Chapter 5: Child Protection Conferences

AMENDMENTS

This chapter was updated in October 2010 as a result of Working Together to Safeguard Children (WT) 2010. The specific changes in 5.3, 5.15, 5.34, 5.35, 5.42, 5.48, and 5.50 are shown in italics. In addition the term 'Keyworker' has been changed to 'Lead Social Worker' throughout the chapter to reflect the terminology in WT 2010.

In addition, paragraph 5.2 has been amended in relation to situations where a child is being reunified after a period in care.

RELATED CHAPTERS

For Luton, see Guidance for Understanding Roles and Responsibilities of Core Groups.

	The Initial Child Protection Conference
		Purpose of the Conference
		Timing of the Conference
		Pre-birth Conferences
	The Review Child Protection Conference
		Purpose
		Timing
	The Conference Process – Initial and Review Conferences
		Attendance
		Involving the Child and Family Members
		Quorate Conferences
		Information for the Conference
		Actions and Decisions for the Conference
		Decision Making at the Initial Conference
		Child Subject of a Child Protection Plan
		Child not Subject of a Child Protection Plan
		Discontinuing the Child Protection Plan
		Recording
		Action Following the Child Protection Conference
		Complaints About a Child Protection Conference
	Practice Guidance - The Child Protection Conference
		Chairing the Conference

The Initial Child Protection Conference

Purpose of the Conference

5.1

The Initial Child Protection Conference brings together family members, the child, where appropriate, and those professionals most involved with the child and family following a Section 47 Enquiry. Its purpose is:

To bring together and analyse in an inter-agency setting, the information which has been obtained about the child’s developmental needs, and the parents’ or carers’ capacity to respond to these needs, to ensure the child’s safety and promote the child’s health and development within the context of their wider family and environment;
To consider the evidence presented to the conference, make judgements about the likelihood of a child suffering Significant Harm in future and decide whether the child is at continuing risk of harm; and
To decide what future action is required to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child, how that action will be taken forward, and with what intended outcomes.

5.2

Those professionals and agencies who are most involved with the child and family, and those who have taken part in a Section 47 Enquiry, have the right to request that Children’s Social Care convene a conference, if they have serious concerns that a child’s welfare may not be adequately safeguarded. Any such request that is supported by a senior manager, or a Named Professional or a Designated Professional, should normally be agreed. Where there remain differences of opinion as to the necessity of a conference, every effort should be made to resolve them through discussion or explanation using the Strategic Management Procedure: Procedures for Resolving Professional Differences.

In addition, an Initial Child Protection Conference should be convened when a child is being reunified after a period in care. The expectation would be that if the plan is to reunify a child, the workers would have satisfied themselves that the child is not returning to a situation where there is a risk of Significant Harm.

Timing of the Conference

5.3

All Initial Child Protection Conferences should take place within 15 working days of the Strategy Discussion, or, where more than one Strategy Discussion took place, of the Strategy Discussion at which the Section 47 Enquiry was initiated.

5.4

Any delay should be agreed with the relevant senior manager within Children’s Social Care. Records must be kept by the senior manager of conferences that occur after 15 working days of the strategy discussion and the reasons for this recorded in the minutes of the conference and the reasons why the conference has been held after 15 days. This information should be passed to the chair of the LSCB group responsible for quality audit.

Pre-birth Conferences

5.5

In the case of concerns about the safety of unborn children, a conference may be held as a result of:

The outcomes of a Core Assessment on a case already known to Children’s Social Care indicating that the unborn child may be at risk of Significant Harm, and/or
Previous children having been removed from the family as a result of legal proceedings and the family are known to Children’s Social Care, and/or
Previous historical knowledge indicates that there is a strong likelihood of the baby suffering Significant Harm.

5.6

The timing of the conference should be such that there is time for proper plans to be made prior to the birth of the baby, but not so far before the baby is born that circumstances might significantly change. Pre-birth child protection conferences should therefore normally be held after the 24th week of pregnancy and not less than 6 weeks prior to the expected delivery date

5.7

The relevant midwife should always attend pre–birth conferences.

The Review Child Protection Conference

Purpose

5.8

The purpose of the Review Child Protection Conference is to:

review the safety, health and development of the child against the intended outcomes set out in the Child Protection Plan
ensure the plan continues to adequately protect the child from risk of harm
bring together and analyse information about the child’s health and development and the parent/carers’ capacity to ensure the child’s safety and welfare
make judgements about the likelihood of the child suffering Significant Harm in the future
decide what action is required to safeguard the child and promote their welfare

Timing

5.9

The first Review Conference should take place within 90 days of the Initial Conference

5.10

Further Review Conferences must be held at intervals of not more than 6 months, for as long as the child is judged to be at risk of harm and there is the need for a Child Protection Plan.

5.11

Consideration must always be given to bringing the date of the conference forward when:

There is a new incident of abuse
There are difficulties in carrying out the Child Protection Plan
A child is to be born into the household of a child who is subject to a Child Protection Plan
An offender convicted of offences against a child joins or commences regular contact with the household
There are significant changes in the family circumstances, not anticipated at the previous conference that have implications for the safety of the child
The Core Group, at any early stage, believes that the child no longer needs to be subject to a Child Protection Plan.

The Conference Process - Initial and Review Conferences

Attendance

5.12	Professionals attending conferences should be there because they have: Professional expertise relevant to the case and/or Knowledge of the child and family
5.13	The local authority social work manager should consider whether to seek advice from, or have present, a medical professional who can present the medical information in a manner which can be understood by the conference attendees and enable such information to be evaluated from a sound knowledge base.
5.14	There should be sufficient information and expertise available –through personal representation and written reports - to enable the conference to make an informed decisions and plans. However a conference that is larger than it needs to be can inhibit discussion and intimidate the child and family members.
5.15	Those who have a relevant contribution to make to a conference may include: The child, or his or her representative; Family members; Staff from Children’s Social Care who may have led or been involved in an assessment of the child and family; Foster carers (current or former) Residential care staff; Professionals involved with the child (for example, health visitor, midwife, school nurse, Children’s Guardian, paediatrician, school staff, early years staff, GP, NHS Direct, staff in the youth justice system, where relevant) Professionals involved with the parents or other family members (for example, family support services, adult mental health services, probation, GP, NHS Direct, staff in the youth justice system (where relevant); Professionals with expertise in the particular type of harm suffered by the child or in the child’s particular condition, for example a disability or long term illness; Those involved in investigations (for example the police) Local authority legal services (child care); NSPCC or other involved voluntary organisations; A representative of the armed services, in cases where there is a Service connection.

Involving the Child and Family Members

5.16

Before a conference is held, the purpose of the conference, who will attend and the way it will operate should be explained to the child of sufficient age and understanding, the parents and other involved family members. They should be given a leaflet explaining the child protection conference and informed that they may choose to bring a friend, advocate or supporter to help them fully participate in the conference and express their view. This may be a solicitor acting in the role of a supporter, not as an advocate.

5.17

Subject to consideration of their age and understanding, the child/ren should be given the opportunity to attend the conference should they so wish. They should be told that they may bring an advocate, friend or supporter.

5.18

In deciding whether to give a child the opportunity to attend the conference the primary questions to be addressed are:

Does the child have sufficient understanding of the process?
Have they expressed an explicit or implicit wish to be involved?
What are the parents’ views about the child’s attendance?
Is inclusion assessed to be of benefit to the child?

Normally it should be assumed that a child of twelve or over should be eligible to attend unless there is a reason not to do so.

5.19

If the child states that they do not wish to attend the conference this must be respected; similarly, if they wish to attend, this should be acceded to unless it can clearly be shown that this is contrary to their best interests.

5.20

When the child does not attend the social worker must ensure that every effort is made to ensure the child’s views are conveyed to conference members. This may be via:

A pre-meeting with the Review Manager
Written statements/e-mails/text messages and recorded comments

5.21

Where the child or the parents/carers are bringing a friend, supporter or advocate it should be explained to them that:

The role of a friend or supporter is not to represent the parent/child or to speak on their behalf, but to provide emotional support and assist them in understanding the information presented to the conference and in expressing their view. In exceptional circumstances a Review Manager may prevent a friend or supporter from attending a conference, e.g. where their presence is disruptive or where the person is deemed to a risk to children.
The role of an advocate is to speak on behalf of a parent/carer or child, having ascertained their view in advance of the meeting

5.22

Where the child’s attendance is neither desired by them, nor appropriate, the local authority’s Children’s Social Care professional who is working most closely with the child should ascertain their wishes and feelings and make these known to the conference

5.23

Parents should normally be invited to attend the conference and be helped to participate fully in the conference. Such help is the responsibility of the child’s social worker and should include:

Assistance with preparing for the conference, including thinking in advance what they want to convey and how best to do this. Some may wish to prepare a written report, and assistance with this should be given should the parent/carer so wish
Help with travel arrangements to and from the conference
Provision of an interpreter for parents/children whose first language is not English or, who are deaf and use sign language
Assistance with reading written material if this is required
Ensuring that the exact requirements needed to support fully the participation of parents with disabilities are identified, and that these requirements are met
Informing the Review Manager if the child or family are bringing a friend, relative or supporter
Young children should not attend conferences, and alternative child care arrangements should be made for them with the help of the social work team where necessary.

5.24

The child’s social worker should brief the Review Manager if there are any reasons why it may not be possible to involve all family members at all times in the conference, for example if there is a high level of conflict between family members or adults, and any children who do not wish to speak in front of one another

5.25

There is an expectation that all information should be shared, with the exception of information relating to a third party. Any concerns which the professional concerned have must be discussed with the Review Manager before the conference. This decision should be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.

5.26

Parents/carers should only be excluded partially or completely from the conference if one of the criteria below applies. The decision to exclude rests with the chair of the conference. Reasons for exclusion should be conveyed to the parents, both orally and in writing. Reasons for exclusion should also be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.

5.27

If parents are excluded or unable to attend, they should be enabled to communicate their views to the conference by another means, for example via a written report. The chair, in consultation with conference members, will agree what information from the minutes of the meeting will be received by the excluded person.

5.28

Criteria for excluding parents/carers from a child protection conference;

Full Exclusion	Partial Exclusion
A strong risk of violence or intimidation by a family member at or subsequent to the conference, towards a child or anybody else	The presence of an alleged perpetrator may affect the outcome of criminal proceedings.
If the parent or carer presents on the day or during the meeting in a way which indicates that they are likely to cause disruption to the meeting

Quorate Conferences

5.29	The primary principle for determining quoracy is that there should be sufficient agencies present to enable safe decisions to be made in the individual circumstances.
5.30	The minimum representation for quoracy is Children’s Social Care and at least 2 other agencies which have had direct contact with the child and family
5.31	Where a conference is inquorate it should not normally proceed and in such a circumstance the chair must ensure that either: An immediate Child Protection Plan is produced Any existing plan is reviewed with the professionals and family members that do attend so as to safeguard the welfare of the child. The notes of this discussion must be minuted and circulated to all those who should have attended the conference Another conference date is set immediately
5.32	In exceptional circumstances the chair may decide to proceed with the conference despite lack of agency representation. This may occur where: A child has not had relevant contact with 3 agencies Where sufficient information is available and delay will be detrimental to the welfare of the child

Information for the Conference

5.33	All information provided to the conference, whether written or verbal, should take care to distinguish between fact, observation, allegation and opinion.
5.34	At the Initial Conference, Children’s Social Care should provide the conference with a report relating to each child. This should be consistent with the information set out in the Initial Child Protection Conference Report (Department of Health 2002). The Social Worker's Report to Conference should include the dates 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.
5.35	Although a Core Assessment is the means by which a Section 47 Enquiry is carried out, it is unlikely that it will have been completed in time for the Initial Conference. The report will therefore summarise and analyse the information obtained so far. The report should include: A genogram that has been prepared with the family A Chronology of significant events and agency and professional contact with the child and family Information on the child's current and past developmental needs Information on the capacity of the parents and other family members to ensure the child is safe 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, and the views of the parents and other family members with regard to the services or actions being considered. An analysis of the information gathered and recorded using the Assessment Framework dimensions to reach a judgement on whether the child is suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm and consider how best to meet his or her developmental needs. This analysis should address: 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.
5.36	Other professionals attending the Initial Conference who have had direct contact with the child and family should provide a report in advance, outlining: A Chronology of their involvement with the child and family Knowledge they have concerning the child’s health and development, the capacity of the parents and other family members to safeguard the child and family and environmental factors which might affect parenting capacity Their analysis of the implications of the information for the child’s future safety and meeting of his or her developmental needs
5.37	For the Review Conference, the Core Group has a collective responsibility to produce reports which together provide an overview of the work undertaken by family members and professionals and evaluate progress against the outcomes specified in the detailed Child Protection Plan. The content of the report to the Review Conference should be consistent with the information set out in the Child Protection Review (Department of Health 2002).
5.38	In addition to the reports above, the outcome of the completed Core Assessment will also be presented to the Review Conference.
5.39	The parents and each child will be provided with a copy of the inter-agency Core Assessment and all additional reports at least one working day in advance of the conference. The contents of reports should be explained and discussed with the child and relevant family members in advance of the conference itself in the preferred language(s) of the child and family members.

Actions and Decisions for the Conference

5.40

It is the role of the conference to:

Decide whether the child is at continuing risk of Significant Harm and therefore requires inter-agency help and intervention delivered through a formal Child Protection Plan
Formulate an outline plan
Ensure that, where a child is not judged as being at continuing risk of Significant Harm, consideration is given as to whether the child may need services to promote his or her development

5.41

It is the role of the Review Manager to:

Determine which of the Categories of Abuse or Neglect the child has suffered. The category used (that is Physical Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Sexual Abuse or Neglect) will indicate to those consulting Children’s Social Care record the primary presenting concerns at the time the child became the subject of a Child Protection Plan.

Decision Making at the Initial Conference

5.42	The questions to ask as part of the decision-making process are: Has the child suffered Significant Harm? And Is the child likely to suffer Significant Harm? The test for the likelihood of the child is suffering Significant Harm in the future should be that either: The child can be shown to have suffered ill-treatment or impairment of health or development as a result of Physical Abuse, Emotional Abuse, or Sexual Abuse or Neglect, and the professional judgement is that further ill-treatment or impairment are likely; or Professional judgement, 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 Abuse, Emotional Abuse, or Sexual Abuse or Neglect
5.43	The conference decision should result from the Review Manager ensuring that: All the information available to conference has been scrutinised by the conference members and information that is missing has been noted All conference members have had an opportunity to present their views and challenge the views of others
5.44	The Review Manager, as chair of the conference, is responsible for the conference decision. The Review Manager will consult conference members; take account of any written contributions received and aim for a consensus as to the need for a Child Protection Plan, but ultimately will make the decision and note any dissenting views.
5.45	When more than one agency records a dissenting view to the decision of the conference, the Review Manager will refer the case for review by their senior manager (Head of Quality Assurance in Bedfordshire). If the outcome of the review is that the senior manager considers it would be appropriate to reconvene the Child Protection Conference, this should occur within 20 working days. Alternatively if the result of the review is that whilst it is appropriate for the decision of the conference to stand, there are issues which require further discussion with managers from other agencies, these will be taken up accordingly.
5.46	If a decision is taken that the child is at continuing risk of Significant Harm and hence a Child Protection Plan is necessary, the Review Manager should determine which category of abuse or neglect the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering. The category used (i.e. physical, emotional, sexual abuse or neglect) will indicate to those consulting the child’s social care record the primary presenting concerns at the time the child became subject to a Child Protection Plan.

Child Subject of a Child Protection Plan

5.47

Where a child is to be made subject of a Child Protection Plan, it is the responsibility of the conference to consider and make recommendations on how agencies, professionals and the family should work together to ensure that the child will be safeguarded from harm in the future.

5.48

The conference should:

Appoint the lead statutory body (either the local authority’s Children’s Social Care or the NSPCC) and a Lead Social Worker, who should be a qualified, experienced social worker and a member of the lead statutory body. Where it is not possible to appoint a Lead Social Worker at the conference it becomes the responsibility of the team manager whose team is bringing the case to ensure the Lead Social Worker role and functions are met and that a Lead Social Worker is appointed by the first Core Group meeting
Identify the membership of a Core Group of professionals and family members who will develop and implement the Child Protection Plan as a detailed working tool
Consider whether a Family Group Meeting would be an effective way of engaging the wider family group in developing and implementing the Child Protection Plan
Establish how children, parents (including those with Parental Responsibility) and wider family members should be involved in the ongoing assessment, planning and implementation process and the support, advice and advocacy available to them
Establish timescales for meetings of the Core Group, production of a Child Protection Plan, and for child protection review meetings
Identify in outline what further action is required to complete or update the Core Assessment and what other specialist assessments of the child and family are required to make sound judgements on how best to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child
In the case of an Initial Conference, outline the Child Protection Plan, especially identifying what needs to change in order to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child.
Ensure a Contingency Plan is in place if agreed actions are not completed and/or circumstances change
Agree a date for the Review Child Protection Conference, and clarify under what circumstances it might be necessary to convene the conference before that date

Where a child has suffered, or is likely to suffer, Significant Harm in the future 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 it should initiate, for example, Care Proceedings. Where 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.

Child not Subject of a Child Protection Plan

5.49	If it is decided at the Initial Conference that the child does not need a Child Protection Plan, the conference should develop an outline Child in Need Plan. It may be helpful to use a Family Group Meeting to complete the Child in Need Plan, and to engage the wider family group in this process.

Discontinuing the Child Protection Plan

5.50

A child should no longer be subject of a Child Protection Plan 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. Under these circumstances only a child protection conference can decide that a Child Protection Plan is no longer necessary.
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, and after written confirmation has been received, should the Child Protection Plan be discontinued in the original authority.
Where the child’s parents are in the armed services and are moving to an overseas command, Children’s Social Care should ensure that SSAF-FH, the British Forces Social Work Services (overseas), or the NPFS for Royal Naval families are informed and can confirm that appropriate resources exist in the proposed location to meet identified needs
The child has reached 18 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.

5.51

When a child is no longer subject of a Child Protection Plan:

Notification should be sent to all those agencies’ representatives who were invited to attend the Initial Child Protection Conference, subsequent reviews or Core Group meetings
The Review Child Protection Conference should discuss with the child (if attending) and family what services continue to be required in order to meet the child’s developmental needs. Recommendations should be made concerning whether the child continues to be a Child in Need, and the content of any Child in Need Plan
The Lead Social Worker should meet with the child and family within 10 working days of the discontinuation of the Child Protection Plan in order to confirm the content of any Child in Need Plan and the process for implementation and review.

Recording

5.52

Conference minutes

Children’s Social Care will be responsible for ensuring that all child protection conferences have a dedicated person to take notes and produce minutes of the meeting
The conference minutes will include the following information
- a list of those present and apologies for absence
- family composition and legal status of the children
- a record of any delay in convening the conference with the reasons
- reasons for the decision to convene a conference
- the essential facts of the case
- a summary of discussion at the conference
- all decisions reached, and reason for the decisions
- the outline or revised Child Protection Plan
A copy of the minutes will be distributed to all agencies and parents invited to the conference, whether or not they were present, except where any agency has indicated that there is no current involvement with the family or any planned for the future
Minutes will not be distributed to any friends, supporter or advocates who have attended the conference
Full minutes will be distributed within 15 working days.
Minutes are a confidential document and should not be passed by professionals to third parties without the consent of either the Review Manager or the Lead Social Worker. However in cases of criminal proceedings, the police may reveal the existence of the notes to the Crown Prosecution Service in line with the Criminal Procedure and Investigation Act 1996. Arrangements must be made to keep the minutes securely and retained by the recipient agencies in accordance with their record retention policies. They should not be filed in professional records that have open access.

5.53

A letter outlining the decisions and recommendations of the conference and date of first the Core Group will be sent within 24 hours to parents, children (where appropriate) and all those invited to the conference.

5.54

A copy of the outline Child Protection Plan will be distributed to members of the Core Group prior to the first Core Group meeting, together with information explaining their roles and responsibilities.

Action Following the Child Protection Conference

5.55

The Lead Social Worker is responsible for:

Co-ordinating the work of the Core Group to ensure that the outline Child Protection Plan is developed into a more detailed inter-agency plan
Ensuring that all Core Group members understand the role and function of the Core Group and have a copy of the leaflet Attending Core Group Meetings
Completing the Core Assessment, securing contributions from Core Group members and others as necessary
Acting as lead worker for the inter-agency work with the child and family
Seeing the child as agreed in the Child Protection Plan in order to monitor their wellbeing and be aware of their wishes and feelings.
Co-ordination of the actions required to put the Child Protection Plan into effect and reviewing progress against the objectives set out in the plan

Complaints About a Child Protection Conference

5.56	Children, Parents and caregivers are entitled to make representations or complain, in respect of one or more of the following aspects of the functioning of child protection conferences: The process of the conference; The outcome, in terms of the fact of and/or the category of primary concern at the time the child became the subject of a Child Protection Plan; A decision for the child to become or not become, the subject of a Child Protection Plan or not, or to cease the child being the subject of a Child Protection Plan.
5.57	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.
5.58	Complaints about aspects of the functioning of conferences described in 5.52 should be addressed to the Review Manager. Such complaints should be passed on to Children’s Social Care which, since they relate to Part V of the Children Act 1989 should be responded to in accordance with the Complaints Directions 2006. In considering and responding to complaints the local authority should form an inter-agency panel made up of senior representatives from the Local Safeguarding Children Board and member agencies. The panel should consider whether the relevant inter-agency protocols and procedures have been observed correctly, and whether the decision that is being complained about follows reasonably from the proper observation of the protocol(s)
5.59	Professionals contributing to the child protection process do not have a formal means of complaint against it as do family members. However, professionals who dissent from the consensus view of the child protection conference will have their dissent recorded and in the event that professional views are equally split between the need for a Child Protection Plan or not the Review Manager will decide.
5.60	More generally a professional from any agency may formally express their concern to Children’s Social Care about the management of a particular child’s circumstances. In this instance the file will be read and reviewed by a Service Manager, the professional raising the concerns will be met with and spoken to and the outcome will be recorded on the case file and any actions implemented. For further details see Complaints arising from Child Protection Conferences Procedure

Practice Guidance - The Child Protection Conference

Chairing the Conference

The Review Manager should:

should be a qualified and experienced worker in children’s services, independent of operational or line management responsibilities for the case.
must be trained in the role and should have
- a good understanding and professional knowledge of children’s welfare and development and best practice in working with children and families
- the ability to look objectively at, and assess the implications of, the evidence on which judgements should be based
- skills in chairing meetings in a way which encourages constructive participation, while maintaining a clear focus on the welfare of the child and the decisions which have to be taken
- knowledge and understanding of anti-discriminatory practice