Looked after children

Your Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) is responsible for making sure families and children can share their views about care arrangements for children living away from home. They chair a meeting called a review that helps everyone share views about this care and future support.

A review takes place as soon as possible when a child first comes into care and then after 3 months. From then on reviews have to happen at least every 6 months but the child or their family can always ask for a review earlier. They can talk to the IRO about why they think a review should be held early.

The review discusses things like:

• school
• health
• friendships
• seeing family
• how the child is getting on in your placement

Both the Social Worker and the IRO should talk to the child before the review and help them say how they feel about their care.

To help people think about what they want to say or ask they will be given a consultation form to complete.

The IRO will decide how best to share these views at the review.

After the review the IRO will write down the decisions so that everyone knows and understands what has been decided.

They will send a copy of these decisions soon after the review takes place. The IRO can be contacted if there is anything anyone wants to say about what has been decided.

The IRO continues to monitor the care arrangements for the child between reviews.

A child and their family should always know who the IRO is and they can be contacted between reviews if needed.

View the IROs Annual Report 2021 to 2022 [PDF, 1.75 MB]

The report gives an overview of the work of IROs in Buckinghamshire in 2021 to 2022. IROs have statutory duties under the Children Act 1989, Section 25B (1) and in statutory guidance. It is their job to ensure that the care plan for the child fully reflects the child's current needs and that the actions set out in the plan are congruent with the local authorities' legal responsibilities towards the child.