Children and parents get better co-ordinated support
Herefordshire families are to benefit from a fresh approach to helping children and families with additional needs. Herefordshire Council has worked with other organisations that support children to develop and test out a new way of working together. A pilot scheme has been successfully completed and the Common Assessment Framework is now being launched countywide.
Many organisations, including schools, nurseries, clubs and youth groups work with children and young people on a daily basis and it isn't always easy to work out the overall picture of a child's needs or whether a range of services can help.
The government has introduced a Common Assessment Framework (CAF) to help practitioners make an assessment and act on the result in a standardised way. The assessment is voluntary and is about working with parents, carers, and where possible the child themselves, to coordinate and provide support, making things better for children.
As well as standardising forms and checklists, the framework covers all aspects that affect a child's development from health, education and social development through to housing and family relationships. Where a coordinated approach is necessary a lead professional becomes a single point of contact and co-ordinates a family support plan with other professionals. This lead professional could be from any service dealing with children and young people.
The Common Assessment Framework is designed to get a complete picture of a child's additional needs at an early stage so that children get access to the right services earlier. It's then about coordinating services more effectively. As a result, everyone working with children needs to understand the new assessment and the benefits it can bring to families.
Following a pilot in Herefordshire last year, there was an overwhelming positive response from families. One mother said, "I felt really involved and knew what was happening all the time. If you are asking should we do things this way in the future I say yes, absolutely yes".
Parents also commented positively on the way they didn't have to repeat their story over and over again.
From June 2008 there will be a four month programme of training to make sure nearly 700 practitioners are able to lead on any individual case. In addition, briefing sessions are being organised for a further 5,000 people who work with children.
"We want to build on the successes of the pilot and improve our approach across the whole of the county." said Chris Baird, head of planning, performance and development. He continued, "We've seen the benefits it can bring to children and families, and the professionals working with children. We want the approach to be available across the county and to develop Herefordshire's CAF through use and feedback.
"We have a substantial training and briefing task ahead of us but the end results will enable us to focus on the needs of the child in a more holistic way and work together better across different agencies."
