Child Protection Conference

Standard or adapted standard letters should be sent as appropriate. When being sent by post, correspondence regarding ICPCs should be sent by 1st class post. At the end of all letters of invitation, there should be a list giving the name and designation of all the people (including family members/young people) who have been invited to attend.

A copy of all letters of invitation should be uploaded onto the child’s MOSAIC file by the social worker or business support officer who sent the letters.

Appendix 2: Invitation Letter to Parent(s)/Carer(s)

Standard invitation letter to parent(s)/carer(s) should be used with the name of each child to be considered at the conference included on the letter.

Leaflet 3: Child Protection Conferences - A guide for Parents and Carers. Should be provided with the letter.

It may be appropriate for the social worker to take the written invitation to the parents and to explain what it means.

There is not a standard letter to send an invitation to a young person. However, it may be appropriate to write a letter to a young person and give the letter with the leaflet “What is a Conference? - Young people and Child Protection Conferences' (see Leaflet 1: What is a Conference? Young people and Child Protection Conferences).

Appendix 3: Standard Agency Invitation Letter to Attend Child Protection Conference

Standard Agency invitation letter to attend a Child Protection Conference should be used. The name of each child to be considered at the Conference should be included on the letter.

Leaflet 5: Child Protection Conferences: Complaints - A guide for Parents and Carers should be sent out with this letter.

The invite and information leaflet advises professionals that they are required to submit a report, to be sent to the child’s social worker, at least 24 hours prior to conference, using their agency’s standard pro-forma or the NSCP pro-forma. The invite includes the name and contact details for the Child Protection Co-ordinator who will chair the meeting.

All invites to GPs for Child Protection Conferences are to be sent by secure email to the Safeguarding Lead at the relevant GP Surgery.

All invites to 0-19 health services should be sent via secure email to the cluster email address, and to relevant practitioner if their email address if known.

Any other health professionals involved with the child should be invited such as midwifery, CYPMHS, paediatricians and the social worker will need to get their email address for the invite sheet.

The attached Health invite/engagement for initial and review conferences contains the cluster email and GP surgery email addresses for reference. (See Appendix 4: Child Protection Conference Health Pathway).

The Child Protection Co-ordinator should be contacted well in advance of the start of the Conference if:

• Key agencies are unable to attend;
• It is thought that exclusion may be necessary;
• A child/young person is to be invited to the Conference and how this will be managed;
• Parents invited to the Conference are not parents of all the subject children and how this will be managed;
• Anybody invited to the Conference has special needs/any disability/requires an interpreter/advocate;
• There is any relevant information which would not be appropriate to discuss in front of parents/children;
• There is any information about criminal convictions allegations or concerns which indicates that a person may pose a risk to a child. A decision will need to be made how this information (recorded on the individual's own electronic record) is shared at Conference. Although this information primarily relates to significant adults, it is important to remember that young people may also have relevant criminal convictions, concerns or allegations which could impact on the assessment;
• It is thought that a parent/caregiver may present some challenging behaviours during the course of the Conference.

The reports from agencies invited to the Conference must be uploaded onto MOSAIC as a priority once received by the social worker, in order for the Chair to read them prior to the conference.

It is important for the child’s social worker to prepare the parents, carers and young people well in advance of the Conference, for example so that family members are not taking in new information during the conference itself. The social worker must also prepare the family for any Microsoft teams meeting, by ensuring they know how to get access and can attend the meeting via video link where possible.

Parents and young people should be given a copy of the leaflets Child Protection Conferences - a guide for parents and carers (see Leaflet 3: Child Protection Conferences - A guide for Parents and Carers) and What is a Conference? Young people and Child Protection Conferences’ (see Leaflet 2: What is a Conference? Young People and Child Protection Conferences). The social worker should help parents and young people clarify their views, opinions, and ideas - perhaps by encouraging them to write them down in preparation for the Conference. Good preparation of family members including young people will help to promote their participation in the Child Protection Conference, see Participation of Children and Young People, Parents and Carers in the Child Protection Process Procedure.

The social worker must arrange to see the family at least 24 hours prior to the Initial Conference in order to:

• Share the contents of the social work report, making a note of any points which the parents/young people do not agree with;
• Explain the Conference process this will include explaining which professionals have been invited to attend;
• Arrange for family members to meet the chair of the Conference 20 minutes prior to the start of the Conference. If certain family members do not get on, careful planning will be required to ensure that the chair has the opportunity to see family members separately whenever this is necessary. The chair will explain to the parents/carers and children the structure and format of the Conference and how they will be able to contribute. The chair will advise parents/carers and children that their contribution to the decision-making processes of the Conference will be valued and due consideration will be given to their views and wishes;
• Ensure that the family has made appropriate childcare arrangements. It is not appropriate to have children in Conferences unless they are invited as participants. Consideration should be given as to whether help may be needed to make appropriate arrangements;
• Discuss any difficulties about supporters; one parent's choice of supporter may upset the other parent.

The advocate/interpreter may need to be involved in this preparatory meeting.

• Should be concise, analytical and contain a summary of relevant information. It is important to distinguish between fact, observation, allegations and professional opinion;
• Should be written in plain English, jargon-free and with no unexplained abbreviations, so that it can be understood by parents, carers and professionals;
• Should closely follow the agreed format - reports should not usually be any longer than 4 - 6 sides of A4, excluding the front sheet and family structure;
• The ‘Family Structure/Significant Others Chart’ must be completed as fully as possible, noting exactly who lives in the household, ensuring all details including names in full are recorded accurately;
• The background Information section should summarise relevant information and include the outcome of significant events;
• The child’s lived experience should be reflected in the report, with clear representation of what life is like for the child on a daily basis, what they see, feel, say and experience, and how this impacts them;
• Police criminal record checks should have been done on all relevant adults and young people prior to the Initial Child Protection Conference. It may not be appropriate for this to be included in the social worker report to conference, in these circumstances this information should be shared with the CPC in a confidential addendum to the report: Information regarding Criminal Convictions (see Appendix 4: Information Regarding Criminal Convictions);
• If there are recommendations for legal action the Children's Service Manager should agree with the recommendations, prior to the conference;
• It is important to include the parents' views about work or tasks which it is recommended that they will undertake as part of the Child Protection Plan. It is also important to note what the child thinks about the recommendations before the Conference, where appropriate;
• The social worker and Team Manager should come to the conference with a clear view about the need for a Child Protection Plan based on the assessment and analysis. It is anticipated that no new information will become available at the Conference itself. However, if so, it will be necessary for the social worker and team manager to review their analysis about the need for a Child Protection Plan in the light of the new information.

• The team manager has a key role of quality control in the process of producing the Children's Social Care report to conference and needs to be involved in the formulation of the final report. This will involve:
  • Discussing with the social worker the information to be included in the social work report including recommendations for the Child Protection Plan;
  • Checking the quality, content and length of the social work report in sufficient time prior to the conference to allow changes to be made;
  • Validate the social work report prior to its distribution.
• The social work report should be available to the chair and minute-taker at least 24 hours prior to the Initial Conference.

Team Managers with overall management responsibility are required to attend Initial Child Protection Conferences. Where families are in the process of transfer between teams, respective managers should agree who will attend. In complex circumstances it may be appropriate for both managers to be present.

Requests for observers to attend a conference should be discussed with the Chair well in advance of the conference in order that agreement of the parent/carer/child can be sought by the social worker.

The Chair will begin each meeting by stating that the meeting will be conducted in accordance with the Nottinghamshire and Nottingham City Safeguarding Children Partnership Procedures, that they are independent of operational or line management responsibilities for the case, as required in Working Together, and that he or she is accountable to the Director of Children’s Services for the conduct of the conferences they chair.

It is the Chair’s responsibility:

• To ensure that the focus of the conference is the welfare and protection of each child;
• To establish a clear framework for managing the conference by use of the conference agenda;
• To ensure that the conduct of the conference adheres to fair, open and honest discussion which allows all relevant contributions, regardless of professional status;
• To offer high support and high challenge to social care and other professionals to ensure the plan is meeting the needs of the child/ren;
• To promote a shared approach to the tasks;
• To promote equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practice and where appropriate to address oppressive or discriminatory language used within the conference;
• To facilitate the participation of the parent(s)/carer(s), and child(ren) whether attending or not;
• To make decisions about whether parent(s)/carer(s)/child(ren) and any friend/adviser should be excluded from the conference;
• To make decisions on whether partial involvement of parent(s)/carer(s)/child(ren) and any friend/adviser is appropriate;
• To enable the conference to distinguish between fact and opinion and/or unfounded value judgements;
• To enable conference participants to contribute their views about whether the criteria for a child becoming the subject of a child protection plan has been met;
• To make an analysis of risk and a recommendation as to whether the removal of the child from their current living situation, through legal action, is necessary;
• To make the decision about the need for a Child Protection Plan, the category if one is made, and to ensure an outline child protection plan (review child protection plan at an RCPC) is formulated;
• To identify if there are any dissentions to the decision;
• To identify social work visiting frequency for each child and record this on Framework;
• Where a decision is made at conference that the child will not be made the subject of a Child Protection Plan, following the conference, the social worker may consider whether the child is deemed a Child in Need. If so, an outline Child in Need plan should be formulated by the social worker, including which elements of the Child and Family Assessment are to be completed, and to be reviewed at an inter-agency Child in Need Review;
• To record the outcome from the conference onto Framework;
• To ensure that the Child Protection Plan and minutes are accurate and circulated appropriately using the agreed format.

If the child protection chair identifies concerns in relation to the practice of social care or partner agencies, such as not progressing the plan, poor preparation for conference of failure to provide information, amongst others, they will raise this as a Concerns Resolution Process on MOSAIC and record what the concern is and how this has been resolved. They will complete this for both social care and partner agencies raising both internal and external concerns processors. (See Appendix 6: Concerns Resolution Process Diagram).

Once a Chair has decided and given a rationale that a threshold for having a child protection plan has been met and the category for this has been set, the Chair will need to state what the aim of the child protection plan is. The aim of the child protection plan should be clearly linked to reducing the risk of harm to the child and promoting the child’s welfare.

During the ICPC the Chair should formulate the outline child protection plan by identifying the unmet needs of each child and the desired outcomes for each child which are clearly linked to the aim of the plan. The Chair will then agree clear actions and timescales, including an understandable sense of how much improvement is needed, and by when. It should not be too lengthy or detailed, however should be realistic and specific so that success can be judged. The outline child protection plan needs to clearly recommend how agencies, practitioners and family members can work together to achieve the desired outcomes.

The plan should:

• Clearly identify desired outcomes for the child which are linked to the aim of the plan;
• Be clear about who will have responsibility for what actions, including actions by family members and within what specified timescales;
• Make clear any expectations which are non-negotiable;
• Specifically identify any action which requires immediate action;
• Agree the minimum frequency for the social worker visiting each child;
• Identify the lead social worker, core group members and date of the first core group meeting;
• Confirm date and time of the Review Child Protection Conference.

The outline child protection plan should include a child specific contingency plan in case agreed actions and expectations are not completed and/or circumstances change.

Following the Initial Child Protection Conference the outline child protection plan will be recorded and distributed to all parties. The outline plan will be distributed to agencies by either secure email or Cryptshare.

The purpose of the detailed plan is to put into operation the outline plan made at the initial child protection conference or the review child protection plan which is made at subsequent Review Child Protection Conferences (RCPC). The social worker's report to each review conference should refer to the (outline or review) plan made at the previous conference and explain how that plan has been addressed.

The Chair of the Review Child Protection Conference (RCPC) should refer back to the (outline or review) plan made at the previous conference and check the work carried out and progress made against that plan. The child protection plan must be reviewed and updated at every Child Protection Conference. The core group should subsequently update the detailed child protection plan.

The (outline or review) child protection plan will be developed into a specific and detailed inter-agency child protection plan by the core group. The social worker will be the lead professional for inter-agency work with the child and family, coordinating the contribution of family members and professionals putting the child protection plan into effect.

The core group should:

• Meet within 10 working days following a Child Protection Conference (if the child is subject of a child protection plan) and there after meet no more than 6 weekly;
• Develop the outline child protection plan, based on assessment findings, and set out what needs to change, by how much, and by when, in order for the child to be safe and have their needs met;
• Clarify visiting frequency and contact with the child and family for all core group members;
• Decide what steps need to be taken, and by whom, to complete the in-depth assessment to inform decisions about the child’s safety and welfare; and
• Implement the child protection plan and take joint responsibility for carrying out the agreed tasks, monitoring progress and outcomes, and refining the plan as needed.

The first or second core group meeting following the Initial Conference should be chaired by the team manager. Subsequent core group meetings can be chaired by the team manager or social worker.

The core group should make sure everyone is clear about what they are being asked to do and that they are able to undertake these actions.

Following each core group meeting the detailed child protection plan recorded on the child’s file should be updated by the social worker and distributed to relevant professionals (and family where appropriate). A case note should record who the detailed child protection plan has been distributed to and how this was done i.e. sent by post or given in person and the date this was done.

When individual professionals are named in any child protection plan it is important to also show their job designation.

It is important that team managers and social workers use the outline (or review) and detailed plans within supervision to make sure that all work identified within the child protection plan is being properly addressed.

Where there is no progress being made in a timely way, there should be active consideration given to taking legal action.

For more information about the role of the core group, please see Nottinghamshire and Nottingham City Safeguarding Children Partnership Procedures. 

Our departmental standard is that all children subject to a child protection plan must be visited by the social worker at least every 4 weeks. In the majority of cases contact will be considerably more frequent. The outline (or review) child protection plan will have defined the appropriate frequency of visits for each child. Any changes to the agreed pattern of visits should normally be made at a review child protection conference. If it is felt appropriate to change the visiting pattern in between conferences, then this should be recommended at a meeting of the core group. It is, however, the responsibility of the team manager to approve any such change and this must be recorded on MOSAIC. The preferred way would be for the team manager to be in attendance at the core group meeting considering the change. It is important for the rationale for any change to be clearly recorded in the core group minutes.

The above relates to minimum visiting standards and clearly any child must be visited more often if there are additional concerns regarding their safety.

The team manager has responsibility to ensure that visits are maintained if the social worker is absent from work e.g. sickness/annual leave.

Social workers should take to each supervision session a list of all children on their workloads who are subject to a child protection plan with information about the visiting frequency in respect to each child. Team managers will also be able to refer to this list if workers are absent in order to make the necessary arrangements for the child to be visited.

All visits to children subject to a child protection plan should be recorded in case notes.

The social worker must ensure that the correct “Type of Note” is recorded

SW visit to child on CP plan - THIS child seen
or
SW visit to child on CP plan - child NOT seen

and the correct date and time of the visit is entered.

When the case note is finished this can be copied to other siblings, but the social worker must ensure that the correct “Type of Note” is recorded for each individual child as not all children in a household will be seen at every visit.

The date of the Review Child Protection Conference will have been agreed at the proceeding conference and will have been recorded in the summary and discussed at Core Group meetings.

The social worker should complete the agency invitation checklist used to consider who should be invited to attend the RCPC.

All members of the Core Group as well as any other professionals involved with the child and family should attend the Review Conference. It should also be considered whether professionals who may become involved or have a specialist view should be invited to attend.

Invitations for RCPCs should be sent by secure email where possible. It is the responsibility of the social worker to ensure that appropriate agencies have been invited.

The following standard letters should be used as the basis for the invitation and sent out at least 2 weeks prior to the RCPC:

Appendix 8: Invitation to Parent/Carer to Attend an RCPC 

Standard Letter - Invitation to parent/carer to attend an RCPC.

Depending on the child or young person’s age and understanding the social worker should positively promote their participation in the conference; this may include inviting the young person to part of the conference as discussed in section 4.

The social worker must write a report using the agreed format on the MOSAIC episode and the following points about RCPC reports should be noted:

• If siblings (living in the same household) of the child whose name is subject to a Child Protection Plan are not subject to a Child Protection Plan themselves, the needs of the siblings must still be considered in the RCPC report. Contact should always be made with agencies involved with siblings who are not subject to a child protection plan, in order to seek their views prior to the conference and inform the social worker's assessment as to whether any risks of Significant Harm to the siblings who are not subject to a Child Protection Plan have increased. If there are new concerns about siblings who are not currently subject to a Child Protection Plan, consideration must be given to combining an ICPC on the siblings with the RCPC on the child subject to a Child Protection Plan. Any siblings not subject to a Child Protection Plan who are identified as Children in Need should have their CIN plan regularly reviewed;
• In the RCPC report the social worker should refer to the (outline or review) child protection plan agreed at the last conference and explain how each point has been covered in the detailed Child Protection Plan and reflect on the effectiveness and impact of action taken so far;
• The child’s understanding of their plan, what they want to happen, and their daily experiences should be reflected in the social work report to conference;
• The social worker should include in the report the significant issues and developments which have taken place since the last child protection conference, and further information which has come to light;
• Dates for Core Group meetings and visits to parents and children should be included in the social worker's report to the Review Child Protection Conference. The visits to children shown in the report should include all social work contact with the child, not just visits made by the social worker writing the report. Where there is more than one child subject to a Child Protection Plan, it is preferable for visits to be shown against each child's name separately for example:
  
  Joe Bloggs: 3.10.14, 23.10.14, 8.11.14, 27.11.14, 11.12.14
  Mary Bloggs: 3.10.14, 21.10.14, 8.11.14, 27.11.14, 9.12.14

If the child/ren have not been seen at the frequency agreed as part of the Child Protection Plan the social worker should state the reasons for this:

• In the recommendations section, the social worker should suggest any revisions which will be needed to the current Child Protection Plan.

Refer to section 9. Attendance at Review Child Protection Conferences should replicate attendance for Initial Child Protection Conferences.

Team Managers should attend review Child Protection Conferences where there is significant complexity or there are other features for the child or the worker that indicate their attendance is necessary for example:

• Where there have been agency disagreements;
• Where the situation has or has the potential to receive media attention;
• Where there has been drift or delay and or the child protection plan has not been followed;
• Where there has been a significant lack of engagement by the family leading to consideration of escalated intervention (legal action);
• Where there have been significant complaints from the family regarding the departments intervention;
• Where there has been a change of worker or the worker is inexperienced.

This is not an exhaustive list and a judgement about attendance should be made on a case by case basis. In some scenarios it will be appropriate to consider the use of practice consultants to support social workers at Review Child Protection Conferences.

Refer to Section 11. The Chair of the RCPC should refer to the (outline or review) child protection plan made at the previous conference and check the work carried out and progress made against that plan. The Child Protection Plan must be reviewed and updated at every RCPC.

Appendix 9: RCPC Agenda

Laminated copies of this agenda will be available at face-to-face conference for all attendees. Copies will be emailed with invites for any virtual meetings.

Appendix 10: Record of RCPC

All review child protection conferences will be recorded a summary record produced. The will not be a full set of minutes produced however if any professionals or family wish to have a copy of the recording this can be provided by contacting the allocated social worker.

A child should no longer be the subject of a Child Protection Plan if it is judged that:

• It is judged that the child is no longer continuing to, or is likely to, suffer significant harm and therefore 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 them being notified of the move. Only after this event may the Local Authority discontinue its Child Protection Plan; or
• The child has reached 18 years old, (to end the Child Protection Plan, the Local Authority should have a Review Child Protection Conference around the child’s birthday and this should be planned in advance); or
• The child has died or permanently left the United Kingdom.

When the Child Protection Plan in relation to a child is brought to an end, all relevant professionals should be informed. Consideration should be given to informing professionals invited to the Initial Child Protection Case Conference that led to the plan.

If following the end of a Child Protection Plan, in the view of the Chair of the Conference, support services are still required; the Chair may recommend that a CIN plan is considered. A decision should then be made by the Team Manager as to whether a Child in Need plan should be put in place, or whether the family should be stepped down to Common Assessment Framework (CAF) (see Appendix 11: Pathway to Provision - Multi-Agency Thresholds Guidance). If the view is that it is appropriate to close the child to social care, the social worker should seek the views of other agencies to gain an understanding of their assessment in light of the closure recommendation.

If there is a disagreement between agencies over closure, there should be discussion, which is recorded, between the appropriate line managers within each agency to resolve the issue. For further information please refer to the escalation process of the Nottinghamshire and Nottingham City Safeguarding Children Partnership Procedures.

Reference should be made to the step down process within the Pathway to Provision document (see Appendix 11: Pathway to Provision - Multi-Agency Thresholds Guidance).

Leaflet 1: What's Child Protection? A guide for Young People on Child Protection Enquiries

Leaflet 2: What is a Conference? Young People and Child Protection Conferences

Leaflet 3: Child Protection Conferences - A guide for Parents and Carers

Leaflet 4: Child Protection Enquiries - A guide for Parents and Carers

Leaflet 5: Child Protection Conferences: Complaints - A guide for Parents and Carers