Local safeguarding children board procedures should set out criteria for excluding a parent or caregiver, including the evidence required. A strong risk of violence or intimidation by a family member at or subsequent to the conference, towards a child or anybody else, might be one reason for exclusion. The possibility that a parent/caregiver may be prosecuted for an offence against a child is not in itself a reason for exclusion although in these circumstances the chair should take advice from the police about any implications arising from an alleged perpetrator’s attendance. If criminal proceedings have been instigated the view of the Crown Prosecution Service should be taken into account. The decision to exclude a parent or caregiver from the child protection conference rests with the chair of the conference, acting within local safeguarding children board procedures. If the parents are excluded, or are unable or unwilling to attend a child protection conference, they should be enabled to communicate their views to the conference by another means.
