1. Phone call/Text
to arrange first
appointment.
2. Confirm appointment
with letter (if the parent is
ok with reading) optional?
3. If no initial response from family,
repeat 1 up to 3 times
maximum.(assuming the referrer
has given you the most recent and
correct contact details
6. Be prepared to listen to other needs the family may
present, which may not even be part of your remit.
Consider quick wins, such as food parcels and freebies
7. If you are struggling to get an appointment to meet
face-face with the family, you could try meeting them at
school in the morning or pick up time, or do
unannounced visit to home address. Some families
may not like the idea of someone ‘just’ turning up at
their home, so your approach may have to be a bit
more tactful, for example, ‘sorry, I think I have been
calling the wrong phone number and I just wanted to
make sure you don’t miss out on any support.
11. You may also want to consider
motivational solution focused tool re:
motivation which is less threatening
If still no
response
4. Consider possible joint visit with
referrer/other people involved who
has a good relationship with the
family.
5. At the first meeting with family, remember to initially engage with ‘problem free talk’
to build rapport early. Then start with what you can do for the family (instead of what
you can’t do) and also discuss what is in it for the family if they engage with you.
8. If the family still present resistance, tell them you will leave them to think
about working with you (reinforce the benefits of engaging with you)
9. (Optional)From your earlier ‘problem free talk’ you would have picked up the
family’s interest etc. for example they like animals, sports etc. send a card/post
card to reflect the interest where possible,(as this conveys you are interested
in them as a person not just the problem that brought them to you.)
10. If you prefer to send a text instead of card, remember to mention something
you had a chat about during your ‘problem free talk’ for example, hope the
party went well…hope you’ve had a bit of time to yourself last week to rest etc.
13. If the family still refuse to engage and there are no Child
Protections concerns, leave them with the options of support available
to them and the referrer’s contact details.
If the case has come through thresholds perhaps consider discussion
with referrer (i.e. RIAT SW) and ascertain with their contribution if not
being at TAC would result in them being concerned about no-one
being involved, given we may not have met the family.
12. In the card/postcard offer another appointment for example; Hi
Jane, hope you are well. Would you please let me know the best time
for you to meet with me briefly to just discuss your decision about
working with me to support you and your family. Here are the dates I
can do at the moment.
14. If the family still refuse to engage and there are Child
Protection concerns, use escalation policy as appropriate.