What a conference is for
When section 47 enquiries find that a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm, the social worker should convene an initial child protection conference. Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 says it brings together family members, the child where appropriate, their supporters and advocates, and the practitioners most involved, to make decisions about the child’s future safety, health and development.
Its purpose is to bring together and analyse all relevant information and plan how best to safeguard the child. The conference should:
- appoint a lead statutory body, either children’s social care or the NSPCC, and a lead social worker
- name the members of the core group who will develop and carry out the plan
- set timescales for core group meetings, the plan and review conferences
- agree an outline child protection plan, with clear actions and timescales and a clear sense of how much needs to improve, by when
Local procedures vary
Working Together sets the national framework: when conferences happen, what they decide and what each practitioner should do. Local safeguarding partnerships decide the rest, including the report template, how far in advance reports are due, whether reports are shared with parents and when, whether conferences are in person or online, and the practice model used to discuss risk. Working Together doesn’t prescribe a scoring or scaling system; where one is used, it comes from the local practice framework. Check your local procedures and report template.
When it happens
The initial conference should take place within 15 working days of the strategy discussion, or of the strategy discussion at which section 47 enquiries began if there was more than one. Its timing should reflect the urgency of the case. If the concern is about an unborn child, a conference may be held before birth.
Who attends and chairs
Working Together expects all involved practitioners to attend when invited and take part in decisions. For a school, that is usually the DSL or a deputy, and sometimes a class teacher or head of year who knows the child well.
The chair is accountable to the Director of Children’s Services and should, where possible, chair later reviews too. They should have in-depth child protection experience and be independent of operational or line management responsibility for supporting the child. The chair should meet the child and parents beforehand to explain the process, and should consider whether members of the family network should attend.
The child can attend where appropriate, or make their views known through someone else. Families may bring an advocate, friend or supporter.
What the school contributes
KCSIE 2026 says DSL training should give a working knowledge of how local authorities run initial and review conferences, so the DSL can “attend and contribute to these effectively” (Annex B). Working Together says every practitioner involved should:
- contribute to the information their agency provides before the conference, setting out its involvement with the child and family
- offer a clear analysis from their perspective
- consider, with the police and the chair, whether their report can be shared with the parents and when
- attend when invited and take part in decision-making
A school report usually works best when it covers:
- Attendance and punctuality, with patterns and dates.
- Learning and progress, and any special educational needs.
- How the child presents: appearance, mood, behaviour, friendships, and any change.
- The child’s voice: what they have said, in their own words, and what they want.
- Concerns and actions: a short chronology since the referral, or a relevant period.
- Parents and carers: how the school works with them and what it has seen.
- What is working well, and what support the school provides.
- What worries the school, and what would need to change.
Keep facts and opinion separate, and write it so it could be read by the family.
The core group and the plan
If the child becomes subject to a child protection plan, the lead practitioner should always be a social worker. The core group, named by the conference and often including the school, should meet within 10 working days of the initial conference. It develops the outline plan into a detailed one, setting out what needs to change, by how much and by when, and takes joint responsibility for carrying it out.
KCSIE 2026 expects schools to contribute to inter-agency plans for children subject to child protection plans (paragraph 138).
Review conferences
The first review conference should be held within three months of the initial conference, then at intervals of no more than six months while the plan continues. It considers whether the child is still suffering or likely to suffer significant harm and whether the plan should continue or change. Working Together asks practitioners to attend when invited and to produce reports that evaluate the impact of the work against the plan’s outcomes.
When a plan ends
A child stops being subject to a child protection plan when they are judged no longer to be at risk of significant harm, move permanently to another local authority area (where the new area should hold a conference within 15 working days of being told), turn 18, die or permanently leave the UK. All agencies invited to the initial conference should be told, and the social worker should consider what support the child and family still need, such as Family Help.