of the Initial Child Protection Conference.
16.4

The overall aim of the plan is to:

  • Ensure the child is safe and prevent him or her from suffering further harm by supporting the strengths, addressing the vulnerabilities and risk factors and helping meet the child's unmet needs;
  • Promote the child's health and development;
  • Provided it is in the child's best interests, to support the family and wider family members to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child.
16.5

The plan should:

  • Name the Lead Social worker;
  • Safeguard the child from further harm which could include the local authority seeking legal advice regarding initiating care proceedings or taking emergency protection action;
  • Be based on the findings from the Core Assessment and follow the Assessment Framework domains relating to the child's developmental needs, parenting capacity and family and environmental factors;
  • Describe the identified needs of the child and family within these domains and identify any services/actions which are required to meet these needs in order to promote the welfare of the child;
  • Include specific and measurable outcomes to be achieved to safeguard the child and promote his/her welfare;
  • Set out timescales for meetings of the Core Group;
  • Identify strategies for managing safe contact with family members, where appropriate;
  • Identify when and in what situations he child will be seen by the Lead Social Worker, both alone and with other family members or caregivers present;
  • Lay down points at which progress will be reviewed and how progress will be judged;
  • Clearly identify the roles and responsibilities of professionals and family members including the nature and frequency of contact by professionals with children and family members;
  • Identify the types of assessment required, e.g. risk, parenting ability, protective ability, psychiatric, psychological assessments
  • Include the contingency arrangements should the Core Group be unable to implement the agreed plan or circumstances change quickly.
16.6 If a number of children in a family are made subject to a Child Protection Plan, each child should have a separate Child Protection Plan focussing on their individual needs and their unique place in the family.
16.7 If the Deputy Head of Safeguarding has serious concerns about the content of the Child Protection Plan, they will consult with the chair of the Core Group and if necessary reconvene the Child Protection Conference to review the Child Protection Plan.
16.8 If a child cannot be cared for safely by his or her caregiver(s), arrangements may need to be made for the child to live elsewhere whilst work is being undertaken with the child and family.
16.9

Interventions may have a number of inter-related components:

  • Action to make a child safe;
  • Action to promote a child's health and development;
  • Action to help a parent/caregiver in safeguarding the child and promoting his/her welfare;
  • Therapy for an abused child;
  • Therapy/support for a perpetrator of abuse.
16.10

A key issue in deciding on suitable interventions will be whether the child's needs can be responded to:

  1. Within the family context;
  2. Within timescales that are appropriate for the child.
16.11 The child's timescales may not be compatible with those of the caregiver who is in receipt of therapeutic help. Where the family situation is not improving or changing fast enough to respond to the child's needs, decisions will be necessary about the long term future of the child which may be placement in an alternative family context. The key consideration in making these decisions is what is in the child's best interests informed by the child's wishes and feelings.
16.12 All members of the Core Group have equal ownership of and responsibility for the Child Protection Plan and should co-operate to achieve its aims. All professionals working with children and/or families under a Child Protection Plan must be alert to indications that the plan may be failing to protect the child. Any professional who is concerned about this should promptly inform the Lead Social worker and a re-appraisal of the case by the Core Group should be undertaken without delay.
16.13 It is good practice to produce a written agreement as part of, or additional to, the plan, which is negotiated between the child, the family and professionals regarding the implementation of the plan and any contingency arrangements. A copy of the plan and any agreement should be provided to the family.
16.14 The Child Protection Plan should be explained to and agreed with the child according to their age and understanding. The child should be given a copy of the Child Protection Plan written in a format appropriate to their age and level of understanding, which may include the use of pictures, photographs and symbols as appropriate.
16.15 Negotiating the plan with the parents: the parents should be clear about the evidence of Significant Harm which resulted in the child becoming the subject of a Child Protection Plan, what needs to change and what is expected of them as part of implementing the plan.
16.16 If a child subject to a Child Protection Plan becomes Looked After, consideration should be given at the next review conference to the continuing need for the Child Protection Plan.


17.0 Recording that a Child is Subject to a Child Protection Plan

17.1 Following the Initial Child Protection Conference the Safeguarding Children Support Service will record that the child is the subject of a Child Protection Plan in the child's social care record and the List of Children Subject to a Child Protection Plan.
17.2

The following information will be kept and must be updated as circumstances change by notification to the Designated Manager (Children subject to a Child Protection Plan).

  • The child's full name, home address, gender, date of birth and ethnic origin;
  • The child's address if not living at home;
  • The child's legal status;
  • The full names, any other known names and addresses of the parents and those with Parental Responsibility;
  • Name and address of any other adult members of or regular visitors to the household, together with information on their relationship to the child;
  • Details of any relevant offences of the persons mentioned above;
  • Full names, dates of birth and gender of other children in the household, their legal status, whether they are the subject of a Child Protection Plan and if so, under which Category of Significant Harm;
  • The date and source of the first referral;
  • The date when the decision was taken that the child required a Child Protection Plan;
  • The name and contact number of the Lead Social Worker;
  • Details of professionals/agencies involved with the child and family and the members of the Core Group;
  • GP's name, address and contact number;
  • Health visitor/school nurses name, address and contact number;
  • Child's school, playgroup, nursery or childminder, if any, including name, address and contact number of any Designated Teacher;
  • The date of the next Child Protection Review Conference
  • The date when the Child Protection Plan was discontinued or when the child moved to a new area (including arrangements for the transfer conference, the transfer of the case responsibility and the records);
  • A record of all enquiries in respect of children with a Child Protection Plan;
  • A copy of the Child Protection Plan pro forma from the Lead Social Worker after each Core Group meeting.

Children will be recorded as having been abused or neglected under one or more of the categories of physical, emotional or sexual abuse or neglect as decided by the chair of the Child Protection Conference. The categorisation will indicate the nature of the current concerns and allow the collation and analysis of local information to plan the provision of local and national services.
17.3 The designated manager responsible for records of children with a Child Protection Plan is the Deputy Head of Safeguarding.
17.4

The local authority is responsible for:

  • Ensuring that records on children who have a Child Protection Plan are kept up to date;
  • Ensuring that enquiries about children about whom there are concerns or who have Child Protection Plans are recorded;
  • Managing notifications of movements of children into or out of the local authority area;
  • Managing notifications of people who may pose a risk of harm to children who are either identified within or have moved into the local authority area.
17.5

The List of Children Subject to a Child Protection Plan will serve the following functions:

  • To make agencies and professionals aware of those children who are judged to be at continuing risk of Significant Harm and in need of active safeguarding;
  • To provide a record of all children in the area for whom there are continuing child protection concerns and who are currently the subject of an inter-agency Child Protection Plan;
  • To ensure that Child Protection Plans are formally reviewed at three months and every six months thereafter;
  • To provide a central point of enquiry for professionals who are concerned about a child and need to know whether he/she is the subject of an inter-agency Child Protection Plan;
  • To provide statistical information about current trends in the city and to contribute to national collation of statistics concerning child protection.
17.6

Enquiries may only be made by authorised representatives of agencies who have concerns about the welfare of a child. They are subject to a call back procedure to check the authenticity and designation of the enquirer. Enquiries can be made in the following ways:

  • By contact with the Deputy Head of Safeguarding;
  • By contact with a local Children & Young People's Service social work team;
  • By contact out of office hours with the Emergency Duty Team.
17.7 All enquiries will be recorded on form SC10 and monitored by the Deputy Head of Safeguarding
17.8 If the case is open to the Children & Young People's Service, the enquirer should be given the name and contact details of the child's Lead Social Worker. The Lead Social worker should also be informed of the enquiry.
17.9 If the enquiry is about a child at the same address as a child with a Child Protection Pan (or any other child allocated a Children & Young People's Service social worker), the enquirer should be given the name and contact details of that child's Lead Social worker. The Lead Social worker for the child with a Child Protection Plan/known to the Children & Young People's Service should be informed of the enquiry.
17.10 If an enquiry is made on a child not already known to the Children & Young People's Service, the enquiry and advice given will be recorded. If there is a second enquiry about the same child, the enquirer should be informed of the first enquiry and the Children & Young People's Service should consider whether the second enquiry indicates the child may be a Child in Need and whether an assessment should be completed.


18.0 Movement of Children

Movement within Wolverhampton
18.1

When a child who is the subject of a Child Protection Plan moves permanently to another area within Wolverhampton the following action should be taken:

  • The Lead Social worker must be informed unless he/she is already aware of the move;
  • The Lead Social worker must inform the Safeguarding Children Support Service, their team manager and other involved professionals of the move;
  • If the case is to be transferred the Lead Social worker's team manager must ensure the team manager in the receiving area is informed and arrangements made for transfer following Directorate procedures;
  • A Core Group meeting must be convened within 15 working days of transfer involving the professionals who will be involved in the Child Protection Plan in the new area.
18.2 The child will remain the responsibility of the area of origin until the Core Group meeting in the receiving area is held. Transfer of Lead Social worker responsibility must be notified to the Safeguarding Children Support Service.
18.3

If the move within Wolverhampton is temporary, responsibility remains with the Lead Social worker and Core Group. The following action should be taken:

  • The Lead Social worker must be informed unless he/she is already aware of  the move;
  • The Lead Social worker must inform the Safeguarding Children Support Service, their team manager and other involved professionals;
  • The Lead Social worker must ensure that relevant professionals in the receiving area are informed that the child is in their area and what action to take should there be any concern for his/her welfare.


Movement out of Wolverhampton
18.4

When a child subject to a Child Protection Plan moves out of Wolverhampton on a permanent basis, the following action should be taken:

  • The Lead Social worker must be informed unless he/she is already aware;
  • The Lead Social worker must inform the Safeguarding Children Support Service, their team manager and other involved professionals;
  • The Lead Social worker's team manager must ensure the manager of the Children & Young People's Service team in the receiving authority is informed;
  • The Deputy Head of Safeguarding must inform the designated manager in the receiving authority by telephone and in writing and must forward copies of previous Child Protection Conference minutes and the current Child Protection Plan;
  • All other professionals must alert their colleagues in the receiving authority;
  • Full information should be transferred as soon as possible - it is the responsibility of each professional to transfer relevant records to their opposite numbers in the receiving authority, using existing protocols and procedures.
18.5 The receiving authority must convene a Child Protection Conference within 15 working days. The social care record will remain live in Wolverhampton until the conference in the receiving authority is held. After that conference, the social care record will be updated to show the new circumstances and will indicate that the child is no longer subject of a Child Protection Plan in Wolverhampton.
18.6 The Deputy Head of Safeguarding will notify all Child Protection Conference members of the change in circumstances and that the child is no longer subject to a Child Protection Plan in Wolverhampton.
18.7

If the move of a child subject to a Child Protection Plan out of Wolverhampton is temporary, responsibility remains with the Lead Social worker and Core Group. The following action should be taken:

  • The Lead Social worker must be informed unless he/she is already aware;
  • The Lead Social worker must inform the Safeguarding Children Support Service, their team manager and other involved professionals;
  • The Lead Social worker must ensure that relevant professionals in the receiving authority are informed that the child is in their area and what action to take should there be any concern for his/her welfare.


Movement into Wolverhampton
18.8

When a child subject to a Child Protection Plan in another authority moves into Wolverhampton on a permanent basis, the following action should be taken:

  • The Safeguarding Children Support Service must be informed by whoever is aware of the move;
  • The Safeguarding Children Support Service must inform the relevant Locality Team of the move into the area unless the team is already aware. If the team had not previously been notified of the move, immediate contact must be made with the responsible authority for further information;
  • The Safeguarding Children Support Service must set up a social care record for the child indicating that the child is subject to a Child Protection Plan in the area of origin;
  • The relevant team manager must convene a Child Protection Conference within 15 working days to consider whether the child should be subject to aC Protection Plan in Wolverhampton;
  • All other professionals who may be involved must contact their colleagues in the authority of origin for transfer of information.
18.9 Wolverhampton Safeguarding Children Board will not accept Lead Social worker status for any child from another area until a decision has been made at a Wolverhampton Child Protection Conference.
18.10

If the move into Wolverhampton of a child subject to a Child Plan in another authority is temporary, the following action should be taken:

  • The Safeguarding Children Support Service must be informed by whoever is aware of the move;
  • The Safeguarding Children Support Service must notify the Locality team, the designated nurse and the nominated education officer (if appropriate) of the move into the area.


Children who go Missing
18.11

When a child subject to Section 47 Enquiries or a Child Protection Plan appears to have gone missing the following action should be taken:

  • The Lead Social worker must be informed by whoever becomes aware the child is missing;
  • The Lead Social worker should undertake thorough initial enquiries to try to establish the whereabouts of the child;
  • If the child is believed to be at immediate risk of Significant Harm the police must be informed immediately;
  • The Lead Social worker should inform the Deputy Head of Safeguarding, the team manager and other involved professionals.
18.12

If the child/ren cannot be located, the following actions should be taken:

  • The Deputy Head of Safeguarding will notify other local authorities;
  • The Lead Social worker will seek legal advice if necessary;
  • The Lead Social worker will inform the Emergency Duty Team;
  • The police, health and education services should put into operation their own procedures for tracing missing children and families;
  • The Lead Social worker should continue to check with all known contacts and the Department of Work and Pensions which is authorised to disclose to the Children & Young People's Service the new address of a family if known.
18.13 Publicity will be used only in exceptional circumstances. No details should be given to the media without the authorisation of a Children & Young People's Service Senior Manager
18.14 Once a child is found, the Lead Social worker should inform the Deputy Head of Safeguarding, who will take whatever action is appropriate in the circumstances.


19.0 Child Protection Review Conferences

19.1 All children subject to a Child Protection Plan will have their plan reviewed on a regular basis. The frequency of the Child Protection Review Conference will be determined by the needs of the individual case.
19.2 However, the first Child Protection Review Conference should be held within a maximum of three months of the Initial Child Protection Conference or within 4 weeks of the birth of any child who was subject to a pre-birth conference resulting in the formulation of a Child Protection Plan. Further reviews should be held at intervals of not more than six months for as long as the child remains subject to a Child Protection Plan.
19.3 A Child Protection Review Conference should always be convened where the Core Group is unable to implement the Child Protection Plan. However any necessary protective action to secure the safety and well-being of any child at risk of Significant Harm must not be delayed because a Child Protection Review Conference is pending or imminent.
19.4

The tasks of the Child Protection Review Conference are:

  • To review the safety, health and development of the child against intended outcomes set out in the Child Protection Plan;
  • To consider how the current plan has affected the perceived concerns;
  • To ensure that the welfare of the child continues to be adequately safeguarded;
  • To consider whether inter-agency co-ordination is functioning effectively;
  • To consider the membership of the Core Group;
  • To consider whether the Child Protection Plan should continue in place or should be changed.
19.5 Participants in the conference should include all members of the Core Group, including family members and the child, and any other relevant agencies such as those present at the initial Child Protection Conference. The Lead Social  worker is responsible for ensuring that the appropriate people are invited.
19.6

Information which should be available to the Review Conference includes:

  • A report from the Lead Social  worker including a summary of the Core Assessment;
  • The Child Protection Plan;
  • Conference reports on the provided proforma from key agency representatives - each member of the Core group has a responsibility to produce an individual agency report on the child and family for the Child Protection Review Conference. Where a key professional is unable to attend a review conference, they must submit a written report and indicate their views (with relevant evidence) on whether a Child Protection Plan needs to remain in place to the Lead Social Worker.

If possible, reports should be shared with the child (if of sufficient age and understanding) and the family at least one working day prior to the Review Conference
19.7 Expectations and procedures for the participation of the child and family and for exclusions are the same as for the Initial Child Protection Conference.
19.8 Similarly, the quorum for any review conference should be representation from the Children & Young People's Service and at least two other professional groups or agencies who have had direct contact with the child.
19.9 In exceptional circumstances, where the child has not had direct contact with three agencies, this minimum quorum may be breached. This is at the discretion of the Safeguarding Review Manager chairing the conference.
19.10 Any individual who receives an invitation to attend a Review Case Conference should immediately notify the Safeguarding Children Support Service if they are unable to attend or send a representative.
19.11 The Child Protection Review Conference will consider whether the child continues to be at risk of Significant Harm and therefore whether the child should continue to be subject to a Child Protection Plan. The review conference decision must be based on a careful and thorough analysis of all the available information and a discussion involving all members of the conference.
19.12

Conference participants should base their judgements on:

  • Whether the risk of harm has been reduced by action taken through the Child Protection Plan;
  • Whether the child and family's circumstances have changed;
  • Whether a re-assessment indicates a Child Protection Plan is not necessary.
19.13

Factors to be taken into account would include:

  • The child's age, level of development, wishes and feelings;
  • Whether there have been any further incidents, and if so, the nature of these;
  • Whether there is a support network which is accessible to the child;
  • Whether the child is able to apply self-protection strategies;
  • Whether the parents are co-operative.
19.14 As in the Initial Child Protection Conference, the views of parents and children are important to the conference but it is the professionals who make the decision about whether the Child Protection Plan should be discontinued. Clear reasons for the Review Conference decision should be given and recorded.
19.15 As is the case in initial Child Protection Conferences, the Safeguarding Review Manager will always try to facilitate a unanimous decision, but when this is not possible the decision rests with the Safeguarding Review Manager. The reasons for any dissent should be recorded.


20.0 Looked After Children with a Child Protection Plan

20.1 This section was added in December 2011, in accordance with the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010.
20.2 Where a Looked After child remains the subject of a Child Protection Plan, there should be a single planning and reviewing process, led by the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO), leading to the development of a single plan.
20.3 Consideration should be given to the IRO chairing the Child Protection Conference where a Looked After child remains subject to a Child Protection Plan.  Where that is not possible, it will be expected that the IRO will attend the Child Protection Review Conference.
20.4 The timing of the review of the child protection aspects of the Care Plan should be as for all Looked After Reviews.
20.5 The Looked After Review, when reviewing the child protection aspects of the plan, should consider whether the criteria continue to be met for the child to remain the subject of a Child Protection Plan. 
20.6 Consideration must be given to ensuring that the multi-agency contribution to the review of the Child Protection Plan is addressed within the review of the Care Plan.


21.0 Discontinuing the Child Protection Plan

21.1

The Child Protection Plan should be discontinued if:

  • It is judged that the child is no longer at continuing risk of Significant Harm requiring safeguarding by means of a Child Protection Plan. This decision can only be made at a Child Protection Review Conference;
  • The child and family have moved permanently to another local authority area. Ref: Section 17;
  • The child has reached 18 years, has died or has permanently left the UK.  Where the Child Protection Plan is to be discontinued when the child becomes 18, the local authority should have a review around the child's birthday and this should be planned in advance.
21.2 When a Child Protection Plan is discontinued, notification should be sent to all the agencies represented or who were invited to the initial Child Protection Conference that led to the plan.
21.3 The discontinuation of the Child Protection Plan does not necessarily mean that the family is no longer in need of services and/or support. When a decision is made to discontinue a Child Protection Plan arrangements should always be in place to consider with the family what further help and support might be offered through a Child in Need/family support plan.

End