Looked After Children Reviews

1. Values and Principles

Consideration should be given to the location of timings and venues of Looked After Reviews and any specialist aids, adaptations that might be required for people with a disability. People who do not have English as their first language will require the use of the interpretation service and may request that they are accompanied by an Advocate.

2. Context

Caption: Abbreviations and glossary

CIN	Child in Need.
Admin	Clerical officer(s).
Hard copy	Paper copy as opposed to a representation on a computer screen.
IRO Admin	Clerical officer(s) within the IRO team.
LA	Local Authority.
RNOF	Review Notification and Outcome Form.
NFA	No further action.
Social worker	The worker in the Group Manager, Area Team, Children and Families Disability Team, or Integrated LAC Team and IYS to whom the child/young person is allocated and who has overall case responsibility.
IYS	Integrated Youth Services.

N.B. in the interests of making the reading of this document more fluent, the Child and Young Person's plan (the Care Plan for a looked after child) is referred to as the Child's Plan; similarly child means child or young person.

3. Reviewing as a Process

Care planning and reviewing are dynamic processes. An effective Care Plan is based on a clear assessment of need and will identify intended outcomes for the child. It will also set objectives for work with the child, the birth family and the carers in relation to the child's following developmental needs:

Health;
Education;
Emotional and behavioural development;
Identity;
Family and social relationships;
Social presentation;
Self care skills.

The purpose of the Review is to consider the plan for the welfare of the child (the Care Plan/Child's Plan) and then to monitor the progress of the plan and make decisions to amend it as necessary in light of changed knowledge and circumstances. Significant changes to the child's Care Plan can only be made at Review meetings, (such as a change of type of placement or a decision being made to cease looking after a child).

It is important to distinguish the two functions of reviewing: firstly, as a process of continuous monitoring and reassessment; secondly, as an event when a child's plan may be considered, reconfirmed or changed with such decisions agreed and recorded in consultation with all those who have a key interest in the child's life, including the child themselves. Whilst meetings can be an efficient way to conduct reviews, much relevant information can be gathered outside of a formal review meeting in order to reduce the number of people required at a meeting and allow the process to be much more child centred.

Inevitably new issues will emerge at reviews, and individuals' responses cannot always be anticipated, and may need skilful management by the chair. However, as far as possible, Reviews are not to be regarded as a forum where known unresolved problems are channelled, neither, as far as possible should the information come as a surprise to the participants. Fundamental areas of disagreement and "breaking news" should, where at all possible, be shared with the appropriate parties before the Review meeting. This should help prevent any unnecessary upset to the child, other family members, or carers who may be attending the Review.

4. When to Hold a Review

Reviews are periodically held for all children who are looked after and who will have a Child's Plan including those who are:

Placed with parents and subject to an Interim or full Care Order;
Placed in Secure Accommodation;
Living independently;
Subject to a Care Order (Section 31);
Subject to an Interim Care Order (Section 38);
Placed voluntarily (Section 20);
Subject to a Placement Order as part of the adoption process.

Under the Care Planning, Placement and Review Regulations 2010, there is a statutory provision that CLA Reviews must take place for children who are looked after as a result of a secure remand.

A Looked After Review should also be held before an Eligible Young Person moves into semi-independent accommodation, which should evaluate the quality of the assessment of the young person's readiness and preparation to move.

Please note that meeting review timescales are a statutory requirement. If a social worker or administrative officer becomes aware that a review is scheduled to fall outside a statutory timescale and it is not immediately possible to resolve this, they must inform their line manager and the reason for the delay should be recorded on the child's record.

The generated date on which a review is scheduled to be due (the "due-by date") can be misleading. In practice, the last possible day for a review to be held is the working day preceding the "due-by date". The review date should therefore be scheduled before the "due-by date"; this allows for the possible emergency re-scheduling of a review within timescales if one of the key attendees is unable to be present.

4.1 Statutory Minimum Frequency for Reviews

For Looked After Children or Young People, reviews are as follows:

First review no more than 20 working days from the date on which the child becomes Looked After;
Second review no more than 3 months after the first review;
Subsequent reviews no more than 6 months after the previous review.

(For details of timescales for adoption placements and short break placements see Section 5.6, Reviews of Adoption Placements and Short Breaks Procedure, The Legal Basis for Short Breaks and Review.)

4.2 Other Times when Looked After Reviews can be Held

The IRO must be notified of any significant changes in the child's circumstances and consider whether the Looked After Review should be brought forward. Where the changed circumstances are likely to mean significant changes to the Child's Care Plan are needed or are being proposed, the IRO should consider whether the review should be brought forward. This could include the following situations:

A proposed change of Care Plan for example arising at short notice in the course of proceedings following directions from the court;
Where agreed decisions from the review are not carried out within the specified timescale;
Major change to the contact arrangements;
Changes of allocated social worker;
Any safeguarding concerns involving the child, which may lead to enquiries being made under section 47 of the 1989 Act ('child protection enquiries') and outcomes of child protection conferences, or other meetings that are not attended by the IRO;
Complaints from or on behalf of the child, parent or carer;
Unexpected changes in the child's placement provision which may significantly impact on placement stability or safeguarding arrangements;
Significant changes in birth family circumstances for example births, marriages or deaths which may have a particular impact on the child;
If the child is charged with any offence leading to referral to youth offending services, pending criminal proceedings and any convictions or sentences as a result of such proceedings;
If the child is excluded from school;
If the child has run away or is missing from an approved placement;
Significant health, medical events, diagnoses, illnesses, hospitalisations, or serious accidents; and panel decisions in relation to permanency.

(DfE Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations - Volume 2: Care Planning, Placement and Case Review)

This is not an exhaustive list and the IRO may judge that other events are significant and require an earlier review. The parents and child should also be consulted about the need for an additional review. Looked After Reviews may be held at any point as influenced and indicated by the progress made in implementing and achieving the Care Plan objectives. The IRO may also decide that an early review of a plan is required and can call a review at any time. A review must be held as soon as practicable to confirm any substantial change in the Care Plan (such as from adoption to long-term fostering, or change from long term care to rehabilitation). The IRO may or may not endorse the proposed changes to the Plan at the review. If the Plan is not endorsed then the IRO will explain why this decision has been made, the IRO may also offer recommendations.

4.3 Second Reviews

The Adoption Minimum Standards for England require that a clearly articulated plan for permanence must be prepared by the second review (i.e. not later than 3 months after the Initial Review). Social Workers should prepare for this in consultation with their Team Manager, taking legal advice if necessary.

Social workers, other professionals, birth parent(s) and the child/young person must be clear what the Permanence Plan is, and it must be set out in writing in a way that everybody affected can understand. Where the assessment identifies that parents may be unlikely to make or sustain the necessary changes in their parenting, contingency plans should be made to avoid delay in securing a permanent family for the child. This "twin track planning" requires that both a rehabilitation plan with timescales be in place and a plan for an alternative permanence plan if the rehabilitation plan is unsuccessful. The primacy of the rehabilitation plan should be stressed and parents made aware that the two plans are being made to meet the child's needs and avoid delay.

Looked After Reviews should normally be conducted at a meeting although this may not be required in respect of a child who has been in a designated Long-term Foster Placement for over 12 months (see Section 6.5, Looked After Reviews for Children who are also the Subject of Child Protection Plans).

4.4 Reviews when the Plan is Adoption

It is necessary to refer to the specific legislation due to the nature of the complications in this arena. In summary, when the care plan is "Adoption" there must be a review within 3 months of the Local Authority being given authority to place the child for adoption, either through the granting of a Placement Order, or the parent signing consent for the child to be placed for adoption in uncontested cases. This is to ensure that there is no delay in implementing adoption plans. There should not, however, be a gap of longer than 6 months from the last Looked After Review and if the child is placed for Adoption in the interim. The timescales for Adoption Reviews come into effect instead i.e. first Adoption Review within 28 days of placement.

Should there be an Adoption disruption (breakdown in placement) a Looked After Review has to be held no earlier than 28 days and no later than 42 days following disruption. These timings refer to calendar days, i.e. between 4 and 6 weeks, again allowing an independent overview of active planning for the child.

The social worker will notify their Business Support team and the IRO concerned in this eventuality, so that the next Looked After Review can be brought forward if timescales demand.

4.5 Reviews of Adoption Placements

4.6 Recurring Short Break Placements

Please see Short Breaks Procedure, The Legal Basis for Short Breaks and Reviews.

4.7 Reviewing Young People in Custody

See Looked After Children and Young People in Contact with Youth Justice Services Procedure.

To ensure that the needs of children looked after as a result of a secure remand are met;
Reviews should be brought forward where one would not otherwise occur before the child ceases to be detained in a YOI or secure training centre, or accommodated on remand.

4.8 Reviews by Consultation

In certain circumstances it is not possible to gather key people together to hold a review within statutory timescales. This may be because of unforeseen leave, sickness, or serious disruption to a placement. In such circumstances a "review by consultation" may be appropriate, in which the IRO will meet with the social worker and/or the Team Manager and compile a report based on submissions and verbal information available. In these circumstances the IRO should meet the young person and parent/s in a separate meeting. When a review by consultation takes place, a review meeting should be convened within 20 working days, or as directed by the IRO.

5. Preparing for a Review

5.1 Specific Responsibilities in Preparing for a Review

The Social worker will inform their Business Support staff member responsible for loading on Liquidlogic all "Events", to make them aware of the commencement of the child's Looked After status.

Business Support staff will load the legal status, placement details and generate the first review on Liquidlogic. When the child is subject to an Interim or Full Care Order, an initial health assessment is also generated.

IRO Admin should generate a Review Notification and Outcome Form (RNOF) which the social worker completes to detail the invitees / consultees and their addresses so that invitations / consultation papers can be sent out for the review on a date agreed with the allocated IRO and other parties.

Invitations to reviews and consultation documents should be sent out to all those participating in the review at least 10 working days before the meeting.

Responsibilities of the Social Worker

Discussion should take place between the social worker and the child (subject to age and understanding) at least 20 working days before the review about who the child would like to attend the meeting and where the meeting will be held.

Other responsibilities of the social worker include:

To discuss the review with the Chair.

This needs to take place well in advance of the review, and may in some instances necessitate several conversations. Issues would include:
1. The practicalities of the review - location, participant-friendly timing;
2. Special requirements - disability access, interpreter, signing;
3. Safety issues;
4. How the review might fit in with siblings reviews;
5. Any other significant factors, such as any significant difficulties in implementing the Child's Plan since the last Review.

The format for the review should fit in as far as possible with the wishes of the child or young person but with due regard to physical and emotional safety issues.

To complete the RNOF:
1. Health and school (where relevant) are always to be consulted or invited;
2. Children's Guardians are always to be notified of a Review when in proceedings;
3. Parents are usually invited to attend reviews. Should it be considered (after discussion with the Chair) that it is not in the child's best interests or against their wishes, parties should be made aware of this, and the decision recorded by the Chair on their review report. A separate meeting involving parents, social worker and Chair may be appropriate;
4. Whilst it is important to invite key people to a review, consideration must also be given to restricting the number of adults present. The child's views must be considered. It is important in setting up a review to decide who is invited to actually attend, and who is consulted only. See Section 6.3, Promoting Involvement and those following.

The social worker needs also to consider in advance all of the areas which the review will explore, and have the necessary information available.

These areas include:

Completion or update of Child or Young Person's Plan (or Pathway Plan) and the Social Worker's Report to Review.

These must have been shared with:

The child (subject to age and understanding);
The parents/those with Parental Responsibility;
The carers and;
The Team Manager.

in advance of the review, and signatures and comments obtained.

For school aged children, their Personal Education Plan must be up to date and available for the review.

The Health Assessment needs to be up to date.

The social worker also needs to be aware of routine Health and Dental checks, and any acute medical difficulties.

Business Support at the relevant social work team forward the RNOF to IRO Business Support, who will then distribute the invitations and consultations at least 2 weeks before the review date.

Standardised letters are used in the following circumstances:

To seek the views of, and invite parent(s) or persons with parental responsibility to the review meeting;

or,
To seek the views of parent(s) (or somebody with parental responsibility) who are not to be invited (for reasons above);

and
To seek the views of, and invite carers (except when the child is placed with parent/s).

IRO Business Support should give a copy of the RNOF to the IRO as soon as it is received from the social work Team. IRO admin should maintain their own records of review scheduling and allocation within the IRO team, and ensure returned consultation documentation is provided to the allocated IRO.

The social worker will ensure that the IRO has access to a copy of the Child or Young Person's Plan and Social Worker's Report to Review to the IRO at least 3 days prior to the agreed review date.

The IRO is responsible for bringing the consultation documents to the review, having read these in advance. Should comments within these documents be substantially at odds with the picture of the placement described in the Social Worker's Report to Review or the Child's Plan, this will be explored by the IRO with the social worker beforehand. The IRO will determine how to deal with difficult or sensitive issues within the Review. The IRO should meet with the child prior to the review to discuss what they want addressed at the review. The IRO is responsible for chairing the review.

5.2 Adjournment of Reviews

The IRO may adjourn a review meeting once, for not more than 20 working days, if s/he is not satisfied that sufficient information has been provided by the Local Authority to enable proper consideration of any of the factors to be considered in Section 6, The Review. The Review may also be adjourned if key people are not available or have not been invited, or other arrangements for the review meeting are not conducive to the review being effective. The IRO will notify the IRO Manager of any adjournment.

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.

A scheduled review may be cancelled completely only if the child ceases to be looked after.

5.3 Promoting Involvement

The wishes and feelings of the following parties should be obtained regarding the plan and the progress made since the last review:

The child, subject to age and understanding (see Section 5.4, Involving Children and Young People);
Parents/persons with Parental Responsibility (see Section 5.5, Involving the Child/Young Person's Family);
The current carer (see Section 5.6, Involving the Child/Young Person's Carer(s));
Any other relevant person e.g. health care professionals; Children's Guardian; GP; Local Authority in whose area it is proposed that the child will be looked after (see Section 5.7, Involving Other Professionals or Agency Representatives);
The officer with lead responsibility for implementing the authority's duty to promote the educational achievement of its looked after children;
The most appropriate teacher at the child's school which may be the designated teacher for looked after children;
The Independent Visitor if one has been appointed.

A key element of the review process is the involvement of relevant parties, including the child or young person. Large numbers of people present at a review meeting may not be conducive to a child-friendly environment and the child may have views about who they would prefer to be present. If a large number of people are involved in planning and providing care for a child but their attendance at the Review would prevent the participation of the child, their contributions could be made in person at another meeting, in person to the IRO or in writing as appropriate.

For reviews of children in foster care, the Fostering Social Worker should always be made aware of the review by the child's social worker. Whether the Fostering Social Worker attends the review will depend upon his or her relationship with the child and other circumstances of the review: attendance of a Fostering Social Worker at a review is not mandatory, but a written submission, suitable for sharing with the child and parents must be supplied in advance of the review meeting.

5.4 Involving Children and Young People

All children and young people should be involved in their review as far as their age and ability allows and be enabled to make a meaningful contribution. They must be given help to communicate, if this is necessary and consideration be given to arranging an advocate for them. Each review meeting needs to be tailored to suit the individual concerned. Children should be consulted about the venue, time and date, and who they would like at the review meeting, and their views given importance, especially when they are to be present themselves.

The age at which a child is considered old enough to be invited to their review is not set but it is usual for children over 5 years of age to participate either directly in reviews or by submissions of their views Whether a child attends their review should be a matter of discussion between the social worker and the IRO who will consider the child's own wishes, their ability to understand the process, and emotional and physical safety issues. It may be appropriate for a young child to attend only part of their review or to hold two meetings. The review process could encompass different 'stages' or phases, of which a meeting may be one element.

If a child or young person does not want to come to a meeting, or they are too young, the social worker should consider other means of participation, for example completing a contribution form, meeting with the IRO, making a tape or video or identifying an advocate.

Please note: the participation of children and young people aged 5 years or over within Reviews is monitored by a local performance indicator.

5.5 Involving the Child/Young Person's Family

The child's family should be invited to participate in the review process and helped to attend the meeting or contribute as appropriate. Where it is not helpful to have a parent present at a review meeting either because they are likely to disrupt the meeting, or where there is no contact, the IRO will check that s/he has been adequately consulted or informed, and may meet with the family separately.

The social worker should consider whether family members need transport to the Review. The social worker should explore, and if necessary, support child care arrangements to enable family members to attend a review.

There may be exceptional circumstances where the child's social worker, in consultation with the IRO decides that the attendance of the carer at all or part of the review meeting will not be appropriate or practicable. Where this is the case, a written explanation of the reasons should be given and other arrangements made for the carer to contribute to the review process. Details of the reasons why a carer is excluded and a record of their input should be placed on the child's case record.

5.6 Involving the Child/Young Person's Carer(s)

Carers should be invited to all reviews of the child they care for, except in exceptional circumstances and should receive support to attend as necessary.

5.7 Involving Other Professionals or Agency Representatives

Other agencies are to be consulted as part of the review process. They do not have to attend every meeting, although sometimes their attendance will be important. Teachers, for example, may be able to provide a written report rather than attending, especially if everything is going well at school. Social Workers will identify which professionals are to be consulted rather than invited, and they will be asked to complete a report.

When Care Proceedings are ongoing, the Children's Guardian should be made aware of reviews during proceedings and may wish to attend. In these circumstances it is anticipated that agreement about attendance can be made by all parties taking into consideration the child's own wishes and the need to keep review attendees at a child-friendly number.

Caption: law society guidance and code of conduct

Where the 'supporter' is a legal representative then the IRO should note The Law Society guidance 'Attendance of Solicitors at Local Authority Children Act Meetings' and related 'Code of Conduct (2011)'. All solicitors attending these meetings should be aware of the local policies and procedures in respect of Children Act Meetings and of their role in terms of 'Working Together to Safeguard Children'.

6. The Review

Factors which must be considered in reviewing each case include:

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;
Whether any change should be sought in the child's legal status;
Whether there is a plan for permanence;
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;
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;
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 PEP and whether its content provides a clear framework for promoting educational achievement;
The child's leisure interests and activities and whether the arrangements are meeting his/her needs;
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;
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;
Whether the arrangements for advice, support and assistance continue to be appropriate and understood by the child;
Whether any arrangements need to be made for the time when the child will no longer be looked after;
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;
Where the child is placed with parents before an assessment is completed, the frequency of the social worker's visits.

Responsibilities for ensuring a good quality review can be outlined as follows:

The social worker is responsible for:

Providing an updated Core Process and Child's Plan or Pathway Plan;
Ensuring that review participants receive the support needed to participate fully in the review;
That the IRO is updated about significant and/or contentious issues;
Addressing any special needs or requirements any invitees may have, e.g. access, interpreter, signing or any other environment or communication requirements;
Being prepared beforehand to be able to speak to the Review, probably near the beginning about the progress being made in implementing the plan.

Team Manager is responsible for ensuring that the review is informed about any resource issues or other implications of implementing the plan. This will usually be done via the social worker attending the review.

The IRO is responsible for chairing the review, ensuring that all parties have the opportunity to contribute, and that the review is properly informed in order to make appropriate decisions in the best interests of the child. The IRO is also responsible for writing up the Review Recommendations and ensuring their distribution within 5 working days of the Review and then the fuller Review Report for distribution within 20 working days to all relevant parties. The IRO may also write an age appropriate letter to the child to tell him/her of the main outcomes of the Review, according to individual circumstances.

The IRO must be satisfied that the wishes and feelings of the child's parents, any person who is not a parent but who has parental responsibility and the current carer (foster carer or registered person in respect of a children's home) have been taken into account as part of the review process.

If the IRO is recommending significant changes to the Care Plan, they will alert the Team Manager to this in advance of distribution of the report. In the event of disagreements on such points, refer to the Dispute Resolution Process for steps to be taken.

6.1 Specific Responsibilities in Undertaking a Review

The IRO will:

Bring the received documentation to the review;
Meet with the child before the review;
Meet or consult with any other review participant as is appropriate to the circumstances of the individual child;
Confirm how any sensitive or contentions issues are to be managed within the process, and keep discussion child-focussed;
Ensure that the plan is outcome focussed and includes named responsible persons and timescales for action;
Assist a child to obtain legal advice, or establish if an appropriate adult is able and willing to do so, where a child wishes to take proceedings in their own right;
Confirm that he or she understands the complaints procedure and knows whom to contact if troubled or afraid (when a child has sufficient age and understanding);
Ensure that the child's need for an advocate and/or independent visitor is addressed;
Whether the delegation of authority to take decisions about a child's care continues to be appropriate and in the child's best interests;
Other matters which may arise should also be considered with due regard to the circumstances of the child and the placement.

6.2 'Staged' or Phased Reviews

A single meeting of those involved with the child's plan is often an efficient review and in most cases this approach will be appropriate and acceptable to the child. A meeting should, however, be viewed as one element of the review process, and there may be circumstances when a review is undertaken on a phased or staged basis. This may include holding more than one meeting, may involve participants meeting with the IRO on an individual basis, and the review may be conducted over a longer period of time in order to obtain all the relevant information (e.g. in circumstances where a parent does not have direct contact with a child). It is the responsibility of the IRO to ensure that the integrity of the reviewing process is maintained, and that parties involved in decision making are properly informed. A decision to hold a staged review should be agreed between the IRO and social worker during the planning stage before the review is held.

6.3 Chairing Arrangement - Substitute Chairs

All reviews should be chaired by the assigned IRO. Where the assigned IRO is unable to personally chair a meeting a substitute IRO will chair the meeting.

The assigned IRO will endeavour to plan future absences and identify a substitute IRO Chair.

In circumstances where a substitute chair is involved, the assigned IRO will make themselves aware of the outcome of that review, and if necessary follow up on longer term issues.

6.4 Making Decisions and Recommendations at the Review

The fundamental decision which a Review makes, is whether the Child's Plan fully meets the needs of the Child or Young Person.

The meeting may then make recommendations on how the plan might be modified to meet the needs more fully.

Assisted by those at the meeting, the IRO will recommend what actions, in principle, are necessary to meet the child's needs and suggest how these should be achieved. The local authority must decide how to implement any recommendations made by the review meeting and will be ultimately accountable for their delivery. There will be instances where the allocation of extra resources requires the agreement of the manager or agency responsible for that resource. Where this is the case, the IRO will make this clear during the meeting. Where resource implications are likely to be an issue at a review, staff of appropriate seniority will need to contribute to the review process.

The responsible Team Manager will consider the recommendations made at each LAC Review within 5 working days of receiving them, will ratify these as decisions and will advise the IRO and all those who attended the review in writing if they are unable to agree them.

In the event of disagreement, the IRO should attempt to resolve the issue informally. If this is not successful the IRO can consider activating the local dispute resolution process. (See Dispute Resolution Procedure)

If no response is received the decisions will be considered to be agreed by the Local Authority and should be implemented within the timescales set out in them.

6.5 Looked After Reviews Concerning Children in Long Term Foster Placements

The March 2015 Statutory Guidance "Permanence, long-term foster placements and ceasing to look after a child" sets out that where a child is placed in a designated long-term foster placement and has been in this placement for more than a year consideration should be given to whether it is necessary to hold a meeting as part of each review.

The guidance requires that the social worker should consult the IRO and the child (where appropriate to age and understanding) in reaching a decision on whether to hold a meeting. Where it is agreed that a meeting will not be held as part of every review a meeting should be held at least once a year. The factors leading to a decision to hold review meetings on a less frequent basis must be recorded in the child's Care Plan.

Where a decision is taken that the review process will not include a meeting the IRO must ensure that full consultation with all relevant individuals, including the child, has taken place to inform the review of the child's case.

6.6 Looked After Reviews for Children who are also the Subject of Child Protection Plans

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

Consideration will be given to the same IRO chairing the Child Protection Conference where a looked after child is subject to a Child Protection Plan. Where that is not possible, the IRO will aim to attend the Child Protection Conference.

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

Consideration must be given to ensuring that the multi-agency contribution to the review of the Child Protection Plan is addressed within the review of the Care Plan.

6.7 Recording Reviews

Following the review:

The IRO will produce a written record of the decisions or recommendations made within 5 working days of the completion of the review and a full record of the review within 15 working days of the completion of the review;
The full written record of the review, including the decisions, should be distributed within 20 working days of the completion of the review;
Where parents do not attend the review 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 or what written information should be sent to them e.g. where there is a 'no contact order' or supervised contact only and the placement address needs to be protected;
Within 10 working days, following the completion of the review, the social worker should update the Care Plan in relation to any changes to the Care Plan agreed at the review.

The full record should contain an accurate and comprehensive record of the meeting, or meetings, which constituted the review and of the views of all those who attended or were consulted as part of the review process. The record should also reflect the review process for a designated long term foster placement where a meeting did not take place.

7. After a Looked After Review

Responsibilities after Reviews can be outlined as follows:

IRO Business Support is responsible for sending out the review report, updating Liquidlogic on the review that has taken place, and generating the next due review;
The Social Worker is responsible for ensuring that the child and their family understand the decisions made at the review, updating key documents and implementing the plan;
The Team Manager is responsible for identifying appropriate resources to implement the plan, checking the progress made in implementing the plan and following up where problems are encountered;
The IRO is responsible for recording decisions and recommendations made at the review and checking progress against agreed actions. The IRO should check the RNOF and ensure that all parties who should receive a copy of the report are to do so. See Role of the Independent Reviewing Officer Procedure.

7.1 Specific Responsibilities after a Review

The IRO completes written feedback for the child and others, confirming the decisions made and giving a brief summary of the discussion which took place;
The IRO will also consider if a child-friendly letters needs to be sent to the child following the review;
IRO completes the RNOF and returns it to the IRO admin;
IRO Business Support utilise the RNOF to send the IRO's review reports, as appropriate, to invitees and consultees.

7.2 If there are Problems Implementing Plans

Please see Dispute Resolution Procedure which outlines the process for Resolution of Disputes between IROs and the Local Authority regarding Care Planning for Looked After Children (including referral to the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service).

7.3 Other Meetings about the Child's Care that may inform the Review Process

It may be necessary to hold other meetings e.g. planning meetings, as part of the wider review process to consider aspects of the child's care plan, in order to ensure that everyone involved in the child's care is working together effectively to achieve the objectives of the child's care plan or to focus on a particular aspect of the child's care. The social worker should inform the IRO of any meetings which have a significant bearing on the child's plan; it may be necessary to bring forward a review meeting. Significant decisions taken about the care plan outside of review meetings may risk contravening Human Rights legislation.

Appendix 1: Guiding Principles for Reviews

Grimshaw and Sinclair: Planning and Reviewing Under the Children Act 1989; Research Messages for Local Authorities (National Children's Bureau, 1997) identified a number of guiding principles for reviewing the care plans of looked after children:

What have been the outcomes of the last review?
Is a new assessment of need called for?
Has the care plan been called into question by developments?
Do its objectives need to be reformulated?
Or is it a question of choosing new means to achieve the same ends?
How integrated does the care plan now appear?
How is the principle of sensitive, open and shared planning being upheld?
How cogent is the planning process?
How is the current planning process being recorded so that it can be monitored as part of a flexible but continuous long-term process?

Appendix 2: Principles for Involving Children/Young People in the Decision Making Process

12 Key Principles

The following statements express the principles which underpin our work to involve children and young people looked after by Hull City Council in the decisions, which effect their lives.

Involvement

Children want and are able to express their views. The more opportunity they have, the more they learn to have their say. Involvement is a developing process, not an occasional event.

Preparation and Support

Children need preparation, support and encouragement to have their say. They need adults to provide these things and sometimes independent advocacy.

Information

Children want and are entitled to clear, honest information. Understanding helps them play more of a role in decision-making.

Choice

Choices enhance the likelihood of participation. Children should be given choices, for example, about whether and how they take part in their review, the venue, other people attending.

Agenda

Children have their own agenda. Day to day decisions may be as important as long-term plans. Whatever their agenda, it should be taken seriously.

Active Communication

Children often prefer to express themselves through participatory activities, e.g. drawing, writing, clay, life story work. They should have these opportunities and the process should be more flexible and fun.

Genuine Commitment

Children communicate best with people they know and trust. The decision-making process should allow for an investment of time by these people in the child's life and for their views to be given an appropriate priority and a response.

Fairness

Children should be able to observe that everyone is treated fairly. Particularly where the potential exists for them to feel unfairly treated, they need clear explanations as to why something can or cannot happen.

Normalisation

Children want as "normal" a life as possible. As far as is possible, bureaucratic processes should not impinge on children and decisions should be devolved to the "family".

Maintaining Family Links

Children are especially concerned about decisions relating to contact. Care should be taken to listen to their views, to take their views seriously and to give them choices.

Partnership

If adults maintain a good level of partnership among themselves, it is easier for children to participate.

Flexibility and Individuality

Children need to be treated as individuals. Systems exist as a framework, which should be creatively adapted to meet their individual needs.

The above is adapted from Children and Decision Making by Nigel Thomas and Claire O'Kane, International Centre for Childhood Studies, University of Wales Swansea.