Attending a Child Protection Conference?

A child protection conference brings together families, advocates and those professionals most involved with the child and family to make decisions about a child’s safety, wellbeing and their development.

Please note, due to the current situation regarding COVID-19, the safety of our families, staff and agencies involved in the safeguarding and protection of our children and young people is our priority. Therefore, all Child Protection Conferences will be now held virtually. Please find more information here. Instructions for joining ‘virtual’ meetings are available via the links below:

In Redbridge, the model used within their child protection framework is the Strengthening Families approach which aims to support assessment of risk using a strength and resilience model to engage children, young people and families. This model outlines how Child Protection Conferences will share and organise information.

Members of conferences aim to:

Bring together and analyse, any information which has been gathered about the child’s developmental needs, and the parents’ capacity to respond to these needs, to ensure safety and promote health and development of their child within their wider family and environment;
Consider the findings presented, including what is happening now, information about the child’s family history and how they function presently and in the past in order to decide whether the child has suffered, or is likely to suffer, significant harm
Recommend on what future action is needed including the child becoming the subject of a child protection plan, where developmental outcomes are planned for the child and to decide how best to support and intervene. A lead social worker from children’s social care is appointed for each child who requires a child protection plan. They are responsible for ensuring that the child protection plan is developed, co-ordinated and fully implemented to timescale;
Identify a core group of professionals and family members to develop, implement and review the progress of the child protection plan.
Put in place a contingency plan if the agreed actions are not completed and/or circumstances change impacting on the child’s safety and welfare.

If you are invited but unable to attend for unavoidable reasons should:

Inform the conference administrator;
Submit a written report; and
Arrange for a well-briefed agency representative to attend and speak to the report.

You can learn more about Child Protection Conferences from the London Child Protection Procedures.

The RSCP Training Programme delivers a course to support those who are likely to attend in the course of their work; Child Protection Conferences and the Strengthening Families Approach.