2.1.7 Children in Need Service Planning and Working Agreements

Introduction
Planning for a Child in Need
Child in Need Plan Reviews
Service Development
Working Agreements

Click here for a pro forma Working Agreement.

1. Introduction

Planning to meet children’s needs and to improve outcomes for them is an important aspect of work.

The analysis and decisions making which follow an assessment of the child and family will form the basis of any plan.

All children worked with through the Authority should have a plan in place.

There are several plans that can be made:

Initial Plan which is set up at the end of an initial assessment where the needs are of a short - term, non complex nature;
Child Protection Plan;
Care Plan where a child is Looked After;
Pathway Plan, where a young person is in transition or leaving care.

This Chapter focuses on the Initial Plan and the Child’s Plan.

2. Planning for a Child in Need

Services of a non complex nature may be provided whilst an assessment is ongoing, at the completion of an assessment or following a Child in Need Plan Review;
An Initial Plan or a Child's Plan should be completed for an individual child when services are being provided that can only be accessed through Children's Social Care;
If a child requires access to universal services only, then a Plan should not be completed;
If a child has a Child Protection Plan, a LAC Care Plan or a Pathway Plan, you do not need to complete a separate Child's Plan;
The focus of an Initial Plan or a Child's Plan is the Child although, in supporting her/him, help may be provided to a number of family members;
Wherever possible, the plan needs to be discussed with and agreed by the child/young person and any key family members;
The Child in Need Plan should Identify the Lead Professional and his or her responsibilities, including frequency of visits to the child;
Other agencies that will be contributing to the plan need to be consulted about the details of their contribution. Where you are hoping that several agencies will be involved in the plan or where the child’s needs are complex, consideration should be given to holding a meeting to develop a Child's Plan. In these circumstances, you will find that a meeting helps everyone,including the young person and family members, commit to and sustain engagement in the plan;
Objectives and timescales need to be reasonable both for child, family members and professionals;
The plan should not be dependent on resources that are known to be scarce or unavailable from the outset. In some circumstances, it may be useful to identify a contingency service e.g. another professional within an agency or another voluntary agency;
If you identify, during the Child's Plan discussion, a service development need for Children’s Services, please bring this to the attention of your manager who can approve a Service Development Need form for Children’s Services WSS991;

The Team Manager needs to sign their approval to the plan to signify:

That in the Managers opinion, this plan meets the child’s assessed needs and will improve outcomes; and
That the Manager will make available the resources from that team to carry out the plan.

For a Child's Plan, the Team Manager also needs to identify the date for review of the plan and the worker who will be responsible for organising that review;
When the plan is on Paris, as a minimum, a copy should be sent to the child (if appropriate), the parents and to any agency providing a service;
If you do not send a copy of the plan to a parent, you must record the reason for this decision within the Child's Plan. It is anticipated that this would be a rare occurrence.

3. Child's Plan Reviews

If an initial plan is successful and no further plan is required, then no formal review needs to be held. A Closure record should be completed and within that the outcomes achieved for the child should be recorded;
A Child's should be reviewed regularly or at a minimum 6 monthly interval;
Where Services to the child are reviewed through the Child Protection or the Looked After Review system you do not need to complete a Child in Need Plan Review Form;
Consultation with the child and their parents/carers is expected in all cases and their views should be recorded within the appropriate sections of the Review record;
Where the service provided through a Child's Plan is straightforward, it will not always be necessary to hold a meeting to review the child’s circumstances and subsequent needs. However, consultation with the agency/section providing a Service is expected in all cases;
Where a range of external/partner agencies are contributing to the Child's Plan and/or the child’s need are complex, consideration should be given to holding a review meeting;
All sections of a Child in Need Plan Review should be completed;
A copy of the Child' in Need Plan Review should be sent to the child/young person (if appropriate) and to the parents/persons with parental responsibility. A decision not to send or give a copy of the Child in Need Plan Review should be noted within the decisions section of the form and the reasons recorded;
A copy of the Child's Plan Review should be sent to any agency/professional providing a service.

4. Service Development

There will be times during the Child in Need Planning process when you identify a need for a new or enhanced service. In order to keep those who plan and commission services advised of these, the team manager should complete and approve a service development need form for Children's Services (WSS991).

5. Working Agreements

Establishing Working Agreements Between Children’s Services and Service Users

Status

A Working Agreement is both a formal record of an agreement to cooperate and an essential working tool in safeguarding children. It is not legally binding and only applies when all parties agree and sign up to the actions recorded. The standard template should always be used and should be signed by all parties as the document does not constitute an Agreement unless all parties agree and sign up to the actions recorded.

When to use a working agreement

There are a number of situations when it is necessary to record an agreement between a parent/carer, Children’s Services and other parties. These situations may include the details of contact for a child looked after or any requirements of parents or carers over and above those that will be detailed in the child protection, care or Child's Plan. A working agreement should only be used while the case remains open to Social Care.

When not to use a working agreement

There are some situations when a working agreement should not be used, this will include situations when there is evidence that a parent or carer has failed to cooperate in the past, where there are global or long standing concerns or where the concerns relate to contact with a sex offender.

Also, in some cases where an agreement might otherwise be appropriate, if one or more of the parties should refuse to sign, there can be no Agreement with the person or persons concerned, and compulsory intervention may be needed. In these circumstances, legal advice should be obtained.

Who should have a copy

Legal Services should hold a copy of all written agreements where they have been consulted or where the child is subject to proceedings. The carers should be given a signed copy. A signed copy should be held in the legal section of the child’s paper file. Other parties should be given a copy of the agreement at the discretion of the Team Manager

Purpose

All parties should be clear about the intended outcome of the agreement. This should be worded in a way that is understandable to everyone,

E.g., to make sure that Billy’s contact takes place as agreed and that he is not distressed by his mother’s presentation.

Ambiguous or general statements should be avoided

E.g. to ensure Billy is not subjected to emotional harm.

Agreed actions

The agreement should detail what actions are necessary, who is responsible for the action, when the action is required and how the action will be monitored. The actions should be specific and achievable.

Action	Who	By When	Check
To arrive for contact	Ms B	Every contact	Contact supervisor

Legal Advice and advocacy

The agreement stands from the time it is signed by parent or carers. All parties may wish to obtain legal advice; this should be undertaken within five working days. Parents have the right to involve an advocate in any meeting where a working agreement is made.

Written Agreements must be countersigned and dated by a Team Manager.

If for any reason an address must remain confidential and not put on the Agreement document, it should read ‘Address is confidential and kept on Children's Social Care files’.

Failure to cooperate

All parties should abide by the actions agreed. Children's Social Care has a responsibility to inform carers of the consequences of not adhering to the agreement. Equally Social Care and other parties to the agreement also have a responsibility to comply. Parents and carers should be informed of their right to complain if agency representatives fail to adhere to actions they have agreed to.

Involving the Child or Young Person

Consideration should be given to sharing the working agreement with the child or young person so that they can be clear about what has been agreed. It may also be appropriate for the young person to sign the agreement

Reviewing the working agreement

Any agreement should be subject to review; this may be possible through core group, statutory or Child's Plan review. Where particular actions are no longer required or where new actions are indicated the working agreement should be re-written.

All Working Agreements, including amended ones, prepared in a case, should be sequentially numbered for ease of reference.

End