Working Together 2026 says the plan aims to keep the child safe from harm inside and outside the home and online, promote their health and development, support the family to safeguard the child, and set out the support each agency will provide (section 4, The child protection plan).
An outline plan is agreed at the initial conference. The core group, which should meet within 10 working days, turns it into a detailed plan. The first review conference should be within three months of the initial conference, and then at intervals of no more than six months while the plan continues. The lead practitioner is a social worker.
The plan should end when the child is no longer judged to be at risk of significant harm, has moved permanently to another area (where the new authority should hold a conference within 15 working days), turns 18, dies or permanently leaves the UK (section 4, Discontinuing the child protection plan). When a plan ends, the lead practitioner should consider what support is still needed, which may be Family Help (paragraph 252).
For the school, KCSIE 2026 expects contributions to inter-agency plans (paragraph 138). The school's actions should be in the plan, and the DSL should record them. Staff often say a child is "on CP" or "on a plan". It is different from a child in need plan under section 17.