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Contents

Introduction 

Purpose 

Frequency 

Threshold for Discontinuing the Child Protection Plan

Pre-Birth Child Protection Reviews

Attendance 

Administration 

Children Looked After by the Local Authority

Introduction

The reviewing of the child’s progress and the effectiveness of interventions are critical to achieve the best possible outcomes for the child. The review requires as much preparation, commitment and management as the Initial Child Protection Conference.

The Core Group have a collective responsibility to produce reports for the Child Protection Review which together provide an overview of work undertaken by family members and professionals and evaluate the impact on the child’s welfare against the planned outcomes set out in the Child Protection Plan.

Purpose

The purpose of a Child Protection Review Conference is:

• To receive the completed assessment from the Core Group at the first Review
• To review the safety, health and development of the child against planned outcomes set out in the Child Protection Plan and Core Assessment.
• To ensure that the measures put in place continues to safeguarded the child
• Bring together and analyse information about the child’s health, development and functioning and the parent/carer’s capacity to ensure the child’s welfare and promote their welfare
• To consider whether the Child Protection Plan should continue in place or should be changed and set desired outcomes and timescales 
• To examine the current level of risk
• To check that inter-agency co-ordination is functioning effectively 
• Make judgements about the likelihood of the child suffering Significant Harm in the future
• To consider whether the Child Protection Plan should be discontinued

The conference must consider all the children in the household, even if concerns are only being expressed about one child.

The Child Protection Plan must decide explicitly if the child is still at continued risk of Significant Harm and hence whether the Child Protection Plan needs to be continued.

If the Child Protection Plan continues, the category must be re-considered.

If the Child Protection Plan is discontinued, the conference should consider what support may benefit the child and family and who is responsible for providing that support.

Frequency

1. The first Review Conference should be held within 3 months of the date the child became subject to a Child Protection Plan.
2. Further reviews must be held at intervals of not more than 6 months, for as long as the child’s name remains on the register.
3. An early Review Conference should be convened in the following circumstances:
   • If the child is at increased risk of Significant Harm
   • The Child Protection Plan is failing to protect the child
   • If there is a proposal that a child subject to a Child Protection Plan or Looked After child return home
   • The court's direction is not consistent with the Child Protection Plan
   • There is a new incident or allegation of abuse which has been sustained or further incident of Significant Harm to a child subject to a Child Protection Plan
   • Where a child is to be born into the household of a child subject to a Child Protection Plan
   • Where an individual who poses a “Risk to Children”  is to join or commences regular contact with the household
   • There is an escalating pattern of Neglect
   • Where a child is subject to a Child Protection Plan and is Looked After by the local authority and consideration is being given to returning the child to the circumstances where care of the child necessitated the Child protection Plan (unless this step is anticipated in the existing protection plan)
4. Where a Looked After child is also subject to a Child Protection Plan consideration should be given to integrating the Child Protection Plan into the Care Plan. Where this is deemed to be appropriate, the Child Protection Plan should be discontinued and recorded as such on the local authorities IT system.

The Conference will require:

• Co-ordination by the Lead Social Worker of contributions by Core Group members, commissioned pieces of work and parental views. These will form the Review Report. The conclusions should evaluate progress on the reducing of risk to the child during the period.
• At the first Review, a copy of the full Core Assessment, any specialist assessments that have been commissioned and an analysis of its findings, and recommendations for the Child Protection Plan.
• A view from the Core Group as to whether or not Child Protection Plan should continue. This must be at the conclusion of the Lead Social Worker's report.

Every Review should consider explicitly whether the child continues to be at risk of Significant Harm and therefore continues to need safeguarding through a formal Child Protection Plan. 

If not, then the child should no longer be the subject of a Child Protection Plan.  As with the initial child protection conferences, the CSCB protocols for establishing a quorum apply.

Threshold for Discontinuing the Child Protection Plan

The same decision making process should be used to reach a judgement for discontinuing a Child Protection Plan as used in the initial conference.

As indicated in Working Together to Safeguard Children (paragraph 5.141) a child should no longer be subject of a Child Protection Plan in the following circumstances:

• A Review Conference judges that the child is no longer continuing to, or likely to suffer Significant Harm and no longer requires safeguarding by means of a Child Protection Plan.
• The child and family have moved permanently to another local authority area. In such cases the receiving local authority should convene a Child Protection Conference within 15 working days of being notified of the move. Only after this event may discontinuing the Child Protection Plan take place in respect of the original local authority's Child Protection Plan.
• The child has reached eighteen years of age (to end the Child Protection Plan, the local authority should have a review around the child's birthday and this should be planned in advance), has died or has permanently left the UK, when their Child Protection Plan can be discontinued. Where the child has permanently left the UK, steps need to be taken to inform relevant local and overseas authorities of the destination.

It is permissible for the Designated Manager for Children Subject to a Child Protection Plan to discontinue a Child Protection Plan, without the need to convene a Child Protection Conference, only when:

• One or other of the latter two criteria above are satisfied.
• S/he has consulted with relevant agencies present at the conference which first concluded that Child Protection Plan was required
• The decision and consultation with other agencies must be clearly recorded on the child’s file.

Where a Child Protection Plan has been discontinued as a result of a conference conclusion, notification should be sent, as a minimum, to all agency representatives who were invited.

Discontinuation of a Child Protection Plan should never lead to the automatic withdrawal of services and the Child Protection Review Conference can recommend that services should continue to remain available to the child/family.

The Lead Social Worker must discuss with parents and child/ren what services continue to be needed, based on the re-assessment of the child and family and a child in need plan made if support continues.

The Child In Need Plan should be reviewed at regular intervals of no more than every three months

It may be useful for a Core Group meeting to be convened 3 months after discontinuation of a Child Protection Plan to provide a formal opportunity to facilitate ongoing multi-agency support.

Pre-Birth Child Protection Reviews

See Child Protection Conferences Procedure, Pre-Birth Conferences .

Attendance

Attendees should include those most involved with the child and family in the same way as at an initial Child Protection Conference.

Child Protection Conferences Procedure

Administration

The Safeguarding Children Service will administer all Child Protection Review Conferences, arranging venues, chairpersons, the sending of invitations and completion of minutes. The Lead Social Worker will advise parents, children and foster carers of the date and time of the meeting.

Each Child Protection Review Conference will set the date for the next review and note this date in the minutes.

If a Child Protection Review Conference decides to discontinue a Child Protection Plan, the parents will be informed in person, if present at the meeting, and in writing by the conference chairperson.

The Review Conference will also consider whether there is a continuing need for services to the child's family.

Any dissenting views or disagreements with a decision to discontinue a Child Protection Plan will be recorded in the minutes.

Children Looked After by the Local Authority

See Children Subject to a Child Protection Plan Procedure, for Children Looked After by the Local Authority.

Where the name of a Looked After Child, whether accommodated or the subject of an Interim Care Order or Care Order, is subject to a Child Protection Plan, protection planning and care planning must be integrated.

Consideration will be given to the next Child Protection Review Conference taking place at the same time as the child’s Looked After Review.

A Legal Adviser will always be invited to this meeting.

Having agreed upon the integrated Care and Child Protection Plan and being satisfied that the criteria for discontinuing the Child Protection Plan are met, the Review Conference will discontinue the Child Protection Plan unless there are specific and exceptional circumstances.

See Children Subject to a Child Protection Plan, Discontinuing the Child Protection Plan.

Children with Dual Status

(Updated April 2011)

Children who are subject to a Child Protection Plan, and also Looked After, must be afforded protection. This will either be through the Looked After Children reviewing system or the Child Protection reviewing system. For some cases, both systems will be necessary, but this should be the exception rather than the rule.

Processes for addressing the Planning for Children subject to Child Protection and LAC Processes (Dual Status Planning)

1. Where a Child Protection Conference is held and the child is already subject of Care Proceedings or an Interim Care Order has been made, the Child Protection Conference will:
   • Agree that the separate Child Protection Plan will cease once an Interim Care Order is made, and
   • Identify the elements of the Child Protection Plan that need to be incorporated into the Looked After Care Plan.
   Once the Interim Care Order is made, a letter from the Chair will be sent out to confirm the separate Child Protection Plan has ended and to confirm the date of the Interim Care Order.    
2. Where the child is a subject of a Child Protection Plan and then becomes the subject of an Interim Care Order where an Application for the Order was not part of the current protection plan.
   
   A Review Child Protection Conference and Looked After Review will be reconvened to consider ceasing the Child Protection Plan and identify the elements the Child Protection Plan that need to be incorporated into the LAC Care Plan.
3. When a child is Accommodated under Section 20 and an Initial Child Protection Conference is convened to address the child protection issues leading to the child becoming accommodated, the Child Protection Conference may decide to incorporate the Child Protection Plan into the child's LA Care Plan and not make a separate Child Protection Plan.
   
   In this case the Care Plan should specify that a further Child Protection Conference should be convened if rehabilitation is confirmed as the Care Plan and it is actively being pursued as the plan for the child. This should explicitly addressed at each Looked After Review by the social worker and the Independent Reviewing Officer.
4. Where a child who is already subject of a Child Protection Plan becomes Accommodated under Section 20 and the Care Plan for the child is rehabilitation to parents, there may be a need for the child to remain subject to a separate Child Protection Plan until rehabilitation is achieved or the Care Plan changes to permanency elsewhere.
   
   In these circumstances discussion should take place in the Child Protection Conference to inform the decision about whether there is a need for a separate Child Protection Plan.
   
   The Conference and Chair will need to consider the specific risk issues and be clear whether or not the risks can be fully addressed through the Looked After Care Plan and reviewing process.
   
   Given that the Local Authority will not share Parental Responsibility in these cases, it may be appropriate for separate plans to be maintained.

See Flowchart: What happens after the Child Protection Conference, including the Review Process?

End