Child Protection Review Conferences

The purpose of a Child Protection Review Conference is:

To review whether the child is continuing to suffer, or is likely to suffer, Significant Harm, and review developmental progress against the Child Protection Plan outcomes.

To consider whether the child protection plan should continue or should be changed.

A Child Protection Review Conference is conducted as per the Initial Child Protection Conference (see Initial Child Protection Conferences Procedure).  

In order to consider discontinuing the Child Protection Plan the Child Protection Review meeting must be quorate (see Initial Child Protection Conferences, Quorum). Child protection plans should not be ended when significant assessments and pieces of work have not been completed.

A child should no longer be the subject of a Child Protection Plan if:

• A Child Protection Plan should not be closed at the first review unless it can be fully evidenced that all actions for all agencies have been completed. The below criteria must also be met;
• It is judged that the child is no longer at continuing risk of suffering Significant Harm requiring safeguarding by means of a Child Protection Plan (e.g. the likelihood of harm has been reduced by action taken through the Child Protection Plan; the child and family's circumstances have changed; all reassessment of the child and family indicates that a Child Protection Plan is not necessary). Under these circumstances, only a Child Protection Review Conference can decide that the Child Protection Plan is no longer necessary;
• Children subject to legal proceedings or becoming Looked After should not have dual plans unless in exceptional circumstances (see Initial Child Protection Conferences Procedure, If a Child is not Assessed as being in Need of a Child Protection Plan therefore a decision would need to be made on which plan continues. This is made either via a discussion between the Service Manager and Independent Chair or via a combined Child Protection Conference and Looked After Review meeting - see Notification to Agencies End of CP Plan;
• The child and family have moved permanently to another local authority area and this has been confirmed by the receiving local authority. In such cases, the receiving local authority should convene a Child Protection Conference within 15 working days of being notified of the move. Following the Child Protection case conference notification from the social worker to the child protection chair with the outcome of the conference. Only after this event may discontinuing the Child Protection Plan take place in respect of the original local authority's Child Protection Plan (see Arrangements for Children who are Subject to a Child Protection Plan Procedure and Children and Families Moving Across Local Authority Boundaries or Abroad Procedure;
• The child has reached 18 years of age (to end the Child Protection Plan, the local authority should have a review around the child's birthday and this should be planned in advance);
• If a child dies a letter is sent by the Independent Chair confirming that the Child Protection Plan is to be ended on the date the child died;

For those children who are believed to have permanently left the Country, the Social Worker must make all reasonable efforts to confirm the location of the child. Once confirmation is received a letter is sent by the Independent chair as a minimum, to all those agency representatives who were invited to attend the Child Protection Conference that led to the Child Protection Plan, advising that the CP plan is to be ended. In the interim, whilst the child's location remains unknown, if the Child Protection Review Conference is due, it should still go ahead and the plan should continue. If the child's whereabouts are not confirmed within a reasonable period of time a Head of Service will need to make a decision about ending the plan.

The Social Worker needs to notify parents and child where appropriate advising them of the decision.

1. Except in relation to 3 below, the first Review Conference should be held within 91 days of the date of the Initial Conference;
2. Further reviews must be held at intervals of not more than 183 days, for as long as the child requires a Child Protection Plan;
3. Where an unborn child has been identified as requiring a Child Protection Plan at a pre-birth conference, the first Review Conference should be scheduled to take place within 1 month of the child's birth or within 91 days of the pre-birth conference whichever is the sooner;
4. An early Review Conference should be considered in the following circumstances:
   1. Where there is a further incident or allegation of Significant Harm to a child with a Child Protection Plan;
   2. If the Child Protection Plan is failing to protect the child or if there are significant difficulties in carrying out the Plan;
   3. Where 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;
   4. Where the previous Conference was not quorate then the next conference must be held within a month of the non-quorate conference;
   5. If the plan is working really well and the core group via the Social Worker requests an early review to consider ending the plan.

Please see Initial Child Protection Conferences Procedure, Other Agency Reports to Conference and Before the Conference and At the Start of the Conference.

Attendees should include the Chair and Core Group members. The relevant Children's Services Service Manager should also attend the second review conference.

See Initial Child Protection Conferences Procedure. 

Members of the Initial Child Protection Conference will be informed at the end of the Conference of the date of the Review Conference, which will also be recorded in the minutes. Arrangements for convening the conference are the same as for an initial conference (see Initial Child Protection Conference Procedure, When an Initial Child Protection Conference Should be Convened).

The Meeting Support Assistant will be responsible for the preparation of the minutes (see Initial Child Protection Conference Procedure, Minutes of Child Protection Conferences).

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

If a Child Protection Review Conference decides that a child no longer requires a Child Protection Plan, the parents will be informed in person, if present at the meeting and in writing by the Independent Chair.

Any dissenting views or disagreements with this decision will be recorded in the minutes.

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

• If not, then the child should no longer be the subject of a Child Protection Plan (see Section 2, Criteria for Discontinuing the Child Protection Plan).

If the child has been subject to a Child Protection Plan for 18 months then the Independent Chair and Service Manager will need to meet and review concerns and progress (called an 18 month meeting). The 18 month meeting should be chaired by another Independent Chair to allow for increased independence. The Team Manager & Social Worker will be invited to this meeting. The meeting follows an agreed agenda to consider the initial reason for a Child Protection plan, progress and agree a way forward The meetings are minuted by a Safeguarding Support Advisor

The Independent Chair will have the same decision-making powers at the Child Protection Review Conference as at the Initial Child Protection Conferences - see Initial Child Protection Conference Procedure, The Decision Making Process. If the child remains subject to a Child Protection Plan consideration should be given to whether the category of harm still remains appropriate.

Where the Independent Chair considers in their professional judgement that the majority decision to be either:

• An unsatisfactory decision that the child should have a Child Protection Plan where, in the Chairs opinion, the criteria have not been met and/or such a plan is not necessary; or
• An unsatisfactory decision that the child does not require a Child Protection Plan where, in the Chairs opinion, the child would be at continuing risk of suffering significant harm if a Child Protection Plan was not in place the Local Safeguarding Children Partnership has authorised the Independent Chair to have final decision-making powers.

The Independent Chair must ensure that all members of the conference are clear about the conclusions reached, the decision taken and recommendations made, and that the conference minutes accurately reflect the discussions, the decision and, where relevant, the reasons for the Independent Chair exercising his or her decision-making powers.

Any dissent by professionals at the conference must be recorded in the conference minutes and refer to the Professional Resolution and Escalation Procedure dispute resolution process if needed.

Please refer to Initial Child Protection Conference Procedure, Minutes of Child Protection Conferences.

Appendix 1: CP Conference Invite Template

Appendix 2: Record of Meeting - Child Protection 18 Month Meeting