This summary guide is for social workers and other practitioners involved in Child in Need meetings (England) or care and support meetings (Wales) where concerns have been raised around child sexual abuse. It explains how you can centre the child in the development and implementation of their Child in Need or care and support plan.
It is also relevant to any other practitioners working with the child at this time, such as police officers, so they can understand what is happening and explain this to the child and their family.
What does it mean to be supported through a Child in Need or care and support plan?
A Child in Need plan (in England) or care and support plan (in Wales) will be developed in situations where a muti-agency assessment of a child has concluded that:
- there is no ongoing risk of sexual abuse (or any risks can be managed without a child protection plan), and
- the child has unmet needs and requires support to promote their wellbeing and development.
Local arrangements vary, but the social worker who led the multi-agency assessment is also likely to be responsible for developing the plan, in partnership with the child, their family and other practitioners around the child. This is done at an initial Child in Need or care and support meeting, with further meetings to review the plan’s progress.
How may the child be feeling?
Once the child knows that they are to be receiving support and what this means, they may be feeling a complex range of emotions:
- They may be relieved and reassured that something definite is happening, and start to believe that things will get better.
- They may be worried about what having different practitioners involved will mean for them and their family – and fear that they or their siblings will be taken into care.
- They may feel afraid, under pressure or embarrassed at the thought of having to talk to these practitioners.
- They may feel vulnerable, especially if the person who sexually abused them has not been arrested or remains under police investigation.
- They may be worried they are in trouble or have done something wrong, particularly if no criminal charges are being pursued.
- They may feel responsible for upsetting their family.
“I felt like, when the services got involved, ‘I can speak to these now because my mum and dad are angry with me and these aren’t."
“I just think it’s absolutely stupid that … [the social workers are] always coming round and it’s like we have to revolve all that we do around them and I just don’t like it. It’s horrible.”
“I can chat to [my social worker], like about what I’m not happy about, what I am happy about, what I want to change for the future, how I can get things sorted for the future.”
“They just put it in the report and they don’t even tell our family what they’re going to write, so that’s what I don’t really like about the social [worker].”
For the sources of the quotations above, please download our full guide to this stage of the Response Pathway.
The initial meeting to develop the child in need or care and support plan will build on the plan outlined at the conclusion of the multi-agency assessment.
The initial meeting may provide an opportunity to review whether there are any ongoing risks of sexual abuse – in which case a child protection conference would be a more appropriate way in which to address the child’s need for safety and support.
All practitioners working with the child and their family should attend the meeting, as well as the child (unless they are too young or otherwise lack capacity) and their parent(s)/extended family. If you are one of those practitioners, and particularly if you are the social worker responsible for developing and implementing the plan and chairing the meetings, there are many ways in which you can support the child and family at this time:
- Ensure the family understand the Child in Need or care and support process, and treat them as valued partners in developing the plan. Ask the child whey would like any support the participate in the meeting, and try to organise this. Give the family an opportunity before the meeting to discuss any concerns they have, and talk to them to confirm that your understanding of their views and needs is correct.
- Identify and respond to the child's support needs – our guides to supporting the child’s emotional wellbeing, physical wellbeing, relationships and education can help you do this. All practitioners working with the child can be involved in referring them for support, chasing up this support and ensuring that it meets the child’s needs.
- Identify and respond to the support needs of the child’s non-abusing family members, exploring their need for support in their own right and in order to care for and support the child.
- Consider the context of the sexual abuse – such as whether it occurred in the family environment, outside the home or online – and whether the child themselves may have displayed harmful sexual behaviour. Sexual abuse by a parent, for example, can have a particularly traumatic effect because it involves high levels of betrayal, stigma and secrecy – the non-abusing parent may feel guilt and self-blame, and have financial and practical concerns if the abusing parent has been taken into custody or told to leave the family home.
- Support and engage in any police action that is ongoing at this point; it is very important for there to be good liaison between the two processes. A police investigation should not affect the plan’s development, but the chair should liaise with the police officer in the case to find out about its progress and share any relevant information that emerges. All practitioners should use their understanding of the child to help with any police investigation, such as through the collection of evidence. The plan should include the provision of support for the child to give a statement to the police.
- Draw up a safety plan with the child and family, covering issues such as sexual boundaries, rules regarding bedrooms and bathrooms, and safe internet access. The family must feel involved in writing the safety plan, and it must feel meaningful to them. Ensuring and promoting safety within the family is a priority, especially when sexual abuse has happened in the family environment.
Once the plan is in operation, further meetings – with the same attendees as the initial one – should review its progress and ensure that the child is supported and safeguarded: At each meeting, you should:
- check that services are being provided to the child to address their needs, address any delay in provision, and review whether the child needs any further help and support
- check that the family safety plan is in place, and review its progress, taking any change of circumstances into account
- check that the child has ongoing opportunities to talk with a safe and trusted practitioner or family member about any concerns they have, including around sexual abuse.
In situations where a parent is suspected of sexually abusing the child, decide what information will be shared with that parent.
All professionals should continue to be alert to any indicators of possible sexual abuse, particularly noting the behaviour of any adults in the family (whether living in the family home or not) about whom there are sexual abuse concerns. If there is thought to be a risk of further abuse, make an immediate referral for a child protection enquiry.
Once it is decided that the child has no further unmet needs, they will no longer be subject to a Child in Need plan or care and support plan – but if they and their family still need support, they may be referred for a Family Help or early help response or referred to therapeutic services.
External links
- Family Rights Group website – information about how the safeguarding system works and definitions of commonly used terms