1.3.1 Planning and Disruption Meetings

Contents 

1. Placement (Care Programme) Meetings  
2. Disruption Meetings 

1. Placement (Care Programme) Meetings

The purpose of Placement/Care Programming Meetings is to ensure that children’s Care Programmes are brought or kept up to date and continue to meet the needs of broader or wider plans, such as a Care Plan, Personal Education Plan or Pathway Plan.

1.1 Frequency of meetings

1. For all children: If possible, during the planning stages before a young person is placed or when consideration is being given to transferring a child from one resource to another.
2. For Children’s Homes and Foster Placements: Within five working days of the child’s placement if the child is placed on a planned basis, then at other intervals determined by the Manager in consultation with the Social Worker (e.g. after a Looked After Review). 
   
   In an Emergency (if a child is placed on an Emergency basis or a child’s placement is at risk of breakdown), an Emergency Planning Meeting should be convened within 3 working days of the event.
3. For Family Assessment Services: At fortnightly intervals

1.2 Arranging and Chairing Meetings

Meetings will normally be arranged by the Manager of the home, who should act as the chairperson, though this responsibility may be delegated to another person.

Meetings can be conducted in the form of a meeting or may be conducted over the telephone, if the Manager and Social Worker agree.

1.3 Who should contribute Meetings

The people listed below should contribute to the meetings (if the child has been placed on an emergency basis, it may not be possible to notify/invite all those listed. However, it is essential that the Social Worker in invited/contributes):

1. The child’s Social Worker and/or other professional associated with the child e.g. Personal Adviser or Advocacy
2. The child’s Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO)
3. The child
4. The child’s Parents
5. The child’s Keyworker, and/or Home Manager
6. A representative from the Education Team

1.4 Preparation and Conducting Meetings

If the child has been placed on an emergency basis, it may not be possible to undertake all of the following arrangements.

Before the review the chairperson should obtain or be updated on the following:

• The child’s Care Programme
• Any work which has been undertaken by key professionals involved in supporting the child’s placement
• If relevant: the child’s Care Plan, Personal Education Plan and Pathway Plan.

The chairperson should also ensure that the child, Parent(s) and others who have been asked to contribute understand the purpose of the review, how it will be conducted and are given the opportunity to put their views and suggestions.

During the review, the chairperson should ensure the following:

• That consideration is given to the continuing appropriateness of the placement within the context of the child’s Care Plan or Pathway Plan and the need for the Care Programme to be amended as appropriate. 
• That the child’s Care Programme is updated if appropriate, and new or updated copies are circulated to those who were invited or contributed.

The chairperson should also consider whether the child requires Advocacy or the appointment of an Independent Visitor; if so, this should be raised with the Placing Authority. See Advocacy and Independent Visitors Procedure.

This does not mean that amendments to Care Programmes may only be made at Planning Meetings.  When Care Programmes are formulated and at each Planning Meeting, the Social Worker and Manager/chair should agree the extent to which they can be amended between Planning Meetings or without consultation. 

If there are concerns about the suitability of the placement, consideration should be given to the following:

• whether it is possible to sustain the placement until the next Looked After Review by, for example, providing additional support to the placement;
• bringing forward the date of the next Looked After Review;
• ending the placement (If it seems appropriate to end the placement, the Manager should consult his/her Line Manager before taking any action.)

2. Disruption Meetings

Disruption Meetings should be convened in relation to children whose placement in a children’s home or foster care has ended abruptly or on an unplanned basis.

Where a placement breaks down or ends on an unplanned basis, the Manager of the home must convene a Disruption Meeting within 5 working days.

The Manager of the home or an independent Manager should convene and chair the meeting.  Those invited, or asked to contribute, should be:

1. The Social Worker
2. The Keyworker or Carer(s)
3. The Parents and child
4. Other relevant Staff/professionals e.g. Teacher

The precise agenda will depend on the child/circumstances, but the Manager/chair should ensure the circumstances leading to the disruption are properly reviewed, and that all concerned are provided with opportunities to express their views freely with a view to establishing:

• How and why the disruption occurred
• To learn from what happened and avoid the same thing happening again - for the child or others in the home
• To contribute to the future planning for the child
• To identify work to be done and to ensure it is completed.
• To ensure that appropriate notifications and other post placement arrangements have been undertaken - as set out in Section 2, Post Placement Arrangements and Notifications in Pre and Post Placement Arrangements Procedure.

The Manager should keep minutes, which must be circulated to all concerned.

End