The role of the Child Protection Planning Meeting chair

The role of the Chair includes:

• Agreeing who to invite and ensuring that all persons invited to the Child Protection Planning Meeting understand its purpose, functions and the relevance of their particular contribution
• Meeting with parents/carers to explain the nature of the meeting, and possible outcomes
• Ensuring that the parents/carers and child’s views are taken into account and they been offered independent advocacy
• Facilitating information-sharing, analysis and consensus about the risks and protective factors
• Ensuring consideration of a referral to the Principal Reporter
• Where a child’s name is placed on the Register, outline the initial Child Protection Plan and advise parents/ carers about local dispute resolution processes
• Identifying the Core Group members
• Agreeing review dates in line with required timescales
• Following up on actions and responsibilities when these have not been met

There must be a sufficient number of multi-disciplinary professionals contributing to the information sharing and analysis to enable safe decisions and effective planning. Minimum participation would be expected from Social Work, Police, Health and Education.

Where a Child Protection Planning Meeting is inquorate it should not ordinarily proceed. In such circumstances the Chair must ensure that the existing plan is reviewed with the professionals and the family members who do attend, to safeguard the welfare of the child or children. This needs to be recorded in the child’s file.

Another early Child Protection Planning Meeting date must be immediately arranged and held within 10 working days.

In exceptional circumstances the Chair may decide to proceed despite lack of agency representation. This would be appropriate where a child has not had relevant contact with all key agencies (for example, pre-birth Child Protection Planning Meetings) or sufficient information is available, and delay is likely to be harmful to the child. Where an inquorate meeting is held the Chair must ensure that the reasons for proceeding with the meeting and any arrangements to safeguard the child in the meantime, are noted in the Child Protection Planning Meeting record.

Two consecutive inquorate Child Protection Planning meetings must not be held. Inquorate Child Protection Planning Meetings cannot remove the child’s name from the child protection register.