PERMANENCY PLANNING MEETINGS
Procedure
in a Nutshell
Messages for the child’s Social Worker
Policy
You or your managers should convene
permanency planning meetings (PPM),
according to the circumstances of the case, to
consider the most effective route to securing
permanency for a child or young person.
When?
Unless there is a strong and achievable plan for
the child to live at home within the child’s
timeframe, you should arrange a PPM before the
child comes into care, even pre-birth, especially
when considering a Foster to Adopt placement, or
other concurrency placement.
If it is apparent that a child is likely to need a
permanent placement from the outset of a looked
after episode the PPM must be held before the
first statutory review. The first statutory review
should then set the time scale for holding any
necessary subsequent PPM.
If there is no apparent prospect of reunification
with the birth family following the first Child in
Care Review a PPM should be convened no later
than 2 weeks after the first Review meeting. This
will include children where adoption is a strong
possibility.
There are lots of other times / circumstances
when a PPM is needed:
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Under the pre-Proceedings Public Law Outline
procedures;
During proceedings whenever the decision has
been made to apply to the court to share parental
responsibility;
Whenever a PPM is needed due to failure to
achieve the Care Plan objectives;
To address drift, especially when a child is in care
under a Section 20 Accommodation arrangement;
Within 2 weeks of the first review, when
rehabilitation home is uncertain;
When long term or permanent fostering is being
considered;
Where there are potential risks to the stability of a
permanent placement (e.g. violence/risk of
abduction/need for geographical distance;
In any situation where Adoption, Special
Guardianship, or a Child Arrangements Order is
necessary or being considered;
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In cases where a Placement Order has been
made, there is a requirement for a further statutory
review 3 months and 6 months post order to
consider why the child has not been placed. A
PPM should be called before these review points if
continuing assessment of the child indicates that
Adoption may not be viable;
When a young person is due to leave care, and
before the final Review meeting.
An early Statutory Review must follow a
Permanency Planning Meeting if there is a
change of Care Plan from the one
recommended at the child or young person’s
last Statutory Review. Every child or young
person in care must have an overarching
Permanency Plan which is formally agreed at
the second Statutory Child in Care Review.
That is within four months of coming into
care.
Who does what?
It is your responsibility to convene at least 6
weekly PPMs during any pre-birth assessment, or
prior to the child coming into care, when the likely
outcome is removal from the birth parent(s). You
must make sure that any Legal Planning Meeting
discusses permanency, and considers a
Concurrency or Foster to Adopt placement in
suitable cases, and ensure that a PPM is called, if
this has not already been held.
In care proceedings
Parallel planning is where a return home is being
assessed whilst plans for permanence away from
the birth parent(s) are also developed to avoid
subsequent delay. It is essential that every effort
is made to minimise drift and delay in care
proceedings by adhering to the 26 week court
time frame. It is important to avoid numerous
independent parenting assessments, expert
assessments, particularly when your evidence
already suggests that the parent is not able to
make the change required.
Section 20
A child or young person who comes into care with
the agreement of their parents is at much higher
risk of permanency not being secured in a timely
way. It will be the responsibility of you and your
managers to make sure that the set time scale is
adhered to.
PERMANENCY PLANNING MEETINGS
Procedure
in a Nutshell
Messages for the child’s Social Worker
PPM attendance
Documentation
The permanency planning meeting should be
organised by you. Your team manager (and
sometimes your service manager) should chair
the meeting.
The Chair should be provided with the last
Statutory Review recommendations, the C&F
Assessment, the last Care Plan/statement for the
Court, expert assessments etc. It is essential that
the Chair is provided with the relevant documents
– you should discuss this with your team manager
to endure that only relevant documents are sent
to the Chair.
If you are a social worker in a Children’s Social
Work team, a Children In Care team manager
should be notified and asked to send a
representative.
Agenda and decisions
You should invite (where relevant):
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the Children’s Guardian as an observer;
the allocated IRO if the child is in care;
the supervising social worker from the fostering
team;
the family finding adoption team social worker;
the current carers for the child.
If it is not possible for one of these to attend, but
here contribution is important, it is essential that
their opinions are provided as a brief written
report. It is also essential that the views of the
child and young person, their parents, and
significant others are available to the chair. This
might be in writing, drawing, audio or video
recording or verbally presented by someone else
on their behalf.
You or the chair must make it clear to foster
carers in attendance that the PPM is not a
matching meeting. It may be necessary to hold
the meeting in two parts, if the other professionals
involved need to discuss the capacity of the
current foster carers to permanently care for the
child. A decision needs to be made about how the
decision is then discussed with the carers in a fair
and transparent way.
If the case is in proceedings, the local authority
responsible solicitor should give any legal advice
to the Chair either in person, or by telephone or
email beforehand.
The Chair will decide the frequency of future
PPMs, but never more than 6 weeks apart until
the permanency planning process is complete.
But following discussion with your manager you
can request a further PPM at any stage of the
permanency planning process if this is required.
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After a review of the reports and a discussion of
the background, legal context etc, and
understanding the views of everyone involved
and the current contact arrangements, the chair
should lead a review of the permanency options
and facilitate decisions about the permanence
plan.
The Chair should send the decisions to the IRO,
the relevant Team Managers, and to the Head of
the Adoption Service and County Fostering
Manager within 2 working days.
The Permanence Plan
Following a review to agree the plan if this is
necessary, the case will need to be presented to
the Adoption Panel (where this is a relinquished
baby), the Agency Decision Maker (for nonconsenting adoptions), or the Fostering Panel (for
permanent fostering). Or in the case of Special
Guardianship and Child Arrangement Orders to
the Area Resource Panel if financial assessment
is being requested.
The Adoption Service or the Fostering Service
can provide advice and support to you and your
manager who must present the Permanence Plan
to the appropriate decision maker or panel in a
timely way.
Geoff Gurney
Interim Assistant Director for Corporate
Parenting
July 2015
Email me if you found this procedure in a
nutshell helpful.
PERMANENCY PLANNING MEETINGS
Messages for the child’s Social Worker
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Procedure
in a Nutshell