Getting it Right for Aberdeenshire’s Children

Guide to GIRFEC Assessment and Action Planning in Aberdeenshire

June 2014

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Contents

Electronic version of the documents

Preface - Introduction to the GIRFEC Assessment and Action Planning

GIRFEC Assessment and Action Planning Process

Child Protection Must Do

Summary of the GIRFEC Assessment and Action Planning Process

The Five GIRFEC Questions

The Named Person

The Named Person (a summary)

GIRFEC National Practice Model

SECTION 1

Must Do

Stage 1 - Can my team or establishment meet this child’s needs and improve outcomes for them?

SECTION 2

Stage 2 - Can my agency or service meet this child’s needs and improve outcomes for them?

SECTION 3

Stage 3 - What other resources / services are available to help meet this child’s needs and improve outcomes for them?

The Lead Professional

SECTION 4

Drawing up a multi-agency Action Plan

SECTION 5

Reviewing a Multi-Agency Action Plan

Acronyms and Abbreviations used in this guidance

Contents

Within this guidance, Sections 1 – 3 contain the three stages of the multi-agency assessment and action planning.

Each section contains a step by step guide and links to all the relevant paperwork for that particular stage.

Electronic version of the documents

All relevant Aberdeenshire documents and templates in this folder can be found on

If you want copies of these documents and templates, please download them from to ensure you have the most recent version.

Preface - Introduction to the GIRFEC Assessment and Action Planning

Getting it right for every child is the Scottish Government policy for all children’s services.

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Young-People/gettingitright

It sets out a vision that we will:

  • put the child (and their family) at the centre of everything we (children’s services) do.
  • provide earlier intervention in order to ensure that all children achieve their potential.
  • achieve the highest standards of joint working and collaboration to improve outcomes for children.
  • take personal responsibility for ensuring that all children achieve their potential.
  • focus on improving outcomes for children and young people.
  • ensure a single planning process in place for children and young people.

Children and young people need to be Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible and Included (also known as SHANARRI or the Wellbeing Indicators) in order to achieve their potential.

The Scottish Government also identifies that these wellbeing indicators need to be met for children and young people to be confident individuals, effective contributors, successful learners and responsible citizens.

Every child in Scotland will have a Named Person from universal services. This person will act as a first point of contact for the parents, carers and young person’s themselves, as well as for other services and professionals, where concerns or unmet needs are identified.

The Named Person will establish if they or someone within their agency can meet the child’s needs, and if not who else they need to engage with to achieve a successful outcome for the child or young person. More details on the Named Person is given later in this document.

The processes described in this document have been approved by the GIRFEC Management Group which has senior members from each partner organisation. The processes provide a practical and structured way of working which enables us to achieve the GIRFEC vision in our day to day work.

It is a three stage process which sets out best practice when assessing and meeting the needs of children and young people. It applies to all children and young people and to all the sectors which provide services to them.

This guidance will provide you with a step-by-step guide through the separate stages of this process.

All relevant documentation can be found in the appendices to the guidance.

GIRFEC Assessment and Action Planning Process

Child Protection Must Do

Where there is a potential child protection concern, child protection processes must be followed.

Summary of the GIRFEC Assessment and Action Planning
Process

Addressing Concerns with Young People

The Five GIRFEC Questions

When a concern is identified about a child or young person, you should ask yourself the 5 GIRFEC questions:-

  1. What is getting in the way of this child or young person’s wellbeing?
  2. Do I have all the information I need to help this child or young person?
  3. What can I do now to help this child or young person?
  4. What can my agency do to help this child or young person?
  5. What additional help, if any, may be needed from others?

Throughout this document the term child is used to mean both child and young person and parent is used to refer to both those with parental or caring responsibilities for the child.

GIRFEC Action Planning Process

Legend
Team
Service
Multi-Agency

Team

1 / The Service Identifies Additional Needs in a child or young person
Is this child Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible and Included?
What is the answer to the 5 GIRFEC Questions?
2 / Discuss the needs with the parents and the child (where appropriate for the age and understanding) and inform the Named Person of your concern.
Discuss information sharing and record the outcome of your discussion. Give parent/child the information sharing leaflet.
3 / Named Person contacts other agencies/services for initial information gathering.
4 / Service identifies appropriate person to carry out the assessment.
5 / What Paperwork Do I Need ?
Contact Report, Core Record, Chronology, Single Service Assessment and Action Plan.
5 / Assessment of need carried out with parents and child using the Child’s My World Triangle in addition to Service assessment documentation.
7 / Can I (and my Team) meet this child’s identified need and improve outcomes for them?
8 / IF YES continue on yellow / IF NO go to blue next page
9 / Draw up Single Service Action Plan e.g. IEP, FHP, CYP with parents and child.
10 / Review progress of the child with parents and child. Is the child Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible and Included?
11 / If acceptable progress has been made, review action plan and decide next actions to continue to sustain improvement for the child.
12 / If progress has not been made consider if this child needs :
i) To be reassessed by your Team
ii) To be reassessed by your Service
iii) Multi-agency Support.

SERVICE

1 / What other specialist input within your service could help meet the identified needs of this child and improve outcomes?
Answer the 5 GIRFEC Questions.
2 / Named Person discusses sharing concern with this specialist input within your Service with child and parents. Discuss information sharing and record outcome of the discussion.
3 / Service identifies appropriate person to carry out the additional assessment.
4 / What Paperwork Do I Need ?
Contact Report, Core Record, Chronology, Single Service Assessment and Action Plan.
5 / Additional Assessment of need carried out by specialist service using Child’s My World Triangle in addition to Service assessment documentation.
6 / Can the identified need of this child be met within your Service?
7 / IF YES continue on blue / If NO go to green next page
8 / Draw up Single Service Action Plan e.g. IEP, FHP, CYP with parents and child.
9 / Review progress of the child with parents and child. Is the child Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible and Included?
10 / If acceptable progress has been made, review action plan and decide next actions to continue to sustain improvement for the child.

Multi-Agency

1 / What other Service / Agency input could help meet the identified needs of this child and improve outcomes for them?
Answer the 5 GIRFEC Questions.
2 / Discuss sharing concern with other Service / Agency with parents and child. Record outcome of discussion on Contact Record. Give parent/child information sharing leaflet.
3 / Review Consent to Share Information, if appropriate Multi-agency Consent form signed.
4 / Information gathered from parents and child and other agencies to complete assessment.
5 / Lead Professional Identified.
6 / What Paperwork Do I Need ?
Multi-Agency Consent form, Contact Report, Core Record, Chronology, Single Service Assessment and Action Plan, Multi-Agency Request for Service Form.
7 / Lead Professional draws up multi-agency Action Plan with other Services / Agencies / child and parents which includes input from all partners e.g. C.S.P, C.Y.P.
8 / Review progress of the child with parents and child. Is the child Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible and Included?
9 / If acceptable progress has been made, review action plan and decide next actions to continue to sustain improvement for the child.
10 / If progress has not been made consider if this child needs :
i) To be reassessed by your Team
ii) To be reassessed by your Service
iii) Multi-agency Support.

The Named Person

The role of the Named Person

For most children, the Named Person will not have to do anything more than they normally do in the course of their day-to-day work. In health, this includes the normal checks relating to children, within the aims of Health for All Children.

In Education, arrangements may vary according to the size and structure of schools. The Named Person will be able to be familiar with a child’s progress within the Curriculum for Excellence.

If there are concerns about the way a child is progressing, the Named Person will ensure early action is taken to help the child.

This will be recorded in a single-agency plan.

In their own agency, the Named Person will:

  • Be the point of contact for the child and their parents seeking Information or advice, and for any practitioners wishing to discuss a worry about the child.
  • Make sure that the views of children and families are sought and recorded at every stage.
  • Be the person who makes sure children and families are fully involved in decisions that affect them.
  • Make sure, when information needs to be shared, that children and families know why this information should be shared, and that consent has been given and recorded, where appropriate. Ensure that core information about the child in their agency is up to date and accurate.
  • Record any concerns that children, families, or practitioners in their own or other agencies bring to them about a child’s wellbeing.
  • Consider any concerns in the light of the child’s history and current circumstances and using the GIRFEC Practice model to assess if anything needs to be done and any extra help needs to be provided.
  • Record any decisions or actions taken, including what immediate help, if any has been put in place.
  • When a child needs extra help, after needs strengths, concerns and risks have been assessed and recorded, prepare a plan for the child based on appropriate and proportionate information. This plan should identify which of the eight wellbeing indicators are being impaired and need to be addressed.
  • He or she should review any other knowledge held within their agency, gather and analyse any other information needed to identify what might be causing the problems.
  • Be aware of risks and needs and identify concerns that suggest a child may be at risk of significant harm, arising from observations or information received, for example, where there is a worrying pattern over time of incident or concerns and use appropriate child protection procedures to report these.
  • Lead on implementing and keeping under review the outcome and effectiveness of the single agency plan.

A key role at transition points

The Named Person will contribute to planning for children who need extra help at key transition points, for example, between pre-school and primary or secondary education. They will ensure effective transfer of information about the child, including details of any help the child and family have been or are receiving, to the new Named Person in the agency assuming responsibility for the child. The future transitions needs of children who are effectively supported in school, but are unlikely to reach eligibility criteria for adult services should be proactively considered by the Named Person in good time to start effective planning for the future.

Who should be the Named Person?

During pregnancy and the early period following birth, the child’s Named Person will be the midwife assigned to the family.

After the midwife’s postnatal supervision ends (usually ten days after birth), a health visitor will become the child’s Named Person until the responsibility moves to education. Health visitors provide consistent, knowledgeable and skilled contact for families, as do staff in early years’ services and other practitioners working with pre-school children.

When the child enters early primary school, they will be assigned a member of the school staff as the Named Person. In Aberdeenshire this person will be the head teacher.

When the child moves to secondary school level, the Named Person will be the deputy head teacher with a responsibility for pupil support.

While a child will have a specific Named Person, the Named Person will draw on the knowledge held by other members of staff in the school who know the child and the family.

Exceptions:

Some parents may choose to home educate their children. The Named Person function for these children will be carried out by a designated Quality Improvement Officer. For children from the Gypsy Traveller community the Named Person for this group will be David Black of GREC.

The Named Person (a summary)

For every child / From pre-birth to school leaving (and beyond in some cases)
From universal services / Midwife until 10 days old
Health visitor from 11 days to school entry School representative from P1 – aged 16
(School age Gypsy traveller children – GREC representative )
Young People aged 16-18 who have left school – Local Authority representative, details TBC.
Initial point of contact / Accessible to family, young person and other services
5 questions /
  1. What is getting in the way of this woman, baby, child or young person’s wellbeing?
  2. Do I have all the information I need to help the woman, baby, child or young person?
  3. What can I do now to help this woman, baby, child or young person?
  4. What can my agency do to help this woman, baby, child or young person?
  5. What additional help, if any, may be needed from others?

Child centred approach / Working with and getting views of children and family: consensual process
Information sharing / Improving outcomes for children and reducing duplication
Child Protection / Follow current child protection protocols
Key role and transitions / Contribute to planning for transitions
Child’s plan / Proportionate and appropriate
Lead professional/named person interface / Essential when more complex needs identified

1

GIRFEC National Practice Model

  • Use the wellbeing indicators to record information that may indicate a need, concern or strength.
  • The My World Triangle aids understanding of the child’s whole world, recognising there are connections between the different parts of their world. This can be used to explore needs and risks.
  • The Resilience Matrix may be used in complex situations to help organise and analyse information about risk.

The National Risk Assessment Framework has tools which will support practitioners when identifying and assessing risk http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2012/11/7143/downloads#res-1

  • Planning action and review – when child’s needs are clear develop a plan for action using the wellbeing indicators.

(Service specific My World Triangles with prompts can be found in Appendix 1 and prompts for use with parents or young people for the SHANARRI indicators can be found in Appendix 5)

1

SECTION 1

Must Do

Where there is a potential child protection concern, child protection processes must be followed.

Stage 1 - Can my team or establishment meet this child’s needs and improve outcomes for them?

If you are concerned that something is preventing a child achieving their potential or you identify any needs in a child:

1.Discuss the needs with the child and parents and other professionals within your team or service

Ask the 5 GIRFEC questions:

1 What is getting in the way of this child or young person’s wellbeing?
2 Do I have all the information I need to help this child or young person?
3 What can I do now to help this child or young person?
4 What can my agency do to help this child or young person?

5 What additional help, if any, may be needed from others?

2. When talking to the child or parents, explain that:

  • you will be making notes of what you do for your records.
  • you may share this information in the future with other agencies but you will discuss this with the parents / child / young person beforehand.
  • you will discuss your concerns with the child’s Named Person.
  • give the parents and child / young person relevant leaflet “Sharing information about you” (Appendix 2).

3.Carry out an assessment using the GIRFEC practice model (each Service has developed prompt questions under each heading of the Child’s World Triangle.

These prompts are not exhaustive but are designed as a starting point for your assessment. These can be found in Appendix 5. You should use the single service GIRFEC Assessment and Action Plan (Appendix 3) to carry out this assessment.