Child Protection Plans

When a conference decides that a child should be the subject of a Child Protection Plan, a qualified social worker must be appointed as the lead social worker to co-ordinate all aspects of the inter-agency Child Protection Plan.

The Child Protection Plan must make clear to the child, family, and all relevant professionals the exact nature of the concerns which resulted in the child requiring the plan.

The Child Protection Plan should set out what work needs to be done, why, when and by whom. The plan should also state what the expected outcomes are and what your contingency plan is.

The Child Protection Plan can be used as evidence in any legal proceedings of the services which have been put in place to work in partnership with the child and family to reduce the level of risk.

The Core Group is the forum to co-ordinate this multi-agency, collaborative work and the membership will have been identified at the Initial Child Protection Conference.

The aim of a Child Protection Plan is to:

• Ensure the child is safe from harm (including inside and outside of the home, and online) and prevent them from suffering further harm;
• Promote the child’s health and development;
• Support the parents, family, and the family network to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child;
• Set out the support and resources to be provided by each agency to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child.

A Child Protection Plan should be made accessible to parents and should clarify:

• What is expected of them as part of the plan for safeguarding the child;
• What needs to change and the contingency plan if change does not happen;
• What the intended outcomes of the intervention and services are.

The Child Protection Plan should take into consideration the wishes and feelings of the child, and the views of the parents. The lead social worker should make every effort to ensure that the child/ren and parents have a clear understanding of the planned outcomes.

The completed Child Protection Plan should be explained to the child in a manner which is in accordance with their age and understanding. A copy of the plan should be accessible to children/young people taking into account their age and understanding, and in their preferred language.

All parties should be clear about the respective roles and responsibilities of family members and different agencies in implementing the Child Protection Plan.

All agencies are responsible for the development and progress of the Child Protection Plan.

It is important that the role of the lead social worker is fully explained in preparation for at Initial Child Protection Conference.

The lead social worker should:

• Be the lead for multi-agency and multi-disciplinary work with the child and family, co-ordinating the contribution of family members, including through family group decision-making such as family group conferences, and practitioners into putting the child protection plan into effect;
• Support multi-agency and multi-disciplinary practitioners to contribute to the development of the outline child protection plan into a more detailed multi-agency plan and circulate to all relevant practitioners (and family where appropriate);
• Ensure the child protection plan is aligned and integrated with any associated offender risk management plan;
• Undertake direct work with the child and family in accordance with the child protection plan, taking into account the child’s wishes and feelings, and the views of the parents in so far as they are consistent with the child’s welfare. Children should be seen alone as per practice standards;
• Co-ordinate progress reviews against the planned outcomes set out in the plan, updating as required;
• Record decisions and actions agreed at core group meetings as well as the written views of those who were not able to attend and follow up those actions to ensure they take place;
• The child protection plan should be updated as necessary;
• Lead core group activity;
• Undertake visits to children and families as per practice standards, including seeing the children bedroom.

The Core Group is a multi agency network, responsible for developing and progressing of the Child Protection Plan, previously outlined at the conference. Agencies should ensure that all members of the Core Group undertake their shared roles and responsibilities. The role and purpose of the Core Group should be clarified at the initial Core Group and referred to in all subsequent meetings.

All members of the Core Group are jointly responsible for:

• Meeting within 10 working days from the initial child protection conference if the child is the subject of a child protection plan. Subsequent core group meetings should take place within every 6 weeks thereafter;
• Further developing the outline child protection plan, based on assessment findings, and set out what needs to change, by how much, and by when in order for the child to be safe and have their needs met;
• Deciding what steps need to be taken, and by whom, to complete the in-depth assessment to inform decisions about the child’s safety and welfare;
• Sharing information about relevant multi-agency and multi-disciplinary resources and services available, agree what should be provided to the child and parents as part of the plan and how this will be funded. Practitioners should agree how impact will be assessed;
• Progressing the child protection plan and taking joint responsibility for carrying out the agreed tasks, monitoring progress and outcomes, and refining the plan as needed.

Core group members:

Members of the Core Group will have been identified at the Initial Child Protection Conference, usually:

• The lead social worker;
• The child if appropriate;
• Parents and relevant family members;
• Professionals involved with the child or parent;

In the event of a child protection plan not progressing as expected, core group members should discuss and agree the next steps (contingency planning and escalation processes).

The child protection chair should be informed in the event of a child protection plan not progressing or in the event of a significant incident.