This section of the Good Practice
Guide provides information and links to relevant procedures and
guidance with regard to:
For further information about related policies and procedures,
please email:
goodpracticeguide@suffolk.gov.uk
Meeting the Needs of Children and Families in Suffolk: Social
Care and Common Assessment Framework Thresholds Guidance is
currently available as a 'working draft' and is intended to assist
professionals within the Suffolk children’s workforce to identify
suitable responses to needs and issues that they encounter amongst
the children, young people and families they are working with.
Information sharing
Suffolk
Information Sharing Charter ( PDF 192Kb ) is the agreement
within the Children's Trust Partnership regarding sharing
information.
Consent
to share information ( 25Kb ).This form is to be used to record
the agreement of families and children (as appropriate) to sharing
personal information with professionals in connection with referral
for and provision of services.The
government
Information Sharing Guidance ( PDF 1.2Mb ) provides
further information for practitioners and managers to sharing
information legally and professionally.
The starting place to assessing emerging additional needs within
children and young people is the
Common Assessment
Framework. The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is a key
part of delivering frontline services that are integrated, and are
focused around the needs of children and young people. The CAF is a
standardised approach to conducting assessments of children's
additional needs and deciding how these should be met. It is
expected that most referrals to Children’s Social Care
Services will be supported by a completed Common
Assessment.
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Children’s Social Care Services have introduced a new
Multi-Agency Referral Form as a part of our drive to better
support practitioners in providing good quality and relevant
information in a referral. This will assist the Integrated Access
Team to effectively make an
initial
consideration of the information received and ‘triage’
referrals and to provide a timely and appropriate response. This
will mean referrals requiring an assessment by children’s social
care will be forwarded quickly to the relevant team.
All other referrals will receive an appropriate response ranging
from targeted services delivered through the
Common Assessment
Framework, using the Team Around the Child (TAC), to the
provision of information advice and guidance. We have produced some
answers to what we believe will be the
Frequently Asked Questions about the new referral form.
To support practitioners in considering the most appropriate
response to additional unmet needs and whether or not a referral to
children’s social care is appropriate,
thresholds
guidance is being developed. It is currently available as a
working draft whilst consultation continues with partners through
the Safeguarding Children Board.
This
flowchart
for professionals who wish to make a referral for a social care
service shows the process professional workers should follow and
the requirements for sharing information if a child or young person
may need additional services, including where there are urgent
welfare concerns.
“What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused” gives
further information, from the Department for Children, Schools and
Families, about making a referral. The full safeguarding policies
and procedures are found on the
Suffolk Safeguarding
Children Board website.
Information about the
Emergency Duty Service for making an urgent referral out of
office hours which cannot wait until the next working day
The
Children
In Need, Policy, Principles and Guidance ( PDF, 270Kb ) gives
the requirements for working with Children In Need under the
Children Act 1989
The
interagency
flowchart for responding to the needs of young carers
See below for some tools to contribute to the assessment
of young carers.
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This
Referral
and Initial Assessment flowchart ( PDF,38.45KB) gives the
process for responding to and recording referrals received in
social care teams and carrying out Initial Assessments for best
outcomes and performance. See below under Assessment for more
guidance about Initial Assessment.
Guidance for
Social Care Managers and Duty Managers in dealing with referrals of
children about whom there are concerns from Suffolk Police
( PDF 23KB ).This guidance should be used in conjunction with the
Referral and Initial Assessment flowchart 2009
Where correspondence is received concerning a child or young person
the
Policy
for handling Correspondence (PDF, 27KB) and the
Log for
recording correspondence (excel document) should be used.
The
Procedures
for Children’s Social Care to Provide Feedback to Referrers
should be followed when informing agencies, members of the public
and family members who have made a referral, of the decision made
by Children’s Social Care following consideration of the referral.
The following letter templates can be used when providing this
feedback to agencies:
-
Letter
1: To be used when other services have been
signposted
-
Letter
2: To be used where onward referral should be made to CAF
Panel/ Integrated Teams
-
Letter
3: To be used when services will be provided under Child In
Need Procedures( s17 Children Act 1989)
-
Letter
4: To be used when an Initial Child Protection Conference is
Planned
-
Letter
5: To be used when there are any other circumstances for
feedback
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Assessment of need following referral will be undertaken according
to the flowchart above
and
Assessment Framework: Inter agency Protocol and Guidance ( PDF,
162Kb) and clearly recorded on the Integrated Children's System (
ICS) on Carefirst 6.
T
he
Initial
Assessment guidance sets out the requirements and
standards for carrying out an effective initial assessment for
best outcomes for the child.
The
Core
Assessment Guidance sets out the requirements and
standards for carrying out an effective core assessment for best
outcomes for the child.
This
Assessment
Quality Checklist is to be used by managers before authorising
an initial or a core assessment
Here is
full government guidance on using the Assessment Framework and its
scales and questionnaires.
A
chronology ( PDF, 35Kb ) is an important tool in assessment.
One should should be started once an Initial Assessment is
completed and there is a decision to provide social care services.
This
At
a Glance Guide ( PDF, 30Kb ) gives guidance about completing
chronologies
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Assessment in
specific circumstances
Assessing pre-birth
The template for assessment before birth is part of the Integrated
Children's System ( ICS ). Further guidance is available from the
Suffolk Safeguarding
Board
Assessing neglect
The
Graded
Care Profile ( PDF, 80Kb ) is a multi-agency and multi purpose
assessment tool especially useful for assessing and re-assessing
neglect. These are the
instructions
for use ( PDF 46, Kb) and
further
guidance and information ( PDF, 34Kb )
Here is additional
practice
guidance on assessing and monitoring where emotional abuse and
neglect occur together ( PDF,113Kb )
Assessing young carers
Assessments of young carers must always be holistic and caring
roles must never be seen in isolation. These
tools from the Princess Royal Trust for Carers can contribute
to assessment by helping to determine the impact of caring on
the child's health and development.
Unaccompanied asylum seeking
children
Arrangements for assessment of unaccompanied
asylum seeking children are dealt with by the County Asylum and
Private Fostering Team as outlined in the
guidance
(PDF, 20Kb).
Page Owner: Sue Glazer Last updated: 21 February
2011