Child Protection Conferences

A child protection conference brings together family members (and the child/ren where appropriate), family network members / advocates and those professionals most involved with the child and family to make decisions about the child'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 child's birth.

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 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 in 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 judged 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 case;
• Should meet the child and 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’s needs, parental capacity, family and environmental context (including extra-familial contexts), and evidence of how the child 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 who is the subject of the conference;
• Share the conference information with the child and family beforehand (where appropriate);
• Prepare a report for the conference on the child and family which sets out and analyses what is known about the child and 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 from harm in the future, taking timely, effective action according to the plan agreed;
• Attend and present information about their understanding or the child’s needs, parental capacity, family, and environmental factors (including extra-familial contexts) and evidence of how the child 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 who is the subject of the conference.

 Safeguarding partners should:

• Monitor the effectiveness of child protection conference arrangements.

The Team Manager is responsible for making the decision to convene a child protection conference and the reasons for calling the conference (or not calling a conference following completion of a Section 47 Enquiry) must be recorded.

A conference should be convened, if requested by a professional supported by a senior manager / safeguarding lead, where there is disagreement about a decision not hold a conference. The professional disagreement / conflict resolution / Managing Professional Differences procedures should be applied, if agreement cannot be reached.

The conference chair will speak to the social worker/team manager at the earliest opportunity following the Initial Child Protection Conference being convened.

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

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

Note: Strategy Discussions must include all children within the household and not just the child who is subject to the concern. This will need to include children who spend regular periods of time in the family home. Any reason not to progress to conference for all children will need to be recorded within the Strategy Discussion/s47 Enquiry.

An initial child protection conference must be convened following a s47 enquiry to safeguard and promote the wellbeing of a child 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 enquiry was initiated; or
• Upon acceptance of a notification by another local authority that a child subject of a Child Protection Plan has become resident in the area.

Where there is delay, this must be reported to the Team Manager (including reasons for the delay) and the Team Manager must report this to the Operations Manager. Children's social care must ensure that risks of harm to the child are monitored and action taken to safeguard the child.

Conferences should routinely seek to establish / confirm the nationality and immigration status of children and 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. Further information can be found in the Pre-Birth Procedure.

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 a pre-birth assessment.

A pre-birth conference should be held where a s47 has been undertaken and established that there are potential risks arising from one or the other following circumstances:

• A pre-birth assessment gives rise to concerns that an unborn child may be at risk of significant harm;
• A previous child has died or been removed from parent/s as a result 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 who is a risk to children resides in the household or is known to be a regular visitor.

Other risk factors to be considered are:

• The impact of parental risk factors and vulnerabilities such as mental ill health, learning disabilities, drug and/or alcohol misuse and domestic abuse.

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 First Contact so that assessments are undertaken as early as possible in the pregnancy. This should be made from 12 weeks of pregnancy, dependent on the circumstances. See Concealed Pregnancies Procedure for additional guidance.

The pre-birth conference should take place as soon as practicable and no later than eight weeks before the due date of delivery, so as to allow as much time as possible for effective planning of 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, who is the subject of a child protection plan, moves from the original LA area to the Durham area as a permanent resident. First Contact, designated health professionals and the police should be notified promptly.

The transfer in conference should receive reports from the original Local Authority. The original authority will be invited to attend the conference which should take place within 15 working days of the decision to arrange a transfer in conference. Such a conference has the same status and purpose, and must consider whether the child protection plan should continue in Durham or whether there is no threshold to continue with the child protection plan in Durham.

Child Protection Review Conference

The 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 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, and the effectiveness and impact of action taken so far;
• Share the conference information with the child and 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. 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 in the household should be considered, even if concerns are only expressed about one child) if the child is considered to be suffering significant harm.

 All involved practitioners should:

• Attend, when invited, and provide details of their involvement with the child and 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’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 review child protection conference should be held within 91 days of the date of the initial child protection conference.

Further reviews should be held at intervals of not more than 183 days for as long as the child remains the subject of a child protection plan. If the initial conference was a pre-birth conference the review conference should take place within one month of the child's birth or within 91 days of the date of the pre-birth conference, whichever is sooner. Subsequent review conferences should take place within 183 days thereafter.

All review conferences should consider the timescales to meet the needs and safety of the child. 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 and the impact on the child of the concerns rather than any agency constraints.

Discussions should take place at the core group prior to the review conference about the continuing evidence of harm and the need for an ongoing child protection plan. If there is a view that the child protection plan should cease at the 3-month review the Social Worker/Team Manager will discuss and seek agreement with the relevant Operations Manager. The Social Worker/Team Manager will discuss any agreement to cease the Child Protection Plan at the 3-month review with the Conference Chair and provide the report to the Conference Chair at least seven working days in advance of the conference. Upon receipt, the Conference Chair will discuss the recommendation and seek agreement from the IRO Operations Manager and Strategic Manager in advance of the review conference. This does not include children who have become children in care.

Reviews should be brought forward where / when:

• Child protection concerns relating to a new incident or allegation of abuse have been sustained;
• The Core Group consider that there are significant difficulties in carrying out the child protection plan;
• A child is to be born into the household of a child or children already subject of child protection plans;
• An adult or child who poses a risk to children is to join, or commences regular contact with, the household;
• There is a significant change in the circumstances of the child or family not anticipated at the previous conference and with implications for the safety of the child;
• The core group believe that the threshold for a child protection plan is no longer met.

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

When a child becomes a Child in Care who is already subject to a Child Protection Plan, there should be a single planning and reviewing process, which will focus on the Child in Care Process. This will be led by the Conference Chair.

At the point of the child becoming a Child in Care, the Social Worker will alert the Conference Chair within one working day. The Social Worker will complete the relevant documentation on the child's electronic record. The Quality and Review Team will arrange a Dual Process Child in Care Review within 20 working days.

Statutory visits will be in line with Children in Care procedures.

Wherever possible, the social worker should arrange a core group meeting prior to the review to ensure that all multi-agency partners have an opportunity to understand the plan and give a view on whether they feel that the risks to the child have sufficiently reduced in the light of the child's Looked After status. Where it is not possible to hold a core group meeting, the Social Worker must consult with all those involved with the case.

Not all conference members will necessarily attend the Child in Care Review. However, it is important that they understand the plan for the child and that their views are known.

The Social Worker will complete the Child in Care Review document at least three working days prior to the Child in Care Review. They will not be required to complete the Child Protection Conference report.

The Social Worker will alert the Conference Chair once the Child in Care Review report is completed. Consideration must be given to ensuring that the multi-agency contribution to the review of the Child Protection Plan is addressed within the review of the Child in Care Care Plan.

Following the decisions being agreed at the end of the Child in Care Review the Conference Chair will consider whether the criteria continues to be met for the child to remain the subject of a Child Protection Plan. Children and young people should not be subject to both Child Protection and Child in Care Plans, unless there are exceptional circumstances which has been agreed by the Conference Chair and Strategic Managers from Families First and the Quality & Review Team.

The Quality and Review Team will inform in writing to those individuals invited to the Initial Child Protection Conference of the decision and reason to end the Child Protection Plan.

The Local Authority Legal Adviser will attend the Child Protection Conference where appropriate to gather information. Only in exceptional circumstances should the need to give advice arise during the conference.

Where appropriate, the social work team will seek advice from the Legal Adviser prior to the Child Protection Conference, with particular reference to issuing a letter before proceedings in accordance with the Public Law Outline or issuing care proceedings.

The Conference Chair may seek legal advice prior to the conference.

The Legal Adviser does not participate in the decision making of the conference. Once the decision has been made at conference, the Legal Adviser may in exceptional circumstances advise the Conference Chair whether the criteria for listing is or is not met.

If information is provided at the conference that requires the Local Authority to seek advice from the Legal Adviser, the conference should be adjourned or rearranged to allow the Local Authority to take the necessary advice. The Legal Adviser should then summarise the outcome of the discussion for the benefit of conference participants.

All agencies involving a student in the Child Protection process / conference where they have direct experience of the child and family, need to ensure that they are capable and sufficiently knowledgeable to take an active part and that their decisions are based on sound judgement and close monitoring / supervision. It also needs to be clear that students who attend as 'observers only' do not take any part in the reporting or decision making. The Conference Chair should be informed of this prior to the conference so that there is no misunderstanding about the student's ability and involvement in the case.

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

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

• Inform the Quality & Review Team;
• Submit a written report, which includes their safety scaling score and recommendation of the need for a Child Protection Plan;
• Arrange for a well-briefed agency representative to attend and present the report and inform the Conference Chair;
• Agencies are expected to share a written report with the family; at least two working days in advance for Initial Child Protection Conferences and seven working days in advance for Review Child Protection Conferences. See Section 8, Information for the Conference;
• All reports should be shared with all members of the Core Group within the timescale above.

Babies and young children should not normally be present during the conference. Parents should be assisted to make arrangements for their care where necessary.

The location and timing of the conference should be planned to ensure maximum attendance from the most critical attendees. Consideration will be given for participants to contribute virtually via video link. Every attempt should be made to schedule conferences at mutually convenient times for family and professionals. Children's social care should discuss with parents their child care provision to enable attendance at the conference.

Each agency is responsible for raising any health and safety issues and security arrangements with the Conference Chair and Lead Social Worker when planning each conference. See also Section 6, Exclusion of Family Members from a Conference.

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 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 certain cases, where a child 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 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.

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

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 proposed presence?
• Is inclusion assessed to be of benefit to the child?

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

• A (rebuttable) presumption that a child of less than 11 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 11 and over, a child 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 (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 to hear details of a parent's personal difficulties and a parent's view about this must be respected.

In such cases, the Social Worker should ensure that the child's wishes and feelings are effectively represented by means of an advocate and / or preparatory work.

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

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

If a child 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 raise any particular points that the child wishes to make.

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

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

Other methods include written statements, e-mails, text messages and recorded comments prepared alone or with independent support, and representation via an advocate. Further information can be found on the Toolkits & Guidance for Practitioners (see Local Documents).

Childcare professionals should all be able to represent a child's views and observations of younger children or children with disabilities and a particular responsibility falls upon the social worker to do so. It is more important that the child feels involved in the whole process of child protection assessment rather than merely receiving an invitation to the conference.

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 and family. This should include a danger statement, safety goal and safety plan.

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 in a family the report should consider the safeguarding needs of each child.

The pre-review report is the social worker updated assessment report.

The Initial Child Protection Conference report should include information on the dates the child was seen by the social worker during the course of the Section 47 enquiries, if the child was seen alone and if not, who was present and for what reasons.

All children 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 (if felt to be in their best interests) at least two working days in advance of the initial conferences and a minimum of seven working days before review conferences to enable any factual errors to be corrected and the family to ask questions or comment on the content.

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

Information by all agencies about their involvement with the family should be submitted in a written report (typed) for the conference. The information should not include other agency information, e.g. Police intelligence. The conference report should be clear and concise and include relevant information with reference to the impact on the child. Reports should be translated into the family's first language, if appropriate. The report should be available to the conference Chair and other attendees at least two working days in advance of the conference and at least seven working days for a review conference. All agencies should use their own agency's agreed conference report format. The report should be shared with the family and the child, if appropriate, prior to the conference (to the extent that it is believed to be in their interests).

Children and 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, 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 5, Involving Children and Family Members.

The Chair of a child protection conference will be a Independent Reviewing Officer. Wherever possible, the same person should also chair subsequent review child protection conferences in respect of a specific child.

If a decision is made that a child requires a protection plan to safeguard their wellbeing, the Chair should ensure that:

• The danger statement, complications and safety goals are discussed;
• 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 network and professionals;
• A date is set for the first core group meeting within ten 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, network and the child, (where appropriate);
• Identify the frequency of statutory visits (two weeks minimum);
• Identify the date of the Initial Child Protection Conference Monitoring Meeting (see Section 9, Monitoring Meeting below)

If the conference determines that a child does not need child protection plan the Chair must ensure that:

• The conference draws up a Family Plan;
• The conference considers step-down in line with the Single Assessment Procedures.

Independent Reviewing Officer process

• Conference Chair to speak to the Social Worker/Team Manager around their concerns and efforts to be made to resolve issues to enable the conference to go ahead. If issues are not resolved, the Conference Chair will record the rationale of their intention to stand down the conference on the child's electronic record;
• The Conference Chair will need to check deadlines for timescales before meeting is rearranged;
• The Conference Chair will email the Meetings Officer to rearrange the review.
  
  The Conference Chair to provide the deadline date and the reason for the meeting being rearranged;
• Meetings Officer will update the electronic record, the rearranged spreadsheet and rearrange review in timescale;
• Meetings Officer will alert IRO Operations Manager of any requests for meetings to be rearranged twice or with the potential to go out of timescale;
• Independent Reviewing Officer Operations Manager will monitor the rearranged performance data on a weekly basis.

Children's Social Care Process

• Social Worker will discuss with the Team Manager and Conference Chair should they consider that there is a need to stand down a RCPC;
• If deemed appropriate the Social Worker will seek permission from the appropriate Operations Manager;
• If agreed, the Social Worker will email the Meetings Officer within Quality & Review Team to rearrange the review. Social Worker to provide the deadline date and the reason for the meeting being rearranged. The Conference Chair is to be copied into the email.

Independent Reviewing Officer Service Process

Every effort should be made to enable a child protection conference to go ahead. There are some exceptional circumstances where this is not appropriate and there may be a need for the conference to take place outside of the required timescale.

• The Conference Chair to have a discussion with IRO Operations Manager. If deemed appropriate they will seek approval from Strategic Manager. If the IRO Operations Manager is not available the Conference Chair will speak to the IRO Strategic manager;
• If the Conference Chair is at the review and is unable to contact the Strategic Manager or Operations Manager they will need to make a decision whether the review should go ahead or whether the review needs to be rearranged outside of timescale;
• The Conference Chair will raise Dispute Resolution Process / Multi Agency Challenge if any non-compliance issues have led to meeting not going ahead;
• Meetings Officer will update the electronic record, where possible in a two week timescale, if not achievable at the earliest opportunity.

Children's Social Care Process

• Social Worker will discuss with Team Manager / Families First Operations Manager / Conference Chair. If agreed, permission will be sought from appropriate Strategic Manager;
• Social Worker will email the Meetings Officer within Quality & Review Team to rearrange the review. Social Worker to provide the deadline date and the reason for the meeting being rearranged. The Conference Chair is to be copied into the email;
• Social Worker will email the Meetings Officer within Quality & Review Team to rearrange the review. Social Worker to provide the deadline date and the reason for the meeting being rearranged. The Conference Chair is to be copied into the email.

Independent Reviewing Officer Service Process

• The Conference Chair will have discussions with the Social Worker/Team Manager around the concerns. They must discuss any other option available or support to enable the meeting to go ahead. If an agreement cannot be made, the Conference Chair will need to seek approval from the Strategic Manager to rearrange the Initial Child Protection Conference;
• The Conference Chair must record on the child's electronic record the rationale for not proceeding with the Initial Child Protection Conference and what plan has been agreed to safeguard the child and ensure the next meeting can progress;
• The Conference Chair to chair a pre-initial planning meeting if the ICPC is stood down on the day of the conference. The Team Manager is responsible for chairing pre-initial planning meeting if it is in advance of the planned ICPC. The minutes of the pre-initial planning meeting should be distributed to all invited to the original ICPC within five working days;
• The child's electronic case file to be updated to reflect this meeting and the minutes stored in line with policy and procedures.

Children's Social Care

• Social Worker will discuss with Team Manager / Operations Manager / Conference Chair. If agreed, permission will be sought from appropriate Strategic manager;
• Social Worker will email the Meetings Officer within Quality & Review Team to rearrange the review. Social Worker to provide the deadline date and the reason for the meeting being rearranged. The Conference Chair is to be copied into the email;
• Team Manager will chair a pre-initial planning meeting, if stood down prior to the scheduled day of the Initial Child Protection Conference.

The conference should consider the following question when determining whether a child requires a child protection plan:

• Has the child suffered significant harm? or
• Is the child likely to suffer significant harm?

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

• The child 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 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 is likely to suffer significant harm, then they will require multi-agency help and intervention delivered through a formal child protection plan. An outline Child Protection Plan is to be developed for the Initial Child Protection Conference.

The primary purpose of this plan is to:

• Ensure the child is safe from harm and prevent him or her from suffering further harm;
• Promote the child's health and development; and
• Support the family and wider family members to safeguard and promote the wellbeing of the child whilst in their care, provided it is in the best interests of the child.

Conference members must consider whether the criteria are met in respect of all children in the family or household, based on the information presented.

The decision-making process must take account of the views of all agencies represented at the conference and will normally take place with parents/carers present.

Any dissent must be fully recorded in the record of discussion. When this occurs, the Lead Social Worker must involve that agency in future decision-making and in the Child Protection Plan if the child is made subject to a Child Protection Plan.

If parents/carers dissent from the conference decision, the Chair must discuss the issue with them and explain their right to and the process for challenge.

If professionals dissent, this should be recorded and they should be advised to make representation through the appropriate route.

In exceptional circumstances, the Chair has the authority to override the majority/minority or consensus view of the members of the conference in relation to making a child subject of a Child Protection Plan. If this happens, the Chair's reasons should be fully recorded within the conference record and discussed with the Service Manager for Independent Reviewing Officers. The Conference Chair will provide a written response to the Families First Strategic Manager of their rationale to overturn the decision of the conference

If a decision is taken that the child 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 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's social care record the primary presenting concerns at the time the child became the subject of a Child Protection Plan.

The need for a protection plan should be considered separately in respect of each child 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, professionals, family and the network should work together to ensure that the child will be safeguarded from harm in the future. This should enable both professionals 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;
• Describe the types of services required by each child (including family support) to promote their safety and wellbeing;
• Set a timescale for the completion of the assessment, if appropriate;
• Identify any specialist assessments of each child and the family that may be required to ensure that sound judgements are being / can be made on how best to safeguard each child and promote their wellbeing;
• Clearly identify roles and responsibilities of professionals and family members, including the nature and frequency of contact by professionals with children and family members;
• Develop a robust contingency plan to respond if the family is unable to make the required changes and the child continues to be at risk of significant harm (e.g. recommend the consideration of legal action and the circumstances which would trigger this).

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 may no longer need a protection plan if:

• A review conference judges that the child is no longer likely to suffer significant harm and no longer requires safeguarding by means of a child protection plan;
• The child has become a Child in Care see Dual Process above;
• The child 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 has reached 18 years of age, has died or has been judged to have permanently left the UK, when their name can be removed.

When a child 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/ren what services might be needed, based on the re-assessment of the needs of the child and family. A Family Plan should be developed for any continuing support. The plan should be reviewed at regular intervals in line with the Single Assessment Procedures.