Child in Need Plans and Reviews

Where a lead practitioner has been allocated to undertake an assessment and the assessment has concluded that a package of family support is required to meet the child's needs under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 (agreed and authorised by a social work qualified manager), then a Child in Need  Meeting will be arranged.

The Child in Need  Meeting provides an opportunity for a child and their parents/carers, together with their family network and key agencies, to develop a Child in Need Plan

All Child in Need Planning Meetings should be attended by the child (depending on age and understanding), parents/carers, the family network and those agencies who are involved with the child and are therefore able to monitor how the plan is working, or are contributing services the child and/or family have requested as part of their plan.

The relevant lead practitioner should discuss and agree potential attendees for the  Meeting with the child and the parents/carers prior to arrangements being made.

It will be important that an appropriate venue suitable for the child and their family are used for the meeting. Consideration must be given to transport, timing and any child care issues. Where a child is attending a meeting and is of school age the meeting should be held outside of school time, wherever possible.

The first Child in Need  Meeting will usually be chaired by the lead practitioner unless there is a need for a Child Protection Expert or Team Manager to Chair.

The lead  practitioner is responsible for convening the meeting and inviting attendees.

The Chair will ensure a record of the plan decided by the child and their parents/carers and family network and agreed by professionals is made and placed on the child’s file.

A Child in Need Plan will be developed by the child, parents and carers and family network at a Child in Need Meeting, supported by the relevant professionals.

The Child in Need Plan should identify any resources or services the child and family have decided they need to achieve the planned outcomes for the child.  Where agreed, these should be set out with agreed timescales.

It should Include a family contingency plan to be followed if circumstances change and the professional contingency plan to be followed if circumstances change significantly requiring prompt action where the family contingency arrangements have not worked to keep the child safe and well;

The plan should also identify the lead practitioner and any other professionals who will be monitoring that the plan is working through their contact with and visits to the child. The plan should set out how and when this will happen.  

Where possible, children, parents and family networks should be leading their plan and recording it in a dynamic way in real time. The Lead practitioner should take a photo of the plan and ensure everyone has a copy of it and any other relevant information.

A CIN review date must be agreed with the child, parents/carers and family network that is within 6 weeks (or 12 weeks for children with a disability with a stable long-term plan).

(Note: if reviewing a child or young person who has health, disability or special educational needs in a residential home or hospital, please see Placing and Visiting Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities or Health Conditions in Long-Term Residential Settings Procedure).

Reviews will be conducted at intervals agreed with child, parents/carers and family network, which will be at least every 6 weeks, unless there are exceptional circumstances when timescales can be longer. 

If there are significant changes in the family circumstances, an early review should take place.

Any child protection or safeguarding issues which arise during the course of a Child in Need Plan must be responded to in line with Child Protection Procedures.

The Review will usually be Chaired by the Lead practitioner.

The purpose of the Review is to ensure that the plan is improving the lived experience of the child, and ensuring interventions are meeting needs and objectives are being actively worked towards within the time-scales set.

The outcome of a Review will be:

• That the child is no longer a Child in Need however their needs will continue to be reviewed by a lead practitioner in the community;
• That the child continues to be a Child in Need, resulting in the continuing provision of services and monitoring of the child’s wellbeing by all agencies;
• That the child appears to be at risk of Significant Harm, resulting in the need for a Strategy Discussion/Meeting and possible Section 47 Enquiry.

Where the outcome of the Review is an amendment to the Child in Need Plan, the Lead Practitioner should circulate a copy of the amended Plan to the child, parents, and other agencies/professionals involved in providing the services set out in the amended Plan, including any new services to be provided.

This section deals with children who are subject to Children in Need Plans and who move to another local authority. The principles apply to local authorities in the circumstances of both transferring out and receiving in Children in Need.

In a number of situations, children and their families moving to another local authority offers a positive option. However, and particularly where children and their families may have moved on more than one occasion in a short space of time, any assessment should apply professional curiosity and give consideration to the possibility that the family are evading and/or avoiding professional involvement because they are trying to hide something we would consider to be a safeguarding concern. This includes the possibility that the child is subject to trafficking or modern slavery.

• When a Child in Need moves from one local authority area to another, the Children Act 1989 is clear that the responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child lies with the local authority where the child is to be found;
• Given the child has already been identified as having particular needs or is vulnerable in some way, or urgent consideration / assessment should be given as to the impact of the move for the child in respect of their vulnerability, for example, through changes in the protective factors, increased risk with known perpetrators or whether they might be subject to trafficking or modern slavery;
• Given the circumstances, and in line with the above, a timely response should be made with regard to levels of assessed risk;
• The parent/carer should be made aware of their responsibility to ensure the child receives appropriate education and health support in the area they plan to move to, together with any other specialist service required for the child;
• The lead practitioner should assist and promote the family accessing relevant and appropriate services with regard to meeting the child's needs. Any deficits in services to meet specific needs by the receiving local authority should be noted;
• The local authority Children’s Social Care Services where the child and family are moving to should be formally notified and all relevant information should be shared:
  • Assessment;
  • Child in Need Plan;
  • Minutes of latest Child in Need Review;
  • A summary / case report.
• Parent / carer’s permission should be sought to share this information with the receiving local authority in line with Information sharing advice for safeguarding practitioners (DfE).
  
  The Data Protection Act should never be a barrier to 'sharing   information where the failure to do so would result in a child or vulnerable adult being placed at risk of harm' or indeed on those occasions where seeking consent might increase the risk of harm;
• The lead practitioner should ensure that other agencies involved in the Child in Need Plan are made aware and prepared to ensure that their relevant information is shared as soon as possible with their respective counterparts in the area the family have moved to, (for example school and GP records, etc.);
• The lead  practitioner and team manager of the respective authorities should ensure there is clear and good communication during any transition and any risks are clearly communicated and understood.
  Where possible, the lead practitioner should seek to meet their counterpart and where geography allows, to consider a joint visit and attendance at the Child in Need Meeting, so that the issues can be fully shared. The process should reflect the family's needs and any associated risks;
• Where there is dispute about case responsibility; delay in the receiving local authority accepting responsibility of the case, or a dispute about Children in Need thresholds, the team manager should promptly notify the Service Manager who should make a decision regarding next steps, including, where necessary, to take legal advice;
• The family should be kept informed of any respective responsibilities during a transition stage and when the receiving local authority, (where the family reside), take full responsibilities;
• Receiving local authorities should seek to convene a Child in Need Meeting within 20 working days of the family being resident in their area and include all relevant agencies and, where possible, the lead practitioner and other specialist staff where the child and family have moved from;
• All actions, decisions and arrangements should be fully recorded on the child’s case record during this process. This should include management decisions, which should identify the rationale for any decisions made, especially where specific services cannot be provided and/or it is considered the child is no longer a Child in Need.