Sections 25A and 25B of the Children Act 1989 require a local authority to appoint an IRO for each child it looks after. The IRO is employed by the authority but must be independent of the management of the child's case. Their statutory duties are to monitor how the authority performs its functions for the child, take part in reviews of the case, and make sure the child's wishes and feelings are given due consideration (IRO handbook, paragraph 2.9).
The IRO chairs the child's looked-after review, where the care plan, including the education part in the PEP, is reviewed. Reviews take place within 20 working days of the child becoming looked after, three months later, then every six months. The IRO should be appointed before the first review, and the handbook says within five working days as good practice (paragraph 7.2).
For schools: the designated teacher or another member of staff may be asked to give information or attend a review. Reviews shouldn't normally be held at a time that takes the child out of school.
Common confusion: an IRO is not the same as the independent chair of a child protection conference. Some councils use the same team for both roles, so the job titles vary locally.