The key point is that Safeguarding FGC is an alternative pathway for families who reach the threshold for an Initial Child Protection Conference. The name should reflect that to families, internal staff, and external agencies.
There is a long history of using Child Protection conferences in social work. The idea of changing that system is anxiety-producing for many.
To address this, it may be helpful to:
In Bi-Borough (Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster City Council) and in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, they embedded a prompt about Safeguarding FGC into their IT system. This reassures professionals that the case is recorded and has there is a clear system for oversight.
In the pathway that the Bi-Borough (Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster City Council) and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham have created, every family who is considered for an Initial Child Protection Conference is considered for a Safeguarding FGC as an alternative. The following factors are also considered:
In the Bi-Borough (Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster City Council) and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham pathway, thresholds and risk are considered in the same way as Initial Child Protection Conference  and the decision to invite a family to consider a Safeguarding FGC is made by a social worker Team Manager.
In the Bi-Borough (Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster City Council) and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham pathway, this decision is usually made at the Strategy or decisionâmaking meeting, but a Safeguarding Family Group Conference can be considered at any point.
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Rather than being split, the Safeguarding FGC is an integral part of the pathway. The family meets with the independent co-ordinator and the social worker and they go through the risks. The social worker leaves for their to be family time to make a plan to address the risks. We have designed the family plan to have similar headings to the Child In Need/Child Protection Plan. The family then attends a Safeguarding Network meeting and shares their plan; professionals/partners agree and enhance the plan which is transferred by the Chair to a SFGC CIN Plan.
The Safeguarding FGC plan follows the same headings as a Child In Need/Child Protection Plan.
Most LAs are designing their Safeguarding FGC pathway to mirror that of the Initial Child Protection Conference. As such, they will be working within tight statutory timescales (15 working days). Do you have any advice on how to manage this?
In the Bi-Borough (Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster City Council) and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, if it goes down the Safeguarding FGC pathway then it is held within the Childre in Need (CiN) process. The chair has oversight throughout the pathway. The team manager has the authority to revert or escalate the family if they do not engage or if risk remains unchanged or increases.
It depends on the case.