Reports to Child Protection Conferences
Standard | Criteria | |
1 | All reports by professionals will be submitted to the IRO Team in line with agreed timescales | Reports should be made available to the IRO at least two working days before an ICPC and five working days before an RCPC Reports are required whether or not the professional is able to attend the conference. |
2 | All professional reports will be shared with the parents or carers (and the child if appropriate) | All reports should be shared by the authors (or a representative) with parents (and child if appropriate) at least two working days before the ICPC and five working days before an RCPC. |
3 | Reports from professionals, where possible, will be written to a standard format, a form to support this is available on the NYSCP website | In North Yorkshire, reports for Child Protection Conferences use the ‘Signs of Safety’ format. Report to conference will include: – Name, job title, work place base and contact details – Date of report – Date shared with family and if not shared with the family, the reasons for this – Details of children/young people, including ethnicity and first language – Details of the family, relationship, ethnicity, first language and parental responsibility – What has changed since the time of the previous Child Protection Conference with regard to the risks to the safety and welfare of this child/these children? – What is going well with regard to achieving the goals for safety set out in the child protection plan? – What concerns with regard to significant harm remain? – What else needs to happen to reduce the risk of significant harm to this child/these children? The Social Worker’s report should where appropriate include the initial family network (safety planning) plan that has been developed with the family. Reports should take into account the following: – What is working well with regards to the child(ren)’s family and environmental factors? – What is currently working well in the care and circumstances of the child (ren)? – What are you most worried may happen to the child(ren) in the future if there is no change in their care or circumstances? – What needs to happen for the child(ren) to ensure the child does not suffer significant harm? – What could your agency do to help to build safety for the child(ren)? – What has the child(ren) said to you or your agency about their experience? What has been the impact on the child(ren)? – What do they want to change? – What are the parent’s or carers saying to you or your agency about the concerns that have been raised? |
4 | Reports and other documents will be securely transmitted | All professionals should comply with their agency policies for the secure transmission of data – whether written or electronic. |
5 | Reports will be presented in a format understood by the parents and where applicable, the child | Reports will be translated into different languages where English is not the parent’s or child’s first language. Agencies are responsible for translation of reports into different formats. This should be completed in line with the individual agency’s communication policy. Any difficulties in the formatting of reports should be reported to the IRO at the time. Where difficulties remain, the NYSCP Professional Resolutions Practice Guidance should be followed. |
6 | Reports from the Social Worker | Reports should be written in line with the template on the CSC case management system. |