P&FS PROTOCOL 3 - PRINCIPLES FOR WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND YOUNG
PEOPLE (IN SCHOOLS, EARLY YEARS SETTINGS AND AT HOME)
PRINCIPLE: All work related to individual children is based on the principle of working in
the best interests of the child.
FRAMEWORK: SCE works within a number of legislative expectations. These include, for
example, the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (2001) the Children Acts (1989
and 2004), the Education Act (2002) and Working Together to Safeguard Children (2010).
That legislative context results in P&FS staff working with a diverse range of vulnerable
children and their families.
The legislative and statutory guidance also provides a framework that SCE uses to
approach the issue of support for individual children. For example, the SEN Code of
Practice provides the framework for the ‘graduated response’ which expects that school
staff will involve external support services for children where internal support has not
provided the solution to a concern. This involvement of ‘external’ support, which includes
P&FS staff as they are external to staff employed directly within the school can involve a
range of advice, guidance and direct work with pupils.
For example, P&FS staff may provide advice to teachers on new individual education
plans (IEPs) with fresh targets and suggestions for accompanying strategies. P&FS staff
could provide more specialist assessments in order to inform planning for a pupil. P&FS
staff can work with teachers to discuss and support the measurement of a pupil’s
individual progress. P&FS staff could also work with teachers to identify new or specialist
strategies, or materials and deliver focused CPD in order to support school staff to
implement those strategies.
PRACTICE: The purpose of P&FS involvement is to improve the opportunities available
for children which in turn will then lead to improved outcomes. This is achieved in a variety
of ways, e.g. helping school staff to understand and provide for individual children’s needs.
This can involve helping adults and children to identify changes they can make, targets
they can set and to actively review progress. The work can also involve direct work with
parents. The aim of all of the work is ensure that pupils are fully included in schools and
early years settings as well as enabled to make the best possible progress.
P&FS work adheres to the following key points:
1.
P&FS staff can provide general advice to school staff on a range of issues.
When this advice is about a specific pupil, the parents/carers should have
given their consent for the discussion to take place.
2.
Before involving P&FS, school staff will have completed some school action
work in line with the graduated response outlined in the SEN Code of Practice
(this would usually include two reviewed IEPs). If this has not happened,
P&FS staff can provide guidance on how this could be done. The principle of a
graduated response is also relevant to early years settings, however it
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acknowledged that the systems in place may use different terminology to that
within a school setting.
3.
Pupils requiring work at school action plus will usually be identified at the
termly planning meetings, held between school and P&FS staff.
4.
P&FS staff will only undertake direct work (including observations) with a pupil
with informed written consent from the parent/carer. The only exception to this
is in line with issues of pupil consent as detailed in the next section on
informed consent.
5.
The “Request for P&FS involvement” should be completed by the staff
member requesting this, for example if it is agreed that a pupil requires support
from a professional outside of the school staff team i.e. at school action plus.
All sections of the form should be completed and it should be signed by
parents.
6.
Where school staff wish to involve P&FS staff in individual work with children
that is not linked to SEN then they must still have written consent from the
parents/carers. The same ‘request for P&FS involvement’ form should be used
therefore for any individual requests for involvement made to P&FS staff. The
principle is to obtain prior parental consent.
7.
P&FS staff will keep a written paper record of any work undertaken with an
individual pupil. Records will be stored at the appropriate P&FS office and
parents have a right to access records, in line with SCE procedures.
8.
P&FS staff will follow good practice of sharing written information with
parents/carers, schools and early years settings. Whilst this might not
automatically include every file note, it will be sufficient to maintain clear
records of work being undertaken with pupils.
9.
Written records will follow the format outlined in protocol 1 (data and file
management).
10.
P&FS involvement can be requested directly by parents and staff from other
organisations.
11.
Requests for advice from other agencies or from parents which are not
directed to an individual professional will go to the Head of Centre who will, in
discussion with P&FS colleagues, direct it to the appropriate person.
12.
SEN enquiries, processed through the AEO (SEN) for children registered with
CEAS, will go to the educational psychologist named in the team around the
school who will coordinate the P&FS response.
13.
P&FS staff are able to model work, e.g. alongside a class based teacher,
without the need for parental consent. P&FS staff are able to contribute to
school organised group work/meetings without the need to obtain parental
consent. A programme of group work that is led by P&FS staff does require
prior parental consent for individual children.
Informed consent
The Fraser guidelines (named after the presiding judge who set the case law) are
considered good practice for health and social care professionals when working with
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young people under the age of 16. Although these refer specifically to the provision of
sexual health services, they are of relevance to P&FS staff when considering working with
a young person who is reluctant for parental permission to be sought to agree to P&FS
involvement. In effect, services can be provided without parental consent providing that:
The young person understands the professional’s advice
The young person cannot be persuaded to inform their parents or for the
professional to inform the parents that they are seeking advice
Unless the young person receives advice or treatment, the young person’s
physical, emotional or mental health, or both, is likely to suffer
The young person’s best interests require the professional to give advice,
treatment, or both, without parental consent
Some general guidance contained within the Information Sharing Guidance for
Practitioners and Managers:
A child or young person, who has the capacity to understand and make their own
decisions, may give (or refuse) consent to sharing.
People aged 16 and over are presumed, in law, to have the capacity to give or
withhold their consent
Children aged 12 or over may generally be expected to have sufficient
understanding
Younger children may have sufficient understanding
Practitioners need to assess whether a particular person on a particular occasion has
sufficient understanding to consent, or to refuse consent, to sharing information.
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