Supervision Orders: Recommendations To Achieve Best Practice By The Public Law Working Group

• Published date: 25 May 2023
• Subject Matter: Government, Public Sector, Constitutional & Administrative Law
• Law Firm: Deka Chambers
• Author: Ms Francesca Kolar

The Public Law Working Group's supervision order sub-group was established to consider how supervision orders could be made more robust and effective. Their final report was published in April 2023. A variety of professionals with considerable experience in child protection and family justice formed the membership of the working group.

Core Recommendations

Five core recommendations were made:

1. Each local authority's children's services department implements the Best Practice Guidance.
2. Supervision orders are only made when all of the matters set out in the supervision order template within the Best Practice Guidance have been considered and addressed.
3. Each children's services department adopts and completes the self-audit questions within the Best Practice Guidance in respect of every supervision order made in its favour.
4. Each children's services department considers developing good practice tools to embed the Best Practice Guidance.
5. In light of the report and recommendations of the Independent Care Review commissioned by HM Government, HM Government to commit to provide the necessary resources to local authorities to enable them to adopt and implement the Best Practice Guidance to the fullest and most effective extent possible.

The Best Practice Guidance is included within the report at Appendix C. The key features of the guidance are the three following overarching principles and six core principles, which should be applied whenever a supervision order is proposed or may be made. The principles should also apply where proceedings conclude with 'no order' being made.

The Best Practice Guidance also highlights that the court should alert all parties in a case to the need to read and apply the six core principles.

Overarching principles:

• The child's welfare is paramount.
• Children are best looked after within their families, with their parents playing a full part in their lives, unless compulsory intervention in the family life is necessary.
• Any interference in family life should be necessary and proportionate. That means, action taken should be no more than is needed to achieve the aim of keeping the child safe and well.

Six Core Principles:

• Partnership and co-production with children and families.
• Multi-agency, multi-disciplinary working.
• Clear, tailored plans including to address ongoing risks, and the findings and conclusions of the court in care proceedings.
• Resource clarity.
• Formal, robust review.
• Accountability.

Long-term change

In addition to...