8.1 The Child Protection Review Conference
8.2 Discontinuing the Child Protection Plan
8.3 The Role of the Key Worker
8.4 The Role of the Core Group
8.5 Agency Reports to Review Child Protection Conferences
8.1 The Child Protection Review Conference
Unless otherwise specified, the same approach is to be taken as with Initial Child Protection Conferences in relation to:
- Professional involvement (except that the Police will not attend unless they have specific information to share);
- Provision of Information (except that reports are to be shared with family and made available to the Chair three days prior to the Conference).
Timescale for Review Child Protection Conference
The first Child Protection Review Conference is to be held within three months of the Initial Child Protection Conference, and further reviews should be held at intervals of not more than six months, for as long as the child remains the subject of a Child Protection Plan. This is to ensure that momentum is maintained in the process of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child. Where necessary, reviews should be brought forward to address changes in the child's circumstances.
Purpose of Review Child Protection Conference
The purpose of the child protection review is to:
- Review the safety, health and development of the child against planned outcomes set out in the Child Protection Plan;
- Review each of the set objectives within the Child Protection Plan;
- Ensure that the child continues to be safeguarded from harm;
- Consider whether the Child Protection Plan should continue in place or should be changed.
A Review Child Protection Conference must always start with the background and reason for the existence of the Child Protection Plan.
The reviewing of the child's progress and the effectiveness of interventions are critical to achieving the best possible outcomes for the child. The child's wishes and feelings should be sought and taken into account during the reviewing process. The review requires as much preparation, commitment and management as the Initial Child Protection Conference. Every Review should consider explicitly whether the child continues to be at risk of significant harm, and hence continues to require safeguarding from harm through adherence to a formal Child Protection Plan. If not, then the child should no longer be the subject of a Child Protection Plan.
8.2 Discontinuing the Child Protection Plan
The Child Protection Plan should be discontinued if the Child Protection Review Conference judges that the child is no longer at continuing risk of significant harm, using the same basis for judgment as at the Initial Child Protection Conference.
Although discontinuation should be considered at every Child Protection Review, it would not normally be expected that a Plan would be discontinued at the first Review Conference where neglect or emotional abuse were the reasons for the child having a Plan. This is because it is likely to be too early to tell whether sufficient change has taken place and whether there is a sound basis on which to believe that this change will be maintained.
Conference members should guard against discontinuing a Plan due to a recent improvement in the child's home circumstances. The plan should not be discontinued at the first review conference unless there are overriding reasons to do so. In this event all first review de-registrations must be audited by the IRO Manager.
The decision must be based on a careful and thorough analysis of current and future risk, underpinned by the Core Assessment and any other specialist assessment which shows clearly that there is a sound basis on which to believe that the improved circumstances will be maintained.
Where a child's current safety is due to temporary arrangements, for example the child is in foster care or being cared for within their extended family, this alone is not sufficient reason to discontinue a Child Protection Plan. In such a circumstance, there must also be a completed core assessment, available in writing to the Conference and a long-term plan which ensures continuing safety and which is agreed by Conference. An example is where Children's Social Care intends to seek a Care Order with a plan for the child to remain with a carer who is not the parent.
Where discontinuation of a Child Protection Plan depends on seeking an order at Court, the Review Conference must make a contingency recommendation in the event that the order is not granted, for example, that there will be a further Initial Child Protection Conference. It should be noted that the existence of either pre court action under the Public Law Outline or court proceedings is not a substitute for a Child Protection Plan.
Where it is decided to discontinue the Child Protection Plan, the Conference and the child/family should consider what continuing support services are necessary and make recommendations in respect of these. There should never be an automatic withdrawal of help.
Children's Social Care should make clear the minimum period they will continue to provide services for the child and family, with the agreement of the family. Where Children's Social Care subsequently considers the case should be closed, there should be inter-agency liaison with other professionals involved. All professionals involved with the child's case should be informed of closure by Children's Social Care prior to closing the case.
Children in need of protection for two years or more
When a child subject to a Child Protection Plan is approaching the third review child protection conference they are likely to have been in the child protection process for about fifteen months. At this point advice must be sought from the relevant General Manager and if necessary legal services as to the way forward. The DCSF and Ofsted views are that a child should not be subject to a plan for more than two years. If sustainability and change has not taken place by this time, other ways of dealing with the situation must be discussed.
8.3 The Role of the Key Worker
The key worker is responsible for leading the work of the Core Group. S/he should complete the core assessment, securing contributions from core group members and others as necessary.
The key worker is also responsible for acting as the lead professional for the inter-agency work with the child and family. S/he should co-ordinate the contribution of family members and other agencies to planning the actions that need to be taken, putting the Child Protection Plan into effect and reviewing progress against the planned outcomes set out in the plan.
The key worker should also see the child at least once every two weeks, regularly ascertain their wishes and feelings, and keep the child up-to-date with the Child Protection Plan and any developments or changes.
8.4 The Role of the Core Group
The Core Group is responsible for developing and implementing the outline Child Protection Plan as agreed at the Initial or Pre-birth Child Protection Conference.
The Core Group does not have a remit to change the Child Protection Plan, nor responsibility for key decisions. These should be made by Child Protection Conferences.
Membership of the Core Group should include the key worker, who leads the Core Group, the child if appropriate, family members, and professionals or foster carers who will have direct contact with the family.
Although the key worker has the lead role, all members of the Core Group are jointly responsible for the formulation and implementation of the Child Protection Plan, refining the plan as needed, and monitoring progress against the planned outcomes set out in the plan.
Core Groups are an important forum for working with parents, wider family members, and children of sufficient age and understanding. It can often be difficult for parents to agree to a Child Protection Plan within the confines of a formal Conference, however, their agreement may be gained when details of the plan are worked out in the Core Group.
Sometimes there may be conflicts of interest between family members who have a relevant interest in the work of the Core Group. The child's best interests should always take precedence over the interests of other family members.
The first meeting of the Core Group should take place within ten working days of the Initial Child Protection Conference. The purpose of this first meeting is to flesh out the Child Protection Plan and decide what steps need to be taken by whom to complete the core assessment on time and meet the objectives of the Plan..
Thereafter, Core Groups should meet sufficiently regularly to facilitate working together, at a minimum once every six weeks, to monitor actions and outcomes against the Child Protection Plan, and to make any necessary alterations to their refinements as circumstances change.
Completion of the Core Assessment, within 35 working days of the Strategy Meeting, should include an analysis of the child's developmental needs and the parents' capacity to respond to those needs, including parents' capacity to ensure that the child is safe from harm. It may be necessary to commission specialist assessments (e.g. from child and adolescent mental health services) that it may not be possible to complete within this time period. This should not delay the drawing together of the Core Assessment findings at this point.
The analysis of the child's needs should provide evidence on which to base judgments and decisions on how best to safeguard and promote the welfare of a child and support parents in achieving this aim. Decisions based on analysis of the child's developmental needs should be used to further develop the Child Protection Plan.
Core Groups should also be informed when any new referral is received for the child or for a member of their family. In some cases a new referral may require the Core Group to reconvene to consider the information or the child's review conference to be brought forward.
There should be written notes of the Core Group meeting, to include decisions, agreed actions and refinements to the Child Protection Plan. The notes are to be distributed to Core Group members, relevant family members and the Chair of the Conference. All information relating to the child/young person should be recorded within ICS on their case file.
Core Groups and Family Group Conferences
In some cases Child Protection Conferences will recommend that a Family Group Conference (FGC) takes place and in these situations the FGC will become a component action of the Child Protection Plan. Where this is the case it is important that the Core Group meets prior to the FGC meeting to agree the remit and boundaries of this meeting.
A guiding principle within the Family Group Conference process is that the plan made by the family will be accepted unless it should place the child at increased risk of significant harm.
Until the Child Protection Plan is discontinued, LSCB child protection procedures will continue to be followed. The Core Group will then continue to meet regularly and have responsibility to make sure the plan agreed by the family does not place the child at increased risk of significant harm. In most cases the Core Group will be able to endorse the Family Plan but where not, the FGC Coordinator will return to the family with the issues raised by the Core Group. The family will then have opportunity to review their plan. For this reason, Core Groups should meet as soon as able after the Family Plan is agreed. It is important that the Core Group is quorate i.e., that the same agencies are present as were at the Child Protection Conference.
Where issues remain, for example where the Core Group cannot endorse the reviewed family plan or the family is unable to change their original plan, an early Child Protection Review Conference should be called.
It is essential that any plan put forward by the family has sustainability. Therefore it would not be adequate to immediately call a Review Child Protection Conference to discontinue the Child Protection Plan. This should only be considered after sufficient time has passed for the plan to be maintained and there is a presumption that no plan should be discontinued at the first review conference.
8.5 Agency Reports to Review Child Protection Conferences
Reports should be received by the Administrative Coordinators in Children's Social Care two days before the Initial Child Protection Conference. For a Review Child Protection Conference, reports from agencies should be sent to the child's Social Worker ten days before the meeting. The child's Social Worker will pass the agency reports to the Administrative Coordinators five days before the meeting.
Agency reports should use the template attached in Appendix 10: Templates for Conference Reports.
At all times any information and/or documents/reports should be held and recorded within the child/young person's ICS case file by Children's Social Care.
Designed and developed by 
