Children's care professionals services

We work with children in need, children subject to child protection plans and children who are 'looked after' by Thurrock.

The safety and welfare of all children in Thurrock is our top priority. This means:

• protecting children from abuse or neglect
• preventing impairment of children's health and development
• making sure children grow up with safe and effective care so they enter adulthood successfully

We will develop a plan for all the children we work with, which sets out the involvement of professionals and main family members. This will be either:

• a children in need (CIN) plan, reviewed every 6 months, with regular network meetings in between
• a child protection (CP) plan, reviewed every 6 months, with regular core group meetings in between

Children's feelings and views considered when we create a plan to support them. If a child is able to understand and join in, they are invited to attend meetings. Parents and carers feelings and views are sought throughout the process, they are invited to attend all meetings and to contribute to the plans.

We help parents to develop and improve their parenting skills so they may be able to care for their children within a safer and happier environment.

Children are assessed to see if they need these services.