A child whose name is placed on the child protection register at an initial child protection conference should have a care and support protection plan. Under s.37 of the Social Services and Wellbeing Act 2014 the local authority must develop a plan to meet the care and support needs of a child in order to protect them from:
Under their duty to co-operate partner agencies are expected to assist the local authority in the development and delivery of the plan.
The plan is:
N.B. In this section of the procedures the emphasis is on the elements of the care and support protection plan, as it relates to protecting a child from significant harm or the risk of such harm.
Aims of a care and support protection plan
The aims of the plan are to:
- ensure the child is safe and prevent them from suffering further significant harm;
- promote the child’s well-being and development;
- identify outcomes that are required to protect child from significant harm: what would we want to see for the child to be safe in the future;
- identify developmental needs of the child and what services are required to meet those needs;
- support the family and wider family members to safeguard and promote the well-being of their child, provided it is in the best interests of the child to do so.
Contents of a plan
The plan should:
- describe the identified risk of significant harm to and needs of the child and any support/therapeutic services which are required;
- set out what work needs to be done, why, when and by whom;
- include specific, achievable, child-focused outcomes intended to safeguard and promote the well-being of the child;
- include realistic strategies and specific actions by both family members and practitioners to achieve the planned outcomes;
- clearly identify roles and responsibilities of practitioners and family members, including the nature and frequency of contact by practitioners with children and family members;
- agree timescales to review the desired child-focused outcomes, and the means by which progress will be measured;
- set out clearly the roles and responsibilities of those practitioners with routine contact with the child, for example, health visitors, GPs and teachers, as well as any specialist or targeted support to the child and family;
- agree contingency plans if access to the child/home is denied and/or the plan is not protecting the child from significant harm.
Child-centred planning
The plan should aim to ensure the child is safe from harm and that their developmental needs are being met.
- the only measurement of success is quality improvement to the daily lived experience of the child;
- each child in the family should have their own plan that recognises and addresses their own specific needs.