March 2015

This Practitioners Supplementary Guidance has been developed with the support and contributions from staff and volunteers who work with children, young people and their families in Knowsley.
It has been endorsed by Knowsley Safeguarding Children Board who will hold to account all agencies in respect of delivering high quality, effective early help assessment and interventions that meet the needs of children and young people and keep them safe.
First Edition Published March 2015
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Children and young people have varying needs that change over time. The Early
Help Assessment (EHA) will support practitioners in the assessment of need prior to
Statutory Assessment processes having to be deployed. Assessment of need should be based on:
 professional judgment
 a sound assessment of the child/young person’s needs
 the parent/carer’s capacity to respond to those needs
 the parent/carer’s capacity to keep children safe from significant harm
 the wider family circumstances
When approaching children, young people and families about issues it is important to be open and relaxed with your questioning style. You should advise them that the process is about supporting them to make changes in their lives and that the more information you gain the more tailored the support can be to best suit their needs.
Section 1 – Family Information
This section gathers basic information about the children, young people and parents/carers and includes key areas of information:

Identifying details: name, date of birth, gender, ethnicity, disability, primary language, address, contact numbers

Assessment information: the reason for the assessment, who took part in the assessment, practitioner details, agencies and services working with the family
Gathering this information is crucial to ensure Knowsley is doing all it can to meet the needs of children, young people and families who are most in need of early help.
This information makes it quicker to locate assessments and for other agencies to search information which may be held on their own recording systems which may be useful for the Team Around the Family meeting.
It is essential that the information in this section is recorded accurately and checked with the family, common errors include dates of birth being, incorrect spelling of names, wrong post codes, primary language not recorded, ethnicity not recorded.
Section 2
– Child / Young Person
The essence of this section is to capture information about the child or young person and should be completed for each child or young person in the family. It may be that other practitioners involved with the family might be able to contribute to the assessment by completing particular parts of the assessment.
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It is not expected that practitioners will be experts in all or any of the areas under this or indeed other sections of the form. It may be that practitioners utilise the expertise in multi-agency teams by asking for support and guidance on section within the EHA which are not their ‘usual’ areas of work.
Below is a summary of the information to be discussed and captured in each sub heading and further guidance is available in the appendices.
Learning / Education / Employment – this would include attendance and aspirations
Progress in basic and key skills; available opportunities; support with disruption to education; level of adult interest. Access and engagement; attendance, participation; adult support; access to appropriate resources. Ambition; pupil’s confidence and view of progress; motivation, perseverance
Health – this would include physical, emotional and mental, self care skills
Conditions and impairments; access to and use of dentist, GP, optician; immunisations, developmental checks, hospital admissions, accidents, health advice and information. Nourishment; activity; relaxation; vision and hearing; fine motor skills (drawing etc.); gross motor skills (mobility, playing games and sport etc.).
Preferred communication, language, conversation, expression, questioning; games; stories and songs; listening; responding; understanding. Feeling special; early attachments; risking/actual self-harm; phobias; psychological difficulties; coping with stress; motivation, positive attitudes; confidence; relationships with peers; feeling isolated and solitary; fears; often unhappy. Lifestyle, self-control, reckless or impulsive activity; behaviour with peers; substance misuse; anti-social behaviour; sexual behaviour; offending; violence and aggression; restless and overactive; easily distracted, attention span/concentration. Changes to body; washing, dressing, feeding, positive separation from family, becoming independent.
Relationships – this would include school, family, friends, identity, social presentation, domestic abuse
Building stable relationships with family, peers and wider community; helping others; friendships; levels of association for negative relationships. Organising, making connections; being creative, exploring, experimenting; imaginative play and interaction. Boundaries, rules, asking for help, decision-making. Perceptions of self; knowledge of personal/family history; sense of belonging; experiences of discrimination due to race, religion, age, gender, sexuality and disability. Appropriate dress.
Crime & Anti-Social Behaviour
Involvement or accusation of being involved in any form of crime and/or anti-social behaviour; victim of anti-social behaviour in the area.
Substance / Alcohol misuse
Levels of consumption of alcohol, usage of substances including prescription drugs; trigger points, concerns about health (physical and mental) relating to substance
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misuse; impact on parenting capacity and day to day functioning.
N.B. if the assessment suggests that alcohol/substance misuse is an issue, it is not necessary to ask for indepth information. Identifying the issue calls for a “request for service” of specialist advice/treatment to support further assessment and the action plan.
RAG Rating
The practitioner should ask the child or young person to ‘RAG’ rate each heading; thinking about the areas that they feel could be improved with some support.
R ed – immediate support needs
A mber
– some support needs
G reen
– no support needs
Voice of the Child
It is essential that the practitioner not only sees the child or young person but speaks with them and using age appropriate methods gathers their views. The questions in the form have been designed as prompts to better understand issues from the perspective of the child or young person. Practitioners should encourage the chid or young person to reflect on the positive things about their life and themselves however hard it seems to them at the time. Further tools to help practitioners are located in the appendices.
Section 3 – Parent / Adult
The essence of this section is to capture information about the parents or other adults in the family and should be completed for each adult in the family. It may be that other practitioners involved with the family might be able to contribute to the assessment by completing particular parts of the assessment. It is not expected that practitioners will be experts in all or any of the areas under this or indeed other sections of the form. It may be that practitioners utilise the expertise in multi-agency teams by asking for support and guidance on section within the EHA which are not their ‘usual’ areas of work.
Below is a summary of the information to be discussed and captured in each sub heading and further guidance is available in the appendices.
Housing / Living conditions
Property owned, rented (private landlord / housing association), any rent arrears; time at the address, suitable for family needs, furnishings, own bedrooms, who shares; heating, maintenance, socket covers, smoke alarms, window/door locks; like living there, relationship with neighbours
Health this would include physical, emotional and mental, self care skills
Conditions and impairments; access to and use of dentist, GP, optician; hospital
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admissions, accidents, health advice and information, vision and hearing; impact of health condition on parenting and day to day functioning. Concerns about their own or other family members emotional wellbeing; feelings of stress, depression or low mood, post natal depression, self harm, suicidal thoughts; hospitalisation due to mental ill health;
Relationships
– this would include family history & functioning, routines, family’s social integration and domestic abuse
Different roles in the family, how decisions are made, regular morning/evening routines; who gets the child(ren) ready for school; any members of the family temporarily away from home (employment, hospital, prison); communication within the family; any significant family events; extended family and/or friends that can be contacted for support; social isolation (access to and use of transport links, leisure facilities, social networks, cultural support, connections with a place of worship); any incidents of domestic abuse in the home/within the family.
Parenting skills – this would include basic care, ensuring safety and protection, boundaries, emotional warmth & stability and caring responsibilities
Family members have their own bed and clothes; regular mealtimes; any difficulties during pregnancy; what was their experience of being parented; storage of medicines and cleaning products; do the children know who to contact in an emergency; preventing children / young people accessing adult materials (internet, social networking websites, video games, films and other media); concerns their child displays violent/aggressive behaviour; regular family activities (sport, park trips, visit relatives); any agreed consistent household rules and boundaries; age appropriate responsibilities given to children; confidence in discussing subjects like sex/drugs and relationships at age appropriate level; any children helping to provide care.
Employment / Training / Learning
Parents/carers in regular paid employment; any issues relating to work impacting on family life (work shifts and patterns); levels general of confidence (confidence in relation to reading, writing and numeracy skills); anything stopping them from taking part in education, training or employment (health issues, caring responsibilities, transport);
Crime & Anti-Social Behaviour
Involvement or accusation of being involved in any form of crime and/or anti-social behaviour; victim of anti-social behaviour in the area.
Substance / Alcohol Misuse
Levels of consumption of alcohol, usage of substances including prescription drugs; trigger points, concerns about health (physical and mental) relating to substance
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misuse; impact on parenting capacity and day to day functioning.
N.B. if the assessment suggests that alcohol/substance misuse is an issue, it is not necessary to ask for indepth information. Identifying the issue calls for a “request for service” of specialist advice/treatment to support further assessment and the action plan.
Finance / Debt Issues
What income does the family have, what source (wage, benefits); do any benefits restrict activities they would like to do e.g. engagement in work or education; how well do they manage their money; worried about debt, have they sought independent advice, impact of debt on family life.
RAG Rating
The practitioner should ask the parent/carer to ‘RAG’ rate each heading; thinking about the areas that they feel could be improved with some support.
R ed – issues which need addressing quickly
A mber
– issues you may need help with
G reen – positive / no issues
Parent/Adult Voice
It is essential that the practitioner not only sees each parent/carer but is able to speak with them individually. The questions in the form have been designed as prompts to better understand issues from their perspective. Practitioners should encourage the parent/carer to reflect on the positive things about their life and themselves however hard it seems to them at the time.
Section 4 – Summary and Analysis
This section is designed to capture from the perspective of the parent/carer reflections of any dangers or risks to themselves or their children whilst considering how services might help them with these. Practitioners should ask them to summarise what they feel would be the most important changes for their family which would then be fed into their family plan.
Good assessments of individual children and families are crucial to ensuring that the right children get the right service at the right time. We can never be absolutely certain we are ‘getting it right’ in the assessments we make about vulnerable children and their families.
Sound professional judgement, supported by analysis and critical thinking however can help us to be more confident that the judgements we make are of the best quality possible and support the planned outcomes for individual children and their family.
The most useful assessments outline clearly the thought processes that have led to
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conclusions and ultimately plans containing designed to deliver child focused outcomes. It is important that the practitioner explains their decisions to the child, young person and their parents/carers.
An evidence-informed approach to assessments will strengthen the practitioners analysis by helping them think about alternative ways of working with a family, questioning the impact that their own beliefs and values might have on their decision-making and will back up their conclusions.
Evidence informed practice emphasises the importance of using a combination of research evidence, practitioner experience together with the views of the child and their parents/carers to make a decision or “professional judgement” about the case.
Generalised or ‘stock’ phrases are unlikely to reflect the needs and circumstances of the individuals in the family. Research will rarely provide definitive answers for an individual case however, when this is combined with the practitioner’s experience of similar cases, observations of the individual situation and the views of the child and family, it can contribute to a stronger, more robust analysis of what is required to achieve the outcomes.
Section 5
– Our Family Plan
This is the final section of the EHA and outlines the support plan for the child/young person and their family which should be agreed with them. This will be based on the conclusions of the practitioner. This may involve a TAF meeting, see below. The plan should ensure actions will lead to child focused outcomes and are ‘SMART’ namely each action is specific, measurable, agreed, and realistic and time bound .
The family (or child/young person) should be asked to sign the assessment and be provided with their own copy. When signing the assessment they can also add any comments in relation to information they may disagree with or particular agencies they do not wish to share their information with (refer to chapter 4 of the Practitioner
Handbook for further details on information sharing).
Once completed the practitioner should follow the process flowchart on page 9 adhering to the timeline outlined in Table 1 on page 10.
For further advice or clarification on any aspects of completing an Early Help
Assessment practitioners should contact the Early Help Team as outlined below:
Early Help Team
Tel:
Email:
N.B. The Step up / Step down process between Children’s Social Care and Family
First/Stronger Families services is outlined in Appendix C.
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Additional support needs identified during review of action plan
EHT notified to who will support Lead
Professional in determining whether should Step Up case
Step
Up
YES
Additional needs identified
Practitioner checks with EHT whether EHA/CAF is open
EHA/CAF is open
EHT direct practitioner to
Lead Professional managing the case.
End of process
Child not known/closed
EHT provides advice, guidance & support to practitioner who then completes EHA form withwith assessment to be completed
Dependent upon identified needs LP or
EHT call TAF meeting
Multi-agency TAF meeting called within 4 weeks of assessment starting
If identified needs do not require support from external agencies practitioner records actions that will be taken in
EHA form
Action plan delivered & reviewed every 6-8wks from date of plan
Step
Up
No
Review
EHA &
Action
Plan with support from EHT
Action plan with clear child focused outcomes is agreed and signed by family and Lead
Professional
Action plan delivered & reviewed every 6-8wks from date of plan
Final review of action plan confirms outcomes met
EHA Closed & EHT notified
End of process
Final review of action plan confirms outcomes met
EHA Closed & EHT notified
End of process
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Action
Complete assessment form
Provide copy of EHA to the Early Help Team via secure email
Share information with the family
Timescale
Within 20 working days of needs being identified
Once completed within the 20 working days
From point of concern being identified and should be ongoing
Within 20 working days of needs being identified
Set date, time and venue of TAF meeting including sending all documentation to relevant people
First TAF meeting takes place and actions agreed and delivered thereafter
Review meetings to check progress and outcomes of the plan and consider pathways for assessment e.g. Education Health Care Plans regarding SEND.
Close EHA
Within 20 working days of needs being identified
6-8 weeks with a maximum of every 12 weeks or more frequently if an incident has happened that requires a review of the plan.
At whichever point the identified needs are met or the case escalates, deescalates (refer to Step-up,
Step-down guidance)
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1. Which section of the assessment form should be used to ensure the practitioners input is explicit versus that of the child and parent/carer?
Section 4 has a specific section for the practitioner’s analysis and conclusion.
2. The initial assessment requires an opening RAG rating but it is not clear where we record the RAG rating when closing the early help assessment?
When closing an early help assessment it is important that the child and their family can see the improvements they have made and the RAG rating is a useful way to facilitate this. This should be recorded in the Family Plan if using a paper version of the assessment form.
A facility to record a review of each RAG rating has been integrated into the EH IT system which will see the last review have a final and closing RAG for each element of the assessment.
3. Minutes for TAFs – is there a set format?
The EH Team has produced a standard template for use at all meetings and is attached at Appendix A.
This will be accessible electronically in the EH IT System when this goes live.
4. Will there be a review form for EHA?
There is a review form on the EH IT system and we are currently configuring this to meet Knowsley’s needs.
5. Will the new EH IT system need specific software in order to be accessible by partner agencies?
The EH IT system will accessible via any computer that has access to the internet.
Practitioners using the IT System will need to be identified and given a login.
All partner agencies will need to identify the practitioners and managers that will require access so that they can be set up on the IT system. The details required will include name and email address.
The above information should be emailed to the Early Help Team’s Information and System Support Officer Joyce Waite ( joyce.waite@knowsley.gov.uk
) will be the point of contact for system access.
6. What is the escalation process when a level 4 referral isn’t accepted by social care?
Knowsley Safeguarding Children Board introduced an escalation policy in 2014.
This can be found on the KSCB website at www.knowsleyscb.org.uk
and is included at Appendix B.
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7. How do I obtain a secure email address in order to share information with the
Early Help Team and partner agencies?
Contact the Early Help Team’s Information and System Support Officer, Joyce
Waite ( joyce.waite@knowsley.gov.uk
) who will assist in obtaining an appropriate secure email service.
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Appendix A
Name of Child(ren)
Date of TAF Meeting
People present at TAF meeting
Review family plan and update with any agreed further action
Next steps
Can the Early Help Assessment be closed?
Yes – outline reason for closure
No – Agreed review date:
Review Notes
Child / young person’s comments on the TAF meeting and the actions identified
Parent/carer’s comments on the TAF meeting and the actions identified
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Appendix B
All professionals working with children, young people and families need to know what to do about a case where they are worried that professionals are not working well together and, as a result, a child is not making good enough progress or is at risk.
Effective working together depends on resolving disagreements to the satisfaction of workers and agencies, and a belief in a genuine partnership and joint working to safeguard children.
Problem resolution is an integral part of professional cooperation and joint working to safeguard children. Professional disagreement is only dysfunctional if not resolved in a constructive and timely fashion.
Every agency should have their own procedures in place for how to deal with concerns within their own setting. On those occasions where concerns need to be raised with another agency, workers should ensure this happens as soon as possible and that discussions are clearly recorded. If the worker with the worker from the other agency cannot reach resolution, then this will be progressed to line manager.
At no time must professional disagreement detract from ensuring a child is safeguarded. The child’s welfare and safety must remain paramount throughout.
Disagreements could arise in a number of areas, but are most likely to arise around determining levels of need, roles and responsibilities, and the need for action and communication.
For cases involving Social Care, the concerns should be discussed initially with the social worker. If this does not resolve the problem, the Team Manager should be alerted – by telephone or in writing within one working day.
If the issue has arisen in the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), this should be brought to the attention of the MASH Co-ordinator.
If the comparable line managers cannot achieve resolution and the issue remains unresolved, then an Escalation Notice will be necessary.
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When there is recognition that there is a disagreement over a significant issue, which impacts on the safety and welfare of a child, the respective workers must identify explicitly what the problem is and have absolute clarity about the nature of the disagreement and what the respective workers aim to achieve.
It should be recognised that differences in status and/or experience may affect the confidence of some workers to pursue this unsupported.
Where a service is commissioned the contract will determine the reporting arrangements including any issues so commissioners will have a good idea of whether things are going smoothly or if there are any issues so the policy should reflect the commissioner/provider arrangements.
Commissioners would want to be notified before the escalation notice is issued and most likely at the point where the practitioners are raising with their line managers as this could be resolved by the intervention of the commissioner who can refer to contract compliance.
If unresolved, the problem should be referred by each worker to their respective line manager, for school staff this will be the designated person, who in turn is expected to discuss with their opposite number in the other agency.
The Escalation Notice will record information and document the issue raised. In particular this must include written confirmation between the parties about the nature of the disagreement(s) and how any outstanding issues will be pursued and this will be forwarded to the Service Manager or agency equivalent within 5 working days.
A copy of this notice will be sent to the Knowsley Safeguarding Children
Board Manager (KSCB)
The Service Directors and Service Managers will also be available for discussion on urgent or sensitive cases.
The Quality Assurance Unit will continue to offer consultation and advice on cases and will intervene to help resolve issues if that is appropriate.
However, the Quality Assurance Unit will always follow up cases where there are immediate concerns about a child – they will not be left until a Service Manager or
Director is available.
If the comparable Service Managers cannot achieve resolution, then the issue will be referred to the comparable agency directors. If resolution is not achieved, then this will be referred to the Director of Children’s Services who will make the final binding decision N.B. This Escalation Policy does not apply to disputes in respect of the outcome of a Child Protection Conference.
A separate process applies in those circumstances.
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Concern raised by practitioner about decision-making, practice or practitioner from
AN/other agency
Concern to be discussed with practitioner involved by practitioner raising concern, if appropriate
Resolution reached.
Practitioner to practitioner
YES
Record on relevant case file
Practitioner raising concern to discuss with line manager within one working day.
Resolution to be sought by line manager within 1 working day.
If dispute occurs within MASH
- MASH co-ordinator to be informed
Resolution reached. Line manager to line manager
YES
Information recorded on agency case files
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Director within 2 working days
Resolution reached at
Directorate level within
5 working days
NO
Director of Children ’s Services makes final binding decision
Escalation Notice to be completed within 5 working days and copy sent to KSCB
Manager and agency
Service Manager or equivalent
Resolution reached. Service
Manager to Service Manager
NO
Service Manager raises with
YES
YES
YES
Record on relevant case file. Feedback to practitioner raising concern. Feedback to
KSCB manager who records resolution
Record on relevant case file.
Feedback to practitioner raising concern.
Feedback to KSCB manager who records resolution
Record on relevant case file. Feedback to practitioner raising concern. Case summary sent to KSCB for review re issues and lessons learned
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Appendix C
The following process relates to the Step up/Step down between Children’s Social
Care and Family First/Stronger Families services within the local authority.
STEP UP

Referral via MASH

Referral will be considered against the threshold tool

if the decision is to proceed a decision will be made within 24 hours and will go out to the team for allocation to a Social Worker

SW will contact worker and arrange either a joint visit or an information sharing meeting that can be face to face or by phone this will have to take place within 72 hours as CSC have a duty to see the family within the time frame. Both parties need to be committed to this it is a joint responsibility

after joint visit discussion needs to be had with team managers if Family
First or Stronger Families are to remain involved

outcome to be recorded in case notes, Early Help to notify that there is new
Lead professional and their assessment is to be put on hold
STEP DOWN

At the end of CSC intervention if intention is for case to step back down to
Family First or Stronger Families a referral via early help needs to be completed. The earlier the better to allow a worker to attend the final Child In
Need meeting.

EHT will allocate a worker to the case within 5 working days

The worker or manager will attend the CIN meeting which will acts as a transfer meeting

If it is agreed that case is eligible for Family First or Stronger Families then a joint visit to family will be completed by Social Worker and Family Worker.

Family Worker will assume case responsibility and inform EHT that they are the new lead professional this will take place within two weeks time frame

If family do not engage then Family Worker to discuss case with their manager about whether or not step up is appropriate
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