[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-167437-en":3,"doc-seo-167437-105":30,"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":90},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":11,"category_id":12,"category_name":13,"doc_title":14,"doc_description":15,"doc_content":16,"file_id":17,"file_url":18,"file_type":19,"file_size":20,"view_count":11,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":11,"is_downloadable":11,"audit_status":11,"page_count":21,"language":22,"language_code":23,"site_id":24,"html_lang":23,"table_of_contents":25,"faqs":26,"seo_title":27,"seo_description":15,"update_tm":28,"read_time":29},167437,2336475104042,"Tawan","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/22000c4c32af1715be0?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1786537525561427321",1,18,"Letters","FAMILY MEETINGS - PRACTICE GUIDANCE","Practice guidance defining when to convene Family Meetings and when a Family Group Conference is more suitable within child protection and public law contexts. It outlines key circumstances, urgency considerations, and chairing options, including referrals to an independent chair service. Guidance covers arranging participants, purposes, confidentiality and professional involvement, consent requirements, and recording a shared Family Meeting Plan in MOSAIC. It also clarifies roles of the social worker and the facilitator throughout the process.","FAMILY MEETINGS – PRACTICE GUIDANCE\n1. Existing Family Group Conference Provision.\nThis section sets out the criteria for when Family Meetings should be convened and \tcircumstances when a Family Group Conference might be more appropriate.\n2. Family Group Conferences\nFamily group conferences should be convened where:\nChildren are the subjects of a Child Protection Plan and a family group conference is recommended as part of the child protection plan and firm decisions that the family can make have been identified;\nChildren are subject to public law proceedings and/or the Court has directed a family group conference;\nChildren are on the threshold of becoming accommodated (S20) or of public law proceedings;\nChildren are accommodated or looked after and the family network is able to make decisions/plans around permanency for the children and contact arrangements. This also includes family group conferences as a recommendation from LAC reviews;\nChildren are in permanent placements (Adoption, Special Guardianship, Child Arrangement Order) and the placement is at risk of breaking down and the family are able to make decision/plans for the child/young person's care.\n3. Family meetings\nA family meeting may be convened in any of the circumstances listed in section 2 in order to prevent delay to the child/children. The urgency and complexity of the situation should be the deciding factors. Family Meetings can be arranged and take place at short notice while the preparation required for Family Group Conferences can prohibit a quick response.\nNormally family meetings would be chaired by the child's social worker. However, a referral can be made to the Family group conference service if the circumstances suggest the family would benefit from an independent chair. Advice regarding the best way forward can be sought from the Family Support Team Manager.\nExamples of when a family meeting is most appropriate include:\nWhere an urgent family meeting is required to prevent a child becoming accommodated or looked after and family members are able to meet at short notice;\nWhere an urgent family meeting is required to secure a child's accommodation, safety or welfare, where family members are able to meet at short notice to make decisions/plans;\nWhere all reasonable steps have been taken to gain consent from the person(s) with parental responsibility for a family group conference and this has proved negative and the wider family members are willing to meet to make decisions/plans with or for the child;\nWhere families are working well with Children's Social Care services and there is agreement and good communication within the family network;\nIf the family network is small and less than 4 adult family members can attend the family meeting;\nIf there is only one issue, for example contact, that needs to be addressed.\n4. Arranging family meetings\nFamily Meetings are meetings arranged and facilitated by the social care practitioner allocated to the child or the Senior Practitioner within the allocated worker’s service area as appropriate.  Participants will be the child, where appropriate, the child’s \timmediate family and others within the family network as identified by the immediate family.  The purpose of the Family Meeting is to share information with the family \tnetwork sufficient to arrive at a solution to a particular issue related to a child and to agree a plan to prevent the situation from escalating or to keep the child safe.\nFamily Meetings should be held at the earliest possible opportunity. Where there is difficulty in contacting all members of the family network the meeting should not be delayed. A plan to consult with those who could not attend should be agreed at the meeting.   The main principle behind Family Meetings is that they happen at the earliest stages of involvement to solve problems and to address risk of harm in the most effective and least invasive manner.\nThe family meeting belongs to the family and the child and they should","cbCaiushnr5FzXjV","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiushnr5FzXjV","docx",32844,4,"English","en",105,"# Existing Family Group Conference Provision\n# Family Group Conferences\n# Family meetings\n# Arranging family meetings\n# Consent\n# Family Meeting Plan\n# Role of the Social Worker\n# Role of the facilitator","[{\"question\":\"When should a Family Meeting be convened instead of a Family Group Conference?\",\"answer\":\"A Family Meeting may be called in the circumstances covered for Family Group Conferences to prevent delay, especially when urgency and complexity require a quicker response than the preparation needed for a Family Group Conference.\"},{\"question\":\"What circumstances typically justify convening a Family Group Conference?\",\"answer\":\"Family group conferences should be convened when children are part of a Child Protection Plan with firm decisions identified, when directed by public law/court proceedings, when children are nearing accommodation or public law involvement, or when placements are at risk of breakdown and the family network can make decisions for care and contact arrangements.\"},{\"question\":\"Who is responsible for consent and how must it be recorded?\",\"answer\":\"The allocated social worker obtains and records consent. Consent is voluntary, must be recorded in writing, and must be from at least one person with parental responsibility.\"}]","FAMILY MEETINGS - PRACTICE GUIDANCE | DOCX",1788213850,2,{"code":4,"msg":31,"data":32},"ok",{"site_id":24,"language":23,"slug":33,"title":14,"keywords":34,"description":15,"schema_data":35,"social_meta":85,"head_meta":87,"extra_data":89,"updated_unix":28},"family-meetings-practice-guidance","",{"@graph":36,"@context":84},[37,52,67],{"@type":38,"itemListElement":39},"BreadcrumbList",[40,44,47,50],{"item":41,"name":42,"@type":43,"position":11},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":45,"name":46,"@type":43,"position":29},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/","Template",{"item":48,"name":13,"@type":43,"position":49},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/letters/",3,{"item":51,"name":14,"@type":43,"position":21},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/family-meetings-practice-guidance/167437/",{"url":51,"name":14,"@type":53,"author":54,"headline":14,"publisher":56,"fileFormat":59,"inLanguage":23,"description":15,"dateModified":60,"datePublished":61,"encodingFormat":59,"isAccessibleForFree":62,"interactionStatistic":63},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":55},"Person",{"url":41,"name":57,"@type":58},"DocShare","Organization","application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document","2026-09-05","2026-08-31",true,{"@type":64,"interactionType":65,"userInteractionCount":21},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":66},"ViewAction",{"@type":68,"mainEntity":69},"FAQPage",[70,76,80],{"name":71,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":73},"When should a Family Meeting be convened instead of a Family Group Conference?","Question",{"text":74,"@type":75},"A Family Meeting may be called in the circumstances covered for Family Group Conferences to prevent delay, especially when urgency and complexity require a quicker response than the preparation needed for a Family Group Conference.","Answer",{"name":77,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":78},"What circumstances typically justify convening a Family Group Conference?",{"text":79,"@type":75},"Family group conferences should be convened when children are part of a Child Protection Plan with firm decisions identified, when directed by public law/court proceedings, when children are nearing accommodation or public law involvement, or when placements are at risk of breakdown and the family network can make decisions for care and contact arrangements.",{"name":81,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":82},"Who is responsible for consent and how must it be recorded?",{"text":83,"@type":75},"The allocated social worker obtains and records consent. Consent is voluntary, must be recorded in writing, and must be from at least one person with parental responsibility.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":51,"og:type":86,"og:title":14,"og:site_name":57,"og:description":15},"article",{"robots":88,"canonical":51},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":24},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":91},[92,97,102,107,112,117,122,125,130],{"id":93,"doc_module":11,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":94,"show_sort_weight":95,"slug":96},11,"Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":98,"doc_module":11,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":99,"show_sort_weight":100,"slug":101},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":103,"doc_module":11,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":104,"show_sort_weight":105,"slug":106},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":108,"doc_module":11,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":109,"show_sort_weight":110,"slug":111},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":113,"doc_module":11,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":114,"show_sort_weight":115,"slug":116},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":118,"doc_module":11,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":119,"show_sort_weight":120,"slug":121},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":12,"doc_module":11,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":13,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":124},30,"letters",{"id":126,"doc_module":11,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":127,"show_sort_weight":128,"slug":129},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":131,"doc_module":11,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":132,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":133},158,"General","general-158"]