2.1.1 Team Around the Child |
AMENDMENTS:
Section 15 Young London Matters: Mobility and Young London CAF Protocol Documents were added to this chapter in October 2009
Contents
1. What is the TAC?
Team Around the Child (TAC) is one of the most exciting initiatives to be launched in Lambeth. It is part of the strategy for integrated service delivery to improve outcomes for children and young people within the borough.
TAC is a new approach to delivering services which formalises existing examples of good practice in the Borough. TAC will enable multi-agency working between groups of practitioners who would not directly work with each other, but are brought together to provide a holistic package of integrated support to those who need it. This approach, therefore, means that the make up of practitioners supporting each child or young person will be different, as will the organisations they represent, be that Council, Health, Voluntary or Community based. TAC is flexible so that as a child or young person's needs change so to does the team around that child.
There is a strong business case which sets out the rationale for implementing the TAC approach and the points formulating this are as follows:
1. Enable all children to achieve our vision
Lambeth's vision for services to children, young people and their families ' states:
"We will enable children and young people to feel valued, happy, healthy and safe and to achieve their full potential. We will achieve this by:
- Ensuring effective and integrated services
- We will promote partnership working
- Encouraging the full involvement of users by focusing on their needs".
TAC will achieve this by aligning all resources and services currently being provided to contribute to preventative work, enabling children and young people with additional needs to be supported in a holistic way by multi-agency teams. TAC will be highly dependant on effective partnership working practices to achieve its aims.
2. To support the shift from specialist to preventative services and early identification of need.
TAC aims to provide more effective preventative services and earlier intervention through identifying and addressing additional needs before they become more long-term complex difficulties. The majority of children and young people supported by the Children and Young People's Strategic Partnership (CYPSP) are in universal settings where their needs are well served. Children and young people with complex needs (i.e. Looked After Children, Children With Disabilities, Statemented pupils with SEN, children on the Child Protection Register) are supported by specific ring-fenced resources. There is currently, however, a paucity of resources allocated to those children and young people with additional needs who require preventative services, as shown in the below diagram:
Serving children well: a new vision for children's services London: LGA publications 2002
It is estimated that approximately 33% of Lambeth children and young people will have an additional need at some point in their childhood, requiring extra support from education, health, social care and other services. The TAC approach should see resources distributed more evenly across the continuum of need with preventative and targeted support meeting additional needs earlier and significantly reducing the chances of specialist services referrals. This change should see a shift in resources towards the centre of the diagram as services become more preventative in nature.
3. To meet Lambeth's statutory requirements
The Children and Young Peoples amended Regulations 2007, place a duty on local authorities to provide a statement of how they intend to deliver improvements for children, young people and their families across the five Every Child Matters outcomes with specific reference to the following:
- the integration of services provided by the authority and its relevant partners to improve the well-being of children and relevant young persons;
- arrangements made under Section 11 (2) of the Children Act 2004 (arrangements to safeguard and promote welfare)
- arrangement for early intervention and preventative action
In addition, the TAC will enable the CYPSP to meet its statutory requirement to have Children Trust arrangements in place as stipulated by DCSF National Change Agenda: Every Child Matters. The TAC will achieve this through having joint commissioning arrangements, integrated service delivery supported by integrated systems and processes: all of which characterise Children Trust arrangements.
4. Improve outcomes for children and young people
The TAC approach will lead to improved outcomes for children and young people. Evaluations and case studies in beacon and pathfinder authorities have established the following benefits from moving to a TAC approach:
- Very high take-up levels for pre-school education
- Lower teenage pregnancy rates
- Low numbers of Anti Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) as well as substantial reduction in re-offending rates by young offenders
- Primary and secondary school attendance higher than national average
- Truancy reduction targets exceeded
- Substantial reductions in permanent exclusions
- Significant improvements in all KS2, GCSE and A-level results
- Positive outcomes for Looked After Children (LAC) in economic well-being
- Higher proportion of black and ethnic minorities entering post-16 education
- Significant improvements in preparation of statements of Special Educational Needs (SEN)
- Improvements on all key measures for Child Protection Referral cases
The need to adopt more integration of services is part of a nationwide initiative. The Every Child Matters Change for Children Agenda and Children Act 2004 provides the framework within which to achieve this (see Department for Education website for more details).
This guidance document explains the TAC approach in more detail. It is designed to guide the practitioner through the various processes that support the TAC.
This document should be seen as a supplement to and not a substitute for the main DCSF guidance around CAF, Lead Professional and Information Sharing. Practitioners are therefore asked to consult these DfE documents on a regular basis to inform their practice.
2. Structures and Processes to Support the TAC in Lambeth
The TAC approach can be broken down into many constituent parts, each playing a vital role in ensuring the system functions smoothly overall. These functions can be divided into two types: TAC Enablers (those functions which assist in the practical application of the TAC approach) and; TAC management (which organise and manage TAC service delivery). The below diagram shows these functions:
Click here to view Team Around the Child Management diagram
Planning areas
To assist in the implementation of TAC, service delivery has resulted in services being aligned across 3 planning areas which are coterminous with the PCT boundaries in Lambeth. These are North, South East and South West localities.
Please see the diagram below.
TAC Planning Areas
Click here to view Team Around the Child Planning Areas Map
Area Teams
Each locality area has the following:
- TAC Area Manager
The role of the TAC Area Manager is to oversee and manage the implementation of TAC service delivery within their locality. They are responsible for the quality of service delivery and multi-agency working within their locality area. Tasks include: deploying and matrix managing a multi-disciplinary core staff team drawn from the Local Authority, PCT and Voluntary and Community sectors; monitoring service provision and areas of unmet need; commissioning resources to meet local need; resolving TAC and CAF difficulties; promoting and supporting the use of New Ways of Working (NWW). - Area Support Officer
The main role of the Area Support officer is to provide administrative support to the TAC Area Managers. In addition they will: ensure activity across an agreed locality is co-ordinated in an efficient and effective manner; assist in the collation of CAF statistical data and maintenance of a centralised CAF database; maintain a database of TAC friendly zones and offices; assist in the quality assurance of completed CAFs. - Children's Services Manager (CSM) - Primary Care Trust
CSMs are responsible for managing and coordinating the delivery of Health Visiting and School Nursing services within each locality area. This equates to ante-natal and post- natal support services and Health Visitor checks for each child up to the age of five; immunisation, obesity and dental checks for all children attending school. - Early Years Coordinator (EYC)
EYCs have an overview of early years provision in their locality. Key elements of the role include: coordination of early years work; development of Children's Centres; assessing and meeting need for childcare and family support services; monitoring and evaluating Early Years provision and; developing participatory structures involving key stakeholders. - Extended Schools Area Coordinator (ESAC)
ESACs lead and manage the extended schools agenda in their locality. ESACs work with groups of schools to help them deliver extended services beyond the core offer. This means assisting in putting together multi-agency programmes to provide services to children and families in the community of each school including: childcare; health and social care services; lifelong learning; family learning; parenting support; study support; sports and arts; and ICT. - Core Staff
Core staff are individuals drawn from a range of preventative services who provide a direct service to children and their families. They are directly allocated to locality teams and are jointly managed by the TAC Area Manager and their immediate line manager within their employing agency. These staff members will spend an agreed proportion of their time on TAC activities. Core staff will be drawn from a range of different service areas, for example: Attendance Officers; Speech And Language Therapists; School Nurses; CAMHS; Health Visitors; Connexions Personal Advisers; Youth Service Officers; Educational Psychologists; Voluntary and Community Sector practitioners etc. An additional resource of Family Support Workers will be attached to each locality to provide more capacity to support the TAC approach in its delivery of preventative interventions. - Aligned staff
Aligned staff are individuals from a range of universal and targeted services who deliver their employing agency's core business and in doing so provide support to locality teams. All aligned staff are assigned to locality areas. A Service Level Agreement will be in place with all agencies providing aligned staff. Examples of aligned staff might include: School Improvement Advisers; Childcare Development Officers; Children's Information Service Officers; Health Specialist staff etc. - Specialist staff
Specialist staff are individuals who provide services which can only be accessed through a statutory process or referred to a hospital or specialist team. Specialist staff are directly allocated to locality areas. Examples of specialist staff include, Referral and Assessment social workers, Youth Offending Team (YOT) Officers, Looked After Children (LAC) Social workers, Tier 3 and 4 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service workers (CAMHS) etc.
Lambeth Contact Point Officer
This post provides a centrally managed information-sharing function. For the TAC approach to be effective it is essential that practitioners are able to quickly establish whether a CAF has already been completed and/or the contact details for other practitioners involved with the child/family. See the Lambeth TAC website on the intranet for further developments on this service http://intranet.lambeth.gov.uk/OurCouncil/ChildrenYoungPeopleServices/
ChangeManagement/TAC/
Matrix Management
The matrix management framework provides guidance as to how core staff will be jointly managed by their line manager within their employing agency and the TAC Area Manager. It is expected that the TAC Area Manager will be responsible for managing some areas of TAC-related work activity. A joint protocol detailing the precise mechanics of how this arrangement will work will be agreed and in place before the framework is implemented.
New Ways of Working (NWW)
The NWW policy allows for the ability to work flexibly, not limited by location and access, so that practitioners can better identify and swiftly respond to identified need. The policy sets out the arrangements for staff that need to change their access to the remote working standards and who require remote access to Council systems. In practice this will enable practitioners to deliver services from a range of different locations within the borough.
TAC-Friendly Sites
These are designated sites within the borough designed to allow for New Ways of Working and/or delivery of TAC services (i.e. hot desking facilities and/or meeting rooms). TAC friendly sites will be suitably branded as such and will be available from a range of different establishments within the locality, including schools, health centres, voluntary organisations, GP practices etc. As the TAC develops more sites will be added to this list.
Area Based Commissioning
Each locality area will build up a picture of need in their area through monitoring unmet needs, and mapping analysis of demographic and service delivery data. This information will be used to inform strategic commissioning activities to ensure that services provided and commissioned are matched to identified need. This information will be gathered through the collation of information filled out on a CAF return form and a CAF closing notice. All practitioners undertaking CAF activities will be required to fill in these forms and return to their TAC Area managers. More detail about this process is given on pages 19-26 of this guide.
Governance
The CYPSP Children's Trust Board has reviewed and streamlined its governance arrangements to ensure that it is fit for purpose. As can be seen in the diagram, accountability for the delivery of TAC services lies with the 'Integration of Service Delivery' sub-group of the CYPSP Executive group. This group is overseen by the Children's Trust Board which in turn sits below the Local Strategic Partnership.
Locality management groups will be set up in each of the three locality areas to oversee the development and implementation of the TAC approach and integration of children's services. Membership will comprise service managers of the key children's service providers in the locality area.
3. Information Sharing
In order for agencies to plan and provide services in a coordinated way, they are frequently required to share personal information about children and young people across professional and geographical boundaries. Sharing information is vital for early intervention to ensure that children and young people get the services they require. This will include the need to share personal or sensitive personal data.
Care however does need to be taken by any agency or practitioner when sharing personal information to ensure that it is done in a way that complies with the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA), the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) and the Common Law Duty of Confidentiality. If relevant consent is obtained, it may be shared.
DPA 1998 The DPA says that data must be processed (handled in other words) in accordance with eight key principles |
HRA 1998 Article 8 of the convention says that we all have a right to respect for our private life |
Common Law Duty of Confidentiality The duty is there to protect relationships of trust e.g. between doctor and patient, social worker and client |
Even without consent it is still appropriate to share information without breaching the Data Protection Act provided that it is necessary to do so to carry out statutory functions. The following are some examples of legislation which contains express powers or imply powers to share (there are other exemptions as well):
Children Act 2004 - Every Child Matters: Change For Children. The Act imposes a specific duty to co-operate to improve children's well being (s.10) and implies a duty to share information for strategic planning, and to put in place arrangements to facilitate sharing information about individual children to improve their well being. Section 11 of the Act also contains a duty to safeguard and promote the well-being of children (also included in the Education Act 2002).
Children Act 1989 - Ensuring the provision of appropriate services for children in need or likely to be at risk of significant harm (s17, 27 and 47)
Crime and Disorder Act 1989 - the prevention or reduction of crime and identification and apprehension of offenders or suspected offenders (s.115)
Local Government Act 2000 - promoting the economic, social or environmental well being of children and families in the local authority area. This includes the elimination or reduction of risk factors within the county (s.2)
Practical examples of instances where consent to share information is NOT needed are where to do so would:
- Place a child at increased risk of significant harm
- Place an adult at risk of serious harm
- Prejudice the prevention or detection of a serious crime
- Lead to unjustified delays in making enquires about allegations of significant harm
- There is a statutory duty or court order to share information (these situations are relatively unusual and where they apply you will know or be told about them)
Lambeth Overarching Information Sharing Protocol
Arrangements for the sharing of information has been formalised in the shape of the Lambeth overarching information sharing protocol which has been signed by Chief Executive Officers of the main local organisations in the borough. This will be further supported by the completion of Purpose Specific Information Sharing Agreements (PSISA) with relevant agencies participating in TAC service delivery. Currently there is a PSISA in place relating to teenage pregnancy and one under development for immunisations.
6 Key Steps to Information Sharing
- Always explain to children, young people and families at the outset, openly and honestly, what and how information will, or could be shared and why, and seek their agreement. The exception to this is where to do so would put that child or others at increased risk of significant harm or an adult at risk of serious harm, or if it would undermine the prevention, detection or prosecution of a serious crime including where seeking consent might lead to interference with any potential investigation.
- Always consider the safety and welfare of a child when making decisions on whether to share information about them. Where there is concern that the child may be suffering or is at risk of suffering significant harm, the child's safety and welfare must be the overriding consideration.
- Where possible, respect the wishes of children, young people or families who do not consent to share confidential information. You may still share information, if in your judgement on the facts of the case there is sufficient need to override that lack of consent.
- Seek advice where you are in doubt, especially where your doubt relates to a concern about possible significant harm to a child or serious harm to others.
- Always ensure that the information you share is accurate and up-to-date, necessary for the purpose for which you are sharing it, shared only with those people who need to see it, and shared securely.
- Always record the reasons for your decision - whether it is to share information or not.
C.O.B.R.A. - a practical approach to information- sharing CONSULT FOR CONSENT from the OWNER BALANCE the facts in light of the law RECORD your decisions ALLOW only the correct amount of up-to-date information to go to the right person |
Please see diagram below which illustrates the key principles for information sharing.
Please refer to pages 13-19 of the Information sharing: Practitioners guide for a step-by-step explanation of each of the key stages of the diagram.
Click here to view Key Principles of Information Sharing Flowchart
DCFS Information Sharing: Practitioners' Guide 2006
4. Definition of a Child With Additional Needs
5 ECM outcomes
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As mentioned earlier, the majority of young people supported by the Children and Young People Strategic Partnership (CYPSP) are in universal settings where their needs are well served. Some children and young people, however, are at risk of poor outcomes i.e. will fail to achieve any one of the 5 ECM outcomes:
These are children with additional needs and are the group of children who would benefit from CAF assessment and integration of service delivery to meet their needs. This group equates to approximately 33% of all children and young people within the borough.
Some examples, of circumstances where a child might have additional needs are:
- Where there are concerns regarding care issues that do not warrant the involvement of a specialist social worker
- Pupils who have been identified as having special educational needs not supported by a Statement and the family require support to address those needs
- Children living in chaotic households where support is required to enable access to other services
- Children who have one or more parent(s) with mental health difficulties (e.g. depression)
- Children who are on the waiting list for access to specialist services
- Children who are not attending school regularly and/or are at risk of exclusion
Additional Need Preventative Panels
There may well be existing structures within agencies which assist in identifying and prioritising children with additional needs for CAF case work allocation. Other agencies, on the other hand, may not have such systems in place. The TAC Area Managers will be available to assist these agencies in setting up and running such panels. This may be particularly applicable to some schools that are at the early stages of undertaking CAF assessments.
5. What is a CAF?
The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is a central enabling tool which is essential to facilitating the TAC approach. It is a standardised approach to conducting an assessment of a child's additional needs and deciding how those needs should be met. The CAF is designed to be used by all those working and delivering services to children and their families across England so they can communicate and work together more effectively. All Local Authorities will be using this framework by December 2008 and will be set targets to demonstrate that this is happening. The CAF is led by a Lead Professional whose role it is to coordinate the input from other agencies and to be the main contact for the family.
The CAF as part of a continuum
Click here to view Common Assessment Framework as part of a continuum diagram
The CAF is designed to be useable as a stand alone assessment and will act as a referral mechanism to support and inform specialist referrals in Lambeth.
The CAF will not replace specialist assessments such as the framework for Children In Need and their families (social care assessment), the SEN Code of practice assessments, or assessments that measure the risk of offending.
Where there are immediate safeguarding concerns, a telephone referral should be made to Referral and Assessment. This should then be followed up with a CAF Form (therefore replacing the multi-agency referral form).
Please see the National CAF guidance and resources.
When to Complete a Common Assessment ...
- A child has been identified as having an additional need and there is a requirement to better understand those needs and what the appropriate response should be
- A child is not making progress that would normally be expected in terms of physical, emotional, behavioural and intellectual development
- The child is likely to need the support of another practitioner or agency
- A CAF has been requested by the child/family or another practitioner and there is potential additional need
When Not to Complete a Common Assessment ...
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| These children will already be in receipt of statutory/specialist services and have an allocated keyworker/lead professional who will be coordinating multi-agency intervention. | |
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6. Process for Completing a CAF
The following sections explain the stages involved in completing a CAF. The flowcharts are divided up into the three stages (the ABC of CAF completion).
A = Preparation and checks B = Assessing need C = Delivering services
STAGE A: Preparation and Checks
Click here to view Stage A flowchart
TIMESCALES The CAF should be initiated and completed within 10 working days of receiving consent from the child/family |
STAGE A: Preparation and Checks - Notes to Accompany Flowchart
| 1. | The starting point before undertaking any CAF process is to talk to the child/family concerning any potential additional need identified. At this point it would be useful to explain the CAF process to the child/family (if they have not come across it before) and decide together whether this would be a useful way to proceed. The CAF pre-assessment checklist can support professional judgement in making this decision and may be especially useful for those who have less experience in conducting assessments. Explicit consent to seek and share information should be sought at this stage (this should preferably be in writing). |
| 2. | If consent is given, the practitioner should then contact the Lambeth ContactPoint Officer to check whether a Lead Professional (LP) or statutory/specialist keyworker is already allocated or whether there is a CAF already in existence (see Lambeth ContactPoint guidance for more details about this service and how to access it).
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| 3. | Should a child/family refuse to give consent, then the limitations to service delivery should be explained to them. This does not necessarily mean that your own service should be withdrawn. The child/family should continue to be worked with according to your own agency's service criteria. The practitioner should continually seek to encourage the child/family to give their consent throughout the time they are working with them. It is important to still consider whether there are any child protection risk factors present which would necessitate initiation of local safeguarding procedures |
STAGE B: Assessing Need
Click here to view Stage B Flowchart
SAFEGUARDING Where there are immediate safeguarding concerns, a telephone referral should be made to Access and Assessment in the first instance. This should be followed up with a CAF (therefore replacing the multi-agency referral form). |
TIMESCALES A CAF meeting should be convened within 10 working days of CAF completion |
STAGE B: Assessing Need - Notes to Accompany Flowchart
| 4. | The CAF assessment should be undertaken in a child centred way, for example:
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Remember Apart from a pre-natal assessment, it is not possible to do a CAF without seeing or involving the child/young person Consider areas of strength within the child/family and/or their wider support network to address potential areas of need. |
The CAF can be completed as part of a general discussion with the child/family with all parties working together to understand the issues and develop solutions. You will need to make sure the child/family understand what information you are recording and what is going to happen to it. The CAF is a way of recording your discussion with the child/family and other knowledge and observations. Care should be taken to distinguish between fact and opinion and to use language which will be easily understandable to other practitioners. A copy of the CAF should be given to the parent/carer. It may also be appropriate to provide a copy to a child but caution should be exercised unless it is clear that the child is able to store the assessment safely. The results of all CAFs should be recorded on the standard CAF form as a Microsoft word document. When starting a new CAF, the number "1 "should be inserted into the version number box on the CAF form. As CAFs are updated the version numbers should be increased accordingly (2, 3, 4 etc.). Each agency should establish exactly how they will store completed CAFs. This may include storage in secure filing or as part of agency case-working records. |
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Remember
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| 5. | If the outcome of a CAF reveals that a multi-agency response is required. Identify relevant agencies using the Young Lambeth directory (Young Lambeth website). Liaise and refer to relevant agencies using the CAF either as a referral form or as a supplement to an agency specific referral form. These discussions should end in a broad agreement on areas of identified need and a commitment to attend a TAC meeting. Practitioners should aim to convene a TAC meeting within 10 working days. |
| 6. | A TAC meeting is convened. If not already decided, a Lead Professional should be determined at this meeting. The TAC team should agree on which services are to be provided. See following sections for more information on the TAC meeting and Role of Lead Professional. |
| On-line versions of the CAF training can be downloaded from: http://intranet.lambeth.gov.uk/OurCouncil/ChildrenYoungPeopleServices/ ChangeManagement/ TAC/ |
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Stage C: Delivering Services
Click here to view Stage C Flowchart
Stage C: Delivering Services - Notes to Accompany Flowchart
| 7. | The Lead Professional is responsible for the completion of the CAF Action plan. This identifies actions required, who will deliver them and the timescales involved. It is important to set regular review dates. |
| 8. | The Lead Professional and the TAC then continue to deliver services until the additional need is met, incorporating agreed TAC review meeting dates along the way. For each subsequent TAC review meeting the child/family's action plan may change in content and/or priority of actions. It is important that a record of these meetings are kept. This can be done using the TAC review form. These forms are purely for the use of the Lead Professional and TAC team members. There is no need to send them to the Area Manager although they may be requested by the Area Manager if needed at any point in future. |
| 9. | Where the TAC team concludes that despite significant intervention, the identified additional needs have not been met, the case may be referred to the Access to Specialist Services Panel. It is important that the TAC team consider how best to support the child/family throughout the ASSP referral process. Please note in the absence of the ASSP being fully functional at the time of reading this document please refer directly to the specialist service instead. |
| 10. | The TAC team will continue to support the child/family until the ASSP referral has been formally accepted. See separate guidance on the ASSP for more information. |
7. The Role of Lead Professional
A Lead Professional is someone who takes the lead in co-ordinating TAC provision when a range of services are involved with a child/family and an integrated response is required. The Lead Professional has a significant role to play in ensuring that team working is: encouraging, positive and supportive to all members; gives all members a voice; arrives at a collective agreement; acknowledges differences of views and; negotiates workable solutions.
Functions
In delivering this function the Lead Professional:
- Acts as a single point of contact for the child/family, and is able to support them in making choices and navigating their way through the TAC process
- Aims to ensure that the child/family get appropriate interventions when needed which are well planned and co-ordinated, regularly reviewed and effectively delivered
- Reduces overlap and inconsistency in the services received
Duties Include:
- Chairing TAC meetings
- Completing and distributing copies of the TAC action plan and review forms
- Reviewing and tracking outcomes for the child/young person
- Generally supporting the family through the TAC process
Selecting a Lead Professional
There is a range of criteria that can help inform the identification of the Lead Professional. For example:
- the predominant needs of the child or family
- the wishes of the child or family
- a previous or potential ongoing relationship with the child
- the knowledge, skills, ability and capacity of the practitioners involved
Depending on circumstances, the Lead Professional can be appointed either at the beginning of the TAC process or at a later stage. If it is not clear who should be the Lead Professional, the practitioner completing the CAF should fulfil this role until a decision is made at a subsequent TAC meeting.
Accountability
Each Lead Professional is accountable to their employing agency for the delivery of their part of the action plan and in providing the Lead Professional functions. The Lead Professional will be responsible for gathering practitioners together to plan deliver and review services. They are NOT responsible, however, for the actual delivery of services by other agencies. It will remain the responsibility of practitioners involved to deliver on their part of the agreed action plan.
The Lead Professional is NOT Responsible or Accountable for the Services Delivered by Other Agencies
Lead Professionals are accountable to their own employing agency in the first instance. The employing agency is accountable to the Lambeth Children and Young Peoples Strategic Partnership (Children's Trust Board).
8. TAC Meetings
Always discuss the meeting with the child/family and ensure that they are prepared in advance and understand the purpose of the meeting and who will be attending. Some children/families may need support to participate fully in the TAC process, in these cases it may be helpful to suggest that they complete a written response which can then be used to feed into TAC meetings. The child/family should also be encouraged to have another family member/advocate present if they so wish.
Make sure that the venue and any reading materials meets individual needs. Language issues should also be considered and interpreters arranged where necessary.
Click here to view TAC Meeting Model Cycle diagram
TAC Agenda
Set and circulate an agenda beforehand
An example of a draft standardised agenda could include:
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Timelines
TAC meetings should be held within ten working days of completing a CAF.
The second TAC meeting should be held approximately one month after the first. After this they should be set at intervals appropriate to the child's/family's needs but not less than 3 monthly intervals. The review dates should be recorded on the plan and agreed at each TAC meeting.
TAC Recording
The Lead Professional should complete the TAC review form to record details of the meeting and to update the child/families action plan. The review form should be attached to the CAF form and circulated to all members of the TAC team.
9. Forms - Who to Send them to and When
CAF return form - this is to be completed at the point of initiating a CAF and updated once a Lead Professional is allocated or if a LP changes
CAF closing notice - to be completed once a CAF has been closed
TAC review form - To be completed by the Lead Professional at each TAC review meeting
ASSP referral form - to be completed when practitioners or a TAC wish to make a referral to specialist services (to be devised)
10. Access to Specialist Services Panel (ASSP)
There will be a single ASSP which will assess applications for access to specialist resources. The entry point to this panel will be through a completed CAF.
If at the time of reading the ASSP panel is not in operation, referrals should be made directly to specialist services using the CAF form as a referral. In the majority of cases, there will need to be evidence that TAC intervention has been delivered prior to referral.
Practitioners will be kept fully informed of ASSP panel developments by their service managers/TAC Area Manager.
11. What to do if There is a Problem - FAQS
I am unsure whether to complete a CAF
Talk to other relevant practitioners (without identifying family if consent is not given) and colleagues, line manager, child/family to help you arrive at your decision. Complete the pre-assessment checklist to aid in your decision-making.
A child/family refuses a CAF but clearly has additional needs
Should a child/ family refuse to give consent, this does not mean that the original practitioner should withdraw their services. All attempts should be made to clearly explain the CAF and information-sharing process. The limitations in making referrals to other agencies should be explained to the child/family.
I am having difficulty in convening TAC meetings
If it is difficult to secure attendance at TAC meetings this is a matter for Line managers to resolve in the first instance. Line managers from both/all agencies concerned should liaise directly with each other to find an appropriate solution.
We can't decide who is to be the Lead Professional
Use the checklist for selecting the Lead Professional and use this to inform discussions at the TAC meeting. If issues remain unresolved, speak to your line manager to try to find a way forward. Speak to your Area Manager if needed.
There are no services to fulfil the needs I have identified
Unmet needs should be recorded on the CAF Closing Notice and sent to the Area Manager. It is crucial that this information is fed back to the Area Manager who has responsibility for informing the commissioning strategy in their particular locality area. The more evidence obtained regarding gaps in services or unmet need, the better informed commissioning decisions will be.
There are differences of opinion in multi-agency working
There may be times when it is not possible to agree the plan for a child/family because of differences in opinion in respect of the analysis of additional needs, resource allocation from a particular agency or agreeing action plans.
In the first instance cases will be referred to managers within the relevant agencies. It is important that this particular type of problem is quickly identified and resolved as this can impact on the level/quality of services received by the child/family. The Area Manager can provide additional support if required.
How do I refer to specialist services?
A CAF would need to be completed for the child/family. In instances where there is a clear need for specialist intervention the referral should be made direct to the specialist agency concerned (unless the ASSP is fully operational). Specialist agency referrals should in most cases evidence that TAC services have been delivered prior to referral.
Note: Where there are immediate safeguarding concerns, a telephone referral should be made to Access and Assessment in the first instance. This should be followed up with a CAF.
Practitioners are not carrying out their agreed agency intervention
The Lead Professional should first try discussing this with the practitioner concerned to ascertain the reasons for this and to try to find a way forward. The relevant line managers should become involved if the situation continues and the Area Manager involved if this still remains unresolved.
Allocation of resources from a particular agency is not agreed by that agency
The Area Manager would need to be kept informed of all instances where resource allocation remains an issue.
12. Training and Development
CAF and Lead Professional training (1.5 day course) and Information sharing (1/2 day course)
The above two courses represent the basic CAF induction training. It is important that practitioners who are expected to use the CAF are well trained to do so. Lambeth along with its partners including the Primary Care Trust (PCT), South London and Maudsley NHS Trust (SLAM), Guys and St Thomas' NHS Trust and Kings College Hospital, are running a rolling programme of the above training events within the borough to ensure as many people as possible can attend.
The outcome of the training will allow practitioners to understand the key issues around information sharing, confidentiality and consent. The training will also give practitioners the confidence to conduct CAF assessments and to conduct the role of Lead Professional.
Working with Parents
This course is open to all practitioners working with families. The course will provide effective strategies and interventions to support practitioners in their work with parents, covering information regarding basic parenting techniques to empowering/encouraging parents to access services.
New Ways of Working (NWW)
This course is designed for London Borough of Lambeth employees only. It is designed to introduce the NWW model to practitioners. The course covers details of Lambeth's flexible working policies, the application process for NWW and some basic IT training on remotely accessing computer networks.
TAC Practitioner's Forum
TAC practitioner forums are locality based and provide practitioners with opportunities to network, share good practice and discuss their experiences of CAF and TAC working. It is a useful forum for practitioners to meet with Area Managers, receive information and feedback their views and experiences of TAC.
TAC Induction
These events provide an opportunity for practitioners to: familiarise themselves with Team Around the Child; receive an information pack; ask questions; discuss the New Ways of Working; book training and meet colleagues/practitioners working in the same locality.
TAC Mobilisation Updates
These events will be open to practitioners across the whole borough and will provide important feedback on the development of the TAC in Lambeth and strategic direction.
More Courses... It is envisaged that additional courses will become available to support practitioners in their work. You will be kept informed of any new courses through your Service Manager/TAC Area Manager |
13. Contact Details
| TAC Programme Manager |
| International House, Canterbury Crescent, Brixton, SW9 7QE Sandra Morrison Tel: 020 7926 9952 |
| TAC - North Locality |
| 110 Union Road, London SW8
Nandita Sirker TAC Area Manager Tel: 020 7926 5710 Isabella Cairney TAC Area Support Officer Tel: 020 7926 9022 |
| South West Locality |
| 2-8 Gracefield Gardens, London SW16 2SZ
Geraldine Abrahams TAC Area Manager Tel: 020 7926 5724/020 3049 5016 Saffron Golding TAC Area Support Officer Tel: 020 7926 5709/020 3049 4937 |
| South East Locality |
| International House, Canterbury Crescent, Brixton, SW9 7QE Heather Swaby TAC Area Manager Tel: 020 7926 5723 Lauren Taylor TAC Area Support Officer Tel: 020 7926 9604 |
| TAC Project Officer |
| Angela Henriques
TAC Project Officer Tel: 020 7926 9634 |
14. Useful Links and Resources
Lambeth intranet (for details on latest developments, forms etc):
http://intranet.lambeth.gov.uk/OurCouncil/
ChildrenYoungPeopleServices/
ChangeManagement
/TAC/
Every Child Matters: Change for Children (for general access to all ECM information and literature)
The Common Assessment Framework for Children and Young People: Practitioners Guide
The Lead professional: Practitioners Guide
Information Sharing: Practitioners Guide
Appendix A: TAC Case Studies
1. Addressing the Needs of the Unborn Child
Background
Telford and Wrekin & Shropshire is one of the Information Sharing and Assessment (ISA) local authority trailblazers who were given funding by the government to test new ways of working to improve information sharing amongst practitioners working with children. Sara Tough, Senior Manager Change for Children explains:
"We have developed a working model focused on early intervention using common assessment to bring together a 'team around a child' to provide early support. The local authority and partner agencies have been involved in a trial since February 2004, which has informed our development of school and community clusters to integrate children's services.
Midwives have an important role to play in improving the outcomes for children
Selbie, a senior midwife from Telford, has been closely involved in the Telford pilot programme. She uses a case study to illustrate how the programme has improved the delivery of children's services.
Early intervention
Susan (not her real name) was referred to Selbie when she was 12 weeks pregnant. Selbie was concerned that Susan's learning difficulties may contribute to a need for extra support in fulfilling a parenting role. After the consultation, Selbie contacted her local information sharing and assessment coordinator Gill Scott to discuss her concern, and it was agreed that it would be helpful to complete a common assessment to define Susan's needs and work out a solution.
"We believed early intervention was necessary to ensure Susan was ready to cope with the demands of parenthood. The well-being of the child, even the unborn child, must drive decisions."
Gill Scott, Information Sharing Co-ordinator
Assessment process
Selbie met with Susan and her mother, explained the assessment process and sought consent to share the assessment information with other practitioners.
The completion of the common assessment meant that all Susan's needs were identified at an early stage, she did not have to repeat information to different agencies and she had ongoing support.
Multi-agency approach
The assessment process highlighted Susan's complex needs and as a result a team of practitioners, including a community midwife, social worker, health visitor, GP, Sure Start and community parenting worker, was formed to develop a plan to address Susan's needs.
Lead professional
It was agreed that the health visitor should assume the role of lead professional as her involvement with the family would be ongoing. Support was provided for Susan to attend appropriate antenatal care and to provide one-to-one support to help her develop her parenting skills. The health visitor provided a link with Susan and the other professionals, both during her pregnancy and in the early stages of parenthood.
Outcome
"Before the common assessment process was introduced I would have referred Susan to social services, but she would have been unlikely to have got the network of services that we provided in this instance because her needs would have been assessed from a single agency point of view. Also, since there was no process in place to share information, I would not have been kept up-to-date with her progress and able to contribute to her care plan." Selbie de Weyman, Senior Midwife.
The support network offered helped Susan understand the need to look after her unborn child and facilitated the development of her parenting skills. She has the continued support of her health worker, with whom she has built trust and can call on if she needs further help with her child.
"We have made significant improvements in the delivery of children's services over the last year through the implementation of common assessment, lead professional and multi-agency working. The benefits for children, young people and families are already visible" Sara Tough Senior Manager - Change for Children
2. Addressing the Needs of the Whole Family
Background
Camden is one of the Information Sharing and Assessment (ISA) local authority trailblazers who were given funding by the government to test new ways of working to improve information sharing amongst practitioners working with children.
Development of integrated front-line delivery practices and processes has been a key focus for Camden.
Family centred approach to addressing the need of the child
This case study demonstrates the importance of taking a family centred approach to addressing the needs of the child. The family composition is mother (pregnant with third child), father and two children (son 17, daughter 6).
Originally from central Europe, the oldest child was 3 when his father was murdered. The boy then moved to London with his mother who remarried, resulting in the birth of his half sister.
Assessment process
The 6-year-old child had a Statement of Special Educational Needs (Language and Communication Needs, with autistic features). The Educational Psychologist (EP) in consultation with the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) recognised that there were additional difficulties facing the child and decided to complete a Common Assessment Framework (CAF) to provide a holistic appraisal of needs of the whole family.
Additional needs included:
- Falling attendance at school, and withdrawn behaviour
- Unspecified trauma, linked to experiences in their home country
- Housing difficulties - two bed-roomed flat
- Relationship difficulties between parents
- Mother suffered from long-term depression, which has been unsuccessfully treated with antidepressants.
- Mother expressed concerns about her unemployed son's relationship with his 6-year-old sister with whom he shares a bedroom.
Multi-agency approach
Using the CAF, the team case discussion explored the much richer picture of the range of needs and considered the past and current involvement of services working separately. This facilitated the planning of a coordinated multi-agency intervention addressing all five Every Child Matters outcomes.
Lead professional
It was agreed that the Child and Adult Mental Health Service (CAMHS) worker was best placed to take the lead role; she had developed a supportive relationship with the family and was in a good position to liaise with the school.
Action plan
An overall action plan involving a range of practitioners was devised to address the range of needs with the lead professional taking the coordinating role:
| Identified Need | Agreed Actions |
| Child's educational difficulties |
|
| Mother's depression and coping with her pregnancy |
|
| Parenting and relationship difficulties |
|
| Unemployed son |
|
| Housing |
|
Outcome
"Historically children's services tended to operate independently of each other. Information sharing depended on individual practitioners making contact and in many instances they were not aware which other services were involved with same child. The multi-agency approach we are promoting in Camden ensures that the full range of the child's need are addressed and the role of lead professional will ensure that the action plan is coordinated and that all involved practitioners are kept informed of the child's progress" David Fourmy, Coordinator, Multi-Agency Team
3. Early Intervention
Background
Gateshead and Newcastle is one of the Information Sharing and Assessment (ISA) local authority Trailblazers who were given funding by the government to test new ways of working to improve information sharing amongst practitioners working with children. Gráinne Fegan, who leads the professional practice work stream, explains how the new model improved the lives of a young family
"We developed an early assessment form called Signs of Well-being and multi agency processes to ensure that children and young people received any support they needed at the earliest opportunity. Our model was based on solution focused practice principles. We provided training and support to enable practitioners and families to work in partnership to start to bring around change at the first signs of difficulty".
Improving the lives of children by working together
Jill Wood was one of Gateshead's first lead professionals as well as a Special Needs Co-ordinating Officer (SENCO) and a Senior Nursery Officer. Jill uses this case study to demonstrate how the new developments within Children's Services in Gateshead are enabling practitioners to work together more effectively and improving the outcomes for children and families in Gateshead.
Needs identification
Bobby is a four year old boy who attends Jill's nursery. Both Jill and Bobby's mum Carol were worried about Bobby as he was crying for the majority of the time and his language skills did not seem to be developing quite as well as the other children he attends nursery with. Carol was finding the situation difficult to cope with and was very worried about her son, particularly about how he will cope when he starts school.
Completing an assessment
Jill and Carol completed a Signs of Well-being form together and agreed that they needed extra support and help to meet Bobby's needs. Carol gave her consent for Jill to share the information with other practitioners who may be able to offer her the support that was needed.
Bobby was referred to Gateshead's new Resource and Referral panel. The multi-agency panel agrees packages of support focused on the need of the child and family. They allocate a lead professional to coordinate the support for the family and report back to the panel to monitor and review the child's progress.
Multi agency approach
The assessment process had highlighted that Bobby had a range of needs and the multi-agency panel agreed an action plan with Jill and Carol:
- Educational Psychologist to visit Bobby at the nursery
- Panel to start to plan for Bobby's transition to school
- Health visitor to refer Bobby to the Child Development team at the local hospital
- Nursery to provide Bobby with one to one support
Lead professional
Carol was keen for Jill to be the lead professional as she has a good relationship with her. The panel agreed with this as Jill was supportive and understood both Carol's needs and Bobby's needs, and was happy to co-ordinate support across the various agencies and continue to work closely with the family.
Jill was able to act as a link between the family and co-ordinate appointments between services and the family.
Outcome
Jill is still working closely with the family and giving Carol ongoing support and feels very positive about the new way of working.
"The multi-agency panel provides more comprehensive support ensuring that we meet the full range of Bobby's and Carol's needs" Jill Wood, SENCO, Gateshead.
Carol is now much more confident about Bobby's transition to school particularly as health and education are working together to ensure that Bobby will receive a support package targeted to his specific needs.
The panel continues to meet to review the progress made and both Carol and Jill's views will be influential in any decisions made about Bobby's future. Carol is particularly pleased to have been involved in the partnership approach.
All case studies taken from DCFS Information Sharing and Common Assessment, Emerging Practice, Oct 2005.
For more case studies please see Every Child Matters: Change for Children.
15.Young London Matters: Mobility and Young London CAF Protocol Documents
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