The Independent Reviewing Service is based at Hindley Town Hall. The team consists of a Group Manager, eight Independent Reviewing Officers (IRO) and a Research Assistant.
Independent Reviewing Officers act as independent persons, who are responsible for chairing a wide variety of meetings as listed below. They are seen as independent because they have a different line of management than Social Care staff and other operational Children’s Services staff. They help to monitor the quality of the service to children and their families and also help to inspect Wigan’s Children’s Homes.
Child Care Reviews are meetings to discuss the arrangements made for children looked after by the Council, and to discuss plans for their future. They form part of a continuous planning process and the purpose of the review is to ensure that the welfare of a child/young person is safeguarded and promoted in the most effective way.
Consultation and the effective participation of young people in this process is integral to its success. A report is written by the Independent Reviewing Officers to make recommendations about what should happen next. The review considers the Care Plan for the young person as compiled by the social worker, in consultation with family, carers and associated professionals. It has to consider all aspects of their life including health needs, education, leisure interests and contact with family.
A Child Protection Conference is a meeting arranged by Children and Young People's Services on behalf of the Wigan SafeGuarding Children Board. The Conference decides whether or not to put a Child Protection Plan in place for a child or young person if they have been put at risk of harm or have suffered harm. A protection plan for any child outlines what needs to happen to ensure the young person stays safe. It is the responsibility of the team to arrange and chair Review Conferences to determine the progress of the plan and whether a plan is still appropriate. The Group Manager is the custodian for Wigan of their Child Protection Register.
Strategy Conferences are Child Protection meetings that look at Child Protection issues not related to individual families. This is mainly dealing with incidents of organised abuse and incidents of suspected cases of Factitious or induced Illness will be dealt with initially under this meeting.
Initial Action Meetings are the first meeting convened to look at concerns or allegations in relation to adults who work with children. There is usually at least one Review after the initial meeting but could be several before issues are resolved.
A.I.M. Meetings are designed to look at the results of specialist assessments of young people who are demonstrating inappropriate sexualised behaviour or have convictions for sexual offences. The meetings look at how to stop further incidents and protect other young people in the future. AIM stands for Assessment, Intervention and Moving on.
Pathway Plan Reviews monitor the progress of young adults who have left the care of the Local Authority to check they are getting the right support until they are Twenty One (Twenty Four in some cases).
Missing Persons Meetings. Any young people in the Care of the Local Authority who run away regularly would be the subject of a Missing Persons Meeting set up with the Police. The meeting is a forum to express concerns and work out strategies to deal with the absconding.
Sexual Exploitation of Children Meetings. Investigations in to the above subject, either single or groups of children will result in a multi Agency Meeting to discuss ways to tackle the issues raised. These meetings would be chaired by the Independent Reviewing Officers.
The Team have a variety of other roles, these include:-
Regulation 33 Inspections. The Independent Reviewing Officers are also responsible for the inspection of children's homes within the Local Authority. A monthly inspection of each home takes place. These are unannounced and involve checking that the home is fulfilling its duties as described in their Statement of Purpose and meeting the standards laid down by the National Care Standards Commission. After checking documentation, conditions and speaking to staff and children a report is produced which may recommend actions and their urgency.
Checking the Quality of Service (Quality Assurance). All customers and representatives of other agencies who attend Child Protection Reviews, Conferences and Looked After Children Reviews are consulted by the team. This is achieved by the distribution of consultation forms, following each meeting. The team monitor levels of customer satisfaction with processes and outcomes at meetings. Results are produced with the intention of maximising customer feedback. Also, Children and Families Services generally has a responsibility to record how effectively targets are met in respect of a range of issues, such as young people having health assessments on time and school examination results. The Independent Reviewing Service is pivotal in providing this information.
Delivering Training. The Team also have a key role to play in delivering training to Children and Young People's Services staff and other agencies on issues such as Child Protection. This is part of the team's ongoing commitment to promoting good practice and working closely with other agencies in order to best meet the needs of children and their families within Wigan.
For further information contact the Group Manager (Independent Reviewing Services) using the contact details below.
