What is a Child Protection plan?
A Child Protection Plan is only put in place where it’s agreed by the Chair of the Initial Child Protection Conference and professionals involved that any other type of support plan would not help to keep your child(ren) safe. It will be written clearly and the actions on the plan will have timescales so that everyone knows what needs to be done and by when.
If your child(ren) is made the subject of a Child Protection Plan, it will be under one of the following nationally recognised categories – Neglect; Sexual Abuse; Physical Abuse; or Emotional Abuse. The Conference Chair will explain these in more detail in the conference.
Having a Child Protection plan does not affect your Parental Responsibility for your child.
What happens next?
Core Group Meeting
After the Initial Child Protection Conference, the Chair or Social Worker will check in with you. You’ll then meet with the professionals most involved with your family 10 days after the conference. This group of people will be known as the Core Group and the meeting is a Core Group Meeting.
The Core Group will then meet once a month in a mutually agreed venue. When you meet, you’ll look at the Child Protection Plan to make sure actions are followed and your families’ situation is improving.
Child Protection Review Conference
If a Child Protection Plan is made, there will be a Child Protection Review Conference within three months of the first conference. This is a meeting a bit like the Initial Child Protection Conference and will look at what is working well, whether there are still any worries and whether the Child Protection Plan needs to continue.
Further Review Conferences will be held at least every six months for as long as there is a Child Protection Plan in place. Five days before each Review Conference, you will be shown the reports that will be shared so that there are no surprises and you can feel prepared. As with the Initial Conference, you have rights to an advocate or an interpreter if needed, and you can ask for friends and family to attend with you for support.
What if I’m not happy with the Child Protection Plan?
The child protection plan should be made in partnership with you and other professionals. It is different from other support plans because it is a statutory agreement – this means that everyone in the plan needs to put in every effort to follow their tasks and keep to the timescales. If you are concerned about parts of the plan, talk to the social worker to see if any changes can be made.
How does my child contact the social worker?
This does depend on their age and needs however we recommend that children use the confidential online tool / app ‘Mind of My Own’ in order to share their views with their workers. The social worker can show you and your child how this works. The social worker will visit your child (ren) every 10 days for the duration of the Child Protection Plan.
What will be written about us?
To make sure you shouldn’t have to repeat your story and that all professionals are on the same page, we will record our involvement and decision-making and information which relates specifically to the safety of the child. This information will be shared with other professionals involved with your family. The records will be for the purpose of working together as best as possible. You can ask to see the records that are being written.
How long will the Child Protection plan be in place?
his can vary depending on the need and will be considered every six months in the Child Protection Review Conference. If your child’s situation improves, then the plan will end, but the support may well continue in your community. If the situation does not improve, then a decision will need to be made as to the next steps.