Policy to Reduce the Number of Children Subject to Child Protection Plans for Longer than 2 Years

The aim of this policy is to avoid children remaining subject to CP Plans for any longer than required, but to a maximum of 21 months.

At the 9 month Conference, there will be an expectation that the CP Chair is more challenging of all multi agency partners around focusing on the required outcomes to improve the quality of the child's life, within clear tightly prescribed timescales.

The CP Chair will undertake a mid-point review of all children who remain subject to CP Plans at the 12 month point. It will include a conversation with the SW Team to ascertain what progress has been achieved with the CP Plan, whether any further action may be required and whether the outcomes are in the process of being achieved. This will be recorded on ICS by the CP Chair, using the mid-point Exemplar.

Prior to the 15 month Conference the SW Team will have produced a report that details a clear analysis of the current situation. The statutory assessment would also have been completed giving a clear understanding and analysis of progress made so far, and any further areas of concerns clearly highlighted, with an outline plan of how these issues will be addressed with very clear timescales.

Prior to the 15 month Conference the child will have been discussed in supervision between the CP Chair and their supervisor, so that a plan of action is prepared to either escalate the concerns into the Legal framework, or to removing the child from CP Planning.

All multi agency partners involved with the family are expected to have produced very clear reports for the Conference which include progress, but clearly highlight all remaining concerns. These concerns will then be addressed within the CP Plan.

At the 15 month Conference, if all concerns have not been addressed and outcomes not sufficiently achieved, a Legal Planning meeting will be arranged within a maximum of two weeks of the Conference being held. Within the Conference all multi agency partners will be robustly and appropriately challenged about further progress that is required, with clear timeframes included that are within the child's timescales.

If the child remains subject to a CP Plan, the QA Team manager will meet with the Team manager of the long term team to review the progress and consider what should happen differently and what action is required to reduce the harm the child is experiencing for 18 months. The QA Team manager will record this meeting on ICS a management note.

At the 21 month Conference the SW Team will bring a clear analysis of whether, whilst being subject to the PLO process, the concerns have decreased sufficiently to enable the child to no longer need to remain subject to CP Plans. If not the SW Team will provide a clear timeframe for the matter being placed before the Courts.

If for any reason, the matter is not placed before the Courts a Conference will be held at 24 months (3 months after the 21 month Conference). This meeting should only be held in exceptional circumstances and is designed to produce a clear plan of the children ceasing to remain subject to CP Plans either because the concerns have reduced, or the matter is placed before the Courts.