Our Middlesbrough Solicitor advises;-

 

• The purpose of a Child Protection Conference is to bring professionals together with the family of a child at possible risk of harm;

 

• A decision will be made and help and support will be offered;

 

• Child Protection involvement does not mean that the Local Authority are going to take your children away;

 

• You are entitled to have a solicitor with you at a Child Protection Conference, for advice and support;

 

• Legal Help (a form of legal aid) is available for assistance at a CPC and you should check to see if you are eligible.

 

If you need help because you have been invited to attend a Child Protection Conference, call us first for caring professional advice. You may be eligible for free advice under the Legal Help Scheme (legal aid) and we can assess you for this.  Ask to speak to our specialist Family Solicitor, Stacey Phoenix.

 

Our Middlesbrough Solicitor explains;-

 

At the Child Protection Conference, a date will be agreed for your first Core Group Meeting, which you will need to attend. Solicitors do not usually attend these meetings as they are informal and relaxed, but in some circumstances you can request that your Solicitor attends with you.

 

The Chair will also set a date for a Review Child Protection Conference, three months from the date the child is made subject to a child protection plan.

 

A further review will take place six months after the Review Child Protection Conference and it is at this stage that the professionals will look at the progress made and decide whether or not the child can be “deregistered”. If this is not the case then the plan will continue to be reviewed on a six monthly basis.

 

If you need help because you have been invited to attend a Child Protection Conference, call us first for caring professional advice. You may be eligible for free advice under the Legal Help Scheme (legal aid) and we can assess you for this.  Ask to speak to our specialist Family Solicitor, Stacey Phoenix.

 

The meeting will be led by the Chair; this is an independent safeguarding officer who makes sure that the meeting follows the correct schedule. There will also be a minute-taker at the meeting, who writes down everything that happens, to allow a report to be provided to everyone involved.

At the meeting it has to be established whether the child is at continuing risk of significant harm.

The test for this forms three parts;

1. The child can be shown to have suffered ill-treatment or impairment of health or development as a result of physical, emotional or sexual abuse or neglect, and the professionals believe that this is ongoing or is likely to continue;
2. The professionals believe that the child is likely to suffer ill-treatment or impairment of health or development as a result of physical, emotional or sexual abuse or neglect;
3.  The child has suffered neglect.

If this is the case then the professionals at the conference will decide if the child;

1. Should be made the subject of a child protection plan;
2. Should be considered as ‘a child in need’;
3. Should be neither of the above and no action is required.

 

 What is a Child in Need?

A child can be a “child in need” without being subjected to a Child Protection Plan. This is usually the case if the level of concern is not high or if there have already been improvements within the family environment.

If a “child in need” plan is needed, it will be drawn up at the meeting and it will then be reviewed every 6 months.

 

What is a Child Protection Plan?

 

A Child Protection Plan is an agreed plan which states how matters should progress and what action should be taken. This could be action required by the parents, carers or professionals, and this allows for interagency help.

 

If a Child Protection Plan is needed then the Chair will determine the category or categories of abuse, which are detailed below.

 

The conference must agree on the appointment of a key worker, and decide when the first Core Group Meeting will take place. A Core Group Meeting allows the family and professionals to meet on a regular (monthly) basis in a more informal setting, the aim being to monitor progress and to offer support. These meetings usually take place at the parents’ home, the child’s school or sometimes at the local Social Services’ office.

 

The Plan will agree upon the duties and responsibilities of the Core Group members and the family.

 

Categories of abuse;

 

When it has been decided that a Child Protection Plan is needed, the Chair of the CPC will decide on one or more of the following categories by which the child will be made subject of the Plan;-

 

Neglect

Persistent or severe neglect of a child, failure to protect from danger or extreme failure to carry out aspects of care resulting in impairment of child’s health or development, including non-organic failure to thrive.

 

Physical injury

Actual or likely physical injury to a child or failure to prevent injury or suffering.

 

Sexual abuse

Actual or likely sexual exploitation of a child or adolescent. The child may be dependant and/or developmentally immature.

 

Emotional abuse

Actual or likely severe adverse effect upon the emotional or behavioural development of a child, due to persistent or severe emotional ill treatment or rejection. This is only used as a category where it is the sole or main form of abuse.

 

In some circumstances, the child may need to be made the subject of a plan, due to the severity of the situation. It may not always appear that the category reflects the situation, but the category nearest to the situation will be used, because one must be chosen.

 

If you need help because you have been invited to attend a Child Protection Conference, call us first for caring professional advice. You may be eligible for free advice under the Legal Help Scheme (legal aid) and we can assess you for this.  Ask to speak to our specialist Family Solicitor, Stacey Phoenix.

Our Middlesbrough Solicitor explains;-

Yes you can. Parents, carers and children are entitled to have a Solicitor present with them at a Child Protection Conference. The role of a Solicitor at a CPC is as an advisor and to offer support to the client. However, in some circumstances where the client does not feel able, the Solicitor may be able to speak on their behalf.

If you need help because you have been invited to attend a Child Protection Conference, call us first for caring professional advice. You may be eligible for free advice under the Legal Help Scheme (legal aid) and we can assess you for this.  Ask to speak to our specialist Family Solicitor, Stacey Phoenix.

Our Middlesbrough Solicitor explains;-

The parents or carers of the child will be invited to attend. The child may be invited to attend all or part of the conference, but only if they are of sufficient age and maturity to understand the procedure.

The professionals invited should include all those who can make a significant contribution to the discussions. Those who are invited but cannot attend should be invited to submit a written report. All of the professionals who attend the meeting should file a report outlining their involvement and other relevant information. Such reports should be provided before the meeting to allow the reader to digest the information but in practice, the reports are usually provided on the day of the CPC.

The people who may attend a CPC can include the following;

• Child or his/her representative;
• Family members (including wider family, where this is appropriate);
• The social worker or team manager who is involved with the family.  This can also include any outreach workers or other Local Authority staff involved with the family;
• Foster carers or residential care staff;
• Professionals involved with the child, such as doctors, support staff, teachers or education workers;
• Professionals involved in any investigations, such as the Police or Probation Service;
• Experts, if appropriate, such as hospital consultants;
• A representative of the NSPCC

This list is not exhaustive and other relevant people may be invited to attend.

 

If you need help because you have been invited to attend a Child Protection Conference, call us first for caring professional advice. You may be eligible for free advice under the Legal Help Scheme (legal aid) and we can assess you for this.  Ask to speak to our specialist Family Solicitor, Stacey Phoenix.

Our Middlesbrough Solicitor explains the Child Protection procedure;-

 

I have been told that the Local Authority is starting child protection procedures; what does this mean?

This means that the Local Authority believes that there is a risk to a child which needs to be looked into, or that the needs of the child are not being met.

Child protection conferences bring together the child(ren) and their family members with those professionals most involved with them.

 

What is the purpose of a child protection conference (CPC)?

The purpose of the CPC is to:

• Bring together the family, child and professionals most involved and to analyse evidence regarding the needs of the child and the parents’ or carers’ capacity to respond to the child’s needs;
• Ensure the child’s safety and to promote the child’s health and development in the context of their wider family and environment.

Our Middlesbrough Solicitor, Stacey Phoenix, can provide you with caring and sympathetic advice at such a difficult time, on a no-obligation basis.

You may be eligible for free legal advice under the Legal Help Scheme (a form of legal aid) and we can assess you for this.