All About Me and my family

'All About Me and my family' Project 2022/23

The aim of this project is to bring the key principles of ‘All about me’ CLA Reviews into the Child Protection Conference processes, and improve family's and children's experience of Child Protection. .

Sutton introduced a new approach to Children Looked After Reviews called ‘All About Me’ in July 2019, following a pilot during May and June 2019. All About Me Reviews are designed to be more child-centred. They promote creative and meaningful participation of children and young people, support them to understand things that are happening in their life and be a part of the plans being made for them. Reviews have moved away from large professional meetings where lots of information is shared and the paperwork is all written to the child.

Whilst we acknowledge that a Child protection conference is a statutory meeting and needs to involve a broad range of professionals and the child’s parents, integrating some of the principles of ‘All about me’ would improve our practice, by making the conferences more child focussed and accessible to the child and their family. The Chairs have proposed adapting the principles to an ‘All about me and my family’ approach, acknowledging the children's place within the family network. The primary focus would still be the child, but would acknowledge their place within the family.

The key principles we intend to adopt from the ‘All about me’ approach are

• Use of more accessible and appropriate language

• Creative use of direct work to ensure children’s views are represented

• Child focussed paperwork,

• Letters written to children and their families

• Child Protection plans focussing on children’s needs

New ways of working will be trialled between September 2022 and March 2023, with a review of their effectiveness to be produced in April 2023.