Chapter 1: Assessing need and providing help (2024)

Early help

1.

Providing early help is more effective in promoting the welfare of children than reacting later. Early help means providing support as soon as a problem emerges, at any point in a child’s life, from the foundation years through to the teenage years. Early help can also prevent further problems arising; for example, if it is provided as part of a support plan where a child has returned home to their family from care, or in families where there are emerging parental mental health issues or drug and alcohol misuse.

2.

3.

Identifying children and families who would benefit from early help

4.

Local organisations and agencies should have in place effective ways to identify emerging problems and potential unmet needs of individual children and families. Local authorities should work with organisations and agencies to develop joined-up early help services based on a clear understanding of local needs. This requires all practitioners, including those in universal services and those providing services to adults with children, to understand their role in identifying emerging problems and to share information with other practitioners to support early identification and assessment.

5.

Multi-agency training will be important in supporting this collective understanding of local need and the services available to support children and young people. Practitioners working in both universal services and specialist services have a responsibility to identify the symptoms and triggers of abuse and neglect, to share that information and provide children with the help they need. To be effective, practitioners need to continue to develop their knowledge and skills in this area and be aware of the new and emerging threats, including online abuse, grooming, sexual exploitation, child criminal exploitation and radicalisation. Practitioners should also continue to develop their understanding of domestic abuse, which includes controlling and coercive behaviour from perpetrators of domestic abuse, and the impact this has on children. To enable this, the three safeguarding partners should consider what training is needed locally and how they will monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of any training they commission.

6.

7.

In schools, it is important that staff are aware that mental health problems can, in some cases, be an indicator that a child has suffered or is at risk of suffering abuse, neglect or exploitation. Only appropriately trained professionals should attempt to make a diagnosis of a mental health problem, however school staff are well placed to observe children day-to-day and identify those whose behaviour suggests that they may be experiencing a mental health problem or be at risk of developing one. Where children have suffered abuse and neglect, or other potentially traumatic adverse childhood experiences, this can have a lasting impact throughout childhood, adolescence and into adulthood. It is key that school staff are aware of how these children’s experiences can impact on their mental health, behaviour and education.

Effective assessment of the need for early help

8.

Children and families may need support from a wide range of local organisations and agencies. Where a child and family would benefit from co-ordinated support from more than one organisation or agency (e.g. education, health, housing, police) there should be an inter-agency assessment. These early help assessments should be evidence-based, be clear about the action to be taken and services to be provided and identify what help the child and family require to prevent needs escalating to a point where intervention would be needed through a statutory assessment under the Children Act 1989.

9.

A lead practitioner should undertake the assessment, provide help to the child and family, act as an advocate on their behalf and co-ordinate the delivery of support services. A GP, family support worker, school nurse, teacher, health visitor and/or special educational needs co-ordinator could undertake the lead practitioner role. Decisions about who should be the lead practitioner should be taken on a case-by-case basis and should be informed by the child and their family.

10.

Provision of effective early help services

11.

The provision of early help services should form part of a continuum of support to respond to the different levels of need of individual children and families.

12.

Local areas should have a comprehensive range of effective, evidence-based services in place to address assessed needs early. The early help on offer should draw upon any local assessment of need, including the JSNA and the latest evidence of the effectiveness of early help programmes. In addition to high quality support in universal services, specific local early help services will typically include family and parenting programmes, assistance with health issues, including mental health, responses to emerging thematic concerns in extra-familial contexts, and help for emerging problems relating to domestic abuse, drug or alcohol misuse by an adult or a child. Services may also focus on improving family functioning and building the family’s own capability to solve problems. This should be done within a structured, evidence-based framework involving regular review to ensure that real progress is being made. Some of these services may be delivered to parents but should always be evaluated to demonstrate the impact they are having on the outcomes for the child.

Accessing help and services

13.

Where a child’s need is relatively low level, individual services and universal services may be able to take swift action. Where there are more complex needs, help may be provided under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 (children in need). Where there are child protection concerns (reasonable cause to suspect a child is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm) local authority social care services must make enquiries and decide if any action must be taken under Section 47 of the Children Act 1989.

14.

15.

16.

Referral

17.

Anyone who has concerns about a child’s welfare should make a referral to local authority children’s social care and should do so immediately if there is a concern that the child is suffering significant harm or is likely to do so. Practitioners who make a referral should always follow up their concerns if they are not satisfied with the response.

18.

Local authority children’s social care has the responsibility for clarifying the process for referrals. This includes specific arrangements for referrals in areas where there are secure youth establishments.

19.

Within local authorities, children’s social care should act as the principal point of contact for safeguarding concerns relating to children. As well as protocols for practitioners working with children and families, contact details should be signposted clearly so that children, parents and other family members are aware of who they can contact if they wish to make a referral, require advice and/or support.

20.

Where a child or young person is admitted to a mental health facility, practitioners should consider whether a referral to local authority children’s social care is necessary.

21.

When practitioners refer a child, they should include any information they have on the child’s developmental needs, the capacity of the child’s parents or carers to meet those needs and any external factors that may be undermining their capacity to parent. This information may be included in any assessment, including an early help assessment, which may have been carried out prior to a referral into local authority children’s social care. Where an early help assessment has already been undertaken, it should be used to support a referral to local authority children’s social care; however, this is not a prerequisite for making a referral.

22.

23.

Feedback should be given by local authority children’s social care to the referrer on the decisions taken. Where appropriate, this feedback should include the reasons why a case may not meet the statutory threshold and offer suggestions for other sources of more suitable support. Practitioners should always follow up their concerns if they are not satisfied with the local authority children’s social care response and should escalate their concerns if they remain dissatisfied.

24.

25.

Practitioners should be proactive in sharing information as early as possible to help identify, assess and respond to risks or concerns about the safety and welfare of children, whether this is when problems are first emerging, or where a child is already known to local authority children’s social care (e.g. they are being supported as a child in need or have a child protection plan). Practitioners should be alert to sharing important information about any adults with whom that child has contact, which may impact the child’s safety or welfare.

26.

Information sharing is also essential for the identification of patterns of behaviour when a child is at risk of going missing or has gone missing, when multiple children appear associated to the same context or locations of risk, or in relation to children in the secure estate where there may be multiple local authorities involved in a child’s care. It will be for local safeguarding partners to consider how they will build positive relationships with other local areas to ensure that relevant information is shared in a timely and proportionate way.

27.

28.

Statutory requirements for children in need

Homelessness Duty

29.

The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 significantly reformed England’s homelessness legislation by placing duties on local authorities to intervene at earlier stages to prevent homelessness in their areas.

30.

It added section 213B into the Housing Act 1996, which is a duty on certain public authorities to refer to a housing authority service users they consider are or may be homeless or threatened with homelessness (i.e. it is likely they will become homeless within 56 days).

31.

The duty to refer applies to all social services functions, including early help, leaving care and child protection; and is intended to increase early identification and intervention, which is critical for safeguarding against homelessness. Earlier intervention can help prevent children and young people becoming homeless, and the possibility of them being considered ‘intentionally homeless’ and so not owed a long-term housing duty.

32.

33.

34.

Full guidance can be found in the Homelessness Code of Guidance. Further guidance on how social care and housing authorities should work together to prevent 16- 17 year olds from becoming homeless, and how the duty to refer should operate in this context, can be found in the ‘Prevention of homelessness and provision of accommodation for 16 and 17 year old young people who may be homeless and/or require accommodation’ guidance.

Assessment of disabled children and their carers

35.

36.

If a local authority considers that a parent carer of a disabled child (see Appendix A: Glossary) may have support needs, it must carry out an assessment under Section 17ZD of the Children Act 1989. The local authority must also carry out such an assessment if a parent carer requests one. Such an assessment must consider whether it is appropriate for the parent carer to provide, or continue to provide, care for the disabled child, in light of the parent carer’s needs and wishes.

Assessment of young carers

37.

Assessment of children in secure youth establishments

38.

39.

Assessment of risk outside the home

40.

41.

Assessments of children in such cases should consider whether wider environmental factors are present in a child’s life and are a threat to their safety and/or welfare. Children who may be alleged perpetrators should also be assessed to understand the impact of contextual issues on their safety and welfare. Interventions should focus on addressing these wider environmental factors, which are likely to be a threat to the safety and welfare of a number of different children who may or may not be known to local authority children’s social care. Assessments of children in such cases should consider the individual needs and vulnerabilities of each child. They should look at the parental capacity to support the child, including helping the parents and carers to understand any risks and support them to keep children safe and assess potential risk to the child.

42.

43.

The Children Act 1989 promotes the view that all children and their parents should be considered as individuals and that family structures, culture, religion, ethnic origins and other characteristics should be respected. Local authorities should ensure they support and promote fundamental British values, of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

44.

The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 contains a duty on specified authorities in England, Wales and Scotland to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism.

Purpose of assessment

45.

Local protocols for assessment

46.

Local authorities, with their partners, should develop and publish local protocols for assessment. A local protocol should set out clear arrangements for how cases will be managed once a child is referred into local authority children’s social care and be consistent with the requirements of this statutory guidance. The detail of each protocol will be led by the local authority in discussion and agreement with the safeguarding partners and relevant agencies where appropriate.

47.

The local authority is publicly accountable for this protocol and all organisations and agencies have a responsibility to understand their local protocol.

48.

The local protocol should reflect where assessments for some children will require particular care. This is especially so for young carers, children with special educational needs (including to inform and be informed by Education, Health and Care Plans), unborn children where there are concerns, children in hospital, children in mental health inpatient settings, children with specific communication needs, asylum seeking children, children considered at risk of gang activity and association with organised crime groups, children at risk of female genital mutilation, children who are in the youth justice system, and children returning home.

49.

Where a child has other assessments, it is important that these are co-ordinated so that the child does not become lost between the different organisational procedures. There should be clear procedures for how these organisations and agencies will communicate with the child and family, and the local protocol for assessment should clarify how organisations and agencies and practitioners undertaking assessments and providing services can make contributions.

50.

The principles and parameters of a good assessment

51.

Assessment should be a dynamic process, which analyses and responds to the changing nature and level of need and/or risk faced by the child from within and outside their family. It is important that the impact of what is happening to a child is clearly identified and that information is gathered, recorded and checked systematically, and discussed with the child and their parents/carers where appropriate.

52.

53.

Good assessments support practitioners to understand whether a child has needs relating to their care or a disability and/or is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. The specific needs of disabled children and young carers should be given sufficient recognition and priority in the assessment process[25].

54.

The local authority should act decisively to protect the child from abuse and neglect including initiating care proceedings where existing interventions are insufficient[26]. Where an assessment in these circ*mstances identifies concerns but care proceedings are not initiated, the assessment should provide a valuable platform for ongoing engagement with the child and their family.

55.

Where a child becomes looked-after, the assessment will be the baseline for work with the family. Any needs that have been identified should be addressed before decisions are made about the child's return home. Assessment by a social worker is required before a looked after child under a care order returns home[27]. This will provide evidence of whether the necessary improvements have been made to ensure the child's safety when they return home. Following an assessment, appropriate support should be provided for children returning home, including where that return home is unplanned, to ensure that children continue to be adequately safeguarded.

56.

In order to carry out good assessments, social workers should have the relevant knowledge and skills set out in the Knowledge and Skills Statements for child and family social work[28].

57.

Social workers should have time to complete assessments and have access to high quality practice supervision. Principal social workers should support social workers, the local authority and partners to develop their assessment practice and decision-making skills, and the practice methodology that underpins this.

58.

59.

Focusing on the needs and views of the child

60.

Every assessment should reflect the unique characteristics of the child within their family and community context. Each child whose referral has been accepted by children’s social care should have their individual needs assessed, including an analysis of the parental capacity to meet those needs whether they arise from issues within the family or the wider community. Frequently, more than one child from the same family is referred and siblings within the family should always be considered. Family assessments that include all members of the family should always ensure that the needs of individual children are distinct considerations.

61.

62.

Every assessment, including young carer, parent carer and non-parent carer assessments, should draw together relevant information gathered from the child and their family and from relevant practitioners including teachers and school staff, early years workers, health practitioners, the police and adult social care. Where a child has been looked-after and has returned home, information from previous assessments and case records should also be reviewed.

Developing a clear analysis

63.

The social worker should analyse all the information gathered from the assessment, including from a young carer’s, parent carer’s or non-parent carer’s assessment, to decide the nature and level of the child’s needs and the level of risk, if any, they may be facing. The social worker should receive insight and challenge to their emerging hypothesis from their practice supervisors and other relevant practitioners who should challenge the social worker’s assumptions as part of this process. An informed decision should be taken on the nature of any action required and which services should be provided. Social workers, their managers and other practitioners should be mindful of the requirement to understand the level of need and risk in, or faced by, a family from the child’s perspective and plan accordingly, understanding both protective and risk factors the child is facing. The analysis should inform the action to be taken which will have maximum impact on the child’s welfare and outcomes.

64.

No system can fully eliminate risk. Understanding risk involves judgment and balance. To manage risks, social workers and other practitioners should make decisions with the best interests of the child in mind, informed by the evidence available and underpinned by knowledge of child development.

65.

Critical reflection through supervision should strengthen the analysis in each assessment.

66.

A desire to think the best of adults and to hope they can overcome their difficulties should not subvert the need to protect children from chaotic, abusive and neglectful homes. Social workers and practice supervisors should always reflect the latest research on the impact of abuse and neglect and relevant findings from serious case and practice reviews when analysing the level of need and risk faced by the child. This should be reflected in the case recording.

67.

68.

A social worker may arrive at a judgment early in the case but this may need to be revised as the case progresses and further information comes to light. It is a characteristic of skilled practice that social workers revisit their assumptions in the light of new evidence and take action to revise their decisions in the best interests of the individual child.

69.

Decision points and review points involving the child and family and relevant practitioners should be used to keep the assessment on track. This is to ensure that help is given in a timely and appropriate way and that the impact of this help is analysed and evaluated in terms of the improved outcomes and welfare of the child.

Focusing on outcomes

70.

Every assessment should be focused on outcomes, deciding which services and support to provide to deliver improved welfare for the child.

71.

Where the outcome of the assessment is continued local authority children’s social care involvement, the social worker should agree a plan of action with other practitioners and discuss this with the child and their family. The plan should set out what services are to be delivered, and what actions are to be undertaken, by whom and for what purpose.

72.

73.

The plan should be reviewed regularly to analyse whether sufficient progress has been made to meet the child’s needs and the level of risk faced by the child. This will be important for neglect cases where parents and carers can make small improvements. The test should be whether any improvements in adult behaviour are sufficient and sustained. Social workers should consider the need for further action and record their decisions. The review points should be agreed by the social worker with other practitioners and with the child and family to continue evaluating the impact of any change on the welfare of the child.

74.

Effective practitioner supervision can play a critical role in ensuring a clear focus on a child’s welfare. Supervision should support practitioners to reflect critically on the impact of their decisions on the child and their family. The social worker should review the plan for the child. They should ask whether the help given is leading to a significant positive change for the child and whether the pace of that change is appropriate for the child. Practitioners working with children should always have access to colleagues to talk through their concerns and judgments affecting the welfare of the child. Assessment should remain an ongoing process, with the impact of services informing future decisions about action.

75.

Timeliness

76.

The timeliness of an assessment is a critical element of the quality of that assessment and the outcomes for the child. The speed with which an assessment is carried out after a child’s case has been referred into local authority children’s social care should be determined by the needs of the individual child and the nature and level of any risk of harm they face. This will require judgments to be made by the social worker on each individual case. Adult assessments, for example, parent carer or non-parent carer assessments, should also be carried out in a timely manner, consistent with the needs of the child.

77.

Once the referral has been accepted by local authority children’s social care, the lead practitioner role falls to a social worker. The social worker should clarify with the referrer, when known, the nature of the concerns and how and why they have arisen.

78.

79.

Where requested to do so by local authority children’s social care, practitioners from other parts of the local authority such as housing and those in health organisations have a duty to co-operate under section 27 of the Children Act 1989 by assisting the local authority in carrying out its children’s social care functions.

80.

The child and family must be informed of the action to be taken, unless a decision is taken on the basis that this may jeopardise a police investigation or place the child at risk of significant harm.

81.

82.

The maximum timeframe for the assessment to conclude, such that it is possible to reach a decision on next steps, should be no longer than 45 working days from the point of referral. If, in discussion with a child and their family and other practitioners, an assessment exceeds 45 working days, the social worker should record the reasons for exceeding the time limit.

83.

Whatever the timescale for assessment, where particular needs are identified at any stage of the assessment, social workers should not wait until the assessment reaches a conclusion before commissioning services to support the child and their family. In some cases, the needs of the child will mean that a quick assessment will be required.

84.

It is the responsibility of the social worker to make clear to children and families how the assessment will be carried out and when they can expect a decision on next steps. Local authorities should determine their local assessment processes through a local protocol.

Processes for managing individual cases

85.

Flow chart 1: Action taken when a child is referred to local authority children's social care services

Flow chart 2: Immediate protection

Assessment of a child under the Children Act 1989

Following acceptance of a referral by the local authority children’s social care, a social worker should lead a multi-agency assessment under section 17 of the Children Act 1989. Local authorities have a duty to ascertain the child’s wishes and feelings and take account of them when planning the provision of services. Assessments should be carried out in a timely manner reflecting the needs of the individual child, as set out in this chapter.

Where the local authority children’s social care decides to provide services, a multi- agency child in need plan should be developed which sets out which organisations and agencies will provide which services to the child and family. The plan should set clear measurable outcomes for the child and expectations for the parents. The plan should reflect the positive aspects of the family situation as well as the weaknesses.

Where a child in need has moved permanently to another local authority area, the original authority should ensure that all relevant information (including the child in need plan) is shared with the receiving local authority as soon as possible. The receiving local authority should consider whether support services are still required and discuss with the child and family what might be needed, based on a timely re-assessment of the child’s needs, as set out in this chapter. Support should continue to be provided by the original local authority in the intervening period. The receiving authority should work with the original authority to ensure that any changes to the services and support provided are managed carefully.

Where a child in need is approaching 18 years of age, this transition point should be planned for in advance. This includes where children are likely to transition between child and adult services.

Where information gathered during an assessment (which may be very brief) results in the social worker suspecting that the child is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm, the local authority should hold a strategy discussion to enable it to decide, with other agencies, whether it must initiate enquiries under section 47 of the Children Act 1989.

Purpose:

Assessments should determine whether the child is in need, the nature of any services required and whether any specialist assessments should be undertaken to assist the local authority in its decision-making.

Social workers should:

• Lead on an assessment and complete it in line with the locally agreed protocol according to the child’s needs and within 45 working days from the point of referral into local authority children’s social care;
• See the child within a timescale that is appropriate to the nature of the concerns expressed at referral, according to an agreed plan;
• Conduct interviews with the child and family members, separately and together as appropriate. Initial discussions with the child should be conducted in a way that minimises distress to them and maximises the likelihood that they will provide accurate and complete information, avoiding leading or suggestive questions;
• Record the assessment findings and decisions and next steps following the assessment;
• Inform, in writing, all the relevant agencies and the family of their decisions and, if the child is a child in need, of the plan for providing support;
• Inform the referrer of what action has been or will be taken.

The police should:

• Assist other organisations and agencies to carry out their responsibilities where there are concerns about the child’s welfare, whether or not a crime has been committed. If a crime has been committed, the police should be informed by the local authority children’s social care.

All involved practitioners should:

• Be involved in the assessment and provide further information about the child and family;
• Agree further action including what services would help the child and family and inform local authority children’s social care if any immediate action is required;
• Seek advice and guidance as required and in line with local practice guidance.

Flow chart 3: Action taken for an assessment of a child under the Children Act 1989

Strategy discussion

Whenever there is reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm there should be a strategy discussion involving local authority children’s social care (including the residential or fostering service, if the child is looked-after), the police, health and other bodies such as the referring agency. This might take the form of a multi-agency meeting or phone calls and more than one discussion may be necessary. A strategy discussion can take place following a referral or at any other time, including during the assessment process and when new information is received on an already open case.

Purpose:

Local authority children’s social care should convene a strategy discussion to determine the child’s welfare and plan rapid future action if there is reasonable cause to suspect the child is suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm.

Strategy discussion attendees:

A local authority social worker, health practitioners and a police representative should, as a minimum, be involved in the strategy discussion. Other relevant practitioners will depend on the nature of the individual case but may include:

• The practitioner or agency which made the referral;
• The child’s school or nursery;
• Any health or care services the child or family members are receiving.

All attendees should be sufficiently senior to make decisions on behalf of their organisation and agencies.

Strategy discussion tasks:

The discussion should be used to:

• Share available information;
• Agree the conduct and timing of any criminal investigation;
• Decide whether enquiries under section 47 of the Children Act 1989 must be undertaken.

Where there are grounds to initiate an enquiry under section 47 of the Children Act 1989, decisions should be made as to:

• What further information is needed if an assessment is already underway and how it will be obtained and recorded;
• What immediate and short-term action is required to support the child, and who will do what by when.
• Whether legal action is required

The timescale for the assessment to reach a decision on next steps should be based upon the needs of the individual child, consistent with the local protocol and no longer than 45 working days from the point of referral into local authority children’s social care.

The principles and parameters for the assessment of children in need at chapter 1 paragraph 40 should be followed for assessments undertaken under section 47 of the Children Act 1989.

Social workers should:

Convene the strategy discussion and make sure it:

• Considers the child’s welfare and safety, and identifies the level of risk faced by the child;
• Decides what information should be shared with the child and family (on the basis that information is not shared if this may jeopardise a police investigation or place the child at risk of significant harm);
• Agrees what further action is required, and who will do what by when, where an EPO is in place or the child is the subject of police powers of protection;
• Records agreed decisions in accordance with local recording procedures;
• Follows up actions to make sure what was agreed gets done.

Health practitioners should:

• Advise about the appropriateness or otherwise of medical assessments, and explain the benefits that arise from assessing previously unmanaged health matters that may be further evidence of neglect or maltreatment;
• Provide and co-ordinate any specific information from relevant practitioners regarding family health, maternity health, school health mental health, domestic abuse and violence and substance misuse to assist strategy and decision making;
• Secure additional expert advice and support from named and/or designated professionals for more complex cases following preliminary strategy discussions;
• Undertake appropriate examinations or observations, and further investigations or tests, to determine how the child’s health or development may be impaired.

The police should:

• Discuss the basis for any criminal investigation and any relevant processes that other organisations and agencies might need to know about, including the timing and methods of evidence gathering;
• Lead the criminal investigation (local authority children’s social care have the lead for the section 47 enquires and assessment of the child’s welfare) where joint enquiries take place.

Flow chart 4: Action following a strategy discussion

Initiating section 47 enquiries

A section 47 enquiry is carried out by undertaking or continuing with an assessment in accordance with the guidance set out in this chapter and following the principles and parameters of a good assessment.

Local authority social workers should lead assessments under section 47 of the Children Act 1989. The police, health practitioners, teachers and school staff and other relevant practitioners should help the local authority in undertaking its enquiries.

Purpose:

A section 47 enquiry is initiated to decide whether and what type of action is required to safeguard and promote the welfare of a child who is suspected of or likely to be suffering significant harm.

Social workers should:

• Lead the assessment in accordance with this guidance;
• Carry out enquiries in a way that minimises distress for the child and family;
• See the child who is the subject of concern to ascertain their wishes and feelings; assess their understanding of their situation; assess their relationships and circ*mstances more broadly;
• Interview parents/carers and determine the wider social and environmental factors that might impact on them and their child;
• Systematically gather information about the child’s and family’s history;
• Analyse the findings of the assessment and evidence about what interventions are likely to be most effective with other relevant practitioners;
• Determine the child’s needs and the level of risk of harm faced by the child to inform what help should be provided and act to provide that help;
• Follow the guidance set out in ‘Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal Proceedings: Guidance on interviewing victims and witnesses, and guidance on using special measures’, where a decision has been made to undertake a joint interview of the child as part of any criminal investigation[35].

[35] Ministry of Justice Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal Proceedings: Guidance on interviewing victims and witnesses, and guidance on using special measures (2011).

The police should:

• Help other organisations and agencies understand the reasons for concerns about the child’s safety and welfare;
• Decide whether or not police investigations reveal grounds for instigating criminal proceedings;
• Make available to other practitioners any evidence gathered to inform discussions about the child’s welfare;
• Follow the guidance set out in ‘Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal Proceedings: Guidance’ on interviewing victims and witnesses, and guidance on using special measures, where a decision has been made to undertake a joint interview of the child as part of the criminal investigations.

Health practitioners should:

• Provide any of a range of specialist assessments. For example, paediatric or forensic medical assessments, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and/or child psychologists may be involved in specific assessments relating to the child’s developmental progress. The lead health practitioner (probably a consultant paediatrician, or possibly the child’s GP) may need to request and co- ordinate these assessments;
• Ensure appropriate treatment and follow up health concerns, such as administration of missing vaccines.

All involved practitioners should:

• Contribute to the assessment as required, providing information about the child and family;
• Consider whether a joint enquiry/investigation team may need to speak to a child victim without the knowledge of the parent/carers;
• Seek advice and guidance as required and in line with local practice guidance.

Outcome of section 47 enquiries

Local authority social workers are responsible for deciding what action to take and how to proceed following section 47 enquiries.

If local authority children’s social care decides not to proceed with a child protection conference then other practitioners involved with the child and family have the right to request that local authority children’s social care convene a conference if they have serious concerns that a child’s welfare may not be adequately safeguarded. As a last resort, the safeguarding partners should have in place a quick and straightforward means of resolving differences of opinion.

Where concerns of significant harm are not substantiated:

Social workers should:

• Discuss the case with the child, parents and other practitioners;
• Determine whether support from any services may be helpful and help secure it;
• Consider whether the child’s health and development should be re-assessed regularly against specific objectives and decide who has responsibility for doing this.

All involved practitioners should:

• Participate in further discussions as necessary;
• Contribute to the development of any plan as appropriate;
• Provide services as specified in the plan for the child;
• Review the impact of services delivered as agreed in the plan;
• Seek advice and guidance as required and in line with local practice guidance.

Where concerns of significant harm are substantiated and the child is judged to be suffering or likely to suffer significant harm:

Social workers should:

• Convene an initial child protection conference (see next section for details). The timing of this conference should depend on the urgency of the case and respond to the needs of the child and the nature and severity of the harm they may be facing. The initial child protection conference should take place within 15 working days of a strategy discussion, or the strategy discussion at which section 47 enquiries were initiated if more than one has been held;
• Consider whether any practitioners with specialist knowledge should be invited to participate;
• Ensure that the child and their parents understand the purpose of the conference and who will attend;
• Help prepare the child if they are attending or making representations through a third party to the conference. Give information about advocacy agencies and explain that the family may bring an advocate, friend or supporter.

All involved practitioners should:

• Contribute to the information their agency provides ahead of the conference, setting out the nature of the organisation’s or agency’s involvement with the child and family;
• Consider, in conjunction with the police and the appointed conference Chair, whether the report can and should be shared with the parents and if so when;
• Attend the conference and take part in decision making when invited;
• Seek advice and guidance as required and in line with local practice guidance.

Initial child protection conferences

Following section 47 enquiries, an initial child protection conference brings together family members (and the child where appropriate), with the supporters, advocates and practitioners 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.

Purpose:

To bring together and analyse, in an inter-agency setting, all relevant information and plan how best to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child. It is the responsibility of the conference to make recommendations on how organisations and agencies work together to safeguard the child in future. 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 a qualified, experienced social worker 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 purpose and the process.

Social workers should:

• Convene, attend and present information about the reason for the conference, their understanding of the child’s needs, parental capacity and family and environmental context and evidence of how the child has been abused or neglected 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.

Safeguarding partners should:

• Monitor the effectiveness of these arrangements.

The child protection plan

Actions and responsibilities following the initial child protection conference

Purpose:

The aim of the child protection plan is to:

• Ensure the child is safe from harm and prevent them from suffering further harm;
• Promote the child’s health and development;
• Support the family and wider family members to safeguard and promote the welfare of their child, provided it is in the best interests of the child.

Local authority children’s social care should:

• Designate a social worker to be the lead practitioner as they carry statutory responsibility for the child’s welfare;
• Consider the evidence and decide what legal action to take if any, where a child has suffered or is likely to suffer significant harm;
• Define the local protocol for timeliness of circulating plans after the child protection conference.

Social workers should:

• Be the lead practitioner for inter-agency work with the child and family, co-ordinating the contribution of family members and practitioners into putting the child protection plan into effect;
• Develop the outline child protection plan into a more detailed interagency plan and circulate to 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;
• Complete the child’s and family’s in-depth assessment, securing contributions from core group members and others as necessary;
• Explain the plan to the child in a manner which is in accordance with their age and understanding and agree the plan with the child;
• Consider the need to inform the relevant Embassy if the child has links to a foreign country;
• Co-ordinate reviews of progress against the planned outcomes set out in the plan, updating as required. The first review should be held within three months of the initial conference and further reviews at intervals of no more than six months for as long as the child remains subject of a child protection plan;
• 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.

The core group should:

• Meet within 10 working days from the initial child protection conference if the child is the subject of a child protection plan;
• Further develop 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;
• Decide 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;
• Implement the child protection plan and take joint responsibility for carrying out the agreed tasks, monitoring progress and outcomes, and refining the plan as needed.

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.

Purpose:

To review whether the child is continuing to suffer or is likely to suffer significant harm and review developmental progress against child protection plan outcomes.

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

Social workers 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 safeguard and promote the welfare of the child who is the subject of the child protection plan, and about the effectiveness and impact of action taken so far;
• Share the conference information with the child and family beforehand, where appropriate;
• 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.

Flow chart 5: What happens after the child protection conference, including the review?

Discontinuing the Child Protection Plan

A child should no longer be the subject of a child protection plan if:

• It is judged that the child is no longer continuing to, or is likely to, suffer significant harm and therefore no longer requires safeguarding by means of a child protection plan;
• the child and family have moved permanently to another local authority area. In such cases, the receiving local authority should convene a child protection conference within 15 working days of being notified of the move. Only after this event may the original local authority discontinue its child protection plan;
• 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), has died or has permanently left the United Kingdom.

Social workers should:

• Notify, as a minimum, all agency representatives who were invited to attend the initial child protection conference that led to the plan;
• Consider whether support services are still required and discuss with the child and family what might be needed, based on a re-assessment of the child’s needs.

Flow chart 6: Children returning home from care to their families