Challenging within the Child Protection Conference Process

As specified in Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 (p.91)  – ‘The lead practitioner (Social Worker) is responsible for deciding what action to take and how to proceed following section 47 enquiries. They should make these decisions based on multi-agency discussions informed by the voice of the child.’

‘If local authority Children’s Social Care decides not to proceed with a child protection conference, then other professionals involved with the child and family have the right to request that local authority children’s social care convene a conference if they have serious concerns that a child’s welfare may not be adequately safeguarded. As a last resort, the safeguarding partners should have in place a quick and straightforward means of resolving differences of opinion.’ 

In addition to this, if there are concerns that practitioners are not sharing information appropriately in line with national and local guidance and not working within the DSP procedures, practitioners should challenge non-compliance.  Lack of information at conference or reviews or lack of sharing with parents can impact on the child, potentially putting the child at risk, impact on parental involvement, affect the efficiency of time of all the professionals, and impact upon effective conduct of the meetings. In instances identified above, practitioners should follow the procedures as outlined in the Procedure and Guidance section of this document [new window].