Child Protection Conferences

1. Child Protection Conferences

All Conferences

A child protection conference brings together family members (and their child/ren where appropriate), supporters / advocates and those practitioners most involved with the child and family to make decisions about the child/young person's future safety, health and development. If concerns relate to an unborn child, consideration should be given as to whether to hold a child protection conference prior to the Pre-birth Assessment Procedures.

Purpose

To bring together and analyse, in a multi-agency and multi-disciplinary meeting, all relevant information and plan how best to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child/young person and protect them from harm. It is the responsibility of the conference to make recommendations on how organisations and agencies work together to safeguard the child/young person in the future. Practitioners and parents should be provided with clear and accurate information about the conference process to support effective planning. All practitioners should approach the work with parents and carers in line with the principles set out in chapter 1 of the guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children.

Conference tasks include:

• Appointing a lead statutory body (either local authority children’s social care or NSPCC) and a lead social worker, who should be experienced and an employee of the lead statutory body;
• Identifying membership of the core group of practitioners and family members who will develop and implement the child protection plan;
• Establishing timescales for meetings of the core group, production of a child protection plan and for child protection review meetings;
• Agreeing an outline child protection plan, with clear actions and timescales, including a clear sense of how much improvement is needed, by when, so that success can be measured clearly.

The conference chair:

• Is accountable to the Director of Children’s Services, where possible the same person should chair subsequent child protection reviews;
• Should be a practitioner, independent of operational and/or line management responsibilities for the family;
• Should meet the child/young person and their parents in advance to ensure they understand the issues, the purpose, the process, and possible outcomes of the conference;
• Should be prepared to answer questions openly;
• Should approach the work with parents and carers in line with the principles set out in chapter 1 of the guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children;
• Should consider whether members of the family network should attend and participate in the conference;
• Should ensure all participants are encouraged to contribute views independently.

Lead practitioners should:

• Convene, attend, and present information about the reason for the conference, their understanding of the child/young person’s needs, parental capacity, family and environmental context (including extra-familial contexts), and evidence of how the child/young person has been abused, neglected, or exploited and its impact on their health and development;
• Analyse the information to enable informed decisions about what action is necessary to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child/young person who is the subject of the conference;
• Share the conference information with the child/young person and their family beforehand (where appropriate);
• Prepare a report for the conference on the child/young person and their family which sets out and analyses what is known about the child/young person and their family and the local authority’s recommendation;
• Record conference decisions and recommendations and ensure action follows.

All involved practitioners should:

• Work together to safeguard the child/young person from harm in the future, taking timely, effective action according to the plan agreed;
• Attend and present information about their understanding or the child/young person’s needs, parental capacity, family, and environmental factors (including extra-familial contexts) and evidence of how the child/young person has been abused, neglected, or exploited and its impact on their health and development;
• Bring their agency perspective, expertise and challenge and contribute to decisions about actual or likely significant harm and actions to address by contributing to the plan to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child/young person who is the subject of the conference.

Safeguarding partners should:

• Monitor the effectiveness of child protection conference arrangements.

Types of Conferences

Depending on the circumstances there are several different types of child protection conferences:

• Initial conferences;
• Pre-birth conferences;
• Transfer in conferences;
• Review conferences.

Note: All types of child protection conferences should include not only the child/young person who is the subject of the specific concerns but must also include consideration of the needs of all other children/young people in the household.

An initial child protection conference must be convened following a s47 enquiry to safeguard and promote the welfare of a child/young person who is suspected of, or likely to be, suffering significant harm.

The initial child protection conference should take place within 15 working days of:

• The first strategy meeting / discussion when the section 47 enquiries were initiated; or
• Notification by another local authority that a child/young person subject of a child protection plan has moved into the area.

If there is an emergency protection order (EPO) and it is decided to hold a child protection conference, the conference should, whenever possible, be held before the EPO expires.

Where a child assessment order has been made, the conference should be held immediately on conclusion of examinations and assessments.

Where there is delay, this must be reported to the children's social care manager (including reasons for the delay) and children's social care must ensure that risks of harm to the child/young person are monitored and action taken to safeguard the child/young person.

Conferences should routinely seek to establish / confirm the nationality and immigration status of children, young people and their families. This will ensure that, where required, families can be signposted for immigration advice and support. Furthermore, if as EU / EEA nationals they have been granted pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme - it will ensure practitioners can also support them to apply for settled status at the point at which they accrue 5 years' continuous residence in the UK (see Switch from pre settled status to settled status (GOV.UK)).

A pre-birth conference is an initial child protection conference concerning an unborn child. Such a conference has the same status as, and must be conducted in a comparable manner to, an initial child protection conference. The timing of the conference should be carefully considered bearing in mind the need for early action to allow time to plan for the birth.

Pre-birth conferences should always be convened where there is a need to consider if a multi-agency child protection plan is required. This decision will usually follow from a pre-birth assessment.

A pre-birth conference should be held where:

• A pre-birth assessment gives rise to concerns that an unborn child may be at risk of significant harm;
• A previous child/young person has died or been removed from parent/s because of significant harm;
• A child is to be born into a family or household that already has children who are subject of a child protection plan;
• An adult or child/young person who is a risk to other children/young people is residing in the household or known to be a regular visitor.

Other risk factors to be considered are:

• The impact of parental risk factors such as mental ill health, learning disabilities, substance misuse and domestic violence and abuse;
• A mother under 18 years of age about whom there are concerns regarding her ability to self-care and / or to care for their child.

All agencies involved with pregnant women, where there are concerns about the unborn child, should consider whether there is the need for an early referral to children's social care so that assessments are undertaken as early as possible in the pregnancy.

The pre-birth conference should take place as soon as practical and at least 10 weeks before the due date of delivery, to allow as much time as possible for planning support for the baby and family. Where there is a known likelihood of a premature birth, the conference should be held earlier.

Transfer in conferences should take place when a child/young person who is the subject of a child protection plan, moves from the original LA area to another LA area to live there permanently Children's social care, designated health practitioners and the police should be notified promptly.

The transfer in conference should receive reports from the original LA, and the original authority should be invited to attend the conference which should take place within 15 working days of the notification. Such a conference has the same status and purpose, and must be conducted in a comparable manner to, an initial child protection conference.

Please refer to Children and Families Moving Across Local Authority Boundaries Procedure.

The Child protection review conference procedures for preparation, decision-making and other procedures should be the same as those for an initial child protection conference. The purpose is to review whether the child/young person is continuing to suffer or is likely to suffer significant harm; to review developmental progress against child protection plan outcomes; to consider whether the child protection plan should continue or should be changed.

Lead practitioners should:

• Attend and lead the organisation of the conference;
• Determine when the review conference should be held within three months of the initial conference, and thereafter at maximum intervals of six months;
• Provide information to enable informed decisions about what action is necessary to continue to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child/young person, and the effectiveness and impact of action taken so far;
• Share the conference information with the child/young person and their family beforehand, where appropriate, and ensure that they understand the information provided;
• Approach work with parents and carers in line with the principles set out in chapter 1 of Working Together to Safeguard Children;
• Engage the family network where this is appropriate to support the child/young person. If there is family group decision-making, such as a family group conference, parents and family networks should have the opportunity to prepare for it in advance;
• Record conference outcomes;
• Decide whether to initiate family court proceedings (all the children/young people in the household should be considered, even if concerns are only expressed about one child) if the child/young person is considered to be suffering significant harm.

All involved practitioners should:

• Attend, when invited, and provide details of their involvement with the child/young person and their family;
• Produce reports for the child protection review. This information will provide an overview of work undertaken by family members and practitioners and evaluate the impact on the child/young person’s welfare against the planned outcomes set out in the child protection plan;
• Approach work with parents and carers in line with the principles set out in chapter 1 of Working Together to Safeguard Children;
• Be sufficiently skilled and experienced to prepare for and engage with the review, and able to critically assess and challenge their own and other’s input.

The first child protection review conference should be held within 3 months of the date of the initial child protection conference.

Further reviews should be held at intervals of not more than 6 months for as long as the child/young person remains the subject of a child protection plan. If the initial conference was a pre-birth conference the review conference should take place within 1 month of the child/young person's birth or within 3 months of the date of the pre-birth conference, whichever is sooner. Subsequent review conferences should take place within 6 months thereafter.

All review conferences should consider the timescales to meet the needs and safety of the child/young person. An infant or child under the age of 5 where there are serious concerns about the levels of risk might require the timescales to be shorter than those set above. The decisions should reflect the circumstances of the child/young person and the impact on the child/young person of the concerns rather than any agency constraints.

Reviews should be brought forward where/when:

• Child protection concerns relating to a new incident or allegation of abuse have been sustained;
• There are significant difficulties in carrying out the child protection plan;
• A child is to be born into the household of a child(ren)/young people already subject of child protection plans;
• An adult, child or young person who poses a risk to children/young people is to join, or commences regular contact with, the household;
• There is a significant change in the circumstances of the child/young person, or their family not anticipated at the previous conference and with implications for the safety of them.
• A child subject of a child protection plan is also looked after by the local authority and consideration is being given to returning them to the circumstances where care of the child/young person previously aroused concerns (unless this step is anticipated in the existing child protection plan);
• The core group believe that an early cancellation of the need for a child protection plan should be considered.

See also: Flowchart 5: Action Following a Strategy Meeting and Flowchart 6: What Happens After the Child Protection Conference.

2. Looked After Children and Child Protection Conferences

Looked After Children with Child Protection Plans

Children and young people, who are already looked after will not usually be the subject of child protection conferences, though they may be the subject of a s47 enquiry. The circumstances in which a child/young person who is looked after may be considered for a child protection conference or may be subject to a child protection plan can vary. The care plan and placement plan for a child/young person who is looked after (whether there are proceedings pending an outcome, an interim care order or a care order in place) should provide the means to safeguard the child/young person. The care plan and placement plan should be reviewed and updated regularly and in response to new information or concerns about the welfare of the child/young person.

If it is proposed that a child/young person subject to a care order should be returned to their birth family / returned home, the members of the statutory looked after child case review (see The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations - Volume 2: Care Planning, Placement and Case Review) when considering the proposal for rehabilitation must decide and record whether an initial child protection conference should be convened prior to the change. If the decision of the Review is that an initial child protection conference should be convened, the child/young person's social worker must request it to take place within 15 days of the case review decision.

A child/young person looked after under s20 of the Children Act 1989, who has been or is about to be returned to a parent's care about whom there are concerns in terms of safeguarding their welfare, may be subject of a s47 enquiry and a child protection conference. See The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations - Volume 2: Care Planning, Placement and Case Review and the Practice Guidance for the use of S20 Provision in The Children Act 1989 in England and the equivalent S76 of The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.

If a parent removes or proposes to remove a child/young person looked after under s20 from the care of the local authority and there are serious concerns about that parent's capacity to provide for the child/young person's needs and protect them from significant harm, the social worker must discuss the case with the social care manager/ceasing to care nominated manager, who will make a decision about whether a child protection enquiry should be initiated. If a child protection enquiry is initiated, the reasons for this must be clearly recorded on the child/young person's record and may lead to an initial child protection conference. Any plan should be based on the child/young person's welfare needs and avoid delay. In these circumstances, the social worker and manager should consider whether legal action is required to protect the child/young person.

Children/Young People with Child Protection Plans who become Looked After

If a child/young person subject of a child protection plan becomes looked after under s20, their legal situation is not permanently secure and the next child protection review conference should consider the child/young person's safety in the light of the possibility that the parent can simply request their removal from the local authority's care. The child protection review conference must be sure that the looked after care plan and placement plan provide adequate security for the child/young person and sufficiently reduces or eliminates the risk of significant harm identified by the initial child protection conference.

If a child/young person ceases to be subject of a child protection plan because of a decision at a child protection review conference, and the parent then unexpectedly requests the return of the child/young person from the local authority's care, the social worker and manager should discuss the need for an initial child protection conference. The social worker must record the reasons for the decision whether or not to hold a conference.

If a court grants a care order in respect of a child who is subject of a child protection plan, the subsequent child protection review conference must make an assessment about the security of the child/young person, considering issues such as contact and the looked after care plan for the child/young person. If the care plan for the child/young person involves remaining in or returning to the family of origin, the child protection review conference should give careful consideration to whether the child/young person can be adequately protected through the framework of the childcare reviews.

In Bedford Borough Council a dual consultation letter is sent to all professionals that attended the ICPC and RCPC to advise of a legal order and assess within 10 days their views if the child/young person can be reviewed under a single process within care planning, placement and case review guidance and regulations.

Where a looked after child remains the subject of a child protection plan there must be a single plan and a single planning and reviewing process, led by the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO). This means that the timing of the review of the child protection aspects of the care plan should be the same as the review under The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations - Volume 2: Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (also see the IRO Handbook) and the accompanying statutory guidance Putting Care into Practice. This will ensure that up to date information in relation to the child/young person's welfare and safety is considered within the review meeting and informs the overall care planning process.

Consideration should be given to whether the criteria continue to be met for the child/young person to remain the subject of a child protection plan and consideration to bring forward a Review conference should be addressed. Significant changes to the care plan should only be made following the looked after child's review.

Consideration should be given to the IRO chairing the child protection conference where a looked after child remains the subject of a child protection plan despite there being:

• Different requirements for independence of the IRO function compared to the chair of the child protection conference; and
• A requirement for the child protection conference to be a multi-agency forum while children/young people for the most part want as few external people as possible at a review meeting where they are present.

This should be decided on an individual case basis and managed to ensure that the independence of the independent reviewing officer is not compromised. Similarly the child/young person might benefit from another independent chair and where it is possible should be consulted about the use of the IRO as chair. Where it is not possible for the IRO to chair the child protection conference the IRO will attend the child protection review conference.

3. Membership of Child Protection Conference

A conference should consist of only those people who have a significant contribution to make due to their knowledge of the child/young person and their family or their expertise relevant to the case. This is likely to include:

• The child/young person or their representative;
• Parents/those with parental responsibility;
• Family members (including the wider family);
• Foster carers (current or former);
• Residential care staff;
• Suitably qualified, Social Work England registered children's social work practitioners who have led and been involved in an assessment of the child/young person and their family (and their first line manager);
• A Lead Practitioner;
• Practitioners involved with the child/young person (e.g. health visitor, school nurse, paediatrician, GP, school staff, CAMHS, early years staff, education welfare officers);
• Practitioners with expertise in the particular type of harm suffered by the child/young person or in their particular condition (e.g. a disability or long term illness);
• Those involved in investigations (e.g. the police);
• Involved third sector organisations;
• A practitioner who is independent of operational or line management responsibilities for the case as Chair. The status of the Chair should be sufficient to ensure multi-agency commitment to the conference and the child protection plan.

Invitations to conference should be provided to all practitioners with a need to know or who have a contribution to the task involved. These may include:

• Local authority legal services (child protection), if it is anticipated that legal advice will be required;
• The child/young person's guardian where there are current court proceedings;
• Practitioners involved with the parents or other family members (e.g. family support services, adult mental health services, National Probation Service, the GP, Health visiting);
• Midwifery services where the conference concerns an unborn or new-born child;
• Probation or the Youth Offending Team;
• Local authority housing services;
• Domestic abuse adviser;
• Alcohol and substance abuse services;
• A representative of the armed services, in cases where there is a service connection;
• Any other relevant professional or service provider;
• A supporter / advocate for the child/young person and/or parents (e.g. a friend or solicitor); solicitors must comply with the Law Society guidance 'Attendance of solicitors at local authority Children Act Meetings' and related 'Code of Conduct (2011)'.

A practitioner observer can only attend with the prior consent of the Chair and the family, and must not take part in discussions or decision-making.

Practitioners who are invited but unable to attend for unavoidable reasons should:

• Inform the conference administrator;
• Submit a written report; and
• Arrange for a well-briefed agency representative to attend and speak to the report;
• Agencies are expected to share a report about the child/young person and their family in written form with the family and other agencies as appropriate, prior to the conference, whether or not they are able to attend the conference. See Section 7, Information for the Conference.

Babies and young children should not normally be present during the conference as they will cause distraction from the focus of the meeting. Parents should be assisted to make arrangements for their care where necessary.

Location, Timing and Safety for Conferences

The location and timing of the conference should be planned to ensure maximum attendance from the most critical attendees. In exceptional circumstances it may be considered for key practitioners to contribute via conference calls. Conferences should not be scheduled for times when parents will be busy looking after children at home (e.g. after the end of the school day). Wherever possible, children's social care should provide parents with the opportunity to utilise appropriate day care for their children to enable their attendance at the conference.

Children's social care is responsible for taking into account health and safety issues and security arrangements when planning each conference. See also Section 5, Exclusion of Family Members from a Conference.

Electronic and Digital Recording

Advances in technology make the recording of meetings and other conversations e.g. via smart phones much more easily available to individual service-users. This may be simply because they wish to have a verbatim record of the conversation to refer back to, or because they have difficulties in following or recalling conversations. They may, however, seek to use the recording for other purposes such as admission into evidence in family court proceedings, or even for wider broadcast.

This may arise in the context of child protection/safeguarding meetings, private law or public law proceedings, and may involve recording of conversations between parents, between parents and practitioners, conversations between the parents and child/young person or discussions in meetings.

The recording may take place overtly or covertly.

There are no specific legal restrictions on the recording of face-to-face conversations, whether this is overt or covert. Thus, whilst good practice would suggest that advance consent should be sought for any planned recording, a blanket ban on recording is unlikely to be lawful.

This is not a clear-cut area, and legal advice must be sought as appropriate. Practitioners should be mindful that covert recording may be taking place, and should endeavour to ensure that they do not make statements during 'private' conversations which they would not be prepared to hear produced as evidence in court.

If the scale or style of recording is excessive, oppressive or disproportionate, then this may cross a threshold. For example, a parent recording their questioning of the child/young person in a manner which is oppressive may in fact be evidence of possible emotional abuse of them by that parent.

Where the making of an audio or video record of a child protection/safeguarding meeting is proposed then this request should be considered by an LA senior manager who will consult participating agency managers and others as required, in the light of up-to-date local policy and legal advice.

In the case of child protection conferences the Conference Chair should determine the response in consultation with Conference members and/or by taking legal advice. For Core Group meetings the chair, often an LA Manager, or Lead social worker will determine the response.

In considering the request by any party, it should be ensured that agreeing to such a request will not impact on the quality of the information-sharing and discussion or compromise the decision-making regarding the safeguarding of the child/young person. The interests of the child/young person must be the primary concern and confidentiality must be observed.

Whilst the recording itself may well be legitimate, there may be restrictions on its use.

If a party seeks to admit such material into court proceedings, then it is at the discretion of the court whether to allow this or not. Such evidence will only be admitted if it is relevant to the issues in the case and not, for example, in furtherance of a personal grievance by a parent against a social worker.

The Data Protection Act 2018 does not apply to the processing of personal data by an individual in the course of a purely personal or household activity. However, the scope of this provision in the context of recording is not clear. Jackson J in M v F (Covert Recording of Children) [2016] EWFC 29 expressed the view that a similar exemption contained in the previous Data Protection Act (1998) was intended to protect normal domestic use, and would not cover the covert recording of individuals, and particularly children/young people, for the purpose of evidence-gathering in family proceedings and Ward of Court proceedings.

Wider distribution of any material recorded as part of a child protection conference, for example, making such recordings available via the internet, would be in contravention of the UK General Data Protection Regulations and the Data Protection Act 2018. Such recordings are likely to contain information (including possible 'sensitive personal information') relating to third parties, and the distribution of such information so as to enable those third parties to be identified would be in breach of data protection legislation. If the issues in question are the subject of ongoing court proceedings, then there is also a possible contempt of court.

Good Practice

A clear process should be in place for dealing with requests to record meetings/conversations or for situations where it seems likely that covert recording is taking place or is likely to take place. It is preferable for this to be addressed with all service-users at an early stage, rather than waiting until the situation arises at the start of a meeting. The process should set out how the request should be made, who will consider the request and how far in advance of the meeting the request should be made. It should also make clear to the service-user the limitations upon the use of the recorded material, e.g. that it can only be used in relation to the ongoing family proceedings/child protection processes and cannot be broadcast more widely. The service-user will preferably be invited to sign to indicate their agreement to and understanding of these limitations.

It is important that each such request is considered on its own merits. If the decision-maker is minded refusing the request, then legal advice should be sought.

Conference Quorum

As a minimum quorum, at every conference there should be attendance by local authority children's social care and at least two other professional groups or agencies, which have had direct contact with each child/young person who is the subject of the conference. In addition, attendees may also include those whose contribution relates to their professional expertise or responsibility for relevant services. In exceptional cases, where a child/young person has not had relevant contact with three agencies (that is, local authority children's social care and two others), this minimum quorum may be breached.

In exceptional circumstances, the Chair may decide to proceed with the conference despite lack of agency representation. This would be relevant where:

• A child/young person has not had relevant contact with three agencies (e.g. pre-birth conferences);
• Sufficient information is available from the relevant agencies; and
• A delay will be detrimental to the child/young person.

Where an inquorate conference is held, an early review conference should be arranged. The Chair must ensure that the reasons for proceeding with the conference and any arrangements to safeguard the child/young person in the meantime are noted in the conference records.

4. Involving Children, Young People and their Family Members

It is important that the principles of partnership with children/young people and their parents are maintained in the child protection process. The following are minimum requirements for all attendees of the conference and the responsibility of the Chair of the conference to uphold:

• Parents must be invited and encouraged to participate in all child protection meetings unless it is likely to prejudice the welfare of the child/young person;
• Parents should be supported to enable them to participate by timely preparation and information, such as leaflets, being provided about the process and their role;
• Advocates should be facilitated to support parents;
• A meeting with the Independent Chair prior to the meeting should take place;
• Those parents for whom English is not a first language must be offered and provided with an interpreter, if required. A family member should not be expected to act as an interpreter of spoken or signed language.

See Working with Interpreters and others with Special Communication Skills.

Exceptionally, it may be necessary to exclude one or more family members from a conference, in whole or in part. Where a parent attends only part of a conference as a result of exclusion, they must receive the record of the conference. The Chair should decide if the entire record is provided or only that part attended by the excluded parent (see Section 5, Exclusion of Family Members from a Conference).

Explicit consideration should be given to the potential for conflict between family members and possible need for children, young people or adults to speak without other family members present.

The child/young person, subject to their level of understanding, needs to be given the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the conference.

In practice, the appropriateness of including an individual child/young person must be assessed in advance and relevant arrangements made to facilitate attendance at all or part of the conference.

Where it is assessed, in accordance with the criteria below, that it would be inappropriate for the child/young person to attend, alternative arrangements should be made to ensure their wishes and feelings are made clear to all relevant parties (e.g. use of an advocate, written or taped comments).

Criteria for Presence of Child/Young Person at Conference, including Direct Involvement

The primary questions to be addressed are:

• Does the child/young person have sufficient understanding of the process?
• Have they expressed an explicit or implicit wish to be involved?
• What are the parents' views about their child's proposed presence?
• Is inclusion assessed to be of benefit to the child/young person?

The test of 'sufficient understanding' is partly a function of age and partly the child/young person's capacity to understand. The following approach is recommended:

• A (rebuttable) presumption that a child of less than 12 years of age is unlikely to be able to be a direct and/or full participant in a forum such as a child protection conference;
• A presumption (also rebuttable by evidence to the contrary) that from the age of twelve and over, a child/young person should be offered such an opportunity.

A declared wish not to attend a conference (having been given such an explanation) must be respected.

Consideration should be given to the views of and impact on parent/s of their child's proposed attendance.

Consideration must be given to the impact of the conference on the child/young person (e.g. if they have a significant learning difficulty or where it will be impossible to ensure they are kept apart from a parent who may be hostile and / or attribute responsibility onto them). Consideration must be given in particular to the extent to which it is appropriate for a child/young person to hear details of a parent's personal difficulties and a parent's view about this must be respected.

In such cases, energy and resources should be directed toward ensuring that, by means of an advocate and / or preparatory work by a social worker, the child/young person's wishes and feelings are effectively represented.

Direct involvement of a child/young person in a conference

In advance of the conference, the Chair and social worker should agree whether:

• The child/young person attends for all or part of the conference, taking into account confidentiality or parents and / or siblings;
• The child/young person should be present with one or more of their parents;
• The Chair meets the child/young person alone or with a parent prior to the meeting.

If a child/young person attends all or part of the conference, it is essential that they are prepared by the social worker or independent advocate who can help them prepare a report or rehearse any particular points that the child/young person wishes to make.

Provision should be made to ensure that a child/young person who has any form of disability is enabled to participate.

Consideration should be given to enabling the child/young person to be accompanied by a supporter or an advocate.

Indirect contributions when a child is not attending

Indirect contributions from a child/young person should, whenever possible, include a pre-meeting with the conference Chair.

Other indirect methods include written statements, e-mails, text messages and taped comments prepared alone or with independent support, and representation via an advocate.

Childcare practitioners should all be able to represent a child/young person's views and a particular responsibility falls upon the social worker to do so. It is more important that the child/young person feels involved in the whole process of child protection assessment rather than merely receiving an invitation to the conference.

5. Exclusion of Family Members from a Conference

The conference Chair, or other participants, must be notified as soon as possible by the social worker if it is considered necessary to exclude one or both parents for all or part of a conference. The Chair should make a decision according to the following criteria:

• Indications that the presence of the parent may seriously prejudice the welfare of the child/young person;
• Sufficient evidence that a parent may behave in such a way as to interfere seriously with the work of the conference such as violence, threats of violence, racist or other forms of discriminatory or oppressive behaviour, or being in an unfit state (e.g. through drug, alcohol consumption or acute mental health difficulty). In their absence, a friend or advocate may represent them at the conference;
• A child/young person requests that the parent / person with parental responsibility is not present while they are present;
• The presence of one or both parents would prevent a professional from making their proper contribution through concerns about violence or intimidation (which should be communicated in advance to the conference Chair);
• The need (agreed in advance with the conference Chair) for members to receive confidential information that would otherwise be unavailable, such as legal advice or information about a criminal investigation;
• Conflicts between different family members who may not be able to attend at the same time (e.g. in situations of domestic abuse).

Where a worker from any agency believes a parent should, on the basis of the above criteria, be excluded, representation must be made, if possible at least 3 working days in advance, to the Chair of the conference.

The agency concerned must indicate which of the grounds it believes is met and the information or evidence on which the request is based. The Chair must consider the representation carefully and may need legal advice.

If, in planning a conference, it becomes clear to the Chair that there may be a conflict of interest between the children and their parents, the conference should be planned so that the welfare and safety of the child/young person remains paramount.

Any exclusion period should be for the minimum duration necessary and must be clearly recorded in the conference record.

It may also become clear in the course of a conference that its effectiveness will be seriously impaired by the presence of the parent/s. In these circumstances the Chair may ask them to leave.

Where a parent is on bail, or subject to an active police investigation, it is the responsibility of the Chair to ensure that the police representative can fully present their information and views and also that the parents participate as fully as circumstances allow. This might mean that if the police representative is a police officer they may be asked to leave a conference after providing information. It is not appropriate for a police officer to administer a caution to parents prior to the conference; the purpose of the conference is to enable analysis and not to progress a criminal investigation.

The decision of the Chair over matters of exclusion is final regarding both parents and the child/young person/ren.

If, prior to the conference, the Chair has decided to exclude a parent, this must be communicated in writing with information on how they may make their views known, how they will be told the outcome of the conference and about the complaints procedure. See Section 11, Professional Dissent from the Conference Decision.

Those excluded should be provided with a copy of the social worker's report to the conference and be provided with the opportunity to have their views recorded and presented to the conference. The Chair will determine whether or not the excluded parent should receive the record of the conference.

If a decision to exclude a parent is made, this must be fully recorded in the record. Exclusion at one conference is not reason enough in itself for exclusion at further conferences.

6. The Absence of Parents and / or Their Children

If parents and / or their children do not wish to attend the conference they must be provided with full opportunities to contribute their views. The social worker must facilitate this by:

• The use of an advocate or supporter to attend on behalf of the parent or child/young person;
• Enabling the child/young person or parent to write or tape or use drawings to represent their views;
• Agreeing that the social worker, or any other professional, expresses their views.

7. Information for the Conference

In order for the conference to reach well-informed decisions based on evidence, it needs adequate preparation and sharing of information on the child/young person's needs and circumstances by all agencies that have had significant involvement with the child/young person and their family, including those who were involved in the assessment and the s47 enquiry. All reports must be clear and distinguish between facts, allegations and opinions.

Children's Social Care Report

Children's social care should provide all conferences with a written report that summarises and analyses the information obtained in the course of the assessment undertaken in conjunction with the child protection enquiries under s47 of the Children Act 1989 and information in existing records relating to the child/young person and their family. Reports to Review conferences should include a clear analysis of the implementation and progress of the child protection plan including any new information or obstacles to implementation.

Where decisions are being made about more than one child/young person in a family the report should consider the safeguarding needs of each child/young person.

The record of the assessment by the social worker should form a part of the report.

The conference report should include information on the dates the child/young person was seen by the social worker during the course of the section 47 enquiries, if the child/young person was seen alone and if not, who was present and for what reasons.

All children/young people in the household need to be considered and information must be provided about the needs and circumstances of each of them, even if they are not the subject of the conference.

The report should be provided to parents and older children (to the extent that it is believed to be in their interests) at least 2 working days in advance of the initial conferences and a minimum of 5 working days before review conferences to enable any factual errors to be corrected and the family to comment on the content.

The report should be available to the conference Chair at least 2 working days prior to the initial conference and 5 working days in advance of the review conference.

Reports from Other Agencies

Information by all agencies about their involvement with the family should be submitted in a written, legible and signed report for the conference. The report should be available to the conference Chair and other attendees 2 working days in advance of the conference and 5 working days for a review conference. All agencies should have a conference report proforma. The report should be discussed with the child/young person, if appropriate and the family prior to the conference (to the extent that it is believed to be in their interests).

Information from Children/Young People and Their Families

Children/young people and their family members should be helped in advance to consider what they wish to convey to the conference, how they wish to do so and what help and support they will require (e.g. they may choose to communicate in writing, by tape or with the help of an advocate).

Families may need to be reminded that submissions need to be sufficiently succinct to allow proper consideration within the time constraints of the child protection conference.

See Section 4, Involving Children, Young People and their Family Members.

8. Chairing the Conference

Conference Chair

The Chair of a child protection conference will be a children's social care manager or an independent Chair, accountable to the Director of Children's Services. They must not have or have had operational or line management responsibility for the case. Wherever possible, the same person should also chair subsequent child protection reviews in respect of a specific child/young person. Independent Reviewing Officers who have had the necessary training and experience can also chair child protection conferences.

If a decision is made that a child/young person requires a protection plan to safeguard their welfare, the Chair should ensure that:

• The risks to the child/young person are stated and what is needed to change is specified;
• A qualified social worker is identified as a Lead social worker to develop, co-ordinate and implement the child protection plan;
• A core group is identified of family members and practitioners;
• A date is set for the first core group meeting within 10 working days of the initial conference and timescales set for subsequent meetings;
• A date for the child protection review conference is set;
• The outline child protection plan is formulated and clearly understood by all concerned including the parents and, where appropriate, the child/young person.

If the conference determines that a child/young person does not need the specific assistance of a protection plan but does need help to promote their welfare, the Chair must ensure that:

• The conference draws up a child in need plan or makes appropriate recommendations for a plan;
• The conference considers any local protocols in place referred to as 'step down procedures' or Family Group Conference processes.

9. The Child Protection Plan

Threshold for a Child Protection Plan

The conference should consider the following question when determining whether a child requires a multi-agency child/young person protection plan:

• Has the child/young person suffered significant harm? and
• Is the child/young person likely to suffer significant harm in the future?

The test for likelihood of suffering harm in the future should be that either:

• The child/young person can be shown to have suffered maltreatment or impairment of health or development as a result of neglect or physical, emotional or sexual abuse, and professional judgement is that further ill-treatment or impairment is likely; or
• A professional judgement, substantiated by the findings of enquiries in this individual case or by research evidence, predicts that the child/young person is likely to suffer maltreatment or the impairment of health and development as a result of neglect or physical, emotional or sexual abuse.

If a child/young person is likely to suffer significant harm, then they will require multi-agency help and intervention delivered through a formal child protection plan.

The primary purposes of this plan are to:

• Ensure the child/young person is safe from harm and prevent them from suffering further harm;
• Promote the child/young person's health and development; and
• Support the family and wider family members to safeguard and promote the welfare of their child/young person, provided it is in their best interests.

Decision that a Child/Young Person needs a Child Protection Plan

If a decision is taken that the child/young person has suffered, or is likely to suffer Significant Harm and hence in need of a Child Protection Plan, the Chair should determine which category of abuse or neglect the child/young person has suffered or is likely to suffer. The category used (that is physical, emotional, sexual abuse or neglect, see Recognising Abuse and Neglect Procedure for definitions) will indicate to those consulting the child/young person's social care record the primary presenting concerns at the time the child/young person became the subject of a Child Protection Plan.

The need for a protection plan should be considered separately in respect of each child/young person in the family or household.

Where a child is to be the subject of a child protection plan, the conference is responsible for recommendations on how agencies, practitioners and the family should work together to ensure that the child/young person will be safeguarded from harm in the future. This should enable both practitioners and the family to understand exactly what is expected of them and what they can expect of others.

The outline plan should:

• Describe specific, achievable, child-focused outcomes intended to safeguard each child/young person;
• Describe the types of services required by each child/young person (including family support) to promote their welfare;
• Set a timescale for the completion of the assessment, if appropriate;
• Identify any specialist assessments of each child/young person and the family that may be required to ensure that sound judgements are being/can be made on how best to safeguard each child/young person and promote their welfare;
• Clearly identify roles and responsibilities of practitioners and family members, including the nature and frequency of family time by practitioners with children/young people and their family members;
• Identify the resource implications for each agency as far as possible and determine the agency representation, who can commit agency resources, to the first core group meeting;
• Lay down points at which progress will be reviewed, the means by which progress will be measured and who will monitor this;
• Develop a robust contingency plan to respond if the family is unable to make the required changes and the child/young person continues to be at risk of significant harm (e.g. recommend the consideration of legal action and the circumstances which would trigger this).

10. Child/Young Person Does Not Require a Protection Plan

If the conference decides that a child/young person has not suffered, or is not likely to suffer Significant Harm then the conference may not make the child/young person the subject of a child protection plan. The child/young person may nevertheless require services to promote their health or development. In these circumstances, the conference should consider the child/young person's needs and make recommendations for further help and support to assist the family in responding to them. The conference should consider drawing up a child in need plan or recommending follow up by any local protocols in place referred to as 'step down procedures' or Family Group Conferences.

The decision must be put in writing to the parent/s, and agencies as well as communicated to them verbally.

Discontinuing a Current Child Protection Plan

The conference should use the same decision-making process to reach a judgement for when a protection plan is no longer needed. This includes situations where other multi-agency planning might need to replace a protection plan.

A child/young person may no longer need a protection plan if:

• A review conference assesses that the child/young person is no longer likely to suffer significant harm and no longer requires safeguarding by means of a child protection plan;
• The child/young person has moved permanently to another local authority when a protection plan can only cease after the receiving authority has convened a transfer child protection conference and confirmed in writing responsibility for case management;
• The child/young person has reached 18 years of age, has died or has been judged to have permanently left the UK, when their name can be removed.

It is permissible for the Child Protection manager to agree the discontinuing of a Child Protection Plan without the need to convene a Child Protection Review Conference only when:

• One or other of the latter two criteria in the paragraph above are satisfied; and
• The manager has consulted with relevant agencies present at the conference that first concluded that a Child Protection Plan was required.

In Bedford Borough Council a child protection plan can end outside of a review meeting where a dual consultation with the core group has taken place when a child is subject to a legal order and are in the care of the LA.

When the process carried out at in the paragraph above is followed, the consultation with other agencies and the decision to discontinue the Child Protection Plan must be clearly recorded in the children's social care child/young person's record.

When a child/young person is no longer subject of a Child Protection Plan, notification should be sent, as a minimum, to the agencies' representatives who were invited to attend the initial conference that led to the plan.

When a Child Protection Plan is discontinued, the social worker must discuss with the parents and child/young person what services might be needed and required, based on the re-assessment of the needs of the child/young person and their family. A Child in Need/Early Help Plan should be developed for any continuing support. The plan should be reviewed at regular intervals of no more than every 6 months.

11. Professional Dissent from the Conference Decision

If an agency does not agree with a decision or recommendation made at a child protection conference, their professional dissent will be recorded in the record of the conference. The procedures to apply the Escalation Procedures for professional disagreements should be implemented as soon as practicable after the conference has concluded.

12. Complaints by Children/Young People and/or Their Parents

Parents and, on occasion, children/young people, may have concerns about which they wish 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/young person became the subject of a child protection plan;
• A decision for the child/young person to become, to continue or not to become, the subject of a child protection plan.

Complaints about aspects of the functioning of conferences described above should be addressed to the conference Chair. Such complaints should be passed on to the Chair's manager in Children's social care and the local authority complaints manager. See Complaints Arising from Child Protection Conference.

Whilst a complaint is being considered, the decision made by the conference stands.

The outcome of a complaint will either be that a conference is re-convened under a different Chair, that a review conference is brought forward or that the status quo is confirmed along with a suitable explanation. The local procedures above and leaflets should be made accessible to parents and families.

Complaints about individual agencies, their performance and provision (or non-provision) of services should be responded to in accordance with the relevant agency's own complaints management process.

13. Administrative Arrangements for Child Protection Conferences

Children's social care is responsible for administering the child protection conference service and has clear arrangements for the organisation of child protection conferences including:

• Arrangements for sending out invitations to children, young people, parents and practitioners;
• Information leaflets for children, young people and their parents translated into appropriate languages. In Bedford Borough council all leaflets are able to be read aloud and read in a number of different languages.

All conferences are recorded by a dedicated person whose sole task within the conference is to provide a written record of proceedings in a consistent format. Alternatively, an audiotape or digital recording may be used in some circumstances.

The conference record, signed by the conference Chair, should be sent to all those who attended or were invited to the conference within 20 working days of the conference. Any amendments should be received within 1 week of receipt of record.

A copy of the conference record should be given to and discussed with the parents by the social worker within 20 working days. The conference Chair may decide that confidential material should be excluded from the parent's copy. The Decision letter should be sent to parents within 24 hours of the Conference taking place and after consideration of safety concerns e.g. in cases of domestic violence and abuse.

Where a friend, supporter or solicitor has been involved, the Chair should clarify with the parent whether a record should be provided for those individuals.

Relevant sections of the record should be explained to and discussed with the child/young person by the social worker.

The conference Chair should decide whether a child/young person should be given a copy of the record. The record may be supplied to a child/young person's legal representative on request.

In Bedford Borough Council each child over 5 years old will receive a child friendly plan specific to their needs. This is shared with the social worker following the conference for them to use in direct work with the child to support their understanding of their plan to protect them and reduce significant harm.

Where parents and/or their child/ren have a sensory disability or where English is not their first language, the social worker should ensure that they receive appropriate assistance to understand and make full use of the record. A family member should not be expected to act as an interpreter of spoken or signed language.

See Working with Interpreters and others with Special Communication Skills.

Conference records are confidential and should not be shared with third parties without the consent of either the conference Chair or an order of the court.

In criminal proceedings the police may reveal the existence of child protection records to the Crown Prosecution Service, and in care proceedings the records of the conference may be revealed in the court.

The record of the decisions of the child protection conference should be retained by the recipient agencies in accordance with their record retention policies.

Decision Letter

The outline plan, signed by the conference Chair, should be sent together with the decision letter, to all those who attended or were invited to the conference, including the parents and where appropriate the child/young person, within 1 working day of the conference. The letter should give details of conference decisions and recommendations, the name of the social worker and details about the right to complain. Safety concerns should be considered when sending any documents to parents particularly in cases involving domestic violence and abuse.

Managing and Providing Information about a Child/Young Person

Children's social care should designate an experienced social care manager who has responsibility for:

• Ensuring that records on children/young people who are subject of a child protection plan are kept up to date;
• Ensuring enquiries about children/young people about whom there are concerns or who are subject of child protection plans are recorded and reviewed in the context of the child/young person's known history;
• Managing notifications of movements of children/young people who are subject of a child protection plan, looked after children and other relevant children/young people moving into or out of the local authority area;
• Managing notifications of people who may pose a risk of significant harm to children/young people who are either identified within the local authority area or have moved into the local authority area;
• Managing requests for local authority checks to be made to ensure unsuitable people are prevented from working with children/young people. E.g. prospective child minders, foster carers etc.

Information on each child/young person known to children's social care should be kept up-to-date on the electronic record system. This information should always be confidential but accessible to legitimate enquirers. The details of enquirers should always be checked and recorded on the system before information is provided.

Appendices

Flowchart 5: Action Following a Strategy Meeting

Flowchart 6: What Happens After the Child Protection Conference

Further Information

Legislation, Statutory and Government Non-Statutory, Guidance

Working Together to Safeguard Children