91ÖÆƬ³§

This service is responsible for chairing reviews for all Looked After Children, ensuring they have a care plan and that the plan is quality assured and right for the child or young person. 

All Looked After Children (for the duration they are legally looked after) will have an allocated Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) and be able to contact them and know who they are.

What is an Independent Reviewing Officer?

Information about IRO's and what they do:

• a registered Social Work Professional, independent of the case or line management, who chairs Looked After Child Reviews in accordance with the IRO Handbook
• primary focus is to quality assure the care planning and review process for each child and to ensure that his/her current wishes and feelings are given full consideration
• subjects the Local Authority's Care Plan to scrutiny and robust challenge where necessary
• engages meaningfully with Looked After Children and strive to remain child-centred throughout

Useful information and downloads

• IRO leaflet parent and carers (PDF)
• IRO leaflet children and young people (PDF)
• Post 18 Reviews - A guide for young people (PDF)

This service is responsible for organising and chairing initial and review Child Protection Conferences.

What is a Child Protection Chair?

The conference chair should be a professional, independent of operational and/or line management responsibilities for the case. Where possible the same person should chair subsequent child protection reviews. The chair should meet the child and parents in advance, where possible, to ensure they understand the purpose of the conference and the process.

The chair should also quality assure progress to secure improved outcomes for the child in between case conferences, this is achieved through mid-way audits.

Those with parental responsibility and professionals involved in the child's life will receive copies of the Conference Minutes and the Outline Plan.

Useful information and downloads

• a guide to Child Protection Enquiries (Section 47) (PDF)
• a guide to Child Protection Conferences (PDF)
• Guide to Children's Participation in Child Protection Conferences (PDF)
• a guide to Child Protection Conferences for children and young people (PDF)
• scaling and categories for parents (PDF)
• Child Protection Meeting Guidance for Parents (PDF)

Please refer to the LADO - Managing allegations against persons who work with children for further information:

• LADO - Managing allegations against persons who work with children

The Advanced Practitioners Service is part of the Safeguarding and Quality Assurance Service, their roles include:

• working with Newly Qualified Social Workers across the service; they are committed to supporting and enabling Social Worker's learning experience and providing opportunities to develop practice
• they work as a team to support the service to promote Practice Standards, Culture and the Vision for children in Worcestershire; they do this through modelling good practice and enabling reflection and analysis
• Advanced Social Work Practitioners will complete Stage 1 complaints to give an independent view/investigation of the complaint received
• Advanced Social Work Practitioners will work with experienced Social Workers beyond their Newly Qualified Year on targeted interventions such as assessment and planning work; this may include practice learning sessions and Signs of Safety Mapping sessions
• the Advanced Practitioners will work to develop practice sessions on key learning and present these within Team Meetings across the service

In 91ÖÆƬ³§we are introducing a new approach to our work with children and families, this approach is called Signs of Safety.

What is Signs of Safety?

The Signs of Safety approach, seeks to strengthen assessments and maximise family participation and where possible they actively contribute to solutions to keeping their child safe. Using the Signs of Safety approach professionals supporting families work together to:

1. look at what’s going well in the child’s life - the strengths
2. understand who is worried and why - the worries and concerns
3. identify what needs to be done to build on the strengths, reduce the concerns and keep the child safe - the outcomes

The approach expands on the assessment to encompass strengths and signs of safety that can be built upon to stabilise and strengthen a child’s and family’s situation. The approach is designed to help professionals and families throughout assessment and intervention.

Useful information and downloads

• Signs of Safety updates will be published in the quarterly: 
• more information can be found here: 
• Signs of Safety guide for professionals (PDF)
• Signs of Safety guide for families (PDF)