Assignment: Cypw Unit Cyp Core 3.6 (1.1

1.6. Explain the Assessment frameworks that are used in own UK Home Nation

Explain what CAF is CAF is a shared assessment tool for use across all children’s services and all local areas in England. It aims to help early identification of need and promote co-ordinated service provision.
The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is a key component in the Every Child Matters: Change for Children programme. It is an important part of a strategy for helping children and young people to achieve the five priority outcomes of the Every Child Matters agenda. The five outcomes are: Being Healthy Staying Safe Enjoying and achieving Making a positive contribution Achieving Economic well-being

State the age range CAF is used for?
CAF is routinely used in respect of unborn children (from 24 weeks of gestation) up to and including young people of 18 years of age.
If a child or young person has been looked after, that age limit is up to and including young people of 20 years of age.
If the young person has a learning difficulty or disability, the age limit is up to and including
Young people 24 years of age.

Explain why a CAF may be put in place
Children, young people and families experience a range of needs at different times in their lives some of them also have additional needs which may relate to their development, education, health, social welfare or other areas. These needs will in many cases be cross-cutting and might be associated with:
• disruptive or anti-social behaviour
• overt parental conflict or lack of parental support/boundaries
• involvement in, or risk of, offending
• Poor attendance or exclusion from school
• Experiencing bullying
• Special educational needs
• Disabilities
• Disengagement from education, training or employment post-16
• Poor nutrition or inadequate clothing
• ill health
• Substance misuse
• Anxiety or depression
• Experiencing domestic violence
• Housing issues
• Teenage pregnancy and parenthood (including the risk of pregnancy and early parenthood, as well as actual pregnancies and parenthood among young people)
• Young carers who exhibit additional needs which are as a direct result of their caring Responsibilities, e.g. truancy/lateness, ill health, housing issues

Explain the people who CAF is intended to be used on?
The CAF is used to support children, young people and parents/carers who have additional needs, usually involving more than one service. These are children and young people who, according to the practitioners involved, are likely to require extra support to help them achieve positive outcomes.

Explain whose consent is required before doing a CAF
Children and young people are entitled to be involved and consulted about issues that concern them. From around the age of 12 there is a presumption that it is their agreement that is necessary for a CAF to be completed.
CAF is always a voluntary process and it is completed collaboratively with the subject of the CAF and/or their parents/carers, and involves their informed consent.
Although children at pre-school and primary school age should be involved in the plans made for them, and able to express their opinions, they are not deemed capable of giving or withholding consent. The Common Assessment will be completed by their parent or carer, but the child will need to know why this is happening, who is involved in the Team around the Child, what they hoped for outcomes are and how they will know that they have been achieved. They need to understand that this is not a punitive process, it is supportive and its purpose is to make sure that things go better in the future.

Identify who can ask for a CAF to be undertaken
The CAF process can be undertaken by anyone who works with the child or young person (paid or voluntary).
It can only be completed if a child, young person and/or their parents/carers give consent.

State the four steps to the CAF process
There are four main stages in completing a common assessment:

Identify needs early and seek consent
Assessing those needs
Delivering integrated services
Reviewing progress

Identify what the pre-assessment checklist is
The pre-assessment CAF form can be used by practitioners to help them decide whether a full-needs assessment is necessary. It should be used when a
• practitioner is worried about how well a child or young person is progressing (e.g. concerns about their health, development, welfare, behavior, progress in learning or any other aspect of their wellbeing)
• child or young person, or their parent/carer, raises a concern with a practitioner
• Child’s or young person's needs are unclear or broader than the practitioner's service can address.
From this first assessment, a decision can be made by the practitioner as to what is then required. It is a professional decision made by the practitioner, for example, whether or not to refer straight to safeguarding or a specialist assessment or whether to action a holistic assessment (the CAF).

Explain whether a CAF should be used if you are concerned a child may be at risk
Or suffering harm
The CAF is not for a child or young person about whom you have concerns that they might be suffering, or may be at risk of suffering, harm. In such instances, you should follow your Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) safeguarding procedures without delay

Explain how CAF relates to multi-agency working
The Children’s Workforce Development Council has produced a booklet about CAF’s and summarises multi agency working.
Multi-agency working brings together practitioners from different sectors and professions, to provide an integrated way of working to support children, young people and families.
It is a way of ensuring that children and young people who need additional support have exactly the right professionals around them.
If a child needs support from a speech therapist, a social worker, teachers and health workers, then a team of those professionals will be set up (with consent of the child, young person and family) and will work together to improve their lives.

In some circumstances, the multi-agency team works together under one roof, in other cases they may operate virtually. In all groups, the practitioners will meet regularly to discuss the needs of the child or young person, to plan and deliver coordinated and targeted interventions. Multi-agency working could involve anyone whose job or voluntary work puts them in contact with children, young people and their families. It is likely to include people from professional backgrounds including social work, health, education, early years, youth work, and police and youth justice.
It may also involve people from the third or private sectors.

References

“Croydon .gov.uk” http://www.croydon.gov.uk/contents/departments/healthsocial/pdf/caf-faqs1.pdf [Accessed 15th May 2012]

“Bradford children and young people’s partnership” http://www.bradford.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/07690AD8-A56A-46E1-B15B-BE7346476DF2/0/AgeRangeforCAFsNov09.pdf [Accessed 15th May 2012]

“Talking point” http://www.talkingpoint.org.uk/en/SLTs/Themes/Educational%20contexts/The%20Common%20Assessment%20Framework.aspx [Accessed 23rd May 2012]

“Children’s Workforce Development Council” http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120119192332/http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/assets/0000/9012/MAW_booklet_March_2010.pdf [Accessed 23rd May 2012]