Merseyside & Cheshire Pre-court Protocol Kitty Ferris Service Director Safeguarding and Specialist Services Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council

What have we done? Regular meetings across Merseyside LAs, CAFCASS and Designated Family Judge Close collaboration between Merseyside LAs Joint agreement to tackle delay LAs worked collaboratively to develop Protocol Extended work to include Cheshire and Lancashire Pre-Court Proceedings Protocol developed and agreed – for implementation from 1st July Jointly commissioned training for social workers

What Motivated us? The Family Justice Review and the challenge to our practice A desire to tackle as a ‘system’. The ‘red’ status of Merseyside and Cheshire The wider context of the Munro Review of Child Protection Delay is bad for children and expensive

The Pre-Court proceedings protocol Supplements the guidance in the Public Law Outline Provides key research messages and sources Includes principles for effective local authority practice and issues to be addressed before issuing proceedings Describes the key elements of pre-court work

Training for Social Workers Integral to successful implementation Leadership from LAs and Designated Family Judge is essential Must be high quality, authentic and credible Objectives of the training: Introduction to the Pre Court Proceedings Protocol Identify and address the issues that cause difficulties

What to we hope to achieve? A whole system approach to improving practice and reducing delay – we see the Protocol as one element of this For practitioners to have a useful guide and reference point To be in a strong position to achieve the 26 week timescale Improved quality of social work assessments and plans submitted to court Improved outcomes for children

Things to think about How can you best engage the whole system? Robust local procedures to support implementation Where should decision making sit? Where does this work fit in the broader context of the Munro Review of Child Protection: the changing role of social workers; the early help offer and a re-designed child protection system? Where does this work sit in terms of the Social Work Reform Board professional competencies framework? Commissioning, service specifications and protocols with providers Invest to save