Bracknell Forest Continuum of Family Support Services - DR
Universal - thriving family
Targeted - coping family
Specialist - barely coping family
Acute/Crisis - chaotic family
Provision of information, advice, early
assessment and accurate signposting to
further services should the need arise. No
eligibility criteria beyond age.
Developmental needs
• Good school attendance, achieving
learning targets & positive social
interaction
• Developmental milestones appropriate
including speech & language, height &
weight, competencies in practical &
emotional skills
• Developmental checks, immunisations,
health appointments, dental & optical care
as appropriate
• Physical & mental health, healthy lifestyle
with adequate diet/ hygiene/ clothing
• Good quality early attachment & with
positive sense of self, appropriate
responses, empathy & resilience
Family & Environment
• Stable & affectionate relationships within
family, including if parents are separated
• Appropriate accommodation & amenities
• Parents able to manage the working
arrangements and financial resources
• Family has good larger family, social
networks & community integration
Parents and carers
• Provide for child’s physical needs &
cognitive development through interaction
& play
• Secure and caring home with consistent
attachment, praise & encouragement
• Receive and act on advice & guidance
Services at this level are aimed at vulnerable families who need some
extra support, either self-referral or because a service has identified the
need for targeted support. Eligibility criteria may apply.
Services at this level are aimed at families with complex needs who need
intensive support. Eligibility criteria definitely apply.
Services at this level are aimed at families in crisis needing
urgent intervention. Eligibility criteria apply and compulsory
measures may be used.
Developmental needs
• Have some identified learning
needs
• Poor punctuality, Low level school
absence, not thought to be fully
engaging in learning or reaching
educational potential, risk of
becoming NEET
• Language & communication
difficulties
• Some difficulties with peer group
relationships & with some adults.
Some evidence of inappropriate
responses & actions
• Reduced access to core needs
• Slow in reaching developmental
milestones
• Missing health checks/
immunisations
• Is susceptible to minor health
problems, low level emotional/
mental health issues & poor self
esteem
• Early signs of offending behaviour
or drug/alcohol misuse
• Poor social skills risking social
exclusion
• Minor concerns re: self care
including diet/ hygiene/ clothing
• Finds managing change difficult
Developmental needs
• Fixed term or permanent exclusion/ no
school place, persistent absence from school
• No access to core services
• Developmental milestones not being met
affecting ability to remain in mainstream
services & may have Statement of Special
Ed. Needs
• Concerns re: diet, hygiene, substance
misuse, clothing
• Chronic recurring health problems, regular
missed appointments affecting
developmental progress
• Continuing provocative or sexually
inappropriate behaviour, teenage pregnancy
• Offending behaviour resulting in risk of
entering Youth Justice System
• High level emotional/ mental health issues
including very low self-esteem
• Poor skills resulting in social exclusion
• Disruptive/ challenging behaviour, difficulty
coping with anger, frustration, change &
upset. Unable to demonstrate empathy
• Subject to discrimination – racial, sexual or
due to disabilities.
• Has lack of positive role models
• Peers also involved in challenging
behaviour, conflicts with peers/ siblings
• Regularly needed to care for another family
member, precociously able to care for self
Type of
assessment
and response
• No formal assessment - needs identified
and met through universal services
providing basic requirements for health,
education and protection
• CAF pre-assessment checklist, generally additional needs can be met
within identified settings with some additional support
• Practitioners can refer via a CAF to the hub for multi agency support if
appropriate
Developmental needs
Family and environment
• Chronic persistent
• Suspected physical/ sexual/
absence, permanent
emotional abuse or neglect
exclusions or no school
• Domestic abuse, clear
place
evidence of effect on child
• Has severe / chronic
• Destructive involvement
physical or mental health
from extended family
problems affecting
• Poor housing places child in
developmental needs
danger
including self-harming or
• Chronic unemployment
suicide attempts
severely impacts family due to
• Offending/reoffending
issues or lack of basic skills
behaviour, regular anti• Extreme poverty/ debt
social behaviour
impacts on care for child
• Physical, emotional or
• Family socially excluded, no
sexual abuse/ neglect
supportive network
Parents and carers
• Sexually aggressive
behaviour, pregnancy < 16
• Parents unable to provide
• Frequently missing from
consistent adequate & safe
home
parenting
• Drug/alcohol use severely • Parents’ mental health or
impairing development
substance misuse seriously
• Poor & inappropriate self- impacts care
presentation / care putting
• No effective boundaries set
self or others in danger
by parents
• Persistent discrimination
• Continual instability &
• Is socially isolated & lacks violence in the home
appropriate role models
• Parents unable to care for
• Periods of being a LAC
previous children
• Family breakdown related • Parents involved in crime
to child’s behaviour
• Beyond parental control
• Main carer for relative
• National assessment framework & other specialist
assessments, CAF used to inform additional assessments
• CIN/CP investigation & plan led by social worker/YOT/
Education Welfare staff
Types of
intervention
available
(0 – 18 unless
stated
otherwise)
• Children’s Centres (0 - 5) offer -Time out
for parents, ante/postnatal support, health
promotion & information, support & advice
for families
• EarlyBird Autism Support (2 - 8)
• EarlyBird Plus Autism Support
• BST workshops for parents
• Early Years family culture & language
PLA groups
• Aiming High Information Service
including after school & holiday clubs
• FSA’s Pyramid for Parents (5 - 11)
• Family Information Service
• Community Health Services including
GPs & health visitors
• Family Learning OLC
• Berkshire Adoption Advisory Service
• Children’s Centres (0 - 5)
• Aiming High for Disabled Children )0 –
18)
• Traveller Education Service (5 - 16)
• FSAs in schools
• Aiming High for Disabled Children 6 hour
workshop for parents
• KIDS LDD holiday provision (11 - 18)
• Konnections LDD holiday provision (5 - 11)
• Aiming High Support for children with LDD in
leisure settings (5 - 18)
• Children’s Centre Solihull Parenting (0 - 5)
• Children’s Centre Family Links Parenting (0 - 5)
• BST Strengthening Families parenting (10 - 14)
Family Focus Virtual Team
Definition
Circumstances
and key
features
Services who
provide those
interventions
(0 – 18 unless
stated
otherwise)
Family and environment
• Parent has health difficulties
• Young carers
• Parents have some conflicts/
difficulty that can involve the
children
• Experienced loss of significant
adult
• Children of prisoners
• Poor housing, Some social
exclusion problems, refugees
• Parents have limited formal
education
• Low income & or
unemployment issues
• Parenting advice needed to
prevent needs escalating
• Limited support from family/
friends
• Adequate universal resources
but family have engagement or
access issues
Parents and carers
• Parent is struggling to provide
adequate care & supervision
• Inconsistent parenting
• Historic context of parents
carers own childhood
• Perceived to be a problem by
parent, may be subject to
neglect or unsafe situations
Family and environment
• Domestic abuse, acrimonious
relationships, poor attachments
• Family have serious physical
&/or mental health difficulties
• Poor relationship with
extended family or community
• Poor quality, over crowded or
temporary housing
• Parental stress due to
employment issues, possibly
due to poor basic skills
• Serious debts/ poverty impact
on ability to meet basic needs
• Access problems to universal
& targeted services
Parents and carers
• Difficult to engage parents
with services, professionals
have serious concerns
• Inconsistent parenting / poor
supervision affects child’s
developmental progress
• Parental learning disability,
substance misuse or mental
health impacts on parenting
• Parent struggles to provide
adequate care & child at risk of
neglect or unsafe situations
• Has multiple carers, has been
a LAC child
• CAF completed with multi agency approach and lead professional through the
Early Intervention Hub
• Child’s need de-escalated from Level 4 through CSC step down, with possible
change of lead professional from social worker to another professional
Targeted to Specialist
• Access to Play scheme - holiday activity
support (4 -11)
• Targeted Inclusive Childminder network (0 21) with additional needs
• Young Carers KIDS (5 - 21)
• YOS Prevention Service incl parenting (8 - 15)
• BST Incredible Years Parenting (3 - 11)
• BST STOP Parenting (12 - 17)
• LDD short break for parents of children - fostering
and Larchwood (0 - 18)
• Youthline Counselling (11 - 18)
• Relateen counselling (5 - 18)
• Family Group Conferencing
• CAMHS Systemic Family Therapy (0 - 18)
• Talking Therapies
• Aiming High adapted Incredible Years (0 - 18)
• PICADA
The Family Information Service can signpost to other local and national services 01344 353133 or go to www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/familyinformation
Targeted to Specialist
• Traveller Education Service (5 - 18)
• Family Nurse Partnership (0 - 5)
• FSAs in schools
• Family work in BST (5 - 16)
• LDD including SEN & Disabled Children’s Team
• HomeStart (0 - 5)
• Education Welfare Service (5 - 16)
• Pupil Referral Services (11 - 18)
• Parent Partnership (5 - 18)
• Play and Childcare Inclusion Service (0 - 21)
• DAAT parenting work (5 - 18)
• Children’s Centre Outreach Workers (0 - 5)
• Berkshire East Community Services
• CMHT parenting work (5 - 18)
• Aiming High for Disabled Children
community nurse LDD
• Safeguarding & Inclusion Team (5 - 16)
• Early Support – Speech and Language (0 - 5)
• Early Years Foundation Stage Inclusion
• Family Adolescent Support Team (13 - 18)
• Anti-bullying coordinator (5 - 18)
Service EYFSIS (0 - 5)
• Youth Offending Service incl parenting (10 - 18)
• Family Focus
• Family Focus
• Family Intervention Project
• Family Focus
• Family Group
conferencing (0 - 18)
• CAMHS Systemic Family
Therapy (0 - 18)
Aiming High direct
outreach with families (0 –
18)
• Domestic abuse
perpetrators worker
• Individual support to families
• Youth Offending Service
including parenting
• Family Intervention
Project
• Berkshire Women’s Aid
• Domestic abuse response
team
• Family Focus
• Children’s Social Care
-Duty & Assessment
-Under 11s
-Over 11s
-Child Protection
-Family Placement
-Looked After Children
-After Care
-Disabled Children’s
Team
-Family Centre
Glossary of terms:
BST
Behaviour Support Team
CAF
CAMHS
CIN
CMHT
CP
CSC
Common Assessment Framework,
Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service
Child in need,
Community Mental Health Team
Child protection
Children’s Social Care
DAAT
Drug & Alcohol Team
EYFSIS
FIS
Early Years Foundation Stage Inclusion Service
Family Information Service
FSA
Family Support Adviser
LAC
LDD
NEET
OLC
Looked after child
Learning difficulty and disability,
Not in employment education or training,
Open Learning Centre
PLA
SEN
Pre-school Learning Alliance
Special Educational Needs
YOS
Youth Offending Service
YOT
Youth Offending Team