The Initial Child Protection Conference which decides that the child should be the subject of a Child Protection Plan must outline the proposed plan, making sure it is detailed enough to protect the child until the first Core Group meeting – see Section 13.6, Initial Child Protection Conference Procedure.
The Conference Chair should ensure that the outline Child Protection Plan includes:
The details of the plan will then be developed in the Core Group - see Section 5, The Core Group.
The desired outcome of the Child Protection Plan is:
It is important that services are provided to give the child and family the best chance of achieving the required changes. If a child cannot be cared for safely by his or her parent(s), he or she will have to be placed elsewhere whilst work is being undertaken with the child and family.
Irrespective of where the child is living, interventions should specifically address:
Interventions may have a number of inter-related components:
If the plan is to assess whether the child can be reunited with the parent responsible for maltreatment, detailed work will be required to help the parent develop the necessary parenting skills.
A key issue in deciding on suitable interventions will be whether the child’s developmental needs can be responded to within his or her family context, and within timescales that are appropriate for the child. These timescales may not be compatible with those for the parent 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. In the longer term it may mean it will be in the best interests of the child to be placed in an alternative family context.
Children who have suffered Significant Harm may continue to experience the consequences of this abuse irrespective of where they are living: whether remaining with or being reunited with their families or being placed in new families. Therapeutic work with the child should continue, therefore, irrespective of where the child is placed, in order to ensure the needs of the child are responded to appropriately.
The child (depending on his or her age and understanding) and 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 the plan for safeguarding and promoting the child’s welfare. This should be the subject of continuing discussion with the Keyworker and other professionals involved.
The child (depending on his or her age and understanding) and the parents should receive a written copy of the plan in their preferred language so that they are clear about their own role and responsibilities as well as the roles and responsibilities of others, and the planned outcomes for the child. The child’s copy should be written in a way appropriate to the child’s age and understanding.
Each child with a Child Protection Plan must have a Keyworker and one of the primary tasks of the Conference Chair will be to establish the name of the Keyworker.
The Keyworker will always be a suitably qualified and experienced social worker from within Children’s Social Care Services.
The Keyworker is the Lead Professional in co-ordinating the multi-agency work under the Child Protection Plan.
The Keyworker must take a pro-active role in ensuring that:
It is important that the role of the Keyworker is fully explained at the Initial Child Protection Conference and at the Core Group.
The specific responsibilities of the Keyworker are:
| 1. |
To promote good communication between agencies and with the family, ensuring:
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| 2. | To draft the practical and detailed proposals for the Child Protection Plan in line with the recommendations of the preceding Conference, as the basis for discussion at the initial Core Group meeting. |
| 3. |
To have face to face contact with the child at a minimum of 4 weekly intervals in order to monitor his/her well-being and be aware of his/her wishes and feelings. The frequency of contact will vary according to circumstances and Child Protection Plan but must never exceed intervals of more than 4 weeks. This must include seeing the child alone or a baby when awake and seeing the child’s bedroom at least once between each Child Protection Conference. If contact with the child is refused or avoided and the child remains unseen, this must be viewed as a serious breach of the Child Protection Plan. Immediate discussion with the Keyworker’s line manager or acting manager may deem it appropriate to seek legal advice about statutory protective action. There must also be discussion with the Core Group members and with the Conference Chair about the need for an urgent Child Protection Review Conference. In exceptional circumstances, responsibility for personal contact with the child may have to be delegated. If so, this must be agreed and recorded under an explicit, written agreement, agreed by the manager of the Keyworker and the worker to whom the contact is delegated, and must be monitored by the Keyworker. Contact with the child should be recorded on the child’s file and the record should include:
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| 4. | To take lead responsibility for monitoring the progress of the Child Protection Plan and alert their manager where the Plan cannot be progressed and it is necessary to consider alternative action. |
| 5. | To convene, co-ordinate and record the Core Group meetings after the initial meeting following on from the Conference. |
| 6. | To ensure Core Group meetings are held at the agreed frequency. |
| 7. | To invite additional members to the Core Group as needed |
| 8. | To ensure that all members of the Core Group are aware of the next Conference date. |
| 9. | To circulate the record of Core Group meetings and the Child Protection Plan to members of the Core Group, including parents and the child (depending on his or her age and understanding), and the Conference Chair- see Section 5.5 below. |
| 10. | To ensure that where a child subject to a Child Protection Plan is also subject to statutory reviews as a Looked After Child, active consideration is given by the Keyworker’s line manager and in discussion with the Conference Chair to coordinating the meetings wherever possible or appropriate. |
| 11. | To take lead responsibility for ensuring that any assessments of the child are completed including the commissioning of any specialist assessment identified as necessary. |
| 12. | To prepare the assessment report of the Core Group for the Child Protection Review Conference. |
The first line manager has a vital role in managing the progress of the case and supporting the Keyworker.
The manager should:
The Core Group achieves this by:
Wherever possible, the Children’s Social Care Services manager of the Keyworker will chair the first meeting of the Core Group on the date set at the initial Child Protection Conference. This will be within 10 working days of the Conference.
Using either the full minutes of the Initial Child Protection Conference or a copy of the decisions and recommendations, the Chair of the Core Group must help the group complete the detail of the Child Protection Plan. The Core Group must also consider what steps need to be taken to complete the Core Assessment if this has not already been done.
The detailed Child Protection Plan, together with any other decisions made and actions agreed at the Core Group should be written up on the available pro forma and circulated by the Keyworker.
The Chair will set the dates of the next two Core Group Meetings which must be held prior to the first Child Protection Review Conference.
The Core Group should meet sufficiently regularly to facilitate working together, monitor actions and outcomes against the Child Protection Plan, and make any necessary alterations as circumstances change.
The second Core Group meeting will usually be held within 6 weeks of the first meeting, unless the conference decides that meetings should be more frequent.
Meetings will usually be held every 2 months after the first Child Protection Review Conference, although the needs of the child may require more frequent meetings.
Core Group Meetings will usually continue to be chaired by the Keyworker or his/her manager.
Core Group Meetings should be recorded.
Copies of the notes and written agreement must be circulated to Core Group members within 3 working days of the Core Group Meeting.
A copy must be sent to the Review and Child Protection Unit for the attention of the Conference Chair.
The Keyworker should also ensure that the Child Protection Plan is amended as necessary and the amended Plan is attached to the child’s record.
The Core Group should not alter any of the specified outcomes agreed at the conference although they can agree additional outcomes if required. The Plan will have active intervention by members of the Core Group, agreed monitoring through visits to the home and in cases where relevant areas have not been covered sufficiently in the initial and core assessments, it will identify further assessments that enable the family to gain insight so that they and the professionals involved can build on their strengths and reduce any risk to the children of future Significant Harm.
Child Protection Plans should be formulated with the specific roles of the Core Group members in mind so that everyone is clear about the individual and shared responsibilities.
Although the Keyworker 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.
Supervision and/or managerial and professional support to individual Core Group members remain within their agency. However, the Conference Chair may provide advice to the Core Group on any remaining inter-agency problems which the Core Group is unable to resolve.
The specific responsibilities of individual Core Group members are to:
There always has to be the possibility that intervention, monitoring or further assessment will reach the conclusion that the situation is not safe and the child will need to be removed in order to protect them from harm.
In these circumstances, and/or where there is a failure to obtain or retain the cooperation of the parents or child in working on the plan or changed or unforeseen circumstances, this must be brought immediately to the attention of the Keyworker.
The Keyworker must inform his or her manager and, in consultation with other agencies, a decision will be made as to the need for any immediate protective action and/or a Section 47 Enquiry and/or reconvened Child Protection Conference to be considered.
Where there are concerns that a child or family are missing, for guidance see Missing Children and Families Procedure.
If there are concerns that there are difficulties implementing the Plan as a result of disagreement among professionals or a Core Group member not carrying out his or her responsibilities, this must be addressed by discussion between Core Group members and, if required, the involvement of relevant managers and/or designated professionals within agencies. Where necessary, see Resolving Professional Disagreements Procedure.
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