You’ll get a Social Worker or an Assessor Care Manager (ACM) when you come into care. They’ll make sure you are safe and well cared for and will:
- find you a home, to best suit your needs/circumstances and this can sometimes be with foster carers, in a Residential home or with family members.
- make sure you attend school.
- make sure you get any healthcare you need.
Your social worker will visit you in the first week of your new home and then every 6 weeks.
What is a Care and Support Plan?
Every child looked after/ care experienced child has a Care and Support Plan often called a Part 6 or Pathway Plan. This plan is about you and your needs. The Social Worker will talk to you and listen to you and answer any questions you might have when completing the plan. It covers family time arrangements, where you live (placement), health, education, future plans and anything else that you think is important to you. The plan says who should do what with you and for you and when.
A copy of your Care and Support Plan is available to you.
What is a Review meeting?
A meeting where your care and support plan is reviewed to make sure it’s meeting your needs, and if not, agree any changes that are in your best interests. You can attend your review meeting.
What Does An Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) do?
The main role of the IRO is to make sure your care and support plan meets your needs. They will do this by:
- Speaking to you before your review meeting.
- Chairing your review meeting.
- By letting you have your own say in your review.
- By making sure people do what they have been asked to do.
What’s the differences between your Social Worker and your IRO?
Your social worker is responsible for making decisions with you and other important people about what should be in your care and support plan.
Your IRO will make sure those decisions are the best ones for you, follow your care and support plan and respect your rights. I have included a leaflet on children’s rights as this may be new to you. I can tell you more about my role when we meet.
How Often Will I Have A Review Meeting?
- First review – within 28 working days (this is usually around 4 to 5 weeks).
- Second review – within 3 months of your first review.
- Other Reviews – they are held every 6 months, but they can be more often if needed.
You can speak to your reviewing officer if you want to bring a review meeting forward.
Who Would Be At My Review Meeting?
Who is there can depend on your age and your needs. More often than not it will include:
- You.
- Either or both of your parents.
- Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO).
- Social Worker / Aftercare Worker.
- Your foster carer/family member/key workers.
- Someone from School or College.
- An Advocate (if you would like an Advocate).
You can tell your social worker or foster carer if there is anyone that you want or do not want to be at your review meeting. Sometimes you and the IRO may agree that somebody can stay for part of the review but not all of it.
Coming to my review meeting
You can attend your review and there will be people who can support you like your worker, a trusted adult or the IRO. The IRO can talk to you before, during or after the meeting. You can decide how to take part, who you want to be there with you and decide on what are the most important things for you to talk about first.
Remember it’s your meeting! If you have an advocate, they can help share your views, but we would love for you to attend in person. If you don’t want to, that’s ok, the IRO can speak to you before the meeting if you want. This is to make sure everyone at the meeting understands what is important to you, what is going well and whether you feel anything needs to change.
Your review meeting is all about you and if you’re not there you may not have as much say about the plan as you would like.
No one can make you go to your review meetings, and you don’t have to stay for the whole meeting if you don’t want to. You can ask somebody to speak for you whether you’re there or not.
How Can I Have A Say About What’s Happening In My Life?
There are lots of different ways you can let people know what you want and how you feel. You could:
- Come to your review meeting.
- Fill in 'My Voice, My Review' (either online or paper copy).
- Ring your IRO before the meeting.
- Meet with your IRO in private before the review meeting.
- Invite an advocate to attend the review to put forward your views.