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4.13 The Outline Child Protection Plan

Contents

  1. Responsibilities of the Conference
  2. Key Components of the Outline Child Protection Plan
  3. Core Group Membership
  4. Review Child Protection Conference


1.Responsibilities of the Conference

The Initial Child Protection Conference is responsible for agreeing an outline Child Protection Plan  detailing how agencies, professionals and the family are to work together to Safeguard and Promote the Welfare of the Child.

The Child Protection Plan  will be further detailed or expanded on by the Core Group (see The Child Protection Plan Procedure) following the Child Protection Conference.


2. Key Components of the Outline Child Protection Plan

The outline Child Protection Plan should:

  • identify factors associated with the likelihood of the child suffering Significant Harm and ways in which the child can be safeguarded through an inter-agency plan based on the current findings from the assessment, including information held by agencies on any previous involvement with the child and family
  • identify who will complete the Core Assessment
  • identify whether any specialist assessments are required to make further judgements on how to safeguard the child, including adoption support
  • establish short and longer term aims and objectives linked to preventing the child suffering harm or a recurrence of the harm suffered, meeting the child's developmental needs and promoting the child's welfare, including contact with family members
  • establish responsibility for actions - including actions by family members - and specify timescales
  • outline how progress will be monitored and evaluated against the planned outcomes set out in the plan
  • be clear about which professional is responsible for checking that the required changes have taken place, and what action will be taken, by whom, and when they have not.

The Chair of the Child Protection Conference will record the Recommendations and Outline Child Protection Plan agreed at the conference and confirm them in writing to the Lead Social Worker (see The Role of the Lead Social Worker and their Supervisor Procedure) within one working day.

It is the responsibility of those present at the Conference to take notes of the actions their agency is responsible for undertaking and report these back to their agency immediately after the Conference.


3. Core Group Membership

The Conference should also identify the membership of the Core Group, which should meet within 10 working days of the Conference, and agree the date of the initial meeting. If a date for the first Core Group cannot be agreed at the Conference the Chair of the Conference will record the latest date by which the Core Group should meet in the Outline Child Protection Plan.


4. Review Child Protection Conference

The Conference should agree a date for the first Child Protection Review Conference, within 3 months of the Initial Child Protection Conference and agree under what circumstances it may be appropriate to reconvene at an earlier date.

End