![]() There were also reports of conferences that were replaced with a series of bilateral telephone conversations without the opportunity for families and professionals to discuss concerns together. Twenty four parents and 492 professionals responded – 17% per cent of whom were social workers – with respondents from 108 of the 151 local authorities in England and 16 of 22 in Wales.Īs expected, responses suggested that conferences were mainly being conducted over video or by phone, or occasionally as ‘hybrid’ meetings, where some people attended in person. And that clear evidence of what works and what doesn’t is gathered and considered before ‘pandemic practice’ slips into becoming business as usual.Ĭhild protection conferences – where professionals come together to identify and address serious concerns about a child who they believe is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm through abuse or neglect – are one crucial stage of the child protection system in England and Wales which has moved largely online.īuilding on the work of Dr Mary Baginsky of King’s College London, which looked at the experience of 15 local authorities in England, Nuffield Family Justice Observatory commissioned her to carry out a study on how the running of child protection conferences has been affected by COVID-19. By Lisa Harker, director, Nuffield Family Justice ObservatoryĢ020 has necessarily required online interactions to replace face-to-face throughout much of society, including children’s services.īut while turning to virtual or remote formats as a stand-in for usual practice has been a solution to the challenges of social distancing – and preferable to halting services altogether – it is vital that authorities continually assess how changes are affecting all those experiencing the system. ![]()
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