Looked After (Child in Care) Reviews

A Child in Care Review must take place before any significant change is made to the child's Care Plan, unless that is not reasonably practicable, including a decision to cease looking after a child.

Child in Care Reviews should normally be conducted at a meeting although a meeting may not be required for every review in respect of a child who has been in a designated Long-term Foster Placement for over twelve months. See Section 10, Child in Care Reviews for Children in Long Term Foster Placements.

The purpose of the Child in Care Review is to:

• Ensure that appropriate plans are in place to safeguard and promote the overall welfare of the child in Care in the most effective way and achieve permanence for him or her within a timescale that meets his or her needs;
• To monitor the progress of the plans and ensure they are being progressed effectively;
• To make decisions, as necessary, for amendments to those plans to reflect any change in knowledge and/or circumstances;
• To ensure the needs of children in care as a result of a secure remand are met;
• To ensure that an Eligible Young Person moving into semi-independent accommodation is ready and prepared to move;
• For a young person living in foster care, the first Child in Care Review following his or her 16th birthday should consider whether a Staying Put arrangement (whereby the young person remains in the foster home after the age of 18) should be an option.

It is important that decisions taken at Child in Care Reviews are implemented and responsibility for actions clearly defined.

The key plans that should be considered at a Child in Care Review are:

• Care Plan;
• Health Plan;
• Pathway Plan if applicable;
• Personal Education Plan (PEP).

The review should also take account of the child's Placement Plan and any other plans or strategies (e.g. behaviour management strategy), ensuring that they are up to date, or that arrangements are in place to update them.

Normally, Child in Care Reviews should be convened at the following intervals

• An initial Child in Care Review should be conducted within 20 working days of the child coming into Care;
• The second Child in Care Review should be conducted within three months of an Initial Child in Care Review;
• Subsequent Child in Care Reviews should be conducted not more than six months after any previous review.

In relation to children placed with prospective adopters or where there is Authority to Place for Adoption, see the Adoption Reviews Procedure.

Child in Care Reviews should be brought forward by an IRO where the circumstances of an event has a significant impact upon the child's care plan, as suggested in the following sorts of circumstances:

• 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 arrangements for children spending time with their families and those they love and care about;
• 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.

Independent Reviewing Officers (IRO's) will chair reviews. They are located within the Safeguarding Unit.

The IRO's responsibilities are outlined in Section 8, Independent Reviewing Officer's Responsibilities.

See also Appointment and Role of Independent Reviewing Officers Procedure.

If the allocated IRO cannot attend the meeting and it is important that the review meeting is not delayed, the meeting will be chaired/attended by a substitute IRO.

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

Invitations to reviews will be sent by the Independent Review Service following consultation with the child's social worker and the IRO, who will decide who should be invited in consultation with the child. 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.

The following people should normally be invited:

• The child. There is a presumption that the child will attend the review. A child's disability must not be a bar to the child's attendance;
• The parents and those with Parental Responsibility, carers and any significant people or specialists involved in the child's case (except as set out below);
• The supervising social worker, if the child is placed with foster carers;
• The link worker if the child is in residential care;
• The most appropriate teacher at the child's school (usually the Designated Teacher for looked after children);
• A Personal Adviser, if the child is over the age of 16;
• The child's Guardian where there are court proceedings;
• An Independent Visitor, if involved;
• If required, an interpreter;
• Any other person with a legitimate interest in the child e.g. health care professional, GP, a representative from the Local Authority in whose area it is proposed that the child will be placed (such attendance should always be discussed with the child before invitations are made and his/her views obtained);
• The officer with lead responsibility for implementing the authority's duty to promote the educational achievement of its children in care should be invited/consulted where there are particular issues in relation to a child's education.

A balance must be struck in relation to who the child wishes to be present and the need for information and input from the professionals and family members involved. Efforts should be made to keep the number present at the review as small as possible. It may be appropriate for information to be provided in writing or at a separate meeting where the contribution is strictly factual. Children and parents should also be informed that they can arrange to see the IRO separately if they wish or bring a supporter or interpreter to the review.

Children and parents should also be informed that they can arrange to see the IRO separately if they wish or bring a supporter or interpreter to the review.

Where the child does not wish to attend the review, the IRO must at the very least speak to the child before the review - wherever possible in a face to face meeting.

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.

The child's social worker must ensure that children and families have been given information about the Complaints Procedure. They should provide the child with details of independent advocacy services who may provide support if the child requires it. NYAS (National Youth Advocacy Service) provides an advocacy service for North Yorkshire.

See Section 7, Supporters and Interpreters.

Where any other invited person cannot attend, the IRO may agree that a delegate attend instead.

Exclusions From a Review Meeting

There may be some occasions where it is felt the young person's welfare would be prejudiced by the parent's attendance / involvement in the review process. In this situation the IRO should discuss the situation with the social worker and in consultation with the IRO manager make a decision about whether or not the parent should be excluded from the review. An exclusion should only be made under exceptional circumstances and after all other options for engaging the parent in some aspect of the review process have been considered first.

If the decision is made to exclude the parent(s), the IRO will write to the parent(s) explaining the reasons for the decision and will set out how they can communicate their views to the IRO. The IRO will also inform the parent of the method in which they will be notified of the outcome of the review and the extent of the information to be shared with the parent. It may not be in the child's interest for the parent to receive a copy of the IRO review record but the IRO may be able to share some limited information with the parent.

A decision to exclude a parent needs to be reviewed prior to every subsequent review to consider whether the situation has changed. Where a parent is excluded the IRO should ensure that they are sent details of the Commendations, Comments and Complaints process.

The child's social worker must discuss the purpose of the review with the child, parents and carers and consult the child about invitations at least 20 working days before the review meeting.

Where the child wishes to chair his or her own review, the social worker should inform the IRO.

In all cases, the child and parent(s) should be encouraged and supported by the social worker to prepare for the review, in writing or other ways if they wish, for example by seeing the IRO separately. The social worker should agree with the IRO the best way to promote the child's participation and their parent's participation in the review process. This requires early consultation between the social worker and the IRO, and should be part of a thorough preparation of all the key issues for the review.

The child's social worker must also ensure the child's IRO is kept informed of any significant changes in the child's circumstances and the IRO should be informed, in advance, of any meetings that are to be held that may impact on the child's care plan. This will give the IRO an opportunity to attend if they feel this is appropriate and where the IRO does not attend the social worker must inform the IRO of the outcomes of any other meetings held which impacts on the child's care plan. In addition, the social worker must notify the IRO if he or she believes that decisions made at a review are no longer appropriate because of a change in circumstances.

Where the child has been or is the subject of Court proceedings, the social worker should ensure the IRO has clear information of the child's legal status and the Court timetable.

Prior to the review, the social worker must ensure the child's records and plans are up to date, for example, that they include records of the placement visits and the last date when the child's sleeping accommodation was seen. Any changes in household membership need to be clearly recorded.

The social worker must ensure that the following documents have been completed and are available to the IROs 3 working days before the review meeting:

• Child in Care Review pre-meeting report;
• Review of Arrangement Report;
• Care Plan or Pathway Plan;

• Health Plan;
• Personal Education Plan;
• Any other relevant reports by professionals.

After the review, the social worker is responsible for updating the Care Plan within 10 working days, in relation to any changes to the Care Plan agreed at the review.

The social worker should also ensure that the, Health Plan and Personal Education Plan are updated if this is required, and arrange for a Pathway Plan to be completed/updated, if relevant.

The social worker should also ensure that the child's Placement Plan is updated if an update is required.

Where the child and/or the parents are unable to attend the review, the IRO should agree and record on the review record who will inform the child and parents of the outcome of the review and the form of communication that should be used for doing this.

See also Appointment and Role of Independent Reviewing Officers Procedure, Duty of Social Worker to Keep IRO Informed.

The social worker and IRO should consider prior to the review whether either the child or parent(s) would benefit from the presence of a supporter or advocate and if so, the social worker should ensure the necessary arrangements are made. A supporter may be either an advocate on behalf of the child/parent(s) or a person with specialist skills or knowledge.

It may also be necessary for the social worker to make arrangements for an interpreter to attend. Special needs, for example those arising from disability, should always be considered and appropriate assistance arranged where relevant.

Any request by the child or parent(s) for their legal adviser to attend as their supporter should be notified to the IRO prior to the review and arrangements made where appropriate for the attendance at the review of a local authority legal adviser.

The IRO's role is to chair Child in Care Reviews and monitor the appropriateness of the Care Plan (on an ongoing basis including whether any safeguarding issues arise), its implementation and to establish whether the milestones set out in the plan are being achieved in a timely way.

See also Appointment and Role of Independent Reviewing Officers Procedure, which sets out in detail to role of the IRO outside the Child in Care Review.

In relation to their role at reviews, a key task for all IRO's is to ensure that the review process is child and family centred and that the child's views are heard. They should be satisfied that the views of children who have communication difficulties are obtained and effectively presented in the review.

The IRO should consult the child about their Care Plan at each review and at any time that there is a significant change to the Care Plan. The IRO should meet the child before the first Child in Care Review and arrange to meet the child as appropriate in advance of subsequent Child in Care Reviews.

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.

Where possible, young people should be encouraged to chair or co-chair the meeting with their IRO - see Section 3, Chairing of Reviews.

More than one meeting may be required to ensure the views of relevant people inform the review without the meeting becoming too large. For example it may be appropriate to hold a meeting involving the child prior to a meeting involving the parent to obtain information and ascertain the views of both where the child does not wish to attend a review with his or her parents present.

The IRO is responsible for ensuring that all relevant people, including the child and parents, understand the purpose of the review and have been given appropriate opportunities to contribute and express their views. The IRO should also ensure that relevant consultation has taken place with those professionals who are not in attendance at the meeting.

Where participants' views are not followed, an explanation of the reasons why needs to be provided by the IRO and/or the social worker. Any differences of opinion should be recorded in the minutes.

If the parent(s) or the child brings a supporter, the IRO will need to explain his or her role, ensuring that the supporter understands that he or she may clarify information but may not cross-examine any contributor.

The agenda for each review will be agreed at the beginning of the meeting and each participant will be invited to contribute their own items to the agenda and have the opportunity to contribute to the discussion.

The IRO will decide on what actions in principle are necessary to meet the child's reviewed needs and make recommendations as to how these should be achieved.

The IRO is under a duty to ensure that the child, where appropriate, has been informed of his/her right to apply, with leave, for an order under Section 8 of the1989 Act, and, where the child is in care, for the discharge of the care order and his/her right to make a complaint and to an advocate. If the child wishes to take legal proceedings under the 1989 Act, the IRO must establish whether there is an appropriate adult able and willing to assist the child to obtain legal advice or bring proceedings on the child's behalf or, if there is no such person, assist the child to obtain such advice.

Taking into account the age and understanding of the child, the IRO will need to consider carefully how best to explain to each child their right to:

• Apply for an order or seek discharge of an order;
• An advocate (including an explanation of the role of the advocate);
• Make a complaint and how to do this.

These are all complex issues to explain to a child and the IRO will need to be able to satisfy him/herself and his/her manager that the child is aware and understands his/her rights.

The IRO has the power to adjourn reviews. Careful consideration should be given to taking such action and the wishes and feelings of the child, the carer and, where appropriate, the parents should be sought before any decision is made. The IRO should consider the effects on the child of delaying a meeting for which s/he has been prepared and should weigh up the relative disadvantages of proceeding with the meeting on limited information and the delay in decision making which would result from adjournment. Responsibility for deciding whether or not a review should be adjourned rests with the nominated IRO for the child concerned. In such circumstances the review may be adjourned once but should be completed within 20 working days of the date of the adjournment.

In all review records it is necessary for the IRO to ensure decisions are clear and establish who is responsible for action and the timescales agreed for completion. The IRO should ensure that the following are considered and accounted for during the review:

1. 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;
2. Whether any change should be sought in the child's legal status;
3. Whether there is a plan for permanence;
4. Arrangements for time children spend with their families and those they love and care about / whether there is any need for changes to the arrangements in order to promote time spent between the child and parents/other Connected Persons;
5. 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;
6. Whether the placement safeguards and promotes the child's welfare, and whether any safeguarding concerns have been raised;
7. 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 Personal Education Plan (PEP) and whether its content provides a clear framework for promoting educational achievement;
8. The child's leisure interests and activities and whether the arrangements are meeting his/her needs;
9. 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;
10. 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;
11. Whether the arrangements for advice, support and assistance continue to be appropriate and understood by the child;
12. Whether any arrangements need to be made for the time when the child will no longer be in Care;
13. 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;
14. Where the child is placed with parents before an assessment is completed, the frequency of the social worker's visits;
15. Whether the delegation of authority to take decisions about a child's care continues to be appropriate and in the child's best interests;
16. Other matters which may arise should also be considered with due regard to the circumstances of the child and the placement.

After the review, the IRO will notify the Independent Review Service admin staff of the date for the next review.

Where there is evidence of poor practice, the IRO will consider what action is needed to bring this to the attention of the relevant and appropriate managers - see Section 14, Monitoring and Tracking Role of the IRO.

It is also the IRO responsibility to focus on conflict resolution - see Section 15, Conflict Resolution.

The Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) must check that the child's Care Plan includes a Permanence Plan with measurable milestones and a Contingency Plan should the preferred plans not materialise.

At the second Child in Care Review, there is a requirement to focus on the Permanence Plan, to ensure it provides permanence for the child within a timescale which is realistic, achievable and meets the child's needs.

The IRO record of the second review should specify what the plan of permanence is and what work is required by whom and in what timescale in order to achieve the permanence plan.

Where there is no single permanence plan at the second review the IRO needs to specify what the twin or multi track plans are and detail what work is required, by whom and in what timescale to bring the plan to a single permanence plan. Consideration should be given to convening an early review to confirm the single plan of permanence once this has been determined.

All subsequent Reviews should review the progress and validity of the Permanence Plan.

Children who are Section 20 Accommodated (Children Act 1989): IROs should pay particular regard to children accommodated under S.20 to ensure there is appropriate progression of their plans and that there are no delays in respect of them having 'permanence', (which should include a return home). A High Court judgement (see Herefordshire Council v AB [2018] EWFC 10 rtf) was critical of protracted delay in a child's planning and failure to respond to a parent's request to have a child return home to their care under S. 20(8). Further, that the IRO, whilst recognising the issues of delay and planning, and highlighting these to managers, did not respond more robustly (see Section 15, Conflict Resolution).

The judgement considered that in circumstances where the threshold criteria (for Care/ Supervision Orders) under Section 31 Children Act 1989 are met, (i.e. where a child is at risk of significant harm, or the likelihood of significant harm), then care proceedings should be issued without delay.

The updated June 2015 Care Planning, Placement and Review Regulations, in relation to permanence and long-term foster placements, 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. It also sets out the visiting requirements in relation to children who are in a designated long term foster placement (see Social Worker Visits to Children in Care Procedure).

Before consideration is given to not holding "a meeting" the IRO must ensure that the fostering placement has been formally agreed as a long term placement as the child's permanence plan.

For children placed in a long term fostering placement since June 2015 this requires that:

• A Child in Care Review should have agreed the plan for permanence as being long term foster care;
• Social worker to have updated the placement plan to reflect the review decision;
• A matching report to have been submitted to the Placement and Permanence Panel and confirmation of their decision;
• The matching report to contain a commitment from the foster carer that they understand and agree to the long term commitment they are making to care for the child until they ceased to be looked after;
• Confirmation in writing from the panel as to their decision.

For children placed in a long term fostering placement prior to June 2015 this requires that:

• A Child in Care Review should have agreed the plan for permanence as being long term foster care;
• The placement plan to contain a commitment from the foster carer that they understand and agree to the long term commitment they are making to care for the child until they cease to be looked after.

Once the IRO is assured that the status of the placement is a long term fostering placement made in accordance with the child permanence plan and that the child has been in placement for more than a year then consideration can be given as to whether it is necessary to hold "a meeting".

The social worker should consult with the IRO and the child (where appropriate to age and understanding) in reaching a decision on whether to hold "a meeting".

Following this discussion the decision not to hold "a meeting" will only be made where the IRO and team manager agree.

The above discussion and recording of the decision must take place prior to every review where the decision is not to hold a "review meeting".

The factors leading to the decision must be recorded in the child's Care Plan by the social worker and on the child's review record by the IRO.

Where a decision is taken that the review process will not include "a meeting" the IRO must ensure that consultation takes place with the child, the child's parent or any other person with PR, the current carer and all relevant individuals, in order to inform the review of the child's case.

The review process will be the same as though a meeting is taking place, the pre meeting report must be completed by the social worker and the IRO will complete a review record which will be distributed to all review participants.

Statutory timescales must still be adhered to for convening and completing the review process.

In the course of the consultation process if the IRO becomes aware of information that would suggest it would be beneficial to convene a meeting, then the IRO should arrange this without any undue delay.

 A review "meeting" must be held annually.

Where a looked after child remains the subject of a Child Protection Plan, work should be undertaken to bring the situation to a single planning and reviewing process, led by the IRO, leading to the development of a single plan where possible. Exceptionally the circumstances of a small number of young people will necessitate their being the subject of a child protection plan and the Child in Care Review process at the same time. In these circumstances consideration should be given by the IRO to combining the respective review meetings into one meeting if possible while continuing to comply with statutory timescales. The dual processes should be reviewed regularly and the child protection plan ended as soon as it is appropriate to do so.

Normally the IRO will chair the Child Protection Conference where a child in Care remains subject to a Child Protection Plan.

It is the responsibility of the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) to record the review. A written record of the decisions will be completed and circulated by the Independent Review Officer to the Team Manager, Assistant Team Manager and the Social Worker within 5 working days of the meeting. Where there are decisions which affect the resources of any other manager they should also be sent a copy of the decisions within 5 working days of the review. The Service Manager on behalf of the local authority is responsible for agreeing the Decisions and must inform the IRO within five working days of receipt if there is any disagreement. An immediate attempt will be made to resolve any disagreement informally and the Local Dispute Resolution procedure will be followed if no resolution is achieved.

See Section 13, Review Decisions.

The full written record of the review will be completed within 15 working days of 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. The Independent Review Service will send copies of the review record out to those people who contributed to the review process.

Where parents do not attend the review/part of the meeting 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, and, if not, what written information should be sent to them. The IRO should take into account the view of the child/young person as to what information their parent should receive.

The Team Manager should consider the decisions made at each Child in Care Review within five working days of receiving them and advise the IRO if they are unable to agree them.

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

If the senior member of staff disagrees with any of the decisions within that initial five working day period, this should be notified in writing to the IRO. An immediate attempt will be made by the IRO to resolve any disagreement informally and the Local Dispute Resolution procedure will be followed if no resolution is achieved.

See Section 15, Conflict Resolution.

The IRO has an important quality assurance role to play in tracking the progress of the implementation of the review decision and the progress of the child's care plan. The IRO should address any issues through informal discussion and the use of the quality alert system.

It is also important that the IRO recognises and reports on good practice by individuals or teams and the quality alert system should also be used to highlight areas of exceptional practice. It is important for the IRO to have a collaborative relationship with the social workers and their managers and that both positive feedback and issues of concern are discussed with an attempt to resolve things for the child at the most local level.

Where the IRO believes that the Local Authority has failed in any significant respect to prepare the child's Care Plan; review the child's case or effectively implement any decision in consequence of a review; or are otherwise in breach of their duties to the child in any material respect, the following procedure will apply:

1. Informal resolution through the issuing of a quality alert.
2. If no resolution is reached through informal resolution then the IRO should invoke the Local Dispute resolution procedure.

If the dispute is centred on a proposed placement move the IRO can request a freeze on the placement until the dispute is resolved.

The IRO can at any point in the dispute process, refer a case to CAFCASS at the same time as seeking an internal resolution to the problem – (see Local Dispute Resolution Procedure).

The IRO relationship with CAFCASS is governed by the national "CAFCASS and Independent Reviewing Officer Protocol for Public Law Work" and the IRO will work with the child's Guardian in accordance with the agreed protocol.

Where the child is in proceedings the IRO should liaise with the Local Authority legal department who will ensure that the IRO has access to the court legal bundle.

The IRO must ensure that the Local Authority solicitor for the child's case has copies of the IRO review records.

The IRO has a duty to ensure that if they raise a formal dispute in relation to the child's case that the Local Authority solicitor is informed so that the court can be made aware of the dispute that the IRO is raising.

The IRO on carrying out the review of the final Care Plan that the Local Authority is submitting to court, must ensure that in addition to making the IRO review record available to the Local Authority solicitor for the Court they must also complete the form "IRO response to Final Care Plan" and return to the Legal department seven days prior to the Issues Resolution Hearing.

Where a complaint is received from a child in Care or their family relating to the care arrangements of the child, the Commendations and Complaints Manager will ascertain if the child's IRO is aware of the complaint and if so whether they are acting on it.

Where the IRO is aware that a child wishers to make a formal complaint, the IRO will contact the Commendations and Complaints Manager so that they are aware of this.