3.2.1 The Review of the Child's Plan for Looked After Children

Timescales for the 20 day review

Subsequent reviews

The Child's Social Worker or delegated Practitioner who is working with the child will:

Visit and a discussion should take place with the child (subject to age and understanding) at least 20 working days before the meeting and prepare them for attending the Review and during this visit the following should be discussed:

• Who will be attending the Review
• The child’s views on the list of attendee’s
• Persons the child wished not to attend
• Inform the child about the kinds of topics that will be discussed at the Review e.g. school exclusions, exams
• A supporter/advocate for the child at the review if appropriate
• Wishes and feelings of the child
• Inform the Independent Reviewing Officer of any contentious and sensitive issues and any proposed exclusion from the review
• Ensure the child and parents/family have a clear understanding of the aim of the plan and the needs and service provision within the plan
• Ensure the child knows how to make a complaint

The Child's Social Worker will:

• Discuss and identify the date/time and venue of the review with the child/parent/carer. The Social Worker will confirm any dates when they cannot attend due to annual leave, child protection conference or court hearing. The Social Worker will ensure that arrangements are made in order to give all professionals 10 working days notice of the review date 
• Send an action to Business Support to request the setting of the review date/time/venue. The Social Worker will provide any relevant information in respect of the venue/proposed date etc. The Social Worker will complete the list of invitees on the child’s record.

Within one working day Business Support:

• Will check the electronic diary of the IRO for the proposed date (enter the proposed date into the electronic diary) and confirm that date with the IRO by telephone within two working days.
• Send invitations and relevant consultation documents to those on the invite list.  Invitation letters should be sent out no later than 10 working days before the Review meeting, with consultation documents as appropriate. To ensure that everyone has adequate notification of 10 working days Business Support will notify professionals/carers by telephone prior to posting the relevant documents. Invitations may have to be faxed to prevent delay
• Send an action to the IRO add the date/time/venue to the IRO and Lead Social Worker’s electronic diary

Also see Appointment and Role of the Independent Reviewing Officer Procedure.

The Independent Reviewing Officer will:

• To chair the Looked After Review and monitor the appropriateness of the Care Plan (on an ongoing basis including whether any significant safeguarding issues arise)
• Check the involvements and child’s family/significant others that are recorded on the child’s record
• Read the child’s record and check that all essential information is recorded e.g. ethnicity, religion, school etc.
• Read the chronology including ‘case notes/visits with significant events’ and ‘child protection events’
• Read the analysis of the latest Core Assessment/Assessment and Progress Record
• Read the Care Plan
• Read the social worker’s report for the review
• Read the PEP action plan
• Read any other relevant reports, including the Health Assessment Recommendations
• Check that all relevant health assessments/appointments are up to date and recorded on the child’s record

• Confirm with the Social Worker of any people that are excluded from the review or other arrangements that the IRO will make to see/speak to relevant people outside of the review
• Consult the child about their Care Plan at each review and at any time that there is a significant change to the Care Plan.

• The IRO should meet the young person prior to the review to ascertain their wishes and feelings and ensure that they are able to participate appropriately and arrange to meet the child as appropriate in advance of subsequent Looked After Reviews.

• If the young person wishes to make a complaint the IRO will ensure that the young person is given the necessary information about how to make a complaint and who can assist them in the process
• Ascertain from the young person if they want an independent visitor and explore possibilities of who this could be. Ensure that any requests are made to the relevant agency/person e.g. NYAS

The IRO may adjourn a review meeting once, for not more than 20 working days, if not satisfied that sufficient information has been provided by the Local Authority to enable proper consideration of any of the factors to be considered.

The IRO should consider the effects on the child of delaying the meeting, and seek the wishes and feelings of the child, carer and parents where appropriate.

The Social Worker will bring the following to the meeting

• Child’s Care Plan
• Social Worker’s Report
• Core Assessment or Assessment and Progress Record
• Health Assessment and other relevant health reports
• Consultation documents
• Risk Assessment
• Any other relevant reports

The Independent Reviewing Officer will:

1. The effect of any change in the child’s circumstances since the last review, any change made to the Care Plan, whether decisions taken at the last review have been successfully implemented and if not the reasons;
2. Whether  any change should be sought in the child’s legal status
3. Whether there is a plan for permanence
4. Arrangements for contact/whether there is any need for changes to the arrangements in order to promote contact between the child and parents/other Connected Persons
5. Whether the placement continues to be the most appropriate available, whether any change to the placement agreement or any other aspect of the arrangements is likely to become necessary before the next review;
6. The child’s educational needs, progress and development and whether any change is likely to  become necessary or desirable before the next review, including consideration of his/her most recent assessment of progress and development; whether the arrangements are meeting the child’s educational needs; whether the child has a Personal Education Plan (PEP) and whether its content provides a clear framework for promoting  educational achievement
7. The child’s leisure interests and activities and whether the arrangements are meeting his/her needs
8. The child’s health report, and whether any change in health care arrangements is likely to be necessary or desirable before the next review; whether the content of the Health Plan provides a clear framework for promoting the child’s health; whether the arrangements are meeting the child’s health needs
9. Whether the child’s needs related to identity are being met and whether any change is required having regard to the child’s religious persuasion, racial origin and cultural background
10. Whether the arrangements for advice, support and assistance continue to be appropriate and understood by the child
11. Whether any arrangements need to be made for the time when the child will no longer be looked after
12. The child’s wishes and feelings and the views of the IRO about any aspect of the case and in particular about any changes made since the last review or proposed to be made to the Care Plan; whether the plan fulfils the duty to safeguard and promote the child’s welfare and whether it would be in the child’s interests for an Independent Visitor to be appointed
13. Where the child is placed with parents before an assessment is completed, the frequency of the social worker’s visits
    
    

Looked After Reviews on Children who are subject of the Child Protection Plans

Where a looked after child remains the subject of a Child Protection Plan, there should be a single planning and reviewing process, led by the IRO, leading to the development of a single plan.

Consideration should be given to the IRO chairing the Child Protection Conference where a looked after child remains subject to a Child Protection Plan. Where that is not possible, it will be expected that the IRO will attend the Child Protection Review Conference.

The Looked After Review, when reviewing the child protection aspects of the plan, should consider whether the criteria continue to be met for the child to remain the subject of a Child Protection Plan. 

The Independent reviewing Officer will:

• A written record of the decisions and recommendations will be completed and circulated by the Independent Reviewing Officer to all participants within 5 working days of the meeting.
• Within 15 working days complete the Chair’s Report, Review of decisions and Completion of review within the child’s record. Send an action to Business Support, Discuss with the appropriate manager any issues of concern in respect of the child’s plan, using the Dispute Resolution Protocol if necessary and ultimately referring the case to CAFCASS if issues cannot or are not be resolved
• Discuss or notify with the appropriate manager issues in respect of the quality assurance check carried out on the assessments or child’s record, detailing where standards were not met
• Highlight to the appropriate manager issues relating to the identified needs and planned outcomes, particularly delay in service provision or ineffectiveness of the identified service provision
• Follow up on any decisions/recommendations made at the review that have timescales to be achieved prior to the next review. This will be done by reading the child’s record and discussion with relevant people. The decisions should have any identifying details removed as necessary, for example, exceptionally, the address of the placement.
• Record any discussions held with the manager or others’ outside of the review and action agreed/not agreed within the child’s record in case notes ‘case discussion/decision’ within one working day
• Report any trends in practice issues to the children’s services training section
• Where parents do not attend the review/part of the meeting and contribute their views in some other manner, a discussion should take place between the social worker and the IRO as to whether it is in the child’s interest for the parents to receive a full record of the review, and, if not, what written information should be sent to them. Examples of where this should be a consideration are where there is a ‘no contact order’ or supervised contact only.

The Social Worker will  :

• If the plan has been changed, or if new needs have been identified the Social Worker will need to update/create a new plan within two working days of the date of the review
• Enter the date of the next review within two working days of the review

Business Support will:

• Distribute the report within one working day, to those on the distribution list. Business Support will include the covering letter in all correspondence
• Set a task to his/herself for notification four weeks before the next review date to ensure that the arrangements for that review are made

The Social Worker:

• Will send an action to Business Support to request the setting of the review date/time/venue. The Social Worker will provide any relevant information in respect of the venue/proposed date etc. The Social Worker will complete the list of invitees on the child’s record

Business Support will

• Send invitations and relevant consultation documents to those on the invite list.  Invitation letters should be sent out no later than 10 days before the Review meeting, with consultation documents as appropriate. To ensure that everyone has adequate notification of 10 working days Business Support will notify professionals/carers by telephone prior to posting the relevant documents.  Invitations may have to be faxed to prevent delay
• Send an action to the IRO add the date/time/venue to the IRO and Lead Social Worker’s electronic diary

Changing the Care Plan after the review

The Social Worker will:

• Make any amendments to the plan within two working days of the review
• Send an action to Business Support requesting that copies of the new plan are distributed

The Second Review

The IRO will read the most recent Core Assessment and the Care Plan to ensure that the aim of the plan is appropriate and confirm the start of the Assessment and Progress Record which will be used to inform decisions and child’s plan at the subsequent review.

Cancelling a review/changing the date of the review

In circumstances where a date for the review needs to be changed/cancelled the Lead Social Worker will:

• Contact the IRO to discuss the proposal to cancel/change the date
• Record the discussion and outcome within the case notes ‘case discussion/decision’ within two working days of the discussion

Child's Social Worker unexpectedly absent and unable to attend the review.