Purpose of CPIT in Birmingham Children’s Trust.
The purpose of the CPIT is to make relevant local authority statutory decisions around child protection as set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children (2023). The CPIT are part of a child protection system that is decisive and takes rapid action when actual or likely significant harm is identified. They have been developed in line with the government’s ambition for:
‘A decisive, multi-agency system where practitioners have the expertise, experience, time and support to identify actual or likely significant harm quickly and accurately and take rapid and effective protective action, whether the harm is inside or outside the home. Where work and interventions are meaningful and practice feels clear and compassionate for children, their parents and their family networks’.
Within Birmingham Children’s Trust, as part of our Family Help model and in line with plans as part of TRUST 2025, Child Protection Inquiry Teams will be established for a period of 12-18 months while plans are put in place to design and operationalise Multi Agency Child Protection Teams.
Functions of the CPIT
The function of the teams will be to chair strategy meetings where CASS has deemed the threshold has been met under Right Help Right Time. Where a strategy meeting determines that a s47 inquiry is required, the team will undertake those inquiries.
Where an ICPC is required, the CP inquiry team will present the family for a multi-agency decision to be made and if a CP plan is put in place, the family will transfer, at ICPC to the relevant area Child Protection Team/Safeguarding Team.
Where the outcome of the ICPC is that a family should be supported under a CIN plan, the family will transfer to the relevant district family help team and be allocated into the team within three working days.
The team will also hold strategy meetings on behalf of the district teams where threshold has been met.
Per area, there will be three teams, staffed as follows