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Contents

1. Making a Decision about a Child Protection Plan
2. Where there is no Consensus within the Conference
3. The Lead Social Worker
4. Legal Proceedings
5. Looked After Children

1. Making a Decision about a Child Protection Plan

The Child Protection Conference should consider the following question when determining whether the child should be subject of a Child Protection Plan:

• The questions to ask as part of the decision-making process are: has the child suffered Significant Harm? Or is the child likely to suffer Significant Harm?

The test should be that either:

• the child can be shown to have suffered ill-treatment, or impairment of health, or development as a result of physical, emotional, sexual abuse, or neglect, and professional judgement is that further ill-treatment or impairment are likely;  or
• professional judgement, substantiated by the findings of enquiries in this individual case or by research evidence, is that the child is likely to suffer ill-treatment, or the impairment of health or development as a result of Physical Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Sexual Abuse or Neglect.

If the child is at continuing risk of Significant Harm, it will therefore be the case that safeguarding the child requires inter-agency help and intervention delivered through a formal Child Protection Plan.  It is also the role of the Initial Child Protection Conference to formulate the outline Child Protection Plan.

The decision that the child should be subject of a Child Protection Plan  is a decision for the Child Protection Conference. Children's Social Care will make a proposal to the Conference and other participants will be invited by the Chair to express their views.

The judgement of Conference participants should be based on all the available evidence obtained through existing records, the Initial Assessment and Core Assessment.

The decision as to whether  the child should be subject of a Child Protection Plan or not should be based on the views of all agencies and professionals represented at the Conference in person or in writing.

2. Where there is no Consensus within the Conference

Where the Conference cannot reach a consensus, the Chair of the Conference will decide on whether the child should be subject of a Child Protection Plan, based on the various views of members of the Conference and the Chair's view of whether the child is at continuing risk of Significant Harm.  Any dissenting views should be recorded in full.

The Chair of the Conference should determine which category of abuse or neglect the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering. The category used (i.e. Physical Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Sexual Abuse or Neglect), will indicate to those consulting the child's record the primary presenting concerns at the time the child became subject of a Child Protection Plan.

3. The Lead Social Worker

The conference must name a Lead Social Worker for any child who is subject of a Child Protection Plan .  In Knowsley, a Lead Social Worker will be named from Children's Social Care and should always be a social worker rather than Team Manager (see The Role of the Lead Social Worker and their Supervisor Procedure).

The decision of the Conference including, where appropriate, details of the category of abuse or neglect, the name of the Lead Social Worker, and the Core Group membership should be recorded in a manner that is consistent with the Initial Child Protection Conference Report  and circulated to all those invited to the conference within one working day by the Quality Assurance Unit.

The completed record of the Initial Child Protection Conference will be distributed by the Quality Assurance Unit to all those who were invited to attend within 28 days.

If the Conference decides that the child does not need to be subject of a Child Protection Plan, but a Child In Need Plan is necessary, this is recorded along with how the Plan will be put in to action and reviewed.  The notes will be distributed by the Quality Assurance Unit within 28 days.

4. Legal Proceedings

In some cases the level of Significant Harm will be such that legal proceedings have to be considered.  In such cases due consideration must be given to the concept of Significant Harm (see Section 3 of this manual - Significant Harm and Sources of Stress) and advice from a local authority legal representative must be sought.  A legal representative will usually attend an Initial Child Protection Conference in such cases.  However, where this is not possible, advice must be sought by the Conference Chair via the telephone before a decision is taken.

Where a child has suffered, or is likely to suffer, Significant Harm in the future it is the local authority's duty to consider the evidence and decide what, if any, legal action to take. The information presented to the Child Protection Conference should inform that decision-making process but it is for the local authority to consider whether it should initiate, for example, Care Proceedings.

There will be occasions in which a child is made subject of a Child Protection Plan in the knowledge that the Local Authority will seek to obtain Parental Responsibility through Care Proceedings. The Child Protection Plan  is intended to safeguard the child in the interim period until the Court determines whether the Local Authority should obtain such responsibility by the granting of an Interim Care Order.

5. Looked After Children

Where a Looked After Child is also subject to a Child Protection Plan, the next Child Protection Review Conference to take place once the child has become Looked After must consider the justification for the child being subject of both a Care Plan and a Child Protection Plan.

Where a child who is the subject of a child protection plan becomes Looked After, the Child Protection Plan should form part of the child's Care Plan.

A Child Protection Plan should only be necessary as a supplement if the child will be spending time in the household where the Significant Harm took place or with the adult responsible for the Significant Harm.

The timing of the Child Protection Review Conference should link with the Looked After Review to ensure that information from the Child Protection Review Conference is brought to the Looked After Review meeting and informs the overall care planning process. It is important to note that significant changes to the child's Care Plan can only be made at the Looked After Review meeting.

End