2.1.1 Common Assessment Framework |
Contents
1.0 Procedures
| 1.1 | The Promoting Children & Young People’s Well-being Model is diagrammatically represented in Appendix 1. This Model sets out a single assessment, planning and review pathway for all children and young people, ensuring that needs are identified earlier and addressed on a multi-agency basis. |
| 1.2 | Appendix 2 provides a flowchart of the basic stages of the procedures. |
2. 0 Universal Service Provision - Level One
| 2.1 | All children and young people are entitled to receive support from those services which are available to everyone, irrespective of their needs. This includes: GPs, Health Visitors and School Nurses, Schools, Connexions (for age 13 plus), Youth Service, Children and Families Education, Leisure and Play facilities, and Housing. |
| 2.2 | Within the Promoting Children & Young People’s Well-being Model, universal needs are referred to as Level One. |
| 2.3 | Appendix 3 gives examples of what constitutes a child or young person who is likely to have good life chances and whose development is making good progress. This is not a definitive list, but is illustrative to help practitioners have a shared understanding of the whole needs of a child/young person. In almost all instances, the practitioner will have to make a judgement about whether or not the child ‘fits’ the broad definition.
The majority of children / young people (estimated at 70% nationally) will have their needs met within their families and through universal service provision. These procedures primarily concern those children and young people who will have needs at some time in their life which will require additional support. |
3.0 Children who MAY have poor life chances - Level Two
| 3.1 | Some children / young people will require support beyond that provided by their families and universal services. This may be due to: a physical or intellectual impairment or delay in their anticipated health and development; particular adverse family circumstances and factors in their environment which hinder their development. Whether or not each child will need support, will depend on the unique relationship between these three.
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| 3.2 | Any practitioner working with a child/young person or their family may identify, in the presentation or behaviour of a child/young person, that they have additional needs, which may result in poor life chances unless additional support is provided. |
| 3.3 | Any identification of additional needs will be based initially on the assessment processes and tools used by the practitioner’s agency. These processes and tools may be formal or informal. The process, management and recording of these processes are the responsibility of the practitioner’s agency. |
| 3.4 | Appendix 3 provides descriptors of the kind of evidence, which would indicate that a child/young person has additional needs. The extent and impact of the needs will depend on the Level identified. These are not definitive lists, but illustrative to help practitioners have a shared understanding of the whole needs of a child/young person. In all instances, the practitioner will have to make a judgement about whether or not the child/young person ‘fits’ the broad definition at each Level. |
| 3.5 | If the practitioner is unclear, or wants guidance on what steps to take, then they should discuss the situation with their line manager in the first instance and can seek advice from one of the designated named practitioners who are able to act as an adviser.
A list of named practitioners who have been nominated by their agencies to be advisers is available on request from the CAF Coordinator. |
| 3.6 | Having identified that the child/young person has additional needs, the practitioner needs to decide whether these needs mean the child/young person is at immediate risk of Significant Harm (Level 4, Appendix 3). |
| 3.7 | Immediate risk of significant harm means that, without urgent action by Social Care and the Police, the child/young person is highly likely to be harmed to the extent that their health and development (or life chances) will be irrevocably damaged. All instances of alleged or actual physical abuse and sexual abuse fall within this category. In every other case, the practitioner will make the relevant initial judgement. |
| 3.8 | If the child/young person is at immediate risk of Significant Harm, then a referral must be made to Social Care using the Multi-Agency Referral Form The downloadable version of this form is available at The Coventry Children and Young People's Strategic Partnership website This Form will require the referrer to provide basic information about the child/young person and to provide evidence as to why they believe the child/young person to be at immediate risk of significant harm. |
| 3.9 | If the child/young person is not at immediate risk of significant harm, then the practitioner needs to decide whether the child/young person’s identified needs can be met by a single agency. |
| 3.10 | In all cases, children / young people and their families and carers must be kept informed of the actions being taken and their consent obtained to share information with another agency or service. The only exceptions to this are where sharing information without consent will protect the child/young person, or prevent a crime being committed. (See Section 12.0 regarding consent) |
| 3.11 | If the practitioner judges that a multi-agency response is required, then they will need to undertake a Common Assessment and convene a Family Support Meeting (see Sections 7.0 & 8.0 for details). |
| 3.12 | If the practitioner judges that the child/young person’s needs can be met by referral to a single agency or service, then they should make that referral using the referral processes of the receiving agency or service. |
| 3.13 | The Service Directory can be accessed through www.up2datecovandwarks.org.uk will provide information about services, which will meet the identified needs of the child. |
| 3.14 | Once the referral has been accepted, it is for the referring service and the receiving service to agree how the impact of the service will be reviewed. This will follow the existing processes and protocols in place in agencies. The child/young person and parent must be informed. |
| 3.15 | All service provision is subject to review. The purpose of the review will be to check whether the service is meeting the identified needs. The review outcomes are likely to be one of the following:
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4.0 Children who WILL have poor life chances - Level Three
| 4.1 | Some children / young people will have more complex needs requiring a range of different services to be co-ordinated to ensure that their needs are met. If support is not provided, then these children / young people will have poor life chances. |
| 4.2 | Appendix 3 provides descriptors of the kind of evidence, which would indicate that, a child/young person has more complex needs. The extent and impact of the needs will depend on the Level identified. These are not definitive lists, but illustrative to help practitioners have a shared understanding of the whole needs of a child/young person. In all instances, the practitioner will have to make a judgement about whether or not the child/young person ‘fits’ the broad definition at each Level. |
| 4.3 | If the practitioner is unclear, or wants guidance on what steps to take, then they should discuss the situation with their line manager in the first instance and can take advice from one of the designated named practitioners. |
| 4.4 | If the practitioner thinks the child/young person has more complex needs requiring a multi-agency response, then they must undertake a Common Assessment. |
5.0 Obtaining Consent
| 5.1 | Before undertaking a Common Assessment consent must be obtained from the family and where appropriate the child/young person. (See Section 12.0 for more detail). |
6.0Common Assessment
| 6.1 | A Common Assessment can be undertaken by any practitioner who is designated by their agency to carry out the function. This will usually be based on the following recognised factors:
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| 6.2 | It is important to establish whether a Common Assessment has already been undertaken to avoid unnecessary duplication. |
| 6.3 | If there are children/young people of varying ages within the family and the practitioner who has identified the need for a Common Assessment is not able to work across age ranges, they should complete the assessment for the child/young person with whom they are involved. They should identify which other practitioners may be able to undertake Common Assessments in respect of the other children/young people. They should communicate clearly with the relevant practitioners and alert them to the need to complete a Common Assessment in respect of the other children/young people within the family and involve them in the team working with the children/young people and their parents and carers. |
| 6.4 | If the practitioner is unclear, or wants guidance on what steps to take, then they should discuss the situation with their line manager in the first instance and can take advice from one of the designated named practitioners who are able to act as an adviser. |
| 6.5 | The Common Assessment is an assessment of the child/young person within the context of the family and community. It is not a comprehensive, core or specialist assessment, and provides the opportunity for practitioners and the family to gain a better initial understanding of the child/young person’s needs. The Common Assessment must be recorded on the agreed pro-forma. An electronic version of the form is available on Coventry ShareCare (previously referred to as Rygeons). A downloadable version of the form is also available at The Coventry Children and Young People's Strategic Partnership website. This ensures that:
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| 6.6 | The Common Assessment must be completed within 7 working days of the decision to undertake it. The parents of the child/young person, and the child or young person themselves, taking into account their age and understanding, must be informed that a Common Assessment is being undertaken. |
| 6.7 | The Common Assessment must, as a minimum, involve:
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| 6.8 | On completion of the Common Assessment, one of the following steps will be taken:
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| 6.9 | The completed Common Assessment record remains the responsibility of the originating agency to retain in accordance with each agency’s own record-keeping procedures. |
| 6.10 | A copy of the completed Common Assessment record should be given to the parents of the child/young person and the child/young person themselves, taking into account their age and understanding. Consent must be obtained to share the Common Assessment record with other practitioners and agencies as appropriate (see Section 12.0 regarding consent), except where it supports a referral to Social Care on the grounds that the child is at immediate risk of significant harm. It should also be attached to RYOGENS as a means of sharing information. |
| 6.11 | The process of undertaking a Common Assessment should not prevent services being provided as required. |
7.0 Family Support Meeting
| 7.1 | A Family Support Meeting is convened whenever a Common Assessment identifies that the child/young person has more complex needs requiring the support of more than one agency or service. If consideration is being given to whether a specialist assessment is needed an appropriate representative of the relevant agency should be invited to the meeting. |
| 7.2 | A specialist assessment can be any of the following:
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| 7.3 | A Family Support Meeting cannot be held without informing the parents of the child/young person and the child/young person themselves (taking into account their age and understanding). If it is considered inappropriate to inform the parents, then a strategy meeting should be convened under the Local Safeguarding Children Board Child Protection Procedures. |
| 7.4 | A Family Support Meeting’s purpose is to agree on a multi-agency basis:
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| 7.5 | The practitioner and agency that carried out the Common Assessment is responsible for convening the Family Support Meeting and for deciding who should be invited. Invitations must include:
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| 7.6 | The Family Support Meeting must be convened within 10 working days of the completion of the Common Assessment. |
| 7.7 | Every agency invited to the Family Support Meeting must either attend the meeting, or else submit a written report identifying what needs they can meet, and whether they consider it is appropriate for them to take on the role of Lead Professional. The downloadable version of the pro forma for providing written information to a family meeting is available at The Coventry Children and Young People's Strategic Partnership website |
| 7.8 | The practitioner completing the Common Assessment should begin discussions with the relevant practitioners before the Family Support Meeting with a view to exploring who would be most suitable to undertake the Lead Professional role. |
| 7.9 | The views of the parents and / or other significant carer, and of the child/young person, must be available at the meeting. It is the responsibility of the convening agency to ensure this happens. Meetings should be organised as far as practicable to facilitate parental attendance. |
| 7.10 | The Family Support Meeting will be chaired and recorded by the convening agency (unless agreed otherwise in advance). A record of the meeting which outlines the Family Support Action Plan and identifies the Lead Professional will be shared with all those invited within three working days of the meeting. |
| 7.11 | If agreement cannot be reached about who should act as Lead Professional, there will need to be a discussion with the CAF co-ordinator who will assist in the negotiations. |
8.0 Family Support Action Plan
| 8.1 | A Family Support Action Plan will specify what action will be taken by all those involved detailing who has responsibility and what outcome is expected from the action. Actions must be timely, taking into account the fact that children grow up and that delays can have a significant impact on development. The downloadable version of the pro forma for recording the Family Support meetings is available at The Coventry Children and Young People's Strategic Partnership website. The record of the Family Support Action Plan remains the responsibility of the originating agency to retain in accordance with each agency’s own record-keeping. |
| 8.2 | The action plan should be completed and circulated to the parent, child/ young person and all practitioners involved within three working days and can be attached to RYOGENS with consent as a means of sharing information. |
| 8.3 | The Lead Professional will convene further Family Support Meetings as often as necessary, but at a minimum of every 6 months. The family can request a review at any time as can any practitioner involved in the family. Reports must be submitted to the Family Support Meeting by any service that cannot be represented at the meeting in person. |
| 8.4 | The Review must ensure that:
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| 8.5 | A record of the review must be made by the Lead Professional and shared with all those involved in the review within three working days. The downloadable version of the pro forma for recording the Family Support meetings is available at The Coventry Children and Young People's Strategic Partnership website. |
9.0 Lead Professional
| 9.1 | The Lead Professional is responsible for:
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| 9.2 | Although the Lead Professional will usually have the fullest ongoing picture of the child/young person’s needs and the impact of action plan, it is the responsibility of all practitioners involved to ensure that the child/young person is protected from Significant Harm. Therefore, if any practitioner believes the child/young person is at immediate risk of significant harm (see Para (4.8)), they must make a referral to Social Care using the Multi-Agency Referral Form. Where they think the child/young person is at risk of significant, but not immediate, harm, they must advise the Lead Professional. It will be the responsibility of the Lead Professional to discuss the concerns with all those involved and to either:
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| 9.3 | The Lead Professional role does not replace any current arrangements for a ‘Lead Social Worker‘ or similar role which agencies currently have. Where a child/ young person and family is likely to have a lead professional and a ‘Lead Social Worker’, then it is essential that these roles are clarified. |
| 9.4 | The Lead Professional is not an advocate for the child/young person or the family. |
| 9.5 | The Lead Professional role ends when the child/young person no longer requires a multi-agency Family Support Action Plan to meet their needs. |
| 9.6 | The Lead Professional role can be undertaken by any practitioner who is designated by their agency to carry out the function. This will usually be based on the following recognised factors:
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| 9.7 | The Lead Professional role can only be transferred or terminated following a Review Family Support Meeting, unless transferred automatically to a Social Care Social Worker where a Section 47 child protection investigation is started or the child/young person starts being looked after by the local authority. |
| 9.8 | Any transfer of role must be confirmed in writing to the child/young person, parents, significant other carers and all agencies involved with the child/young person clearly identifying the new lead professional with their contact details. |
10.0 Children at Risk of Significant Harm or Being Removed from Home - Level Four
| 10.1 | Social Care has a legal duty to take the lead role in all cases where a child/ young person is in the child protection system or the care system. This means that the Lead Professional role is carried out by the Social Care Social Worker. |
| 10.2 | Social Care are required to use the assessment, planning and review tools of the Integrated Children’s System whenever a child or young person enters the child protection system or the care system. They closely follow the existing Framework for the Assessment of Need processes. |
| 10.3 | Social Care will not admit a child or young person to local authority care unless:
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| 10.4 | A Common Assessment can contribute to the Initial Assessment for the purpose of the Integrated Children’s System. |
11. 0 Consultation Process
| 11.1 | “If in doubt, consult” is a maxim of the Promoting Children & Young People’s Well- being Model in Coventry. Consultation / seeking advice across services and professional disciplines is seen as essential if the right response is to be provided at the right time in the right way by the right people. |
| 11.2 | A virtual team of ‘Model’ advisers, across the agencies, will be established to provide expert advice on both understanding needs and their impact on life chances, also on the stages of the Model. Designated advisers in each agency will be able to offer guidance. |
| 11.3 | The role of an adviser is to give an opinion on the most appropriate course of action. It does not negate the responsibility of the practitioner seeking advice to decide on the most appropriate course of action. The practitioner seeking advice retains responsibility for deciding the most appropriate course of action. |
| 11.4 | All instances where advice is sought have to be recorded. The practitioner requesting advice has the responsibility for making a brief record on the child’s record of:
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| 11.5 | Advice may be sought without the consent of the parent and young person. However, in this case, it is important that the designated practitioner giving advice cannot identify the child/ young person who is the subject of the request for advice, since this would be in breach of the Information Sharing Protocol. The exception to this is any request for advice about risk of Significant Harm or the commission of an offence. |
| 11.6 | The designated practitioner providing advice must keep a record of the advice given if the details of the child/young person are disclosed. This should clearly state:
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| 11.7 | The record should be signed and dated and copied to the practitioner seeking advice. It may also be attached to the record on RYOGENS. |
| 11.8 | If the person acting as adviser is unhappy with the proposed course of action they will need to discuss this with their line manager and there should be a manager-to-manager dialogue. The resolution of the disagreement should then be fully recorded. |
12.0 Consent to Sharing Information
| 12.1 | All statutory agencies have signed up to the Coventry Information Sharing Protocol. This governs the sharing of personal and sensitive information between agencies. It requires consent to be obtained in all cases, unless the sharing of information without consent will protect an individual from harm or aid the prevention or detection of a crime (see Para 12.8). |
| 12.2 | In all cases where one agency considers that it will need to share information with another agency in order to promote the well-being of the child/young person concerned, it must seek consent to do so. |
| 12.3 | Consent should be obtained from a parent or other person with parental responsibility for all children and young people under the age of 16 years (please see 13.6 for more information). An exemplar parental consent form is provided in Appendix 8. Every signatory agency of the Protocol has agreed to have a consent form, which meets the standards of this exemplar. |
| 12.4 | Consent must be obtained every time an episode of working with the family begins. |
| 12.5 | All young people have the right to know how information about them will be treated and shared. An exemplar leaflet, explaining the ‘permission promise’, is provided at Appendix 9. Every signatory agency of the Protocol has agreed to have a consent form, which meets the standards of this exemplar. It is expected that practitioners will talk through this leaflet with every young person so that the young person understands how information will be used. |
| 12.6 | Any young person aged 16 years or over has the right to give or withhold consent, independent of their parents’ views. Any young person under 16 years of age may wish to give or withhold consent to the sharing of information, independent of and in contradiction of their parents’ views. This wish should be acceded to where the young person is deemed to be of sufficient age and understanding to give informed consent. It is for the practitioner working with the young person to make that judgement, applying the Fraser principles (see Appendix 11) and advice can be sought from the designated officers for that agency. An exemplar young person’s consent form is available at Appendix 10. Every signatory agency of the Protocol has agreed to have a consent form, which meets the standards of this exemplar. |
| 12.7 | Consent must also specify with which agencies information can be shared; it cannot be assumed that a person is willing to share information simply because they have not stated to the contrary. Provision for this is made in the exemplar. |
| 12.8 | Where a parent / young person refuses to give consent to share information with a particular agency, information must not be shared unless one of the following applies:
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| 12.9 | The withholding of consent in itself may on occasion constitute a concern. Practitioners will need to make a judgement as to whether the withholding of consent, coupled with the original concern, increases the level of need/ risk to the extent that the requirement to override consent under the relevant criteria is necessary. It may be necessary to refer to the interagency safeguarding procedures for information on working with resistant families. |
| 12.10 | Every signatory agency to the Coventry Information Sharing Protocol has designated officers with a specific responsibility to give advice and guidance about the operation of the Information Sharing Protocol. Whenever a practitioner is unsure of what steps to take, they should seek advice from the designated officers. |
| 12.11 | The child/young person’s records must always clearly show whether consent has been obtained to share information. A copy of the consent form should be sent to the agency receiving the information so they can confirm the extent of permission. |
| 12.12 | It should be noted that, if agency A obtained consent to share information with agencies B, C and D, it does not follow that agency B has permission to share information with A, C and D. |
13.0 Identifying Unmet Needs
| 13.1 | It is important for planning purposes to identify circumstances where needs have not been met. If in the course of a Common Assessment or Family Support Meeting, after exploring all services available, there are needs which are still not being met the Lead Professional should record unmet need on the assessment form or the action plan and forward this through to the CAF coordinator (see Appendix 7 for details). |
| 13.2 | The CAF co-ordinator will collate this information and this will then be used by the Commissioning Unit for the planning and commissioning of future services. |
List of Appendices
Click on the title to access the appendix:
| Appendix 1 | Model Diagram |
| Appendix 2 | Flow Chart |
| Appendix 3 | Descriptions of need Level 1-4 |
| Appendix 4 | Multi Agency Referral Form |
| Appendix 5 | CAF Guidance Note |
| Appendix 6 | What makes a well completed CAF |
| Appendix 7 | Details of CAF Coordinator |
| Appendix 8 | Exemplar of parental consent form |
| Appendix 9 | Exemplar of permission promise for Children and Young People and Privacy Statement |
| Appendix 10 | Young Person Consent Form |
| Appendix 11 | Fraser Principles |
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