Core group meeting

A core group is a group of key practitioners and family members.

What is the role and responsibilities of the core group?

Their role is to develop the outline plan made at the end of a child protection conference. This is so that it becomes a full child protection plan and includes the day-to-day actions and details.

The core group is responsible for making sure the plan is followed and regularly reviewed. The group should monitor progress and refine the plan if needed.

When should a core group meet?

A first core group meeting must be held within 10 days of the initial child protection conference (Working Together 2018, page 52). Local child protection procedures will say how often the core group should meet thereafter. The social worker or conference Chair can be asked about this.

What is the role of a social worker in the core group?

Every child who is the subject of a child protection plan should have a lead social worker allocated to them. The lead social work is responsible for leading the core group, including arranging meetings and leading the core group as it develops the outline plan into a full child protection plan.

The lead social worker is also responsible for:

• Providing direct support to the child and the family
• Explaining and agreeing (as appropriate) the child protection plan with the child
• Co-ordinating the work other practitioners do to support the family
• Making sure what has been agreed in the plan is being carried out and on time
• Government guidance says that if a child has links to a foreign country, the social worker should look at whether they need to inform the relevant embassy (see Working Together 2018, page 52. This applies where a child has dual nationality or if they are a British child of foreign parents/national origin. Government guidance called Working with foreign authorities: child protection cases and care orders points out that the embassy may be able to help the social worker to work with a family and explain any differences in approach to child protection matters.