Independent Reviewing Officers (IRO) for Care Leavers

The Role of the IRO and what to expect from your All About Me Reviews

If you're looked after by your local authority, you'll have an Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) assigned to you until your 18th birthday. It doesn't matter if you're under a care order from the court or staying with your carers/extended family through a "Section 20" agreement – you'll still have an IRO.

We're the IRO team in Sutton: 

• Karen Walls - Service Manager

• Rachel Morris - IRO

• Elizabeth Namiiro  - IRO

• Andrew Rowat - IRO

• Alison Hawgood - IRO

Even though we work for the same local authority as your social worker, we're in a separate department that sits with the Principle Social Worker and Practice Support  and Development Service. This means we can stay independent and make sure your voice is heard.

We are all qualified social workers with management experience. Our job is to make sure your views are heard and that your social work team's plans for your care stay on track. We make suggestions about how and when things should happen, and we check that everyone involved in your care is doing their part to keep you safe and well.

As a looked-after young person, you'll have regular Children Looked After (CLA) ‘All About Me’ reviews, which your IRO will lead. These meetings include you and the people closely involved in your care. The first meeting happens within four weeks of you becoming looked after, the second three months later, and then usually every six months, but sometimes more often. You should always know the date of your next review meeting.

During the review, we'll look at different parts of your life, like your health, identity, education, training or employment, contact with your family and plans for your future care. We'll also check that you're getting help to prepare for adulthood and develop independent living skills. We want to know about your progress and what you might need help with in all these areas.

In 2019, Sutton introduced the 'All About Me' process for CLA reviews. 'All About Me' is a process so may not just be a meeting. We gather key information beforehand and may chat with people who work with you, care for you and your family members outside of the meeting.

We want your review meeting to be positive, so it shouldn't just be repeating information, but more about what's happening in your life. Your views are super important, so we encourage you to be fully involved.

Your meeting should celebrate you, your ideas, what you've been up to and anything you've achieved – big or small! Everyone there should be ready to share in this celebration.

We should also talk about things that aren't going well or that you or someone else thinks needs to change. We can discuss what might help and what to do next. You should get help beforehand to figure out what you're comfortable talking about.

You should be prepared for your meeting – usually by your Social Worker, but it could be your IRO, carer or someone else.

You should have a say in where your meeting takes place and who you want or don't want there.

You should decide in advance how you're going to share your views with your IRO and others at your meeting. You might be happy just to speak, but you could also do a presentation, record a video, or anything else you can think of!

You can say how you want your meeting to run on the day. For example, you might want to go for a walk, set a challenge, share some food or lead the meeting with your IRO.

Before your review, your Social Worker writes a report with an update since your last review and confirms your care plan. This is written to you, not about you, and you can read it before the meeting. Your IRO and other people at the meeting will read it too.

After your meeting, we write a summary report. Just like the Social Worker's report, this is written to you, and you should get a copy. You should also get a letter from your IRO after every review.

Between reviews, we keep an eye on what's happening for you and ask your social worker for an update on all the decisions made at your review. Your social worker should also tell us when anything important happens in your life. We might also contact you or your family members between reviews.

You should have your IRO's phone number and email address so you can contact them too. We really like to hear from you.

If you're not happy about something about your care or support, your IRO can help you raise this. You're entitled to an advocate. Your IRO can explain what this is and help you decide if this would be good for you.

If for any reason you're not sure who your IRO is or can't contact them, you can call the Lead IRO, Denise Walford or Karen Walls, Service manager on 02087704599.