5.1.13 Children's Reviews

SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER

This Guidance should be read in conjunction with the following procedures:

Summary of Reviews for Looked After Children
Guidance for All
Purpose of Reviews
Timing of Reviews
Merging of Reviews
Who should Chair Reviews
Venue and Facilities
Date and Time of Reviews
Who should Attend Reviews
Invitations and Exclusions
Failure or Refusal to Attend
Contributions and Reports
Supporters
Chairperson's Responsibilities

1. Summary of Reviews for Looked After Children

Emergency Reviews:

The purpose of an Emergency Review is to review the suitability of the placement of a child who has been placed in an Emergency.

Detailed procedures are contained in Emergency Reviews Procedure.

Placement Plan Reviews:

The purpose of Placement Plan Reviews is to ensure that children's Placement Plans are kept up to date and continue to meet the needs of the child, as set out in a Care Plan or Pathway Plan.

Detailed procedures are contained in Placement Plan Reviews Procedure.

Looked After Reviews:

The purpose of Looked After Reviews is to ensure that adequate plans are in place to safeguard and promote the welfare of Looked After Children and achieve permanence for the child within a timescale that meets the child's needs.

Detailed procedures are contained in Looked After Reviews Procedure.

Secure Accommodation (Criteria) Reviews:

Secure Accommodation Reviews are conducted in relation to children placed in Secure Accommodation. The Purpose of a Secure Accommodation (Criteria) Review is to consider the following:

whether the criteria for keeping a child is secure accommodation continue to apply, on the day of the review;
that such a placement continues to be necessary and whether or not any other form of accommodation would be appropriate.

2. Guidance for All

We often associate Reviews, in relation to children, with Looked After Reviews held on Looked After Children, or with Child Protection Reviews held on Children whose names are on the Child Protection Register.

These formal, Looked After reviews are critical but they only reflect part of the picture in the delivery of children's services.

There are many other formal Reviews, like those described above; but the review process is effectively ongoing. It forms part of a continuous planning process.

Those involved in the delivery of services, including assessments, should constantly be reviewing their progress as they go.

Therefore, whilst these guidelines are designed to assist those involved in formal review processes, the principles apply equally to any situation which involves the evaluation of work achieved and forward planning.

3. The Purpose of Reviews

Reviews forms part of a continuous planning process: reviewing decisions to date and planning future work. Reviews enable forward planning.

The overall purpose of Reviews is to ensure that children's interests are being safeguarded and promoted in the most effective way.

Reviews should:

bring significant people together, including the child concerned;
enable examination and analysis of previous decisions, agreements, objectives or recommendations;
promote forward planning, including further assessments if necessary.

4. Timing of Reviews

Review procedures state when reviews should be convened. They provide the maximum timescales before an initial or standalone review should be convened, or the maximum timescales between ongoing reviews.

For example, procedures dictate that Emergency Reviews, conducted when children are accommodated in a children's or foster home in an 'Emergency', must occur within 72 hours of the child being placed.

Also procedures state that the first Looked After Review held on a Looked After or Accommodated child should occur within four weeks of placement.

These are MAXIMUM timescales. Such reviews should occur as soon as practicable; within the above timescales. They should not occur after the timescale has expired.

Procedures further state the maximum timescales between reviews; for example Looked After Reviews, Child Protection Review Conferences or Casework Reviews should each occur within specified maximum timescales.

The difference here is that such reviews can wait until the end of the required period between reviews unless the circumstances of the case suggest that a review should be convened earlier.

Ongoing reviews, such as Looked After or Child Protection Review Conferences should be convened early if the need arises for substantial changes to the plan; where, for example, plans previously agreed are failing to protect a child.

5. Merging Reviews

Some children are subject to different review processes. For example, an accommodated child may have many different plans, all subject to review; this may include a Care Plan, Placement Plan, Statement of Special Educational Needs and Casework Plan.

Each of these reviews will be subject to different timescales; all will focus on different needs and objectives.

Therefore, it is usually better to conduct reviews separately; but this is not an absolute.

The circumstances of the case may suggest that reviews be merged, or that they should be convened on the same day.

If this is proposed, the chair of each review should be consulted, agreement reached about how processes and agendas should be formulated and in what order matters should be addressed.

6. Who should Chair Reviews?

Procedures usually prescribe who should chair reviews.

Where procedures states that reviews should be chaired by the manager, this responsibility can be delegated to another person so long as the person undertaking the role is clear about the function and their responsibilities and authority.

7. Venue and Facilities

Unless otherwise stated in procedures, the Chairperson, in consultation with the social worker and other key people, must come to a decision about the venue and facilities which may be required by people attending the review.

The Chairperson is responsible for making necessary arrangements for ensuring the venue is available, booking it and arranging for adequate facilities to be available. For example:

Reviews should not be convened in buildings where participants may have difficulty gaining access. The Chairperson should ensure there is adequate access and toilet facilities for wheelchairs users.
The Chairperson should enquire whether any participants have hearing disabilities or may need the assistance of an interpreter; and if so, make arrangements to suit their needs.
The Chairperson should also make necessary arrangements for refreshments

8. Date and Time of Reviews

The Chairperson should consider the needs and interests of all those invited when arranging the date and time of the review; those it may be necessary to make compromises to suit conflicting needs.

Where the review does have to be arranged on a day or at a time which may present difficulties to a participant, the Chairperson should consult, explain or, preferably obtain agreement beforehand.

For example, reviews should be convened:

outside school hours;
within the normal working hours of professionals or agency staff;
outside the working hours of parents, or at lunchtimes or breaks.

Attempts should be made to avoid arranging reviews to conflict with other key meetings, such as team or staff meetings.

If the review is postponed or cancelled, the Chairperson is responsible for informing all those invited - or arranging through others for this to be undertaken.

9. Who should Attend Reviews

Procedures usually prescribe who should attend reviews and whether there are any requirements about minimum attendance.

Unless otherwise stated in procedures, the following people should attend reviews:

the child;
the child's parent(s) and others with parental responsibility;
the child's social worker;
if the child is accommodated, the child's foster carer(s), Fostering Social Worker or Linkworker;
if a Looked After child is reaching the age of 16, a Personal Advisor or representative from the Leaving Care Team;
representatives from any agencies/specialisms involved in meeting the child's needs;
representatives from agencies/specialisms which may have a role to play in the future

Where people are unable to attend they should contact the Chairperson to ascertain whether they should arrange to send a delegate and/or forward a written or other contribution.

If participants wish to be accompanied by a manager, supporter or advocate they should consult the Chairperson beforehand to agree the role this person will play.

10. Invitations and Exclusions

Unless otherwise stated in specific procedures, the following will apply

The Chairperson is responsible for ensuring participants are invited to reviews, but it may be agreed that others, such as the social worker, will undertake the role.

Invitations should be extended verbally and confirmed in writing unless timescales are too short to do so.

Verbal invitations should include the date, time and venue of the meeting, an explanation of it's purpose and any expectations of the person invited; for example, to prepare a written or other contribution.

Written invitations should confirm the information given verbally, explain who else has been invited, specify whether participants can be accompanied by a supporter or friend and provide the contact details of the Chairperson should there be any concerns or problems in attending.

A decision to exclude any person should only be taken where the Chairperson is satisfied their attendance may prevent a proper consideration of the child's needs or may threaten or otherwise place the child or another person at risk.

If a decision is reached to exclude a person they may still be informed about the review and asked to prepare a written or other contribution if they wish. In these circumstances they should also be informed of the outcome of the review.

11. Failure/Refusal to Attend

Failure to attend or refusal to co-operate should not be misinterpreted or punished.

Meetings of any sort pose difficulties for some participants; meetings which may have the ability to change lives, such as reviews, may cause people to feel threatened or intimidated. Prior experiences may result in children or parents feeling mistrustful; they may feel angry or confused by the process and range of reviews.

Chairpersons must be mindful of this and must do all they reasonable can to gain the confidence and co-operation of children, parent(s) and others; some professionals may feel mistrustful too.

Should the child, parent(s) or other key people fail to attend or be uncooperative, the Chairperson must come to a decision about whether it is in the child's best interests to continue or postpone the meeting, having consulted the others present.

The review should not automatically continue if the child or parent(s) fail to attend or refuse to co-operate; all reasonable efforts should be made to gain their co-operation. This may include conducting the review in a less than perfect manner so long as the ability to make decisions is not seriously compromised.

If the child, parent(s) or others remain absent or uncooperative the Chairperson must ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to obtain and consider their views; or consider as far as possible what they may be.

In these circumstances the Chairperson must ensure the person who refused to attend or co-operate is informed of the outcome and given the opportunity and encouragement to be engaged in future planning and review processes.

12. Contributions/Reports

The Chairperson is responsible for collating or arranging for written or other contributions/reports to be prepared and furnished on time.

Where participants are requested to provide contributions they should:

ensure that information to be presented by them at review is known to, and if possible shared with, the child and parents beforehand.
ensure that information is communicated/translated in the most appropriate way taking account of the language and any sensory or learning difficulties of the child or parents.

The Chairperson should decide whether contributions or reports should be produced in advance and whether they should be circulated.

If contributions are not to be circulated the Chairperson must provide adequate copies for all participants and build time into the meeting for everyone to familiarise themselves with them.

Those invited to prepare contributions/reports should be informed verbally and in writing, together with advice on the matters to address, whether contributions should be furnished in advance and, if so, when and where to send them.

The child and parent(s) should be encouraged and supported to prepare for the review, in writing or other ways to suit their abilities.

13. Supporters

The Chairperson should make necessary arrangements to invite a supporter or a professional (for example, an advocate of the child or a person with specialist skills or knowledge) to speak on behalf of the child or child's parent(s).

They should also make necessary arrangements for an interpreter or other assistance resulting from the child's or parental disability.

14. Chairperson's Responsibilities

Apart from the responsibilities outlined in the sections above, the Chairperson should arrive at the venue in time to ensure that it has been prepared for the purpose, that there are sufficient chairs, refreshments if required etc.

The Chairperson is responsible for ensuring that everyone who attends understands the purpose of the review and any conditions or restrictions upon the ability of the review to make decisions or recommendations.

The Chairperson must ensure that all those who attend are given appropriate opportunities to contribute and express their views.

Before the review begins the Chairperson should meet the parents and child to ensure that they understand the purpose and decision-making processes which will be undertaken by the review.

If participants bring a friend/supporter, the chairperson must clarify their role, ensuring that they may clarify information but may not cross-examine any contributor.

It will be necessary for the Chairperson to ensure that the aims and objectives of any previous plan have been achieved and identify any relevant changes in circumstances which have a bearing on the case.

If the recommendations or agreements from previous reviews have not been achieved, the chairperson is responsible for

The Chairperson is responsible for summarising the discussions, recommendations, agreements and decisions of the review, usually in writing, and for ensuring any new/amended plan that is required is updated and circulated to all those invited and those excluded from the review.

The Chairperson should also ensure that any documentation or records required post review are completed or that those responsible are clear about their role in doing so.

If possible, the Chairperson should set a date for the next review.

Where the Chairperson is concerned about delay in implementation of plans, he or she is responsible for progress chasing and, if necessary, taking matters up with relevant managers for appropriate action to be taken within agreed timescales and progress reported back.

End