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COMMON ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK

(CAF)

GUIDANCE FOR PRACTITIONERS

Newcastle Children’s Trust

March 2011

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Foreword Newcastle’s Children’s Trust is working towards the following priorities as outlined in the Children and Young People’s Plan 2011.

• Keeping children and young people safe and supporting families (SAFE)

• Reducing inequalities (EQUAL)

• Raising aspiration, achievement and opportunities (ACHIEVING) These outcomes for children, young people and their families cannot be achieved by any one agency working in isolation. It recognised across the Trust that through organisations and practitioners working effectively together children and young people are more likely to reach their potential. The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is a key tool to underpin integrated working and this guidance is intended to embed its consistent use across the children’s workforce in Newcastle. This Guidance The guidance has been developed by the Newcastle Children’s Trust to support practitioners in using the CAF process. It is intended for use by practitioners across the children’s workforce (public, third sector, private sector) and details the processes and ways of working that have been agreed by all the key partner organisations involved in supporting children, young people and families in the City The guidance provides an overview of the key processes, concepts and roles in the CAF Framework and gives a detailed step by step guide to each element of the CAF process. The Common Assessment Framework The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is a national, standardised and holistic approach to conducting assessments of children’s additional needs and supports decision making about how these needs might best be addressed within a multi-agency context. Information on the Department for Education (DfE) website (http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters/strategy/deliveringservices1/caf/cafframework) provides more background detail about national roll-out of CAF. It has been designed for use by anyone who works with children, young people and families across the children’s workforce, whether they are employed or volunteers. CAF is the primary, generic early assessment tool used by practitioners working with children and young people in Newcastle. By providing a generic approach, it helps practitioners in different organisations co-ordinate and plan their work and interventions to meet a child’s identified needs. Benefits of using the Common Assessment Framework The Common Assessment Framework enables a range of professionals to form a shared understanding about a child’s needs and how best to meet them. There are a number of specific benefits associated with CAF:

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• The CAF process creates a single record of the child/young person and of the action being undertaken to support them. This avoids duplication, repetition and confusion.

• The CAF process provides children, young people and families with a single assessment, a single plan and a single point of contact. There is no overlap between services and families will only have to ‘tell their story once.’

• The CAF process ensures that needs are considered holistically i.e. from a broad range of perspectives rather than from the focus of any one agency or need.

• The CAF process facilitates a more complete picture of the child/young person and their family through shared information which makes it easier for practitioners to agree which services are required, co-ordinate delivery with other services and monitor progress.

• The e-CAF system ensures that information is stored and shared appropriately (i.e. with consent) and securely between agencies and practitioners

• The CAF process can ensure that progress is continually monitored and plans adjusted to meet changing needs through regular reviews

• The CAF process can help identify unmet need and can be used to inform strategic planning and commissioning.

Guiding Principles The following principles underpin how practitioners should approach the CAF process and how it should be used to help children and young people:

• CAF is the primary generic tool for assessing need and accessing support for children and young people in Newcastle

• CAF should be used by any organisation or practitioner working with children and young people. It is not associated with one type of need or with any one organisation or sector.

• CAF should lead to effective integrated action. Where the CAF is used, a plan for each child or young person should be developed and put in place by a team around the family.

• The CAF process should be agreed by children, young people and their families and must operate with their consent. Children, young people and their families must participate actively in the assessment and be part of the team established to build on their strengths and meet their identified needs.

• Information about children and young people’s needs should be shared easily and effectively but also appropriately and securely between agencies and practitioners to support effective and safe service delivery

• CAF should be a dynamic assessment and review process and not a one off event. The CAF is intended to be a working document which will be added to by different practitioners. Likewise the plan should be reviewed and updated regularly to ensure that the most effective support is in place until all of the child’s or young person’s identified needs are met.

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CAF is not

• About form filling. It is about having a meaningful dialogue with a child and their family, working out what they need and pulling in the right people to provide support.

• A referral process. It is an assessment tool and as such it is not about making referrals. The approach is one where practitioners come together around a child rather than a child being referred from one service to another. The objective is to create a single action plan to which all practitioners contribute rather than to use the CAF to pass the children and families to another practitioner or team.

• A guarantee of service provision. CAF should not be introduced to the family as a guarantee. The purpose of CAF is to identify what a child or young person’s needs are and then to determine what services are appropriate. Sending a CAF to a service or practitioner does not mean that they will then deliver a service.

The Process In summary the Common Assessment has seven stages:

1. Identify concern – The CAF should be used whenever you are concerned about the progress of a child or young person but the needs of that child or young person or either unclear or can not be met by your service alone.

2. Involve family and child/young person – If you are thinking about starting a

CAF, you must speak to the child/young person and their family. Explain how a CAF might help them and ensure you obtain their explicit consent before you proceed.

3. Assess – Use the framework to assess the child/young person’s needs and

what can be put in place to help them. There should be a discussion with the child/young person and family which could take place over several meetings. It is important to ensure that the assessment document reflects these discussions. You will also need to obtain the consent of the child/young person and family to share information with other practitioners

4. Form Team around the Family – Once you have completed the assessment,

you should have a much better idea about what the child/young person’s strengths and needs are and where support is best focused. The next stage is to identify the most appropriate people to provide that support and to become the Team around the Family (TAF). This could be one person or several people from different services. If there are several different services involved, a Lead Professional should be identified to act as the single point of contact for the child/young person and family and to check that agreed actions are being carried out.

5. Provide Support – the members of the Team around the Family should work

with the family to develop a single support plan with identified outcomes and actions for the child/young person. This will include all of the outcomes

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identified for the child/young person as a result of the CAF process as well as the actions being undertaken being undertaken by each practitioner to achieve them

6. Review and update – After the assessment and support plan have been

developed and implemented they should be reviewed at regular intervals to ensure that appropriate support is provided

7. Closure – Once all outcomes and actions identified in the plan have been

achieved resulting in a demonstrable improvement in the child/young person’s circumstances, the CAF should be closed.

When Should a CAF be undertaken? Reasons to start a CAF Before initiating a CAF, you must be sure that a CAF is the most appropriate action for that particular child and their presenting needs. When making your decision you should consider the Children's Trust Thresholds for Intervention September 2009 which provides guidance about the level of intervention recommended for differing levels of need. You must have also secured the consent from the child/young person or parent/carer before starting a CAF episode. If you are in any doubt, please consult with your line manager or contact the Access to Services Team for support or advice. In broad terms CAF should be considered when

• A child or young person is identified as having additional needs and requires additional support without which they may not reach their full potential. An agency may not need to undertake a CAF if it is clear about the child or young person’s needs and is able to meet them without referring to other services

CAF should be implemented when

• A child or young person whose needs are not fully met due to the range, depth or significance of their needs and their life chances would be jeopardised without remedial intervention or support

The CAF process is intended to assist practitioners assess needs at an early stage when they first appear rather than at a point of crisis. Note: If you have concerns about more than one child/young person in the same family, you should undertake a separate common assessment for each one of them To help you consider whether a CAF would be appropriate, you may wish to complete a pre-assessment checklist (available on the CAF practitioner website at http://www.newcastlechildrenservices.org.uk/search/node/common%20assessment). The checklist has a number of simple questions which will assist you in determining whether the child or young person would benefit from a CAF.

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Transfer from specialist services You might also use the CAF process as part of a transfer procedure when a child or young person is coming to the end of a period of support from a specialist service. In these circumstances the CAF should be used to ensure that in cases where the child or family has additional needs which no longer require a specialist response there is a coordinated plan in place to meet these needs. The most common example of this will be cases which no longer require involvement from Social Care or where a court order supervised by the YOT has expired. When not to use a CAF There are a number of instances where the Common Assessment Framework would not be appropriate:

• There are concerns that the child/young person may have been harmed or may be at risk of being harmed. In those circumstances, you should contact the Initial Response Service Children’s Social Care (0191 2772500) or if out of hours, the Emergency Duty Team (01912328520)

• A child/young person is progressing well and you have no concerns

• The child/young person’s needs are clear and your service can meet the full range of those needs

• A CAF has already been completed for that child/young person. You should check to see if a CAF or other involvement exists with the Access to Services Team and if necessary contact the Lead Professional to join the team around the family

• If the child or family have refused consent. Engaging Children and Families with CAF The CAF is a process and not just a form. Time and care must be taken to ensure that the process is supported by good communication and respect for children and their families. It is important that the process engages children and families and that the discussion and process is child-centred. Note: Apart from a pre-natal assessment, practitioners must see and involve the child/young person in the assessment process to determine their views and this must be recorded in the assessment Principles A good quality CAF process should be:

• Responsive and delivers support services which meet the needs of the child/young person and family as identified through the assessment

• Empowering and engages the child/young person and family in participating and taking responsibility for a collaborative assessment and plan

• Solution focused – supporting the child/family and family to adopt a self-determining and positive approach to the process

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• Accessible – for all concerned, including efficient use of time and access to the means to undertake the assessment (e.g. equipment, interpreter) and subsequent meetings

• Transparent – the purpose of the CAF is clear and the discussion with children/young people and their families is open and honest

Points to remember

• The child or young person must give informed consent which means ensuring they understand what the process involves and what they are agreeing to

• A CAF is not a guarantee that services will be provided

• A CAF takes into account the child/young person’s and their family’s strengths as well as their needs.

• The discussions with the child/young person and their family should be professional but not formal. The outcomes to the process will be more productive if you reassure the family and present the CAF in a non-threatening way

• The CAF form will prompt you to consider various topics but it should not be used as a questionnaire with them. The information you receive should be recorded on the CAF form

• Make it clear to the family that they are in control of the process and can decide how much information they provide and who to provide it to

• Make use of the information you already have about the family so that they are not having to repeat themselves

• Use a style or approach which is appropriate to the child/young person you are dealing with. The CAF Practitioner website at: http://www.newcastlechildrenservices.org.uk/search/node/common%20assessment has a range of tools to support direct work with children/young people and families.

Consent The CAF process is voluntary, you must discuss your concerns with the child/young person or their parent/carer before embarking on a common assessment and the family should be involved in the process. Consent is fundamental to every stage of the CAF process and so you need explicit consent to start the CAF, store it and to share it. Start – If you want to proceed with a common assessment, you must obtain informed consent from the child/young person and their parent/carer if appropriate. This means that they fully understand the CAF process and its implications Store – The child/young person or their parent/carer should be aware of how their CAF will be stored (whether by paper or electronically) and must give consent to this Share – The explicit consent of the child/young person or their parents/carers must be obtained before the information is shared with other practitioners.

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Refusal If consent is withdrawn at any point in the process, it is important that you keep a record of this in your own case notes. You should also contact Access to Services team to let them know that a CAF has been offered but refused. If the family refuse a CAF from the outset, you should continue to work with them and explain clearly to them the benefits of a CAF as they may wish to take this offer up at a later stage. In cases where a CAF is repeatedly refused, you may wish to discuss this with your line manager or contact the Access to Services Team for advice. If there are concerns that the child is at risk of harm, you must contact Social Care even if the family have not given consent. If the family withdraw consent during the process, then the CAF process should stop immediately. You should notify the Assess and Decide Team in this circumstance. Involving the child or young person It is important that the child/young person is involved in the process as much as possible. However it may not always be appropriate for a child to provide their consent, e.g. due to age or disability. If you are unsure about whether a child is able to provide consent, consult the Fraser guidelines, seek advice from your line manager or visit the Department for Education website for guidance (www.dcsf.gov.uk/ecm/informationsharing). Parent /carer consent Where parental consent is required, the consent of one person is sufficient. In situations where family members are in conflict, you will need to consider carefully whose consent should be sought. If parents are separated, the consent would normally be sought from the parent with whom the child/young person resides. Consent should not normally be sought from non-relatives or members of the extended family unless they are the child/family’s primary carer or have parental responsibility. If the child is unborn, consent should be obtained from the mother. Starting a CAF Checking for an existing CAF When you have determined that a CAF assessment is required, before initiating that assessment, you should contact the Access to Services Team to check the name and date of birth of the person who is to be assessed against the central e-CAF database to determine whether a CAF assessment has already completed and which other services might already be involved with the child or family. If a CAF assessment has been completed If the database shows that a CAF assessment has already been carried out, the Access to Services Team will give you the name and contact details of the practitioner who has already logged the CAF assessment or the name and contact

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details of the Lead Practitioner if different. You should not proceed with your own CAF assessment but contact either the Lead Practitioner or the practitioner who has initiated the CAF and work in partnership with them to provide effective support and join the existing Team around the Child. If there is no CAF assessment If the database shows that no CAF assessment has been logged then you should continue with the assessment. If a CAF has already been completed and is now closed you may be able to have access to the CAF provided there is a good reason for this and there is consent from the child/young person and their family. If there is no CAF but other practitioners working with the child/young person, you should decide to involve these practitioners when initiating a CAF as part of the TAF (with the family’s permission). When you make contact with another practitioner or when someone makes contact with you, it is important to verify their identity before any information is shared. To ensure the caller is genuine you could ask to phone them back through their main switchboard number and ask to be put through. Initiating a CAF Call the Access to Services Team to advise that you are starting a CAF. You should send a copy of the assessment once complete either electronically or by hard copy so that the CAF can be uploaded on the e-CAF system. his allows others to be made aware that a CAF is in place if they are considering initiating one. As a direct contact point for agencies and service users, the Access to Services Team will also triage enquiries from a range of professionals and service users regarding children and young people with additional needs using the Children’s Trust Thresholds for Intervention as a working tool to gauge levels of need. When it is apparent that the child and young person has additional needs requiring a CAF, the Access to Services Team will negotiate with the referrer which practitioner involved with the child is best placed to undertake the CAF. Factors which will be considered include:

• What are the predominant needs of the child or family?

• What are the views and opinions of the child, young person or family?

• Which agency has primary responsibility for addressing the child or family's needs, including any statutory responsibility?

• Does anyone have a previous or potential ongoing relationship with the child or young person?

• Does anyone have an ongoing responsibility to carry out an advocacy role for the child or young person?

• Who has the skills and knowledge to provide a leadership and coordinating

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role in relation to other practitioners involved with the child, young person or family

Assessment The CAF assessment should be undertaken with the young person or child and their parents/carers. It is important that they participate fully in the process so you should always see the child/young person during the assessment and involve them as much as possible. You must ensure that you record the views of the family and also the child or young person within the form. Process Listed below are a number of areas you need to discuss to inform your discussion. It is intended as a prompt and should not be approached on a point by point basis with the family

• Explain the purpose of the assessment and check that the family and the child/young person fully understand and consent to a CAF and what happens next

• Identifying details. Make sure you record basic details about the child or young person

• Assessment information – include details of those people present at the assessment meetings and consultation with any other services

• Current family and home situation e.g. who they live with

• Services working with the family

• CAF assessment summary – go through the main assessment areas and consider all of the sections. There is a practitioners’ aide memoire on the Common Assessment webpage (see above) which will help you with the range of information you should consider and record.

• Encourage the family to add their own comments and observations

• Conclusions, actions and outcomes. Record what you have agreed with the family to move the situation forward

Best practice When conducting the assessment it is important to ensure that you:

• Work with the child/family to find solutions, they often can identify what kind of support they need

• Help the family understand what information you are recording and what is going to happen to it

• Record the child/young person’s and their family’s consent to record the assessment information and share it with other agencies (also record any specific agencies which are included or excluded from consent)

• Consider the child/young person in their family relationships, community including cultural and religious context.

• Consider their strengths as well as needs and use both using the Signs of Safety tool on the assessment form

• Use plain jargon free language

• Use an interpreter for discussions with the family where English is not their

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first language.

• Use information you have already gathered from the child/young person, family, other practitioners so that they do not have to repeat themselves

• Do not try to diagnose problems in a professional field other than your own

• Base your discussion on evidence not just opinion. Record and mark opinion accordingly

• Be mindful of how the information will be used and who else will see it

• Do not record confidential information unless it is directly relevant and the child/young person and family agree that you should

There are several tools available on the CAF practitioner website at http://www.newcastlechildrenservices.org.uk/search/node/common%20assessment to assist you undertake an assessment. Involving other practitioners in the assessment It may be helpful to have another professional who is familiar to the family or may have specialised knowledge about a particular area of need. It is acceptable to include a practitioner in this way provided that the child/young person and family agree to this approach. If the needs can be met by the assessing agency If it becomes apparent through the CAF assessment that you can meet the child or young person’s identified needs within your own service and without support from another agency, you should arrange for this to happen and follow your own agency procedures in terms of planning and reviewing services. If the needs of the child or young person identified are broader than the assessing agency can address If the needs of the child require are significant and require the input of more than agency, the practitioner undertaking the CAF should adopt the interim role of Lead Practitioner, broker support from other services and convene a Team around the Family meeting. The Access to Services Team is available to provide support and guidance when it is difficult to identify a suitable lead professional. The CAF assessment should be shared with the Team around the Family to prevent the young person or child and their parents/carers having to retell their story to repeat practitioners. Completing the CAF It is expected that in most cases there should be no more than two weeks between initiating the CAF and finalising it. This allows time for other practitioners to be involved in the assessment but ensures that the family is not waiting unnecessarily A more comprehensive assessment at an early stage leads to more targeted plans and better outcomes form children and young people.

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Storage Once complete

• The CAF assessment must then be logged centrally with the Access to Services Team through e-CAF or via a hard copy and with your own agency records

• Given to the young person and parent/carer

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CAF Procedure

The needs of the young person or child are clear and can be met by one service or agency

No need to undertake CAF

Provide support to meet identified needs through single agency response

A child or young person whose needs are not fully met due to the range, depth or significance of their needs and their life chances would be jeopardised without remedial intervention or support

CAF should be undertaken

Access to Services Team to determine whether or not a CAF has already been carried out

A CAF has already been carried out and logged with Access to Services Team

Do not undertake CAF. Contact practitioner who has undertaken CAF previously or Lead Practitioner if different and work in partnership to provide effective support as part of Team around Child

No CAF has been logged

Undertake CAF assessment with young person, or child and their family

Log CAF centrally with Access to Services

Practitioner can meet all identified needs within their own agency or service

Deliver support and follow agreed review plans

CAF confirms that child has additional needs which require multi-agency response

Adopt the role of interim Lead Practitioner, broker support from others and convene a Team around the Child (TAF) Meeting

At TAF meeting, agree and develop a support plan, agree and allocate the Lead Practitioner and agree review plans involving the young person or child and their family throughout

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CAF, Team around the Family (TAF) and Review Timescales These are the local timescales to support effective and timely interventions with children, young people and their families through the CAF framework

• It is expected that the CAF will be completed within 2 weeks of it being initiated and then logged on e-CAF via the Access to Services Team

• It is expected that the initial Team around the Family meeting will take place within 2 weeks of the date of the CAF assessment.

• The Team around the Family should agree the first review date at the initial meeting. These will vary depending on circumstances but usually, the first review should take place within a period of 4 weeks from the date of the initial Team around the Family meeting.

• The Team around the Family should agree subsequent review dates and these will vary depending on circumstances but in most cases, subsequent reviews will take place within approximately 8 weekly intervals unless circumstances suggest otherwise.

Team around the Family (TAF) The team around the family (TAF) is a group of practitioners who come together through the CAF process to meet the child/young person’s identified needs. The role of the TAF is to:

• Bring together the relevant practitioners associated with the young person, child or family to address unmet needs.

• Plan co-ordinate support from all agencies involved with young person, child or family to address problems in a holistic way through an agreed written outcome based support plan which clarifies each team member’s responsibilities.

• Ensures that the young person or child and their parents/careers are equal members of the team.

• Reduces duplication and supports a common service delivery approach. • Decides who will be the Lead Practitioner (LP) to co-ordinate support plan. • Establishes an agreed understanding about confidentiality at the outset.

• Clarifies the need for consent to share information and with whom information can be shared.

• Operates on the basis that the Team around the Family meeting is part of a process, not a single event and can be ‘virtual’ as well as actual.

• Ensures the CAF assessment has been undertaken and contains all relevant information.

• Clarify what service and support agency representatives are able to offer.

• The support plan should arise from the TAF and individual responsibilities and outcomes should be clearly specified

• Agree time scales for activities and a review.

• Reappraise the support plan and revises actions in the light of changing circumstances. In this event the Lead Practitioner needs to be able to call on

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the team and expect their co-operation in this.

• Establish clear lines of communication to ensure the Team around the Family are kept informed (most importantly the young person or child and their parents/carers).

• Ensure that all involved are relevant to the support plan and TAF.

Involvement of Children, Young People and Families Young people or children and their parents/carers should always be invited to Team around the Family meetings. Their views are essential to the process. The Lead Professional should meet with the young person or child and parent/carer before the start of the meeting and explain how the meeting will be run and answer any questions they may have. Interpreting services should be available if required, cultural sensitivities observed, the venue should be accessible and meetings timed to take account of the other commitments of the family. Where young people or children and their parents/carers prefer not to attend a TAF meeting, clear lines of communication and feedback regarding the outcome of the meeting should be agreed with them by the Lead Professional In some circumstances, it may be useful for practitioners to have a pre TAF meeting to clarify possible support and interventions available ensure that the actual TAF meeting will run smoothly and effectively. Suggested Format for Initial Team around the Family meetings The chair for the initial Team around the Family meeting should be the practitioner who has convened the meeting (usually the CAF assessor). All attendees should always avoid professional jargon.

• Welcome all attendees to the meeting

• Explain the purpose of the meeting and confirm who the meeting is about (E.g. “The purpose of this meeting is to put in place a package of support for name of child/young person to meet the needs identified in the CAF assessment. The expected outcome of this meeting will be to have established a Team around the Family and develop a single support plan that will identify individual members of the Team around the Family and the support they have agreed to provide. A Lead Practitioner will be agreed and appointed and a review date set.”)

• Explain the confidentiality status of the meeting (E.g. explain what information will be recorded and shared and with who, explain limits of confidentiality and ensure service user rights are understood using the guidance above.)

• Ask all attendees to introduce themselves and explain their current involvement and/or possible future role.

• Discuss the needs identified in the CAF assessment and possible support available to meet those needs. The views and opinions of the young person or child and parent/carer should be encouraged throughout.

• Identify and confirm members of the Team around the Family, agree

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outcomes and actions, draw up a support plan, agree who should become the Lead Practitioner and set a date for review.

• Summarise the outcomes of the meeting and ensure the young person or child and parent/carer are in agreement with and clear about who is involved, who will do what and what happens next. The young person or family and all members of the team around the family should receive a copy of the agreed support plan and any additional notes.

Suggested Initial Team Around the Child Meeting Agenda

• Welcome & purpose of meeting

• Introductions and apologies for absence

• Outline of needs identified in CAF assessment

• Views of family and child/young person

• Agreement on actions and development of support plan

• Summary of outcomes

• Date & time of next meeting Suggested format for Team Around the Family Review meetings The Chair for the Team around the Family Review meeting should be the Lead Practitioner.

• Welcome all attendees to the meeting

• Explain the purpose of the meeting and whom the meeting is in respect of (E.g. “The purpose of this meeting is to review the plan of support for name of child/young person as set out in the support plan. The expected outcome of this meeting will be to agree next steps having considered the actions carried out to date.)

• Explain the confidentiality status of meeting (E.g. explain what information will be recorded and shared and with who, explain limits of confidentiality and ensure service user rights are understood.)

• Ask all attendees to introduce themselves and explain their current involvement and/or possible future role.

• Discuss the progress against the outcomes, actions and interventions as set out in the support plan. The views and opinions of the young person or child and parent/carer should be encouraged throughout.

• Confirm next steps e.g. o Continued support needed. Team around the Family continues with

the current support plan, confirm Lead Practitioner and set new review date.

o New issues identified. Revise support plan or draw up a new one, confirm who will be Lead Practitioner and set a new date for review.

o Involvement required from Tier 4 services. Lead Practitioner should follow referral procedures to appropriate service(s) and support referral with CAF, support plan and review documentation.

Needs met. Case closed and outcome recorded in review documentation.

• Summarise the outcomes of the meeting and ensure the young person or

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child and parent/carer are in agreement with and clear about who is involved, who will do what and what happens next. The young person or family and all members of the team around the family should receive a copy of the review form and any additional notes and documentation.

Suggested agenda for a Team around the Family Review

• Welcome & purpose of meeting

• Introductions and apologies for absence

• Consider progress and outcomes from support plan

• Agreement of next steps

• Summary of outcomes

• Date & time of next meeting Handover and Closure arrangements

What happens when a new Lead Practitioner is required? This may occur at normal transition points (e.g. moving from primary school to secondary school) or because staff leave, change roles or enter a period of long term absence or because the main needs of the child have significantly changed. It is extremely important that an effective 'hand over' takes place when a new Lead Practitioner is required: people should not hand over until they are clear that this can be done safely and effectively.

All actions must be recorded on the CAF review form and logged. There needs to be a clear communication strategy for the transition, particularly with regards to consultation with the family and briefing the new lead and the rest of the team. Under no circumstances should a Lead Practitioner withdraw from a case without an effective handover where there are still needs to be addressed. Effective handover arrangements must be logged with the Access to Services Team and recorded on e-CAF. What happens when a CAF episode of work is completed? Where needs have been effectively addressed and the young person or child and their parents/carers are being effectively supported in universal services, the Lead Practitioner should record and log this with the final review documentation.

What happens to the role of Lead Practitioner if another intervention is required in the future? The Team around the Family will need to determine whether the same Lead Practitioner is appropriate to co-ordinate services to meet the new needs of the child/family. If not, the Team around the Family should agree a new Lead Practitioner from the current Team around the Family. The new Lead Practitioner should contact the agency of the most recent Lead Practitioner (if not represented in the new Team around the Family), as well as consult the family, to update the CAF

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and draw up a new support plan. Handover to new Local Authority area When a child/young person moves to another area, the Lead Practitioner should contact the CAF Co-coordinator in the new authority and log with them that a CAF has been undertaken. Unless the case requires no further intervention, the Lead Practitioner should be passing responsibility to a Lead Practitioner in the new area, just as they would if there was a change in circumstances within their own LA. The CAF Co-coordinator in the new area should be able to help with this. The Lead Practitioner must also inform the Access to Services Team of this change of circumstances and copy them into any transfer information. Introduction to the Role of the Lead Practitioner

• Acts as a single point of contact that the child or young person and their family can trust, and who is able to support them in making choices and in navigating their way through the system

• Co-ordinates the actions agreed by the Team Around the Family to ensure effective delivery which provide a solution-focused package of support and that the family receive the agreed interventions

• Reduces overlap and inconsistency

• Co-ordinates the regular review of the support plan agreed by the Team Around the Family

• Supports the child through key transitions and ensures a careful and planned handover takes place where it is more appropriate for someone else to be the Lead Practitioner

• ALL Team around the Family members are responsible for updating the Lead Practitioner with developments and progress.

Who can be a Lead Practitioner?

It is possible that any practitioner could take on the Lead Practitioner role, as the skills, competence and knowledge required to carry it out are similar regardless of background or role. For most children and young people with additional needs requiring support from a Lead Practitioner, it is anticipated that the person carrying out this role will be drawn from the range of practitioners who are currently delivering early intervention support with that particular child/young person or family. What is important is that where staff take on the role of Lead Practitioner, this does not create a new burden but results in children and young people gaining access to better co-coordinated and targeted support. Whereas in the past several practitioners may have been “leading” on the same cases the Lead Practitioner role should enable the workload to be streamlined. With one person taking the lead for each case duplication can be avoided and families will experience a more coherent and joined-up approach. However, to gain this benefit all agencies must be prepared to collaborate, taking on the lead role for some cases and participating as Team around the Family members for other cases. In some cases the Team around the Family may include staff from other local

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authorities, e.g. a child resident in Newcastle but attending school in another LA. Supervision and Support for the Lead Practitioner

An appropriate level of supervision and support should be available to all those taking on the Lead Practitioner role regardless of the organisation to which they belong. Different agencies organise support and supervision for their staff in different ways, e.g. Health Services may differentiate between management and clinical supervision. The precise means of support and supervision to be provided are not defined in this protocol but are expected that all agencies will provide support for Lead Practitioners in line with the following basic principles:

• Practitioners should have access to regular, recorded meetings with their line manager.

• These should include the identification of any training and development needs relating to the role.

• Any issues about workload management should be addressed.

• Any issues about intra/inter agency relationships in a multi-agency context where advice or manager intervention is required should be addressed.

• There should also be an opportunity for casework discussion to review progress and support problem-solving.

• Staff should also be clear how they can access support, if necessary, between scheduled meetings.

• Line manager should quality assure and oversee the quality of practice of their members of staff when acting as Lead Professionals.

Support from Assess and Decide Practitioners may access a range of support from the Access to Services Team. This may consist of case consultancy to support practitioners new to the role, or where cases are stuck. The Access to Services Team will monitor the quality of CAFs and subsequent interventions and provide support to practitioners and TAFs as appropriate. Quality Assurance and Monitoring Arrangements The Assess and Decide Team will be monitoring service delivery and the implementation of CAF against timescales and quality standards. This will include audit activity on behalf of the Children’s Trust and NSCB to monitor the roll out and impact of the CAF framework and the application of thresholds. Agencies will be contacted by the Access to Services Team in cases where timescales and quality standards are not being met to provide support.

Lines of accountability and conflict resolution The successful delivery of a Lead Practitioner role is dependent on having a broad, cross-agency management framework in place. It is not practical to expect individual practitioners to be able to resolve difficult issues or draw together practitioners from other agencies without an effective management,

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supervisory, conflict resolution and accountability structure around them. This could place undue pressure on those individuals and could also result in continuing fragmentation and inability to deliver coordinated action for children, young people and families. In Newcastle, the line of accountability runs from the Lead Practitioner, supported by the collective responsibility of the team around the child, through line management in their home agency. It is the responsibility of the home agencies for the Lead Practitioner and members of the team around of the child to oversee the quality of the practice of their practitioners to ensure that cases are managed effectively and safely. Where there is a dispute or a concern about access to services, the lead role, management of risk or progress of plans or the contribution of a partner agency, it is expected that those practitioners involved in the team around the child will escalate these issues through their home agency line management arrangements. Where these conflicts are not resolved, the Access to Service Team will either mediate between the agencies involved or provide a case consultancy meeting with the TAF to resolve difficulties. The management of the CAF framework is undertaken through the coordinated arrangements described in these procedures which are agreed by Children’s Trust including the Executive Director of Children’s Services on behalf of the local authority and the senior leads for partner agencies. In practice delivery of the CAF Framework will be overseen by a collective group of managers from a range of agencies called the Lead CAF Managers Group which will oversee audit and performance management arrangements regarding the CAF process; identify training gaps which will be fed into the Workforce Reform Board. Regular performance management reports regarding the roll-out of CAF will be presented to the Children’s Trust Board via the PMRG.. Specific Circumstances Family work/multiple Lead Practitioners (when more than one sibling requires CAF) The following points are guidelines only. Practitioners will need to apply them proportionately to individual cases. If the needs of the children are broadly similar:

• Where there are broadly similar issues affecting all children and young people in the family, it may be appropriate to complete a single family assessment with an appropriate single family support plan that addresses the collective needs.

• In such cases it may reduce stress/frustration for the family for a single Lead Practitioner to be allocated for the whole family and the TAF will need to consider if there is anyone within the TAF who has capacity to deliver the

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Lead Practitioner functions for the whole family.

• There may be occasions where only one person has a viable working relationship with a family and no other agencies have been able to engage them. In this situation, organisations that do not normally undertake family work will need to be prepared to respond with flexibility to ensure they create the capacity for individuals to take on this broader role.

• Where one practitioner is lead practitioner for the whole family, the rest of the TAF will need to consider particularly carefully how they will support that practitioner.

• If a single CAF assessment is undertaken, the names and dates of birth of all those being assessed should be recorded on the CAF assessment.

If the needs of the children are significantly different:

• It is likely that a lead practitioner will need to be nominated for each

child/young person resulting in more than one lead practitioner working with the same family.

• Consider how can agencies work together to streamline service delivery to the family as much as possible e.g. providing a shared log/calendar to help family and practitioners keep track of the range of work and timescales for this.

• Scheduling reviews around the individual children to take place on the same day/s in order to minimise the time the family needs to dedicate to this

• Processes for Lead Practitioner communication needs to be established so that children and families are not being asked for duplicate sets of information.

• For more complex cases it may be helpful for one of the lead practitioners involved with the family to act as overall family lead practitioner to co-ordinate a support plan.