Common Assessment
Framework
Section 2
Integrated Working Guidance
Children & Young People’s
Strategic Partnership
Swindon
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Integrated Working Guidance. October 2009.
2
Section 2 Common
Assessment
Framework (CAF)
The Common Assessment
Framework (CAF) is a
standardised approach to
undertaking an assessment
of a child or young person’s
additional needs and identifying
how best to meet those needs.
The CAF is the key component
of delivering integrated frontline
services.
The CAF is generally used with
children and young people up
to the age of 18, but its use can
be extended beyond 18 where
appropriate, to enable the
young person to have a smooth
transition to adult services. In the
case of Connexions the CAF can
be used to the age of 19, and up
to the age of 24 where a young
person has a learning difficulty or
disability.
Any practitioner in the children
and young people’s workforce can
complete a CAF. This includes
practitioners and managers in
early years’ services, education,
health, family and community
support, youth, justice and crime
prevention, sport and culture.
A CAF can also be used by
practitioners in adult services, as
many of the adults accessing those
services are parents/carers and
may need a common assessment
for their child. The CAF would
then provide a means of jointly
assessing the needs of the family.
The Common Assessment
Framework consists of:
‡
‡
‡
A pre-assessment checklist
to help decide if the child or
young person woud benefit
from a CAF;
A process to enable
practitioners in the children
and young people’s and wider
workforce to undertake a
common assessment and to
then produce a plan of action
A standard national form to
record the assessment
The assessment covers
three areas, known as
domains:
‡
‡
‡
Development of the child or
young person
Parents and Carers
Family and Environment
The CAF is designed to help
practitioners assess needs at
an early stage and work with
children, young people and
their families, alongside other
practitioners and agencies, to
meet those needs.
It is a framework that means
children and young people and
their parents/carers only need to
tell their story once and then it is
updated over time.
The CAF is not for a child or
young person where there
are concerns that they are at
risk of harm. In such instances
safeguarding procedures must
be followed without delay. In
Swindon the procedures to be
followed are those set out in
South West Child Protection
Procedures –
www.swcpp.org.uk
Further information regarding
safeguarding can be found on
www.swindonlscb.org.uk
A CAF would, however
support the identification
of specific unmet needs
where the concerns around
safeguarding are not clear.
If there are any doubts
practitioners should consult
their manager.
Integrated Working Guidance Section 2 October 2009.
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The CAF can be used to assess the needs of
unborn babies, infants, children or young people.
Practitioners do not have to be experts in any
particular area to do a common assessment. They
do, however, need to have the right skills and should
have been on the locally approved training course.
There is an expectation that all practitioners in the
children’s workforce in Swindon will access CAF
training and refresh their skills as required.
If a practitioner identifies a child with unmet need(s)
and is not confident to complete a common
assessment, they must consult with their line
manager or Integrated Family or Integrated Youth
Support Manager in their locality. The manager will
identify an experienced “buddy” to support them
complete the CAF.
Common Assessment Champion
– Jeannette Chipping – Swindon
NSPCC Manager
“The CAF for me is a really good way for collecting
information that everyone can understand about
children and families. One of the biggest positives is
how colleagues in schools particularly have engaged
in the CAF and in other areas this doesn’t really
seem to be the case. It is a common process and
everyone in Swindon across the children’s workforce
knows exactly what you mean when you talk about
a CAF.
The CAF is an effective way of safeguarding
children early, where the family is really engaged in
the process. The CAF gives a clear evidence base
that can then be built upon to request a specialist
assessment and/or additional interventions.”
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Integrated Working Guidance Section 2 October 2009.
All practitioners undertaking common assessments,
or receiving assessment information, need to have
enhanced level Criminal Records Bureau (CRB)
checks. This applies to CAF, eCAF and access to
ContactPoint.
The CAF is not a referral for requesting additional
interventions, but provides clear evidence of why
certain interventions are needed and therefore is
used to support such requests. It must always be
completed with the child or young person and /or
parent/carer.
Common
Assessment in
Schools
Malcolm
Coombes,
Deputy
Head Dorcan
Technology
College
If there are concerns about
more than one child or young
person in the same family, then
a common assessment must be
completed for each child as each
child’s needs will be different. The
parenting and the environment
may be similar, but each child will
respond differently to them.
The CAF is entirely voluntary
and without agreement is not
usually progressed. However, if the
practitioner remains concerned
about the needs of a child they
need to consult their line manager
to discuss a way forward.
There is no need to complete a
common assessment for every
child or young person. Children
and young people do not need a
CAF where they are progressing
well, or have needs that have
already been identified and are
met.
“In terms of
aspiration we all want
a system that speeds
up access to support.
I hope that the CAF
will increasingly become the way
to open up lots of doors for
children and young people and is
something that everyone agrees
to, uses and understands. It will
then make it easier for us all.
In Dorcan we start building a
CAF for every new student that
walks through the door, by having
components of it embedded in
our recording systems across the
school. For most of our students
this will remain on their school
record and remain unshared, but
for some it can then easily be built
into the CAF should the need
arise. We are working towards
using the CAF as the basis of
our recording systems, as we can
see that it will save us time and
help our students to receive the
support they need.”
Schools and Educational
Settings
Schools play a crucial role in
effective integrated working.
The CAF will help school staff
establish links quickly with other
practitioners who are working
with a child or young person.
It will help engage other relevant
services earlier and more
reliably. Schools should ensure
that current arrangements are
effective in identifying children and
young people in need of support.
Every member of staff should be
clear on their role in the early
identification of emerging needs
and know where they can get
support from the local integrated
team. There are a number of
steps a school can take to make
introducing a CAF more straight
forward including:
s Raising awareness with staff
about why, when and how a
CAF can used effectively
s Enabling staff to attend CAF
training
s Building the CAF into school
procedures at the earliest
stage for children identified
with possible unmet needs
Integrated Working Guidance Section 2 October 2009.
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s Linking the CAF to other assessments to provide
a broader check of the child or young person’s
progress across all the Every Child Matters
outcomes
Schools and educational settings are in a privileged
position to be able to spot any early signs of
difficulty. Through existing relationships with
children/young people and their parents/carers
schools and educational settings are able to further
understand the early signs of difficulty through the
CAF and Team Around the Child (TAC), and agree
with the child/parent the next steps. This enables
the school/educational setting to draw down
consultation and support through the TAC into the
child’s/young person’s school/educational setting.
Embedding the Common Process and the Common
Pathway can enhance school systems. This will give
an opportunity to combine the processes to avoid
duplication for children and their families. The TAC
Delivery Plan and Review could replace Individual
Education Plans (IEP) and Pastoral Support Plans
(PSP).
At School Action (SEN Code of Practice) the CAF
and TAC will identify the need for school based
interventions. It will give a broader understanding of
the child’s/family’s needs and will broker additional
multi-disciplinary support in the context of a
graduated response.
This early multi-agency intervention may reduce
the need to progress to School Action Plus and to
statutory assessment (particularly for those children
with Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties BESD). See Appendix 7 for Educational Psychology
Pathway.
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Integrated Working Guidance Section 2 October 2009.
Process for completing a CAF and convening a TAC
Contact lead
professional if CAF
already exists and gain
consent through Lead
Professional if need to
update
Ensure you have
signed consent and
the CAF is signed by
the parent / guardian
Thinking
of completing a
CAF?
Yes
See contact details below
Call CAF/
TAC
Coordinator
ContactPoint
If you need support to
complete a CAF,
contact your manager
or Integrated Locality
Family/Youth Support
Manager
Have you
completed a
CAF?
Log your CAF.
Send CAF and Vulnerability
Check List, to CAF/TAC
Coordinator.
Keep your CAF safe someone may need to see it
in the future.
Keep the CAF on the Child's
or Young Person's file.
Yes
For support, contact
CAF/TAC Coordinator
or convene TAC
yourself.
Always involve the
child and the family.
eCAF
Call CAF/
TAC
Coordinator
Organise a
Team
Around the
Child as
required
Send to CAF/TAC Coordinator:
- Consent & CAF Updates
- Attendee details
- Copy of TAC Delivery Plan
- TAC Reviews
See Common
Tools section
for all forms
to be used
Common Tools
CAF/TAC Coordinators - Contact Details
Central North & North Locality: Alison Hayward, Palm Tree Lodge, 21 Green Road, Swindon SN2 7AZ:01793 825576 ahayward@swindon.gov.uk
Central South & South Locality: Julie Nurden, Sanford House, Sanford Street, Swindon SN1 9DY: 07980 017253 jnurden@swindon.gov.uk
Integrated Working Guidance Section 2 October 2009.
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2.2 Risk and Vulnerability
Factors
Children, young people and families experience
a range of needs at different times in their lives.
However, while all children and young people
require access to high-quality universal services,
some of them also have additional needs that may
relate to their development, education, health, social
welfare or other areas.
These needs will in many cases be
interconnected with each other and might
be associated with:
‡ Disruptive or anti-social behaviour
‡ Parental conflict or lack of parental support/
boundaries
‡ Risk of / or offending behaviour
‡ Poor attendance or exclusion from school
‡ Bullying, as a victim or perpetrator
‡ Special educational needs
‡ Disabilities
‡ Not in education, employment or training
post-16 (NEET)
‡ Poor nutrition or inadequate clothing
‡ Ill health
‡ Substance misuse
‡ Poor mental health
‡ Experience of domestic violence
‡ Housing issues
‡ Teenage pregnancy and parenthood or the risk
of either
‡ Young carers who have additional needs as a
result of their caring responsibilities e.g. Truancy,
lateness, ill health, housing issues
Within the group of children and young people with
increasing needs, a small proportion have high needs
that meet the threshold for statutory involvement.
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Integrated Working Guidance Section 2 October 2009.
These are:
‡ Children and young people with severe and
complex special educational needs
‡ Children and young people diagnosed with
significant mental health problems
‡ Young offenders involved with youth justice
services (with community orders and custodial
sentences)
‡ Children and young people who are the subject
of a child protection plan
‡ Children and young people in care
‡ Care leavers
‡ Children and young people who are to be
adopted
‡ Children and young people’s with complex
disabilities or complex health problems
In addressing children’s and young people’s high
needs, the CAF provides a generic and holistic
assessment of strengths and difficulties. It helps
the practitioner to understand the balance of
vulnerability and risk factors and further understand
if there are immediate safeguarding issues where
they are not immediately clear. It helps decisions to
be made about how best to meet those needs, in
terms of both what the family
can do and also what interventions
could be provided. Consultancy,
support and interventions
should be drawn down
from more specialist
agencies/practitioners
into the Team
Around the Child.
text
Case Study Hannah
Background
Hannah, aged 7, began to refuse to attend school. When she did attend she was late. Her mother and
father had recently separated. Hannah was overweight and had been experiencing difficulty with her knees.
She was quiet in class and had few friends. Hannah told her class teacher that she was having nightmares
and hearing voices. The school Family Liaison Officer requested the support of the Education Welfare
Officer.
Meeting with Parent
The Education Welfare Officer met with Mrs K, Hannah’s mother. Mrs K explained that Hannah was
physically and verbally aggressive towards her. She had tantrums and refused to get out of bed. Hannah’s
mother had experienced a great deal of domestic violence, which Hannah and her three year old brother
Josh had witnessed. Two close relatives had also recently died. Hannah’s grandfather was in prison and
was a Schedule 1 Offender. Mrs K believed the family were also at risk of eviction. Hannah’s mother was
suffering from depression and was asthmatic. The family had recently been involved in a car accident and
received hospital treatment. Mrs K explained that she has contact with the Domestic Violence Unit, the
Housing Officer and her GP. Hannah was due to have a scan on her knee. Mrs K was concerned about
Hannah’s weight.
Actions
The Education Welfare Officer completed a common assessment (CAF) with Hannah and her mum. A
Team Around The Child (TAC) was held. Those attending included the Housing Officer, Hannah’s Class
Teacher, the Health Visitor, the Education Welfare Officer (Lead Professional), the Educational Psychologist,
representatives from the Domestic Violence Unit and NSPCC, Hannah and her mother. Actions from the
TAC included:- school to action Family SEAL; school to provide support for Hannah in the playground,
Hannah to join school choir and after school club and Mrs K to contact the Brownies; Lead Professional to
investigate the possibility of play therapy; Health Visitor to support the family attend medical appointments
in relation to Hannah’s weight; Lead Professional to contact the Adult Mental Health Crisis Team and consult
with Safeguarding and Corporate Parenting/ NSPCC to support Hannah.
Outcomes
There were two TAC Reviews. Hannah attended school regularly and punctually. She was starting to mix
well with her peers and was enjoying the after school activities. NSPCC continued to support Hannah. Mrs
K received support from the Adult Mental Health Services and the Domestic Violence Liaison Officer. The
threat of eviction ceased. Mrs K and Hannah were given advice around nutrition and diet and the School
Nurse continued to monitor Hannah’s weight. Hannah still had anger tantrums at home and support was
offered to Mrs K around setting boundaries. CAMHS also worked with the family. The Lead Professional
continued to speak with a colleague from Safeguarding and Corporate Parenting (social work) to consult re
safeguarding issues.
Integrated Working Guidance Section 2 October 2009.
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2.3 Training
Common processes training is run in each
of the four locality areas:
s Common Assessment Framework
s Lead Professional
s Team Around the Child
All training is multi-agency so that practitioners are
able to benefit from other disciplines’ perspectives
and the networking opportunity. Contact details for
the integrated locality teams are in Appendix 4
The CAF, Lead Professional and Team Around
the Child training and Chair training are part of
a broader Workforce Development Strategy to
support integrated working.
2.4 Consent
Before starting a CAF the worker should talk with
the child or young person and/or their parent/carer
to check whether a common assessment already
exists. ContactPoint can also be used to check
(when available). Prior to the implementation of
ContactPoint, practitioners will need to check with
CAF/TAC Co-ordinators. Consent of the child or
young person and/or family must be gained to talk
with others involved. This will need to be recorded
on the Common Consent and updated accordingly.
If the case is discussed with another practitioner to
gain understanding and support then the identity of
the child or young person needs to be protected by
discussing them anonymously, unless explicit consent
is gained to do so.
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Integrated Working Guidance Section 2 October 2009.
As with any other confidential information, the
CAF information can only be shared with other
practitioners with consent, unless in the practitioner’s
judgement there is sufficient concern to share the
information without consent. (See Information
Sharing section of this guidance) and
www.dcsf.gov.uk/ecm/informationsharing
If a common assessment is refused and there are
concerns about the safety or welfare of a child or
young person, advice should be sought from the
child protection lead/manager, and South West
Child Protection Procedures need to be followed as
appropriate.
2.5 What Makes
a Good CAF?
The start of the CAF process
builds on any existing partnership
working with the child or young
person and/or their parents
and carers and must be about
“working with” rather than “doing
to”, in a context of respect and
understanding. A good quality
common assessment will lay the
foundation for any future work as
required.
A good quality CAF process
should be:
Empowering – making sure
that the child or young person
and/or their parent/carer is
supported to participate and it is
a collaborative assessment
Developmental –
supporting the child or young
person and parent/carer to adopt
a solution-focused approach to
the discussion
Accessible – for all concerned,
including the efficient use of time
and resources (e.g. equipment,
interpreter)
Transparent – the purpose
of the assessment is clear,
discussion is open and honest and
there are no hidden agendas, all
understand the possible outcomes
of the CAF.
Child’s/ Young
Person’s Voice
Whatever the age of the
child and young person, it is
vital to make sure that;
2.6 How to
Complete
a Common
Assessment
s You are really hearing what
the child or young person is
saying;
s You understand and can
visualise the child’s or young
person’s view of the world:
s You have considered the
child’s or young person’s
feelings.
The CAF process is illustrated
in the four step diagram and
represents best practice. It is
a fluid process that updates
the CAF as well as reviews
progress until needs are
met; if a fundamental change
occurs reassessment should be
considered.
The child’s/ young person’s
version of the CAF is in Section 5
– Common Tools of the guidance.
This can be used in numerous
ways to hear the child’s/ young
person’s voice throughout CAF
processes.
If at any time during the course
of the assessment you are
concerned that the child or young
person is at risk of harm or abuse
or has been harmed or abused
you must follow the South West
Child Protection Procedures.
A good quality CAF provides
an analysis of the child or young
person’s strengths and unmet
needs.
Integrated Working Guidance Section 2 October 2009.
11
The Four Step CAF Process
Step 1
Identify Needs Early
Step 2
Assess those Needs
Identify whether the
child/young person may
have additional needs;
possibly use the CAF
pre - assessment checklist
Gather and analyse
information on strengths
and needs using the CAF
Circumstances
and needs
changes
Close CAF
episode and
involvement
The Child
and Family
Needs met
Step 4
Review Progress
Needs not met
Review the action and
delivery plan. Identify
further actions where
necessary and support
child’s/young person’s
transitions
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Integrated Working Guidance Section 2 October 2009.
Step 3
Deliver Integrated
Services
Determine, plan and
deliver interventions to
meet identified needs.
Form a TAC and agree a
Lead Professional
Step 1
Identify Needs Early
and Seek Consent
s
Check who else is working
with the child or young
person. You need to
check whether a common
assessment already exists.
ContactPoint will show
whether a CAF exists for a
child or young person and
the contact details of the
practitioner who holds it or
who is the Lead Professional.
In the interim contact the
CAF/TAC coordinator
s If an assessment already exists
and/or other practitioners
are working with the child or
young person and/or parent/
carers you should work
with them to ensure that
information from existing
assessments is taken into
consideration
s If you are not sure whether
an assessment is needed it
might be helpful to use the
CAF pre assessment checklist.
This looks at the five ECM
outcomes and asks you to
consider them. If the answer
to any of them is not achieving
and additional interventions
might be needed, then a
common assessment would
be appropriate
s Whether to do the common
s
assessment is a joint decision
that needs to be made with
the child or young person
and/or their parent or carer.
A young person aged 16 or
over, or a child under 16 who
has the capacity to understand
and make their own decisions,
may give or refuse consent
for the assessment to take
place. Children under 16
should always be encouraged
to involve their parent/carer
as appropriate, including if the
young person is pregnant or
already a parent
s You need to prepare for
the discussion. If a child or
young person has a disability
it does not mean that they
are not capable of giving
consent, but consideration
does need to be given to their
communication needs, such as
signing or access requirements.
Note: most disabled children
and young people will have an
assessment under the Special
Educational Needs Code of
Practice or section 17 of the
Children Act 1989
Where a child or young
person’s and/or their parent/
carer’s first language is not
English, you need to check
with them if an interpreter
is needed. There may also
be other cultural issues to
consider
Framework
Common Assessment
people
for children and young
(CAF)
Swindon Pre-assessment
checklist
text
will expand to fit you
electronically, text boxes
are completing form
in those that apply
Notes for use: If you
appear, insert an ‘X’
Where check boxes
for Parent/carer)
include contact name
child or young person;
details (For unborn baby, infant,
Identifying
Contact Name
Name
Contact Tel. No.
Date of 1Birth
or EDD
Address
Checklist (Record evidence
Does the baby, infant,
and comments in the
child or young person
Yes
Safe from harm?
No
Yes
Healthy
boxes below, where relevant)
appear to be healthy:
ent?
Learning and developm
Yes
No
No
Not sure
Not sure
Not sure
1 Expected date of delivery
Integrated Working Guidance Section 2 October 2009.
13
Step 2
Assessing those Needs
s You will need to work with the child or young
person and their family as appropriate in
completing the CAF. You will need to make sure
that they understand the information that you
are recording and what is going to happen to it
s You will need to consider the child or young
person within their family relationships and
community, including their cultural and religious
context. Language used needs to be jargon free
and appropriate to the age and culture of each
client
s It is not a ‘big event’ and you will need to use
a style that suits you, the child, family and the
situation. Apart from a pre-natal assessment
it is not possible to do a common assessment
without seeing the child or young person
s The common assessment is a way of recording
your discussion. It can be put straight on to an
electronic CAF form following the discussion as
agreed with the child and family. Consideration
needs to given to data protection and security of
the CAF and agency IT procedures need to be
adhered to if it is completed electronically in situ
Key points to remember about the
discussion are:
s It is collaborative and you are working with the
child or young person and their family to find
solutions – “working with” and not “doing to”
–they are the experts on their circumstances
s The child’s or young person’s and family’s
strengths must be considered and recorded as
well as the unmet needs
s You need to make use of information that has
already been gathered from the child or young
person, parents/carers and practitioners so that
they do not have to tell their story again
s It is a voluntary assessment and if the child
or young person and/or parent/carer does
not want to participate then this needs to be
respected
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Integrated Working Guidance Section 2 October 2009.
s If you are concerned about the safety of a child
or young person you must follow South West
Child Protection Procedures
s If you are worried about your own safety act
accordingly and if unsure seek immediate advice
s At the end of the discussion you will be in a
good position to understand the child’s or young
person’s strengths and needs and what can be
done to help
There are eight stages to the common
assessment:
Stage 1 – Explain the purpose of the assessment
s Explain why you need to record the information
and what will happen to it
s Make sure that the child or young person and/
or parent/carer agree who else will see the
information. Make sure that this is recorded on
the Common Consent
s Make sure that they understand that the CAF is
a means for them to access interventions
s Check that they fully understand and consent to
undertaking a CAF and record this on the CAF
form
s Encourage children or young people under 16 to
involve their parent/carer as appropriate
s Do not assume that children with disabilities
or a learning disability are not capable of
understanding
Stage 2 – Page 1:
Identifying Details
s Complete the first
page of the basic details
about the child or
young person. This is the
minimum that must be
captured as identifying
details
Contact TAC Coordinator before
completing a CAF
Date assessment started
Notes for use: When completing
form electronically, text boxes will
expand to fit your text. Where
check boxes appear, insert an ‘X’
in those that apply.
Identifying details
Record details of unborn baby, infant,
child or young person being assesse
d. If unborn, state name as ‘unborn
mother’s name, e.g. unborn baby
of Ann Smith.
baby’ and
Given name(s)
Family name
Male
Female
Unknown
AKA1/previous names
Address
Date of birth or EDD2
Contact tel. no.
Unique ref. no.
Version no.
Postcode
Ethnicity
White
Black or Black British
Asian or Asian British
White British
Mixed/Dual Background
Caribbean
Chinese & Other
Indian
White & Black
Caribbean
Chinese
White Irish
African
Pakistani
White & Black
African
Traveller of
Irish Heritage
Any other
Black
background*
Bangladeshi
White & Asian
Any other
ethnic group*
Any other Asian
background*
Any other Mixed
background*
Not given
Gypsy/Roma
Any other
White
background*
*If other, please specify
Immigration status
Child’s first language
Parent’s first language
Is the child or young person
disabled?
Yes
No
If ‘yes’ give details
Stage 3 – Page 2:
Assessment Information
s It is useful to include the
relationship to the child
or young person of
any person listed in the
section “People present
at the assessment”
s If you have consulted
other practitioners
before starting the
common assessment
you need to add this
to the free text box
“What has led to this
child or young person
being assessed?” You
need to remember to
reference the source of
the information
Details of any special requirements
(for child and/or their parent) eg signing,
interpretation or access needs
1 ‘Also known as’
2 Expected date of delivery
Assessment information
People present
at assessment
What has led to this unborn baby,
infant, child or young person being
assessed?
Details of parents/carers
Contact tel. no.
Name
Relationship to unborn baby, infant,
child or young person
Parental responsibility?
No
Yes
Address
Postcode:
Contact tel. no.
Name
Relationship to unborn baby, infant,
child or young person
Parental responsibility?
No
Yes
Address
Postcode:
on
Current family and home situati
other significant
(e.g. family structure including siblings,
with the child)
adults etc; who lives with the child
and who does not live
Integrated Working Guidance Section 2 October 2009.
15
Stage 4 – Page 2:
Details of Parents/carers
s Complete details of parents/carers and use
the check boxes to show whether they have
parental responsibility for the child
Details of person(s) undertaking
assessment
Contact tel. no.
Name
Role
Address
Organisation
Postcode:
Name of lead professional (where
Lead professional’s email address
Services working with this infant,
Stage 7 – Pages 4, 5 and 6:
CAF Assessment Summary
s Go through the main assessment areas. You
should consider each of the three broad groups
separately. Where a field is not completed, you
must indicate that it is not applicable, ie. Why
you have left it purposely blank
s Development of the Child or Young Person
- including their health and progress in learning,
cultural, religious and identity issues
s Parents and Carers – including how well the
parents/carers are able to support their child
or young person’s development and respond
appropriately to any needs
s Family and Environmental – including the impact
of wider family and environmental, cultural and
religious factors on the child or young person’s
development and the capacity of their parents/
carers.
16
Integrated Working Guidance Section 2 October 2009.
Early years/education/FE
training provision
Service
Service
Other services
child or young person
Details
GP
Service
Stage 6 – Page 3:
Services working with the Child or Young Person
s Complete the details of the person conducting
the assessment and the lead professional as
appropriate
s Complete details of the universal services
working with the child or young person
s Also complete the details of other agencies
working with the child or young person that are
relevant to the assessment
applicable)
Lead professional’s contact number
Universal
Stage 5 – Page 2:
Current Family and Home Situation
s Use the text free section to record the child or
young person’s home situation (eg. Who they do
and do not live with – parents, siblings and other
significant adults)
Service
Service
Service
Details
Details
Details
Details
Details
Details
Details
Tel.
Tel.
Tel.
Tel.
Tel.
Tel.
Tel.
Tel.
Note: To accompany the CAF there is a Guide to
Definitions at the end of this section which gives a
general description of signs to look for in relation to
each of the CAF domains.
For each broad group you
should consider each of the
elements;
s
s
s
s
s
s
You should particularly
explore areas around your
immediate concern, so as to
look behind the presenting
issues and to gain a more
holistic view
You do not need to comment
on every element only those
that are relevant
You are not expected to
diagnose problems in a
professional field other than
your own. However you must
consider the whole child or
young person, not just your
own discipline’s focus
You must focus on areas of
strength as well as unmet
needs
The discussion must be
supportive and nonthreatening
Do not be put off by the
terminology used in some
of the elements; these are
used in existing assessment
frameworks and will make the
CAF compatible with these
s Base your discussion, and
recording, on evidence not
opinion. Things which you
have seen or what the child or
young person of family have
said
s Opinions must be recorded
and marked accordingly (eg.
“Mark thinks that his dad is
using drugs”)
s When recording information
be mindful of how it will be
used and who will see it
s You should include what is
relevant but not that which
is confidential unless it is
directly relevant and the child
or young person and/or carer
explicitly agrees it should be
included
gths and needs
CAF assessment summary: stren
to comment on
the circumstances. You do not need
the extent they are appropriate in
evidence is.
Consider each of the elements to
just opinion, and indicate what your
, base comments on evidence, not
every element. Wherever possible
be recorded too.
should
these
view,
of
es
However, if there are any major differenc
1. Development of unborn baby,
infant, child or young person
Health
General health
to and use
Conditions and impairments; access
ations,
of dentist, GP, optician; immunis
ns,
developmental checks, hospital admissio
ion
accidents, health advice and informat
Physical development
vision and
Nourishment; activity; relaxation;
etc.); gross
hearing; fine motor skills (drawing
and sport
motor skills (mobility, playing games
etc.)
nication
Speech, language and commu
e,
Preferred communication, languag
ing; games;
conversation, expression, question
ing;
stories and songs; listening; respond
understanding
Emotional and social development
Feeling special; early attachments;
; psychological
risking/actual self-harm; phobias
on,
difficulties; coping with stress; motivati
hips with
relations
ce;
confiden
;
attitudes
positive
fears; often
peers; feeling isolated and solitary;
unhappy
Behavioural development
impulsive
Lifestyle, self-control, reckless or
ce
activity; behaviour with peers; substan
behaviour;
misuse; anti-social behaviour; sexual
restless and
offending; violence and aggression;
overactive; easily distracted, attention
span/concentration
Integrated Working Guidance Section 2 October 2009.
17
Step 8 – Pages 7, 8 and 9: Conclusions, solutions
and actions
‡ Record which of the ECM outcomes (see
appendix 3) you and the child or young person
and/or the parent/carer would like to work on
s With the child or young person and/or parent/
carer record your overall conclusions and the
evidence that you have regarding them
s Agree what and how you record these with the
child or young person and/or the parent/carer
and note any differences of opinion
s Identify what changes are wanted, how change
can happen and what actions the people present
at the assessment agree to undertake
s Try to focus on what the child or young person
and/or parent /carer can do for themselves
s If more support is needed think about where it
could be found. Is it something that you could
provide?
s If the child or young person and or the parent/
carer would benefit from support from other
agencies, use the Swindon web directories
and local knowledge to find the best match.
Also look at the skill base and description of
practitioners in the Integrated Locality Teams
(see appendix 6). Try to broker the support of
the agencies as part of the TAC
s Agree a review date and agree the goals for
that review date – try to make them SMART
but couch this in accessible language – ie. If
everything goes to plan what will it look like?
Conclusions, solutions and actions
solutions and actions. Work with the baby, child or
Now the assessment is completed you need to record conclusions,
solutions and goals.
young person and/or parent or carer, and take account of their ideas,
What are your aims?
like to address?)
(What are the key aims the child, young person and/or family would
s strengths and resources, what are
What are your conclusions? (What are the child/young person’s/familie
risk of harm to self or others?)
needs – e.g. no additional needs, additional needs, complex needs,
Strengths & Resources:
their
Needs/ worries:
What changes are wanted? (Include the child/young person’s, parent/carer’s
and practitioner’s views)
How can change happen? (Include the child/young person’s, parent/carer’s
and practitioner’s views)
104
Agreed Actions (in order of priority list the actions agreed for
Desired Outcomes
(as agreed with child, young
person and/or family)
Action
the people present at the assessment)
Who will do this?
By when?
Agreed review date
Goals (e.g. How will you know that things have improved? What
will things look like at review?)
8
18
Integrated Working Guidance Section 2 October 2009.
The CAF includes a CAF plan that
is an initial plan for the immediate
actions following the CAF, one of
which may be to convene a Team
Around the Child (TAC). Where a
multi agency/disciplinary response
is needed a Team Around the
Child (TAC) will be formed and a
TAC Delivery Plan developed. All
those involved, most importantly
the child or young person and/
or their parent/carers, must
agree both to the CAF plan and
the final TAC Delivery Plan. The
consent statement, to agree the
content, needs to be signed by the
child or young person and/or their
parent/carer.
s Promises of support must
not be made on behalf of any
service/agency
s Agree who will do what and
when you will review progress
s Record the child or young
person’s consent to record
the assessment information
and to share the assessment
with other agencies on the
Common Consent form.
Record any agencies that
are included or excluded as
agreed
s Make sure that all understand
what is being proposed
s Use your own judgement
to define what should be
recorded and who should
see it, within the limits of the
consent given
s Give a copy of the common
assessment to the child or
young person and/or their
parent/carer and explain that
they can show it to other
agencies if they wish to do so,
so that they do not have to
keep repeating their stories
Child or young person’s comment on the assessment and actions
identified
Parent or carer’s comment on the assessment and actions identified
Consent statement for information storage and information
sharing
understand what help you may need. If we
“We need to collect the information in this CAF form so that we can
information with the other organisations
cannot cover all of your needs we may need to share some of this
you need. If we need to share information with
specified below, so that they can help us to provide the services
you about this before we do it.”
any other organisation(s) later to offer you more help we will ask
it with any other organisation unless we are
“We will treat your information as confidential and we will not share
if we do not share it. In any case we will only
required by law to share it or unless you will come to some harm
ever share the minimum information we need to share”
I understand the information that is recorded on this form and that
providing services to:
it will be stored and used for the purpose of
Me
This infant, child or young person for whom I am a parent
This infant, child or young person for whom I am a carer
I understand those reasons.
I have had the reasons for information sharing explained to me and
Yes
listed below
I agree to the sharing of information, as agreed, between the services
Signed
Name
Date
Name
Date
No
Assessor’s signature
Signed
to infant, child or young person
Exceptional circumstances: concerns about significant harm
that an infant, child or young person has
If at any time during the course of this assessment you are concerned
you must follow your Local Safeguarding
abused,
or
harmed
being
of
risk
at
is
or
abused
or
harmed
been
guidance What to do If you’re worried a
practice
The
procedures.
children
Children Board (LSCB) safeguarding
to be followed by all practitioners.
child is being abused (HM Government, 2006) sets out the processes
of the Children Act 1989) then you should also
If you think the child may be a child in need (under section 17
processes will be included in your local
consider referring the child to children's social care. These referral
Working Together to Safeguard Children (2006)
of
5
Chapter
in
out
set
are
and
procedures
safeguarding children
of the child and family before making such a
(www.ecm.gov.uk/workingtogether). You should seek the agreement
harm.
significant
of
referral unless to do so would place the child at increased risk
Coordinator for your Locality
An Electronic Copy of the CAF should be forwarded to the TAC
Integrated Working Guidance Section 2 October 2009.
19
the actions, which can be
Step 3
recorded on the TAC Delivery
Delivering Integrated
Plan.
Services
s Each partner delivers
The outcome of the
their action(s), the Lead
common assessment
Professional co-ordinates
discussion will be one of the
delivery of the plan and
together the TAC monitors
following;
s You will have resolved your
concerns and those of the
child or young person and
parent/carer. No further
action will be needed
s You will have agreed some
actions for you, and or the
child or young person and/
or their parent/carer. Delivery
will involve you undertaking
these actions, setting a date to
monitor and review progress.
You are the Lead Professional
but unlikely to need a TAC
unless more unmet needs are
identified at the review
s You have identified actions
for you and actions for other
agencies/disciplines. Delivery
will involve you sharing the
common assessment with the
agencies involved (subject to
the consent of the child or
young person and or parent/
carer), forming a TAC to
support the child or young
person. Discussion and
agreement will need to take
place to agree whether the
author of the CAF remains
as the Lead Professional or
whether there is someone
more appropriate to take
the role. Along with the
other agencies you will agree
the actions and a plan and
responsibilities for delivering
20
overall progress.
If there is nothing further that you
can do you may need to engage
the support of a more specialist
practitioner or agency. With
consent from the child or young
person and/or the parent /carer
contact the practitioner to share
and discuss how they may be
able to help support either you
in delivery or to attend the TAC.
At this point no referrals should
be completed but the evidence
in the common assessment and
in any subsequent TAC meetings
and plans should be used to
broker and request any additional
interventions required. Good
communication is required in this
process. You must not just use
CAF as a means of referral
and the “sign off ”.
Common assessment is not
however a guarantee of any
intervention or agency input.
Increasingly it will however
increase the likelihood of agency
engagement. If you have concerns
that an agency has not responded
then you must consult your
manager.
Integrated Working Guidance Section 2 October 2009.
The TAC Delivery Plan and
review can be used for both
single agency and multi agency
responses. Actions from the
CAF action plan can be brought
through to the TAC Delivery Plan.
Where a multi agency response is
required you will need to organise
a TAC and agree support and
actions. It is important that the
child or young person and/or the
parent/carer are part of the TAC.
TAC Delivery Plan
ht forward into
sment should be broug
(Actions from the asses
ess)
r used to review progr
response is required and/o
the delivery plan and
child
agency team around the
added to where a multi-
DOB or EDD
Surname
Personal Details
First name(s)
Male
Female
Unknown
Postcode
Address
Email
Agency/Relationship
LP Details
Name
Contact Number
Address
agreed
Desired outcome (as
n, family)
with child, young perso
Action
Who will do this?
By when?
inator for your Locality
rded to the TAC co-ord
ry Plan should be forwa
A copy of the TAC Delive
Road, Swindon, SN2 7AZ
Tree Lodge, 21 Green
Palm
ard,
Hayw
Alison
Swindon, SN1 1QH
:
House, Sanford Street,
Central North and North
Julie Nurden, Sanford
:
South
and
South
al
Centr
1
FOR COMPLETION AT
Progress &
Comment
01793 825576/833492
07980 017253
REVIEW STAGE
Date
Closed
Contributing1
to ECM Aim
v.uk
hayward@swindon.go
k
jnurden@swindon.gov.u
appropriate.
five ECM outcomes.
Child Matters’ aims where
aims which sit below the
d be linked to the ‘Every
These outcomes shoul
for a full list of the ECM
itioners Guide Annex A
Please see the CAF Pract
Completing the TAC
Delivery Plan;
s Complete the basic personal
details
s Agree actions with the
members of the TAC and the
child or young person and the
family
s Agree who should take the
role of the lead professional
s Make sure that the child
or young person and/or
the parent/carer know and
understand what will happen
to the information that they
have provided in the TAC
Step 4
Reviewing Progress
The common assessment and the
TAC Delivery Plan are reviewed
regularly to identify further actions
and to support the child or young
person through transitions. This
may involve drawing additional
members into the TAC.
s At the review record who is
present and check progress
against each of the actions in
the TAC Delivery Plan. Where
appropriate, close, update or
agree new actions
s There is space on the review
form to record the next steps
and review notes
s At the end of the review the
CAF episode should either
be closed or another review
date agreed, and the child or
young person’s and family’s
comments recorded.
The outcome of the
progress review could be:
s The child or young person’s
needs have been met and the
case can be closed (consider
need for managing any
transitions at this stage)
s The child or young person’s
needs have not yet been
met and actions need to be
continued or refined
s The child or young person’s
needs and/or circumstances
have changed and a new
assessment is appropriate.
Make a note on the plan of all the
actions that people, including the
family, are going to do. Often the
small actions if not completed can
lead to the plan faltering or not
being taken forward.
Make a date at the time of
agreeing the plan when it will be
reviewed and ensure that all have
made a note of the time, date
and place. The Lead Professional
will also need contact details of
all those involved in the Team
Around the Child.
Integrated Working Guidance Section 2 October 2009.
21
2.7 CAF with Specific
Groups
Engaging with Fathers and Father
Figures
Fathers or father figures sometimes find it difficult to
engage with agencies and interventions that might
be taking place for their family. It is important to
make it clear that their involvement is welcome as
much as that of mothers and that their needs will be
accommodated in the common assessment process.
Working with Unborn Babies
If a common assessment is being completed for an
unborn baby, some of the fields of the CAF form
will not be relevant. The practitioner can therefore
enter not known or not applicable. In the name
field unborn baby will need to be entered and the
mother’s name. An unborn baby is not entered
on ContactPoint and practitioners will need to
check themselves with other agencies/practitioners
working with the family as to whether a CAF has
been completed.
Working with Infants and
Very Young Children
Practitioners should always try to involve infants
and very young children in a way that is most
appropriate to them through observation, through
play and conversations. Most parents and infants will
have contact with a midwife, health visitor and/or
GP. These practitioners should be contacted, if the
parent agrees, when completing the CAF.
Working with Young People
The CAF is generally used with children or young
people up to the age of eighteen, but this can be
extended where appropriate to enable the young
person to have a smooth transition to adult services.
In the case of Connexions the CAF can be used
to the age of 19 and up to the age of 24 where
a young person has a learning difficulty and/ or a
disability.
For all older young people possible current and
future needs for adult services and transition
arrangements need to be considered.
The possibility of a teenage boy being a father
should be considered when assessing teenage boys,
as their needs can be as complex as those of a
teenage mother and are often not addressed.
Working with Children or Young
People Not Receiving Education
If a practitioner discovers through the common
assessment that a child or young person is not
receiving any form of educational provision, if of
compulsory school age, especially if a parent or
pregnant, you should contact the Lead Officer for
Children Missing Education (CME). The practitioner
should also try to identify why the child or young
person is missing education to assess whether there
are underlying unmet needs that have not been met.
Common Assessment For Children and Young People
you feel is true at this
For each of the following areas of your life, please tick the box
time. You can write comments in the box if you want to.
to.
You don’t have to answer all the questions if you don’t want
Lots of
problems
Some
problems
OK
Going quite
well
Going really
well
How are you
doing at school?
Your hopes for
the future – do
you know what
you want to do?
Comments:
Comments:
Comments:
Comments:
Comments:
Who looks after
you?
Name:
Name:
Name:
Name:
Name:
Your family
Housing and
money
The area where
you live
22
Integrated Working Guidance Section 2 October 2009.
Case Study Omar
Background
There was a request for an intervention for Omar regarding his offending behaviour in the community.
Omar’s family were from the Asian community and he lived with his parents and two younger siblings.
Omar had been in frequent trouble at school and had had a number of fixed term exclusions. He was
displaying anger and was at risk of harming others. His parents were finding it increasingly difficult to
cope as Omar was also involved in offending behaviour in the community which had led to some police
intervention. There were increasing concerns from both his parents and his school that Omar could become
involved in more serious crime. The family were keen to work with the worker to resolve Omar’s worrying
issues.
Using the Child and Young Peron’s CAF
As the Common Assessment (CAF) had been previously completed the worker used a Common
Assessment for Children and Young People to update it with Omar. He ticked the boxes he felt were true
at the time together with written comments. Omar highlighted the Family box and said there were lots of
problems. He wrote “Mum spends a lot of time caring for my disabled sister”. There had been no previous
mention of a disabled sister and neither parents spoke about her at all. The worker further questioned mum
about another sister but she denied that there was one.
Having no consent to explore this further but having discussed it with her manager the worker contacted
Adult Social Care to check to see if they knew of the older sister. It became clear that there was a disabled
24 year old living in the house. The adult social worker was also surprised that on her assessment, there was
no mention of any siblings. It therefore also became clear how the family had been struggling with the care
of the older sister and why Omar had said that there hadn’t been enough time for him.
Omar had a Team Around the Child meeting and received one to one support from the Early Interventions
worker as well as support from the Behavioural Team at Stratton. He was also able to have access more
positive activities. Adult services increased support to include weekends to allow time for mum to spend
time with the other children. Through the TAC there is ongoing liaison between the school, Behavioural
Support Team, Early Interventions and Adult Services.
Outcomes
Omar is now involved in positive activities. There has been improvement in his behaviour at school, home
and in the community. Mum has more time set aside for all of her children without worrying about caring.
Mum was able to talk about the disabled daughter and the difficulties of not having her husband support the
children. This work is ongoing.
Integrated Working Guidance. October 2009.
23
2.8 Statutory
Processes
and Specialist
Assessments
The common assessment
is a generic, holistic
assessment that:
‡ At the earliest stage enables a
wide picture of the child’s or
young person’s strengths and
unmet needs to be added to
over time and with consent,
shared with practitioners
‡ Improves communication and
integrated working between
practitioners working with
a child or young person and
their parents/carers
‡ Informs whether further
specialist assessment is
needed and provides
information to contribute to it
‡ Helps to co-ordinate
common assessment and
specialist assessments
‡ Gives a clearer evidence
based understanding of why a
specialist assessment might be
needed
24
There are broadly two types
of specialist assessment,
each of which interacts
with the CAF in a slightly
different way;
‡ The checks or assessments
that are for all children or
young people, for example the
developmental checks done
by a health visitor as part of
the Healthy Child Programme,
or progress checks against
the National Curriculum
conducted in schools
‡ Additional assessments for
children and young people
with known issues or where
there are specific or acute
concerns. Examples include
assessments under section 17
of the Children Act 1989, the
Special Educational Needs
(SEN) Code of Practice, Asset,
Onset, drugs screening and
assessments of children /
young people with disabilities
Some children
and young people
coming into contact
with specialist
services may
already have a
CAF completed.
The professional
completing the
specialist assessment
must therefore
always check
whether a CAF has
been completed
and how recently
this was to ensure
Integrated Working Guidance. October 2009.
that the information is accurate
and up to date. Information from
the CAF can be used to inform
the specialist assessment. Using
a CAF to inform the specialist
assessment reduces the need
for the child or young person to
repeat the same information to
different professionals and it can
also save time.
Some specialist assessments have
already been collapsed such as
the APIR used by Connexions and
replaced by the CAF.
It is not always necessary to
complete a CAF following a
specialist assessment or visa
versa. A CAF will not need to be
completed if it is clear from the
specialist assessment that the child
or young person’s needs can be
met by current services involved.
Collecting Information from the CAF
text
Is there information that is new to me?
Is there anything in the CAF that contradicts other
information that I already have?
Do I need to seek further clarification?
Do I understand the limits to any consent to share
information given by the child or young person and/
or parent/carer?
Analysing Information from the CAF
What does the CAF add to my understanding of
the child or young person’s circumstances?
How does it help me understand the factors
impacting on the child or young person?
What strengths does the CAF highlight that might
help with the current situation/difficulties?
How will the information help me respond better to
the child or young person?
How will the CAF help inform my specialist
assessment?
Who else is already working with the child or young
person and how can we work together to best
meet the needs of the child or young person?
Recording Information from the CAF
Which sections of my assessment does the CAF
information relate to?
What is the best way of cross-referencing this
information on the CAF to my specialist assessment?
It will be helpful to undertake a CAF
following a specialist assessment for the
following reasons:
s The child or young person’s wider unmet needs
are unclear and not being met through the
specialist provision
s The child or young person’s needs require
support from different agencies and a CAF
would help to broker the support
s The CAF will support the child or young
person’s transition
s If a CAF is being completed following a specialist
assessment then the Lead Professional, who
has identified the unmet need, should complete
it with the practitioner who completed the
specialist assessment wherever possible.
It may not be appropriate to put all the information
from the specialist assessment into the CAF. The
Team Around the Child that results from a common
assessment following a specialist assessment must
however incorporate the action planning from
the specialist assessment so that there is one plan
and one review process for the child or young
person and their family to attend based on the TAC
processes.
CAF
Specialist Assessment
CAF highlights concern about a child
or young person’s vulnerability to abuse,
self harm, risk of harm to others, health,
social and family relationships, behaviour,
progress in learning or any other aspect
of their well-being.
Need for specialist assessment
identified.
Need for holistic CAF assessment.
Specialist assessment highlights the
need to identify the child or young
person’s wider needs and/or support
from wider agencies.
The table in Appendix 6 maps the CAF against the Asset, Special Educational Needs (SEN) and
Children in Need assessments to show the overlap between domains.
Integrated Working Guidance. October 2009.
25
2.9 Seamless
Working with
Safeguarding
and Corporate
Parenting
The Common Assessment is the
evidence required for accessing
Safeguarding and Corporate
Parenting (social work) support
in Swindon where children or
young people have Increasing
and/or High Needs requiring
specialist input.
Child Protection
A CAF is not required if there
are concerns regarding a child
or young person being at risk of
significant harm. In these cases
South West Child Protection
Procedures need to be followed. If
the CAF exists it will support the
requested assessments relating to
significant harm.
The CAF will always inform an
Initial Assessment. If an Initial
Assessment is not progressed it
will be used to convene a TAC.
The TAC would be supported
by Safeguarding and Corporate
Parenting and the Integrated
Locality Team. A Lead Professional
would be assigned at the TAC
meeting.
When Children in Need and
Child Protection cases are closing
practitioners working with the
child or young person and/or
parent/carer will be invited to a
TAC supported by Safeguarding
and Corporate Parenting and
the Integrated Locality Team to
develop an TAC Delivery Plan and
appoint a new Lead Professional.
There must be a seamless
handover of a Lead Professional
and the delivery throughout this
process. If there was not a CAF,
and therefore not an existing
TAC, the social worker will chair
the TAC. The CAF/TAC coordinators are able to support the
convening of the TAC meeting.
Any existing plan, whether in
the CAF or Safegarding and
Corporate Parenting arena, must
continue alongside the seamless
handover of the Lead Professional.
Whenever social workers
are considering finishing their
involvement they will hand over
the Lead Professional role and the
TAC Delivery Plan through the
TAC. The social worker will chair
the TAC. The CAF/TAC
co-ordinators will support
convening the meeting.
A CAF must always be completed
where there are increasing
concerns regarding safeguarding
that are not clear. The assessment
will give the opportunity to fully
understand the extent of the
potential safeguarding issue. If
practitioners are not clear they
should seek support and guidance
from their operational manager, an
ISM or consult with Safeguarding
and Corporate Parenting (refer to
Appendix 4 for contact details)
26
Integrated Working Guidance. October 2009.
This is in the process
that is being adopted by
all teams in Safeguarding
and Corporate
Parenting.
The ambition is to embed
the language of TAC and
Lead Professional for
all children across the
continuum of need.
Process for completing a CAF and convening a TAC
Ensure you have
signed consent and
the CAF is signed by
the parent / guardian
Yes
Call CAF/
TAC
Coordinator
Have you
completed a
CAF?
Yes
Call CAF/
TAC
Coordinator
For support, contact
CAF/TAC Coordinator
or convene TAC
yourself.
Always involve the
child and the family.
See contact details below
Log your CAF.
Send CAF and Vulnerability
Check List, to CAF/TAC
Coordinator.
Keep your CAF safe someone may need to see it
in the future.
Keep the CAF on the Child's
or Young Person's file.
Organise a
Team
Around the
Child as
required
eCAF
Contact lead
professional if CAF
already exists and gain
consent through Lead
Professional if need to
update
Thinking
of completing a
CAF?
ContactPoint
If you need support to
complete a CAF,
contact your manager
or Integrated Locality
Family/Youth Support
Manager
Send to CAF/TAC Coordinator:
- Consent & CAF Updates
- Attendee details
- Copy of TAC Delivery Plan
- TAC Reviews
See Common
Tools section
for all forms
to be used
Common Tools
CAF/TAC Coordinators - Contact Details
Central North & North Locality: Alison Hayward, Palm Tree Lodge, 21 Green Road, Swindon SN2 7AZ:01793 825576 ahayward@swindon.gov.uk
Central South & South Locality: Julie Nurden, Sanford House, Sanford Street, Swindon SN1 9DY: 07980 017253 jnurden@swindon.gov.uk
Integrated Working Guidance. October 2009.
27
‡ Development of the Child or
Young Person
‡ Parents and Carers
‡ Family and Environmental
Factors
2.10
Understanding
Unmet Need
In the following guide to
definitions you will find all three
domains with prompts for
consideration when completing
the assessment. Beneath each
set are further considerations of
when a child might have Early
Identified Needs, Increasing
Needs or High Needs.
Strengths and unmet needs need
The CAF is based on the
following assessment framework to be considered across all the
domains when completing a CAF.
that looks at three “domains”
or areas of the child or young
person’s life experience. They are:
Parents and Carers
Developmental Needs
General Health
Basic care, ensuring safety and protection
Physical Development
Speech, language and communication
development
Emotional and social development
Emotional warmth and stability
Identity
Family and Social
relationships
Self-care and independence
Learning
Understanding,
and problem-solving
Participation
Progress and
achievement
Child/Young
Person
reasoning
Guidance, boundaries
and stimulation
Achieving better
outcomes by
assessing strengths
and needs
Family & Environmental Factors
Family history,
functioning
and well-being
28
Wider
family
Integrated Working Guidance. October 2009.
Housing,
employment
and financial
considerations
Social, community
elements and resources
including education
You will find below all three domains with prompts
for consideration when completing the assessment.
Beneath each set are further considerations of
when a child might have Early Identified Needs,
Increasing Needs or High Needs.
All Early Identified Needs and Increasing Needs
will be covered by the CAF whereas it is likely that
some of the High Needs will be addressed through
specialist assessment and/or statutory processes. This
will be determined by the complexity and nature of
the high needs. The balance between resilience and
vulnerability factors ought also be considered. If you
are unsure please consult your manager for advice.
Domain 1 - Development of the
Child or Young Person
General Health – the child or young person’s
current health condition, including growth,
development, physical and mental well-being.
Also includes consideration of:
s Health conditions or impairments which
significantly affect everyday life functioning
s Access to and use of appropriate health services,
such as those provided by a GP/dentist/optician
s Immunisations and appropriate developmental
checks up to date
s Number and frequency of hospital admissions
and accidents
s Access to and use of appropriate health advice
and information, including diet, sexual health and
management of any health condition such as
Diabetes or asthma;
s Appropriate height and weight
s Adequate and nutritious diet
Consider for Early Identified Needs:
s Weight not increasing at expected rate
s Slow in reaching development milestones and/or
not attending routine appointments
s Persistent minor health problems – perhaps
resulting in less than 80% nursery/school/college
attendance
s Poor or restricted diet
s Not registered with GP/dentist
s Dental/health care not sufficient – poor
attendance for dental/medical checks or
treatment
Consider for Increasing
Needs or High Needs:
s Child has chronic health problems
s Concerns about developmental progress e.g.
overweight/underweight/enuresis
s Learning significantly affected by health problems
s Limited/restricted diet
s Significant and persistent dental decay
s Missing routine and non-routine health
appointments
s Developmental milestones are unlikely to be
met
s Health conditions or impairments which
significantly affect everyday life functioning,
whether chronic or acute, including obesity
s Child has severe chronic health problems
s Child has severe disability
Integrated Working Guidance. October 2009.
29
Physical development –
the child or young person’s
means of mobility, level of
physical and sexual maturity,
motor skills and co-ordination.
Consider for Early
Identified Needs:
Also includes
consideration of:
Consider for Increasing
Needs or High Needs:
s Being well-nourished, being
active, rested and protected,
gaining control of the body,
acquiring physical skill
s Vision and hearing good appropriate checks in place
s Fine and gross motor skills,
including crawling, walking,
running and climbing
s Participation in football or
other games
s Ability to draw pictures, do
jigsaws etc.
s Sexual activity appropriate for
age
s No misuse of substances
s Appropriate height and
weight
30
s Experimenting with tobacco/
alcohol (age dependant)
s Too early sexual activity
s Unsafe sexual activity
s Smokes, substance misuse
s Overweight/underweight/
enuresis
s Conception/termination
s Sexual exploitation
s Dangerous sexual activity and/
or early teenage pregnancy
s Persistent substance misuse
s Uncontrolled use and/
or psychological/physical
dependency on substances
s Any intravenous drug use
s Involvement in drug dealing/
exploitation by drug dealer
Integrated Working Guidance. October 2009.
Mental Health Development
Also includes consideration of
s Good state of mental health;
s Self-harm or risk of self-harm;
s Phobias or psychological difficulties.
Consider for Early Identified Needs
s Vulnerability to mental health problems e.g.
acrimonious divorce of parents, unduly anxious,
angry or defiant.
Consider for Increasing
Needs or High Needs:
s Difficulties in coping with anger and frustration
s Some evidence of superficial, non-persistent self
harm
s Some concerns around mental health
s Mental health issues emerging-conduct disorder,
ADHD, autism, anxiety, eating disorders
s Acute mental health problems-threat of suicide/
suicide attempts, psychotic episode, severe
depression
s Regularly indulges in self harming behaviour
s Inability/unwillingness to understand or
communicate feelings
s Evidence of phobias/psychological difficulties
s Suffers from periods of acute depression
Integrated Working Guidance. October 2009.
31
Development of Speech,
Language and Communication–
the ability to communicate
effectively, confidently and
appropriately with others.
s Appropriateness of social
and communications skills e.g.
body language, excessive use
of expletives or inappropriate
language e.g. brusque manner.
Consider for Increasing
Needs or High Needs:
s Significant difficulties in
understanding and using
language in comparison with
age and general abilities
Also includes
s Inability to make themselves
consideration of:
Consider for Early Identified
understood with both familiar
and unfamiliar adults
Needs
s Preferred means of
s
Limited or inappropriate
s Poor language stimulation
communication
interaction with peers in
environment e.g. TV always on,
s Use of first language
relation with age and general
soother/dummy always in use
s Ability to gain attention and
development
s Ability to understand and use
make contact, access positive
s Behaviour and/or educational
language seems limited for
relationships, be with others,
attainment is directly affected
their chronological age
encourage conversation
by ability to communicate
s Poor ability to attend and
s The impulse to communicate,
s
Medical/physical difficulties
listen in comparison to their
exploring, experiment, labelling
which affect the development
chronological age
and expressing, describing,
of speech/language skills e.g.
s Some difficulties in making
questioning, representing and
cleft palate, severe head injury,
themselves understood
predicting, sharing thoughts,
cerebral palsy
in comparison to their
feelings and ideas
s
Severe speech and language
chronological age
s Listening and paying attention
impairment in comparison
s Family history of speech and
to what others say, making
with their age and cognitive
language/communication
playful and serious responses,
skills e.g. 5 year old with totally
difficulties
enjoying and sharing stories,
unintelligible speech
songs, rhymes and games,
s Severe social impairment with
learning about words and
little interest in interacting
meanings
with others
s Ability to communicate
s Severe dysfluency (stutter)
meaning, influence others,
affecting child at school and in
negotiate and make choices,
the home environment
understanding of others
s Vision and hearing
s Language for communicating
and thinking
s Linking sounds and letters
s Reading and writing
s Willingness to communicate
s Articulation skills and language
structure
s Vocabulary and
comprehension
s Fluency of speech and
confidence
32
Integrated Working Guidance. October 2009.
Emotional and Social
Development - The emotional and social response
the baby, child or young person gives to parents
and carers and others outside the family
Also includes
consideration of:
s The importance of being special to someone,
being able to express feelings, developing healthy
dependence, developing healthy independence
s Nature and quality of early attachments
s Temperament, coping and adjusting abilities
e.g. after experiencing domestic violence,
bereavement or family relationship breakdown
s Disposition, attitudes and motivation to change
Consider for Early Identified Needs
s Difficulties in managing change
s Not always able to understand the impact of
own actions upon others
s Some difficulties in coping and adjusting
following emotional upheaval, e.g. domestic
violence, bereavement, family breakdown
s Poor peer relationships
s Some evidence of inappropriate responses and
actions
s Starting to show difficulties in expressing
empathy
Consider for Increasing
Needs or High Needs:
s Inability/unwillingness to express feelings
appropriately
s Lack of understanding or concern regarding the
impact of own actions upon others
s Some evidence of self harm
s Severe difficulties coping and adjusting following
emotional upheaval, e.g. domestic violence,
bereavement, family breakdown
s Cannot maintain peer relationships
s Unable to demonstrate empathy
s Inability to connect cause and effect or
demonstrate concern regarding own actions
s Behaviour demonstrates inability to cope and
adjust to circumstances following emotional
upheaval, e.g. domestic violence, bereavement,
family breakdown
s Inability/unwillingness to understand or
communicate feelings
s Impact of lack of parental supervision
s Impact of severe domestic violence
s Emotional neglect/severe attachment problems
Integrated Working Guidance. October 2009.
33
Behavioural Development The behaviour of the child
or young person.
Also includes
consideration of:
s Lifestyle and self-control
(including participation in
reckless activity and need for
excitement)
s Behaviour in class or other
environments where the child
comes into contact with their
peers
s Substance abuse/misuse
s Anti-social behaviour e.g.
destruction of property,
aggression towards others,
harm or risk of harm to
others
s Sexually inappropriate
behaviour and attempts to
manipulate or control others;
s Offending behaviour and risk
of (re) offending
s Violent or aggressive
behaviour at home or school
s Attitudes to offending
34
Consider for Early
Identified Needs
s Some evidence of
inappropriate responses and
actions on a regular basis e.g.
defiance, aggression
s Known to the police
Consider for Increasing
Needs or High Needs:
s Regular fixed term exclusions
s Puts peers at risk through
behaviour
s Engages in offending
behaviour
s Difficulties in coping with
anger and frustration
s Disruptive/challenging
behaviour at school and in the
neighbourhood
s Lack of understanding or
concern regarding the impact
of own actions upon others
s Cruelty to pets/animals
s Permanent exclusion from
school or imminent second
permanent exclusion
s Persistent offending results in
court action
s Young person subject to
Acceptable Behaviour
Contract (ABC)/Individual
Support Order (ISO)/AntiSocial Behaviour Order
(ASBO)
s Persistent anti-social, reckless
and challenging behaviour
s Places self or others in danger
Integrated Working Guidance. October 2009.
Identity, including Self-Esteem and Self-Image and
Social Presentation - The growing sense of self as a
separate person.
Also includes consideration of:
s Growing awareness of self, realisation of
separateness and difference from others,
recognition of personal characteristics and
preferences, finding out what they can do
s Importance of gaining self-assurance through a
close relationship, becoming confident in what
they can do, valuing and appreciating their own
abilities, feeling self assured and supported, a
positive view of themselves
s Knowledge of personal and family history
s Access to recognition, acceptance and comfort,
ability to contribute to secure relationships,
understanding they can be valued by and
important to someone, exploring emotional
boundaries
s Sense of belonging, being able to join in, enjoying
being with familiar and trusted others, valuing
individuality and contributions of self and
others, having a role and identity within a group,
acceptance by those around them
s Race, religion, age, gender, sexuality, and disabilitymay be affected by bullying or discriminatory
behaviour
s Understanding the way in which appearance
and behaviour are perceived and the impression
being created
Consider for Early Identified Needs
s Child appears withdrawn
s Some insecurities around identity expressed e.g.
low self-esteem
s Child subject to mild discrimination e.g. racial,
sexual or due to disabilities
s May experience bullying around ‘difference’
s Can be over-friendly or withdrawn
s Can be provocative in appearance and
behaviour
Consider for Increasing
Needs or High Needs:
s Child is withdrawn, isolated, and/or unwilling to
engage
s Child experiences persistent discrimination
s Demonstrated significantly low self-esteem in
range of situations
s May be a victim of crime
s Is subject to significant discrimination, e.g. racial,
sexual or due to disabilities
s Evidence of significantly poor standards of
hygiene
s Is provocative in behaviour/appearance
s Child has internalised discrimination and
behaviour reflects poor self-image
s Child is socially isolated and lacks appropriate
role models
s No self confidence
s Child’s self-image distorted and may
demonstrate fear of persecution by others
s Signs of deteriorating mental health
Integrated Working Guidance. October 2009.
35
Family and Social
Relationships
Consider for Early
Identified Needs
The ability to empathise and
build stable and affectionate
relationships with others,
including family, peers and the
wider community.
s Some difficulties with family
relationships
s Poor peer relationships
s Unresolved issues arising from
parents divorce or death of
parent/carer
s Excluded from social activities
s Lack of consistency in routine
s Limited support from family
and friends
s Has some difficulty in
sustaining relationships
Also includes consideration of:
s3TABLEANDAFFECTIONATE
relationship with
parents or care givers
s3IBLINGRELATIONSHIPS
s)NVOLVEMENTINHELPINGOTHERS
s!GEAPPROPRIATEFRIENDSHIPS
s!SSOCIATIONWITHPREDOMINANTLY
pro- criminal peers or lack of
non-criminal friends
s5NDERSTANDINGOF others and awareness of
consequences
s!SSOCIATIONWITHSUBSTANCE abusing/misusing friends/peer
groups
36
Consider for Increasing
Needs or High Needs:
s Inability to sustain appropriate
peer relationships
s Unresolved issues arising
from parents divorce/death of
parent/career
s Peers also involved in
challenging behaviour
s Conflict in relationships
s Inability to develop or sustain
peer relationships e.g. is
aggressive/violent, a bully, a
victim, etc…
s Suffering from physical,
emotional or sexual harm or
neglect
s Family breakdown related
in some way to the child’s
behaviour
Integrated Working Guidance. October 2009.
Self-care skills and independence - The acquisition
of practical, emotional and communication
competencies to increase independence.
Also includes consideration of:
s Discovering boundaries and limits, learning about
rules, knowing when and how to ask for help,
learning when to say no and anticipating when
others will do so
s Discovering and learning about their body,
demonstrating individual preferences, making
decisions, becoming aware of others and their
own needs
s Early practical skills e.g. coping with routine
such as washing, dressing and feeding (including
swallowing, chewing and weaning in the case of
the very young)
s Opportunities to gain confidence and practical
skills to undertake activities away from the family
s Independent living skills for older children
e.g. appropriate use of social problem solving
approaches
Consider for Early
Identified Needs
s Personal hygiene starting to be a problem
s Slow to develop age-appropriate self care skills
Consider for Increasing
Needs or High Needs:
s Poor self-care for age, including hygiene
s Precociously able to care for self
s Neglects to use self-care skills due to alternative
priorities e.g. substance misuse
Learning, including Understanding, Reasoning
and Problem Solving, Participation, Progress and
Aspirations - Understanding, reasoning and problem
solving and the ability to understand and organise
information, reason and solve problems.
Also includes consideration of:
s The impact of any disability or impairment or
special needs and of any potential for these
outcomes
s Making connections through the senses and
movement, finding out about the environment
and other people, becoming playfully engaged
and involved, making patterns, comparing,
categorising, classifying
s Being creative, exploring and discovering,
experimenting with sound, other media and
movement, developing competence and
creativity, being resourceful
s Being imaginative, imitating, mirroring, moving,
imagining, exploring and re-enacting, playing
imaginatively with materials using all the senses,
pretend play with gestures and actions, feelings
and relationships, ideas and words
s Exploring, experimenting and playing, discovering
that one thing can stand for another, creating
and experimenting with one’s own symbols and
marks, recognising that others may use marks
differently
s Play and interaction
s Demonstration of a range of skills and interests
s Numbers as labels and for counting
s Calculating
s Shape, space and measures
s Progress in learning, including any special
educational needs identified
s Knowledge and understanding of the world
Integrated Working Guidance. October 2009.
37
Consider
for Early
text
Identified Needs
s Does not/no opportunity to
engage in exploration, making
sense of the world and play
s Not always engaged in
learning, poor concentration,
low motivation and interest
s Reduced access to books/toys
Consider for Increasing
Needs or High Needs:
s No support in place for
children who do not show
engagement in play or learning
opportunities
s No interests/skills displayed
s Intervention measures not
making any difference and
no progress or change taking
place
s Has no access to leisure
facilities
s Regressing
Participation in learning,
education and employment –
the degree to which the child or
young person has access to and is
engaged in education and/or work
based training and, if he/she is not
participating, the reason for this.
Also includes
consideration of:
s Attendance
s The degree to which prior
non-participation has led
to current needs and
circumstances
s Access to appropriate and
consistent adult support
s Access to appropriate
educational resources e.g.
books
38
Progress and achievement in
Consider for Increasing
learning - the child or young
Needs or High Needs:
person’s educational achievements
and progress, including in relation
s Education is provided in
to their peers.
specialist setting
Also includes
s Irregular attendance (>80%)
consideration of:
has become established
Aspirations – the ambition of the s Reluctance of parents and
child or young person, whether
carers to address non
their aspirations are realistic and
attendance
they are able to plan how to meet
them. Note there may be barriers s Non school attendance
procedures are ineffective
to a child or young person’s
s Ongoing interventions
achievement of their aspirations
are required to maintain
e.g. the child or young person’s
attendance
other responsibilities in the home.
s
Severe attendance problems
Also includes
(final warning letter)
consideration of:
s
Severe difficulties sustaining
s The child or young person’s
home/school relationships
view of progress
s
Lack of interest/engagement
s Motivating elements
regarding achieving academic
s The child or young person’s
potential in respect of KS4
level of self-confidence
and 16+ examinations/
s Perseverance
accreditation
Consider for Early
s No evidence of progression
Identified Needs
planning
s Has a statement of Special
s Limited participation in
Education Needs but
education, training or
continues to make adequate
employment
progress
s Still not making adequate
s Patterns of regular attendance
progress despite SEN
are appearing.
support/ statement
s School attendance problems
s No school placement
upto first warning letter.
s Difficulties in sustaining home/ s Irregular attendance is
embedded
school relationships
s Statutory legal interventions
s Child wanting to be sent
home from school on a
are required
regular basis
s Attendance problems have
s Concerns regarding achieving
resulted in court action
academic potential in respect
s Refusal to participate in
of KS4 and 16+ examinations/
educational activities
accreditation
s Few if any achievements at
s Limited evidence of
KS4 and 16+
progression planning
s
Not engaging in education,
s At risk of making ill-informed/
training, or employment post
inappropriate decisions about
16
progression
s Consistently not making
adequate progress in learning
Integrated Working Guidance. October 2009.
Domain 2 Parents and
Carers
Basic care, ensuring safety and
protection - The extent to which
the baby, child or young person’s
physical needs are met and they
are protected from harm or
danger, including self harm.
Also includes
consideration of:
s Provision of food, drink,
warmth, shelter, clean and
appropriate clothing, personal
and dental hygiene
s Level of engagement in
securing universal services e.g.
doctor, dentist, optician
s Provision of a safe
environment, where family
members and other carers act
to safeguard the safety and
welfare of the baby, child or
young person and the baby,
child or young person is not
exposed to domestic violence,
substance abuse/misuse,
sexual exploitation and other
abusive experiences
s Recognition of hazards and
danger both in the home and
elsewhere
s Quality of care, parental
substance abuse/misuse
s Exposure to substance use
s Impact of the child’s disability,
the extra care, support and
the stresses incurred by the
parent and carers
s Inappropriate behaviour or
care by adults under the
influence of substances and
to acquisitive crime or drug
dealing
Consider for Early Identified
Needs
s Mental or physical health
needs or other health
problem that does not
significantly affect the care of
the child
s Poor maternal health-not
accessing ante/post natal care
s Inability to recognise health
care needs for self or child
s Inappropriate anxiety
regarding child health
s Inconsistent parenting
s Difficulties in setting
boundaries
s Parental engagement with
services is poor
s Parent requires advice on
parenting issues
s Potential for parental stresses
to affect ability to ensure
child’s safety
Integrated Working Guidance Section 2 October 2009.
39
text
Consider for Increasing
Needs or High Needs:
s Inability to recognise health needs for self
or child such that the child’s health and
development is likely to be significantly impaired
s Multiple births/several children aged under 5 and
family is having difficulty coping
s Parent is struggling to provide adequate care
s Parental reluctance to engage with required
services
s Some exposure to dangerous situations in the
home/community
s Child and parent relationship at risk of
breakdown
s Mental or physical health needs or other health
problem such that the majority of parenting
responsibilities cannot be undertaken and the
child’s health and development likely to be
significantly impaired
s Severe mental or physical health needs or
other health problems such that vital parenting
roles cannot be undertaken and child at risk of
significant harm
s Failure to access adequate health care resulting
in serious risk to child’s health
s Allegation or reasonable suspicion of serious
injury, abuse or neglect
s Very young child left at home alone, child left
unsupervised
s Concerns about parenting of a child who is or
has been looked after or is at risk of becoming
looked after
s Persistent, serious domestic violence such that
the child is at risk of significant harm
s Concerns about parenting of a child with a Child
Protection Plan
s Child has no parent/carer or has been
abandoned
40
Integrated Working Guidance. October 2009.
Emotional warmth and stability - Provision of
emotional warmth in a stable family environment,
giving the baby, child or young person a sense of
being valued.
Also includes consideration of:
s Parent or carer’s feelings about looking after this
baby, child or young person
s Ensuring the baby, child or young person’s
requirements for secure, stable and affectionate
relationships with significant adults, with
appropriate sensitivity and responsiveness to the
child or young person’s needs
s Appropriate physical contact, comfort and
cuddling sufficient to demonstrate warm regard,
praise and encouragement
s Maintenance of a secure attachment to the
primary caregiver(s) in order to ensure optimal
development
s Ensuring the baby, child or young person keeps
in contact with important family members and
significant others, when it is safe to do so
s Frequency of moves of house and/or early years
provision, school or place of employment
Consider for Early Identified Needs
s Inconsistent responses to child by parent/carer
s Spends considerable time alone e.g. watching
television
s Child is not often exposed to new experiences
s Limited opportunities to develop positive
relationships
s Has multiple carers
text
Consider for Increasing
Needs or High Needs:
s Ensuring the baby, child or
young person’s safety while
encouraging independence
and avoiding overprotection
s Encouraging their children to
participate in and benefit from
education and leisure activities
s Supporting children’s personal
and social development so
they are independent, selfconfident and able to form
positive relationships with
others
s
s Receives erratic or
inconsistent care
s Has episodes of poor quality
care
s Parental instability affects
capacity to nurture
s Experiencing unsafe conditions
s Parents inconsistent, highly
critical or apathetic towards
child
s Beyond parental control
s Has no-one to care for him/
Consider for Early Identified
her
Needs
Guidance, boundaries and
stimulation - Enabling the
baby, child or young person
to regulate their own
emotions and behaviour while
promoting the baby, child
or young person’s learning
and intellectual development
through encouragement and
stimulation and promoting social
opportunities. Also includes
consideration of:
s Modelling appropriate
behaviour and control of
emotions and interactions
with others
s Provision of clear, consistent
and appropriate guidance,
boundaries and discipline such
that a baby, child or young
person can develop a positive
internal model of value and
conscience
s Appropriate stimulation of
learning
s Effective discipline
s Difficulties setting boundaries/
inconsistent boundaries
s Can behave in an anti-social
way in the neighbourhood
s Key relationships with family
members not always kept up
s May have different carers
s Starting to demonstrate
difficulties with attachments
Consider for Increasing
Needs or High Needs:
s Not receiving positive
stimulation, with lack of new
experiences or activities
s Erratic or inadequate guidance
provided to the child/young
person
s Parent does not offer a good
role model, e.g. by behaving in
an anti-social way
s No effective boundaries set
by parents
s Regularly behaves in an
anti-social way in the
neighbourhood
s No constructive leisure time
or guided play.
Integrated Working Guidance. October 2009.
41
Domain 3 Family and Environmental
Factors
Family history, functioning and well-being - The
impact of family situations and experiences.
Also includes consideration of:
‡ Culture, size and composition of the household
– including changes in the people living in the
accommodation since the child’s birth
‡ Family history - including any concerns about
inheriting illnesses from a parent
‡ Family routines
‡ Disorganised/chaotic lifestyle
‡ Failure to show care or interest in the baby, child
or young person
‡ Impact of problems experienced by other family
members such as physical illness, mental health
problems, bereavement or loss, disability
‡ Allowing the baby, child or young person to
witness violent behaviour, including domestic
violence (both physical and verbal)
‡ Involvement in criminal activity/anti-social
behaviour
‡ Experience of abuse
‡ Family relationships-including all people
important to the baby, child or young person
e.g. the impact of siblings, absent parents and any
serious difficulties in the parents relationship
‡ History of family breakdown or other disruptive
events
‡ Parental physical and mental health (including
depression) or disability
‡ Involvement in alcohol misuse
‡ Involvement in substance abuse/misuse
‡ Whether anyone in the family presents a risk to
the child
42
Integrated Working Guidance. October 2009.
Consider for Early Identified Needs
s Inadequate/overcrowded housing
s Lack of support networks
s Lack of appropriate stimulation/home not
conducive to play
s Family experiencing harassment or discrimination
or are victims of crime
s Family/guardian of the child/young person under
notice to quit their accommodation
s Domestic violence suspected or apparent within
the household
Consider for Increasing
Needs or High Needs:
s Overcrowded or inadequate housing is likely to
significantly impair health/development
s Homeless family in temporary housing
s Family under stress without extended network of support
s Incidents of domestic violence between parents
s Acrimonious divorce/separation
s Family have serious physical/mental health difficulties
s Lack of adequate food, warmth, essential clothing
s Homeless and not eligible for temporary housing
s Family or young person not entitled to benefits with no
means of support
s Schedule 1 offender is living in the family
s Imminent family breakdown and risk of child becoming
looked after
s Chaotic and unsafe home environment
s Significant parental discord and persistent domestic
s violence
s Poor relationships between siblings
Wider Family - The relationships
with relatives and non-relatives.
Also includes
consideration of:
s Formal and informal support
networks for the baby, child or
young person
s Formal and informal support
networks for the parents or
carers
s Wider family roles and
responsibilities e.g. including
employment and care of
others
s Appropriate level of support
from family members
Housing, employment and
financial considerations - What
are the living arrangements?
Does the accommodation have
appropriate
amenities and facilities?
Also includes the consideration of:
s Who has the baby, child or
young person been living
with?
s Exterior of the
accommodation and impact of
immediate surroundings
s The interior of the
accommodation with
reference to the baby, child or
young person’s individual living
arrangements
s Water, heating, sanitation,
cooking facilities, sleeping
arrangements, cleanliness,
hygiene, safety
s Reasons for homelessness
s 16/17 year olds in
independent living without
support
Financial considerations –
income available over a sustained
period of time. Also includes the
consideration of:
s The family’s entitlement to
and receipt of benefits
s Sufficiency of income to meet
the family’s needs
s The ways in which the family’s
income is used
s How the family’s financial
circumstances affect the baby,
child or young person e.g.
inadequate legitimate personal
income
s Whether the family is suffering
financial hardship due to
an emergency, e.g. loss of
possessions/homelessness
Employment – who is working
in the household, the pattern of
their work and any changes. Also
includes the consideration of:
s The impact of work upon the
baby, child or young person
s How work or absence of
work is viewed by family
members
s How does work affect the
family’s relationship with the
baby, child or young person?
Integrated Working Guidance. October 2009.
43
text
Consider for Early
Identified Needs
s Inadequate/poor housing
s Family seeking asylum or
refugees
s Periods of unemployment for
the wage earning parent
s Parents have limited formal
education
s Parents starting to
feel stressed around
unemployment or work
situation
s Financial pressure
s Children with mobility issues
needing special equipment/
adaptations/storage
Consider for Increasing
Needs or High Needs:
s Poor state of repair,
temporary or overcrowded
s Parents find to difficult to
obtain employment due to
poor basic skills
s Serious debts/poverty impact
on ability to have basic needs
met
s Physical accommodation
places child in danger
s Extreme poverty/debt
impacting on ability to care for
child/young person
s Chronic unemployment that
has severely affected parents
own identities
s Family unable to gain
employment due to significant
lack of basic skills or longterm difficulties e.g. substance
misuse
44
Social and community elements
and resources, including
education
Explores the wider context of
a baby, child or young person’s
neighbourhood and its impact on
the baby, child or young person,
including details of the facilities
and services available.
Also includes the consideration of:
s Neighbourhood
characteristics e.g. levels
of crime, disadvantage,
employment, high levels of
substance abuse/misuse,
trading of illegal drugs, etc.
s Relationship with neighbours
s Availability and accessibility of
universal services, including
schools, day-care primary
health care, places of worship,
transport, shops and leisure
activities and family support
services
s Quality of the learning
environment and educational
support services
s Physical access to facilities and
services
s Can a child with a disability
access community resources?
s Degree of baby, child or young
person’s social integration or
isolation
s The influence of peer
groups, friendships and social
networks e.g. substance
abuse/misuse
Integrated Working Guidance Section 2 October 2009.
text
Consider for Early
Identified Needs
s Family may be new to the area
s Family have experiences of
social exclusion
s Family unable to access local
resources
Consider for Increasing
Needs or High Needs:
s Parents socially excluded
s Lack of a support network
s Family chronically socially
excluded
s No supportive network
s Poor quality services with
long-term difficulties accessing
target populations
Integrated Working Guidance Section 2 October 2009.
45
Notes
46
Integrated Working Guidance Section 2 October 2009.
text
Integrated Working Guidance. October 2009.
47
This toolkit has been developed using guidance from
the Department for Children, Schools and Families
(DCSF) and the Children’s Workforce Development
Council (CWDC), particularly documents about
the Common Assessment Framework (CAF), Team
Around the Child, Lead Professional and Information
Sharing.
text
The CWDC is responsible for implementing
integrated working by closely collaborating with the
DCSF, local and regional organisations and children’s
private and third sector workforce.
Children and Young People
The terms ‘child’ or ‘young person’ and ‘children’ or
‘young people’ are used throughout the document
to refer to unborn babies, infants, children and young
people aged 0 –19.
Parents and Carers
The terms ‘parents’ or ‘carers’ refer to mothers,
fathers, carers and other adults with responsibility
for caring for a child or young person.
Weblinks
These can be found in the appendices. There are a
few significant ones that are duplicated in the main
document.
This information is available on the
internet at www.swindon.gov.uk.
It can be produced in a range of
languages and formats (such as large
print, braille or other accessible formats)
by contacting the Customer Services
Department.
Tel: 01793 445500 Fax: 01793 463331
Email: customerservices@swindon.gov.uk
J53227 FOI 3621/D77/10.
Designed and Printed by The Hub
Tel: 01793 463112 email: thehub@swindon.gov.uk