How Long will it take?

• A strategy discussion will start the S47 enquiry process and should be held within one working day of decision to hold a strategy discussion. For out of hours service we aim to hold these strategy discussions as soon as possible.
• We will aim to conduct the S47 enquiry within 10 working days of the strategy discussion.
• If the outcome of the S47 enquiries or any subsequent strategy meeting decides that an initial child protection conference should be held, we aim to hold this conference within 15 working days of the decision to undertake the Child Protection Enquiry.
• At any stage of the process sufficient information may be gathered that indicates the child is not suffering or at risk of suffering significant harm. If this is the case, we will record the outcome, and inform the family as soon as possible.

The above are our expected timescales. Whilst we aim to keep to these timescales, there can be circumstances where these may not be met.