Team around the Child Update, July 08
The Team around the Child model of integrated working is coming to the end of its
pilot phase in the area of Plas Madoc and Ruabon.
TAC Training
TAC training is delivered to multi-agency groups of practitioners by the TAC coordinators and by 26 practitioners from a wide range of agencies, who have been
trained as TAC trainers and champions for the model. The full TAC training
programme involves 1 ½ days training; an introduction and the three modules, one on
information sharing, the common assessment and one on the role of the lead
professional. To date, 168 have completed the TAC training and many more have
attended an introductory presentation. There have also been introductory presentations
for managers of children and young people’s services and for peripheral groups1.
Some teams have also attended ‘refresher’ and ‘update’ sessions.
Feedback from Training
Feedback from TAC training has been overwhelmingly positive.
For example:
94% found the training useful or very useful
88% found the training practical or very practical
95% found the training appropriate or very appropriate
Table to show the extent of the TAC training programme in Wrexham
Number of
Introductory Information
Common
Lead
Type of
organisations
Presentation
Sharing
Assessment
Professional
Organisation
and teams
Numbers of professionals completing this training
Local
24
188
80
82
82
Authority
8
43
18
18
17
Health
9
38
31
31
31
Schools
Voluntary
sector
Peripheral
groups*
Managers
22
76
41
41
41
14
42
4
4
4
37
74
Totals
461
174
176
175
TAC Cases in Wrexham
In any area where TAC is introduced, cases are few in the early days as practitioners
are getting used to a new system, and then build up gradually over time. This has been
the case in Wrexham as elsewhere. The first TAC cases started in December of last
year as practitioners were beginning to finish their TAC training programme. At the
time of writing this report therefore we are looking at 6 months activity in the TAC in
Wrexham.
1
Peripheral groups are those whose work brings them into contact with children but for whom children
are not the primary focus of their work (transport, leisure, adult services etc).
To date, 12 cases have been opened. Common Assessment Framework Assessments
(CAFs) have been prepared and the first TAC meeting held in each case. Five of these
cases have also had their first review and one, its second. All of the children and
young people live in the pilot area. A further 4 are being prepared for their first TAC
Meeting. TACs are currently open on 6 girls and 6 boys, all white British. Ages range
from 1 to 16, with 2 being pre-school, 6 being primary school age and 4 being
secondary school age. The lead professional role has been taken by school staff in five
cases, by voluntary organisations in five cases and by youth service staff in two. The
main needs include behaviour, housing, safety, home routines, engagement and
participation in schooling, family support, emotional health and family relationships
and boundaries.
Multi-Agency Events
For TAC to be successful, different agencies of the children’s workforce need to
know about each other. TAC staff therefore have organised regular events, taking
place every three months, to help raise awareness of the vast range of services
available for children and young people.
These events give staff an opportunity to
 Find out about other agencies working in Wrexham
 To meet their staff and find out exactly what they do and
 To share news, ideas and good practice
These Multi-agency Networking Events have proved very popular and highly valued
and the most recent event was attended by Jane Hutt, the Welsh Assembly
Government’s Minister for Children, Education and Skills, who has a particular
interest in the TAC. Attendance at these events varies from 42 to 100 practitioners.
For further information please contact Tricia Jones TAC Co-ordinator
Tel: 01978 - 317611
Comments from practitioners after TAC Multi-agency Networking Events
Extremely useful update on information,
presentations and net working opportunity
Really enjoyed the event - still
meeting new people to tell about
our service and work with
‘Thank You’. An excellent event and
way of networking. This really helped
me as a learning coach (training) could do with these events on a regular
basis.
Very interesting to be updated and have the
opportunity to meet other professionals
working with young people.
Excellent concept worthwhile practice
sharing info - we need
more of it across the
country
Fantastic to get to
know the facilities
available in the area
(Yale College)
Great
Event
Very informative
(Tenancy
Support Officer)
Good opportunity to
find out about other
services and put names
to faces (CAMHS)
We need to do this more often
Feedback from children, young people and parents about being involved with
the Team around the Child.
Children
Of those children who provided feedback
 80% said they were well prepared for the
TAC meeting beforehand and knew what
was going to happen – 20% couldn’t
remember
 100% said they felt able to speak for
themselves in the meeting
 One child enjoyed his meeting so much
he said it should have been longer!
 Two said the meetings would have been
better if they had been able to draw
pictures
Practitioners
Of those practitioners who provided
feedback
 100% felt that TAC was an improvement
on previous systems
 60% felt that TAC has been a positive
process for the child and parent to be
engaged in – one had concerns about
children coming to meetings, one had
concerns about the child and parent
feeling overwhelmed
 60% felt that the TAC process was
entirely inclusive of the child and parent,
40% felt it was mostly inclusive
Comments
Parents
Of those parents who provided feedback
 100% said they knew why a meeting had
been called for their child
 85% felt they had been given enough
information beforehand about what was
going to happen – the others did not
respond
 85% said they felt able to speak in the
meeting – one chose not to speak but to
use an advocate, which went well
 100% felt listened to and were happy
with everything on the TAC action plan
for their child
 85% felt their views were taken into
consideration and 65% said they knew
who their lead professional is – the
others did not respond
 85% were happy with the meeting
Comments:
 One parent said that the meetings go
well and were worthwhile – she said that
TAC was definitely working for her and
her son
 One parent said she was disappointed
that not everyone turned up
The process





Outside agencies are easier to engage
using TAC and to continue involvement
with
Two commented that TAC is a great
opportunity for agencies to get together
with parents and to establish clear plans
for intervention
TAC is a good forum for information
sharing
Good support package put in place
following the TAC
This is a way forward for the young
mother without social services
involvement – which she did not want
Involvement




Empowering the child and parent is great
Empowering the child has been very
powerful!
Parent was involved throughout
In one case it was enough to get
everyone together to make the parent
feel listened to and supported