5.2.2 Child in Care Reviews (Under Review)

AMENDMENTS

This Chapter was amended in March 2010. It was formerly titled: Looked After Reviews; the Chapter was amended significantly, please read the whole Chapter

Contact details for Reviewing Team:

Email: Perminder.chahal@haringey.gov.uk

1st Floor 48 Station Road,
Wood Green,
London N22 7TY

T: 0208 489 1402 / 07980 316 727

The Purpose of Children in Care Reviews
Frequency of Children in Care Reviews
Chairing of Reviews
Convening and Coordinating Children in Care Reviews
Invitations
The Role of the Social Worker
Contributions/Reports
Supporters
Chairperson's Responsibilities
The Role of the Children in Care Review in Achieving Permanence for the Child
Recording of Children in Care Reviews
Progress Chasing of Review Decisions

1. The Purpose of Children in Care Reviews

The purpose of the Children in Care Review is to:

Ensure a continuous process of planning and reconsideration of the plan for a child/young person in order to promote their overall welfare and safeguard their needs in the most effective way and achieve permanence for them within a timescale that meets their needs
Ensure planning and decision making leads to improved life chances for Children in Care
Make sure plans and poor practice are progressed if not the Independent Reviewing Officer is to negotiate with management up to the highest level and refer cases to CAFCASS as a last resort
Advocate and/or get representation for children as and when appropriate when they are unhappy with the plans being made for them.

It is important that decisions taken at Children in Care Reviews are implemented and responsibility for actions clearly defined.

The key plans that should be considered at a Children in Care Review are the Care Plan, Permanence Plans, Health Plans, Pathway Plans and Personal Education Plans.

The chairperson should also take account of the child's Placement Plan/Placement Information Record, ensuring that they are up to date, or that arrangements are in place to update them.

2. Frequency of Children in Care Reviews

2.1

Children in Care Reviews should be convened at the following intervals (for children in receipt of Short Term Breaks or children placed with prospective adopters, or those where the court has granted a placement order see Section 2.2)

an Initial Children in Care Review should be conducted within 28 days of the child coming into Care;
the Second Review should be conducted within three months of an Initial Review;
subsequent Reviews should be conducted not more than six months after any previous review.
any arrangement to hold a review outside of these timescales must first be approved by the Reviewing Manager.

2.2

In relation to children in receipt of Short Term Breaks, the first review takes place within three months of the first overnight stay, and subsequent reviews within 6 months.

In relation to children placed with prospective adopters, the cycle of reviews should start as if they had just come into care (with a review conducted within 28 days of the placement, after 3 months and every six months thereafter).

Transfer from another authority: when the responsibility for the care of a child is transferred to this authority from another, the cycle of reviews will again start as if the child had just come into care.

2.3

Where an additional Review is needed in circumstances where there is a change of care plan or placement: where a child has a change to their care plan or has a significant change in their circumstances;.
where the Chairperson agrees that such a review should be convened, for example, upon the request of the child, parent(s) or any other significant person.

3. Chairing of Reviews

The authority has a team of Independent Reviewing Officers (IRO's), located within the Quality Assurance Child/Young Person Protection and Reviewing Team Chairperson responsibilities are outlined in Section 9, Chairpersons Responsibilities.

4. Convening and Coordinating Children in Care Reviews

The Placement Service will ensure that the Reviewing Team within the Quality Assurance Child/Young Person Protection and Reviewing Team is informed immediately after children come into care, with a view to arranging the first Review; within 28 days of the placement starting. Generally this should be by the end of the working day following accommodation and any delay reduces flexibility about the timing of the review.

It is Quality Assurance Child/young person Protection and Reviewing Team's responsibility to provide an Independent Reviewing Officer who will agree the date with the Social Worker.

Should the child/young person cease being Looked After before the Review date, the social worker must notify the Chairperson as soon as practicable once the decision is made that the child/young person should return home to discuss the need for a discharge review.

The responsibility for making and confirming the date, time, venue, and attendee's for the review lies with the social worker once the date and time has been agreed with the IRO. Invitations and consultation forms will be sent out by the Reviewing Administrators once details have been received from the social worker, at least four weeks before the review date. If these details are not passed to the Reviewing Administrators. within this timescale, it will be the responsibility of the social worker to ensure that the invites and consultation forms are sent to all attendee's

Dates for subsequent Reviews will be set at the conclusion of each Review. If the arranged date needs to be changed for any reason, including where a change in circumstances indicate the need for an earlier review date, the social worker should gain authorization from their manager and notify and arrange this directly with the IRO concerned. In the absence of the latter, contact should be made with the Team Manager or Business Support Officer Quality Assurance Reviewing Team.

5. Invitations

The social worker will consult with the child beforehand about who should come to the Review, and where it should be held. Whenever needed, the parent/carer should be included in these discussions too.

Where the child is unable to contribute to the decisions, for example because of their young age, the parents' views should be sought.

In consultation with the child and others as above, as well as with the Chairperson, the social worker will invite the relevant people to the Review.

The following people should normally be considered:

The child, parents, carers and any significant people or specialists involved in the child's case;
The child's carer/Keyworker and their Manager/Supervising Social Worker;
A representative from the child's school and/or the Education Department;
A Personal Adviser, if the child is approaching his/her 16th birthday (see Leaving Care and Transition Procedure);
An Independent Visitor, if involved.

A balance must be struck in relation to who the child wishes to be present and the need for information and input from the professionals and family members involved. When a child is attending a review efforts should be made to keep the number present at the Review as small as possible. It may be appropriate to request written contributions from agencies rather then invite them to attend.

Children and parents should also be informed that they can arrange to see the Chairperson separately if they wish or bring a supporter or interpreter to the Review.

The social worker must ensure that children and families have been given information about the local authorities complaints procedure. They should provide the child with details of Children's Rights or other advocacy Services who may provide support if the child requires it.

See Section 8, Supporters.

A decision not to invite a child or parent(s) to a Review should only be made in consultation with the Chairperson, prior to the Review. The decision should be recorded, together with reasons, on the review document and case file.

Where an invited person cannot attend, the Chairperson may agree that a delegate attend instead.

6. The Role of the Social Worker

Before arrangements are agreed, the child's social worker must discuss the purpose of the Review with the child, parents and carers and consult them about a suitable date, venue and invitations. The Social Worker must prepare the child/young person/young person and parents/carers for the Child/young person in Care Review.

The social worker must ensure that the child's Looked After Children's (LAC) and other case records are up to date on Frameworki using the ICS Exemplars, and include all records of the placement visits and the last date when the child's sleeping accommodation was seen. Any changes in household membership need to be clearly recorded and brought to the attention of the Independent Reviewing Officer.

Often children looked after may be subject to a Child Protection Plan or the subject of court proceedings. It is the social workers responsibility to ensure the chair has clear information of a child/young persons legal framework and associated plans. In these circumstances the timing of reviews should, where possible, allow the review to follow a Child Protection Conference.

It is the social workers responsibility to ensure the Independent Reviewing Officer is kept informed of any significant changes to the placement or Care Plan between reviews. For example a placement breakdown or child protection concern.

The child and parent(s)/Carers should be encouraged and supported by the social worker to prepare for the Review, in writing or other ways if they wish, for example by seeing the Chairperson separately. The Chairperson should agree with the social worker how this will be achieved. This requires early consultation between the social worker and the Independent Reviewing Officer, and should be part of a thorough preparation of all the key issues for the review. This will also include the completion by the social worker of the Part 1 (Social Worker's Report) which should be sent to the Independent Reviewing Officer not later than a week before the review.

If the child wishes to prepare a written contribution, a Looked After Children's (LAC) Consultation Paper is designed for the purpose but the child may prepare in another way, which suits him/her.

See Section 7, Contributions/Reports.

After the Review, the social worker is responsible for updating the Care Plan Health Plan and Personal Education Plan, and arranging for a Pathway Plan to be completed, if relevant.

The social worker should also ensure that the child's Placement Plan/Placement Information Record is updated. The Placement Information Record and Care Plan should include as much information as possible. The ICS forms for the Placement Information Record and Care Plan allow the social worker to record details required under National Minimum Standards for Fostering Services and the National Minimum Standards for Children's Homes. If this record was not updated during the Children in Care Review, a Placement Planning Meeting should be convened within 7 days of the Children in Care Review.

7. Contributions/Reports

The social worker must ensure that Children in Care Consultation papers or other written contributions are forwarded to the Chairperson.

Where the child is placed in a foster or children's home, the representative of the home should be asked to contribute a report in writing; a Children in Care Consultation Paper is designed for the purpose but a separate report may be prepared.

The following documents should be prepared and/or brought up to date in time for the review; and the social worker should agree with the Chairperson whether it is necessary to forward or distribute any of these documents before the review date (see Keywords Appendix for definitions):

Part 1, (Social Worker's Report) of the Child/Young Person's Children in Care Review form
An up to date copy of the child's Personal Education Plan and a copy of the child's last school report.
An up to date copy of the child's Health Plan.
A copy of the child's most recent Placement Plan,
If relevant, a copy of the Pathway Plan
If a Core Assessment has recently been undertaken before the Review, a copy of the Initial/Core Assessment Record.
If previously requested to do so, a completed copy of a relevant LAC Assessment and Action Record.

The child, parent(s), carers and other relevant people/agencies must be consulted as appropriate in the preparation/updating of these documents.

8. Supporters

The social worker and Chairperson should consider prior to the Review whether either the child or parent(s)/Carers would benefit from the presence of a supporter or advocate (such as a representative from the Children's Rights Service and if so, the social worker should ensure the necessary arrangements are made. A supporter may be either an advocate on behalf of the child/parent(s) or a person with specialist skills or knowledge.

It may also be necessary to make arrangements for an interpreter to attend. Special needs, for example those arising from disability, should always be considered and appropriate assistance arranged where relevant.

Any request by the child or parent(s) for their legal adviser to attend as their supporter should be notified to the Chairperson prior to the Review and arrangements made where appropriate for the attendance at the Review of a local authority legal adviser.

9. Chairperson's Responsibilities

A key task for all review chairs is to ensure that the review process, and particularly the review meetings, remain child and family centred. More than one meeting may be required to ensure the views of relevant people inform the review without the meeting becoming too large. For example it may be appropriate to hold a professionals meeting prior to a review meeting to elicit information and views. A great deal of work will take place in other forums however the review chair must ensure that information which affects the current placement and the overall care plan should be brought back into the review process for decision making.

The Chairperson is responsible for ensuring that all relevant people, including the child and parents, understand the purpose of the Review and have been given appropriate opportunities to contribute and express their views. Any differences of opinion should be recorded in the review document and file. These should be referred to the social worker's line manager for possible resolution. Where participants' views are not followed, an explanation of the reasons why needs to be provided by the Chairperson or the social worker.

If the parent(s) or the child brings a supporter, the Chairperson will need to explain his or her role, ensuring that the supporter understands that he or she may clarify information but may not cross-examine any contributor.

There is a set template for the Review format which will include all the areas to be discussed as below Each Review should set a date for the next Review.

It will be necessary for the Chairperson to ensure decisions are clear and establish who is responsible for action and the timescales agreed for completion. The Chairperson should ensure that the following are considered and accounted for during the Review:

Whether all the required plans (including plans for permanence) and Assessment and Progress Records are in place, detailing how the child's needs are to be met, and whether they are up to date. See Section 10, The Role of the Children in Care Review in Achieving Permanence for the Child.
The extent to which the aims and objectives of the child's Care Plan , Health Plan, Personal Education Plan or Pathway Plan have been achieved and any relevant changes in circumstances which have a bearing on the case.
The need for the child to continue to be Children in Care and where a Care Order exists, whether an application to discharge the Order should be made.
Whether the plans fully cover the necessary actions to meet the following responsibilities:
1. to protect the child's safety and welfare, preferably within his/her own family or community;
2. to ensure the child's placement is appropriate to meet the child's needs and that a relevant Placement Information Record/Placement Plan is in place.
3. to promote the educational needs of the child. In this respect the chairperson must ensure that the child's Personal Education Plan is relevant and up to date.
4. to promote the health and well-being of the child. In this respect the chairperson must ensure that the child's Health Plan is relevant and up to date.
5. to ensure that the child maintains contact with his/her family and significant friends and that the arrangements are appropriate, or, where there is no contact between the child and his/her family, that there are good reasons for this.
6. to provide advice, assistance and other support for children with a view to promoting their welfare and preparing them for independence and adulthood.
7. where the child is reaching the age of 16, to ensure that a Personal Adviser has been appointed and work has started on the child's Pathway Plan.
8. to establish whether any additional, specialist or therapeutic assessments or interventions are necessary to meet the child's needs.
9. to establish whether the child has a right to have an Independent Visitor.
10. To ensure children and families are aware of the right to complain about either the service or plans and understand the processes available to do so if they require.

Where there is evidence of poor practice, the Independent Reviewing Officer, in consultation with their manager, will consider what action is needed to bring this to the attention of the relevant and appropriate line managers.

It is also the Independent Reviewing Officer's responsibility to focus on problem resolution. In cases where the Independent Reviewing Officer identifies poor practice or corporate parenting issues they will complete the Resolution Process seeking a written response from the Team Manager, Senior Team Manager and Head of Service within 10 days. If this is not forthcoming they will then negotiate with the local authority management up to the most senior level.

If all such methods of problem resolution prove unsuccessful and there is a danger of the child's human rights being breached, the Independent Reviewing Officer will consider whether to refer a case to CAFCASS to bring legal proceedings.

10. The Role of the Children in Care Review in Achieving Permanence for the Child

The Chairperson must check that the child's Care Plan includes a Permanence Plan with measurable milestones and a Contingency Plan (see Keywords Appendix for definitions) should the preferred plans not materialise.

At the second Children in Care Review, there is a requirement to focus on requirement for the Care Plan to provide a permanent plan for the child within a timescale which is realistic, achievable and meets the child's needs.

If it is considered that the chosen avenue to permanence is not viable, the Chairperson should ensure that the social worker convenes a planning meeting as a matter of urgency to consider the most appropriate permanent alternative.

At the third Children in Care Review there will be a need for a Contingency Plan to be made where a Permanence Plan has not been achieved. For example where a plan for rehabilitation of the child has not been achieved, the Review should seek to establish whether the lack of progress is as a result of drift or whether there are valid child centered reasons, properly recorded and endorsed by the social worker's manager. No further rehabilitation plan should be recommended unless there are exceptional reasons justifying such a plan or where further assessment is specifically directed by the Court. In this case, the Contingency Plan must include the active pursuit of an alternative placement for the child.

All subsequent Reviews should review the progress and validity of the Permanence Plan.

11. Recording of Children in Care Reviews

The Independent Reviewing Officer will complete the Children/Young Person Children in Care Review Part 2 Chairs Report. The Independent Reviewing Officer will send out the review decision within 7 working days and has 28 working days to complete the minutes of the review.

All review documents should be completed on Frameworki using the ICS forms. The document should be completed and distributed by the Reviewing Team. In cases where there is a delay, for example unforeseen sickness the Independent Reviewing Officer or the social worker must ensure that copies of the decisions are distributed until the document is available.

The social worker must advise the Business Support Officer which people should receive copies. The Business Support Officer should indicate that copies have been sent by ticking the relevant box in question 28 and putting the date on which papers were sent out.

The LAC Review should be authorised by the appropriate line manager on Frameworki
The Assessment and Progress record should be completed on Frameworki
Any documentation used as part of the review should be uploaded on Frameworki
Leaflets and documentation used as part of the consultations exercise can be kept on a paper file in line with Council Procedures if too large to upload onto Frameworki.

When sending out copies of Sections 4, 5 and 6 it is advisable to send them with a copy of the front sheet of the Review form.

An approved and completed form should be placed on the electronic file and signed off by the appropriate line manager. An approved, completed and signed copy should be kept on the paper file in line with statutory requirements. The following should be attached to the electronic or paper file as appropriate;

the written reports of the consultation exercise.
any written reports submitted to the review.
copy of the agenda
Assessment and Action record.

12. Progress Chasing of Previous Review Decisions

The Reviewing Officer will be responsible for checking that the local authority has taken steps to implement recommendations and changes to the care plan arising from the review meeting. In some cases, there will be a clear and valid reason for some actions not to take place; the Reviewing Officer must ensure that the review considers the outcome of these actions. Reviewing Officers will track cases.

Where the Reviewing Officer is concerned about delay in progressing the relevant plans for the child, this will be raised with the appropriate team manager or Head of Service. In some cases, in discussion with the Reviewing Officer's line manager, the date for the next Children in Care Review will need to be brought forward.

End