A Practice Guide to the Child Protection Process

Are you confident in child protection conferences? Research highlights differences in perceived status, worries about challenge and discussions that lack focus on the experience of the children hinder effective practice*, and schools (who know their students best) sometimes defer to social workers and police who often lead the discussion. 

Our highly rated Child Protection Process course is run by Rachael Courage, a practising Child Protection Conference Chair and safeguarding supervisor for Designated Safeguarding Leads in schools. The course supports education leaders to engage effectively at child protection conferences - bringing together and sharing multi‑agency information, analysing risk, and making clear recommendations to safeguard the child. In line with the requirements of Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026.

Participants develop a strong understanding of thresholds of need, indicators of harm, and the responsibilities of each agency within conferences and core groups. The course focuses on how early years settings,  schools and colleges can complete quality assessments, make evidence‑based judgement and recommendations, and work collaboratively with families to improve the lives of their students and share risk effectively with other agencies.

A key feature is an interactive child protection conference role‑play, giving practitioners hands‑on experience in presenting assessments, analysing information, and planning multi‑agency intervention.

This course is ideal for anyone seeking practical guidance and increased confidence in the child protection process.

What this course covers:

• Child protection needs, criteria, and thresholds.
• Using levels of need/threshold tools to support informed decision‑making.
• Definitions of child abuse and significant harm.
• The child protection process from referral through to closure.
• How to make a difference at child protection conferences, including writing effective reports.
• Decision‑making responsibilities and the criteria that guide those decisions.
• How to be an effective core group member, including developing focused, outcome‑driven plans.

*Social Care Institute for Excellence – Unfocused discussion in Child Protection Conferences

Rachael Courage is a qualified social worker with over 20 years practice experience. She is an experienced trainer in child safeguarding and child protection and has managed sexual exploitation and missing services for Barnardos, including setting up services in new areas and working with Child Safeguarding Assurance Partnership around their strategic response to child sexual exploitation.

Rachael has been the safeguarding lead for the children and young people's service within a hospice and has worked for the NSPCC delivering individual and group therapeutic interventions for children who have experienced abuse.

Rachael is currently practicing as a Chair for Child Protection Conferences for a Local Authority.

This course has received excellent feedback and Rachael is recognised as a brilliant facilitator, inspiring people into confidence in the child protection arena.