CYP 3.2

) Multi agency working helps to protect children and young people from harm. It is important to work with other agencies such as Health Visitors, Social Workers, Speech Therapists and Teachers to ensure that all needs of a child are met. Childminders work within the Every Child Matters Framework which states that a child should be healthy, safe, enjoy & achieve, make a positive contribution and achieve economic well-being. The EYFS says that all professionals must work together for the best outcomes for the child. If a Childminder realises that the child’s speech and language is delayed they may be referred to a Speech Therapist who will then work together with the Childminder and parents to help the child. The EYFS states the every child is unique and as such should be able to access all areas of the curriculum of the setting they are in, they should be made to feel welcome and accepted into the setting. An example of how important multi agency working is, would be the death of Victoria Climbe, it prompted a large and thorough review of child protection services which highlighted the importance of multi agency working and information sharing. Victoria Climbe was an eight year old girl who suffered child abuse which led to her death in year 2000, Victoria was tortured, starved, had cigarette burns, repeated beatings with bike chains and belt buckles and had hammer blows on her toes. She had 128 separate injuries to her body when she died. Many services were involved in her case such as social workers, child protection officers, police, doctors and nurses. Through lack of communication and people not doing their job properly services missed the chance to intervene.

1.2) Integrated working practices and multi agency working in partnership help deliver better outcomes for young people because vital information is communicated and shared between the two to make sure all information needed is gathered in the appropriate way. Through communication information is exchanged and then the information is used to help young people and children. Both the children and their parents can be involved in any plans to ensure that a child can achieve their potential. If the outcomes for any child are to be positive it is important that all adults involved understand what information can be shared and the importance of confidentiality.

1.3) There are many external agencies available to early year’s settings. Such as OFSTED, who inspect provision of care in the setting. They ensure all of the staff are up to date on training, that the setting is providing a healthy and safe environment for children and following the EYFS. Ofsted provide support and advice for staff and the setting itself. The Police, In cases of emergency the police will provide help and support. They will be contacted if a problem arose such as child missing, breaking an entry, suspicious persons and they may also be a contacted if there is a suspected case of abuse or violence. The NHS & Health Services Provide up to date information about any illnesses and medical outbreaks such as measles etc. They are also there for information, help and support. And Health Care Professionals, if a child has a developmental need, we would work with a range of health professionals such as speech and language therapists. Their function is to provide information and advice using different methods to help the child overcome or improve a difficulty.

1.4) Common barriers in integrated and multi-agency working are poor communication or a lack of communication, misunderstanding of situations, inconsistent or inaccurate record keeping and also not following policies or procedures. Barriers like these can stop people from effectively communicating with one another, which can then cause distress and also could lead to a harmful situation. The ways in which a lack of communication can cause problems can be seen in the case of Victoria Climbie.

1.5) It’s important that referrals are made in order for the child to get the best possible outcomes and by practitioners doing observations and recording evidence this is made possible for the child to be referred to the right professional, for example; a child with hearing difficulties may need to be referred to a support service for deaf children or children who have impaired hearing. It’s important to identify the need for additional support as early as possible without it the children will not get the help they need at the right time and this could have an effect on the child’s well being. It is also important to have the parents' permission for any child to be referred and to keep them well informed.

1.6) The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is a shared assessment and planning framework for use across all children’s services and all local areas in England. It aims to help the early identification of children’s additional needs and promote co-ordinated service provision to meet them.