Information for Managers
CAF and Lead Professional Managers’ Event
61 managers from a wide range of agencies working with children
and young people attended a Common Assessment Framework
(
CAF
) and Lead
Professional Managers event on the 14th of October 2010, organised
by the
CAF
Implementation Team. The day helped managers understand their
role in driving
CAF
and Lead Professional
process and to support their teams.
Are you managing a team of people who work with children, young
people and their families?
If the answer to that question is “Yes” then you have a big role
to play in supporting developments of early intervention and multi
agency working across Cheshire East.
The Common Assessment is a shared assessment which should be
used by all teams to initially identify and address the needs of a
child or young person (including unborn babies). It is a holistic
assessment that is becoming widely used to meet needs and improve
outcomes for children and young people.
What are the responsibilities of managers in the Common
Assessment Framework (CAF) Process?
Read:
“The Common Assessment Framework for children and young people: A
Guide for managers" (PDF, 3.43MB)
Training
If you or any member of your team is likely to undertake a Common
Assessment they must attend the one day
CAF
user training. Teams or
managers unlikely to complete assessments themselves should, as a
minimum, attend Raising Awareness Training. This can be arranged
with the
CAF
team
on a team/small group basis and lasts for approx.1.5 hrs. Once the
CAF
user training
has been attended some of your team may wish to attend the full day
Lead Professional training although this is not necessary to become
a Lead Professional. The
CAF
Training Programme is
available on the
CAF
Training Page.
Supervision
Once trained in the Common Assessment Framework, team members
should expect to discuss
CAF
as part of their regular
supervision and receive support and guidance. Managers should
ensure that the correct processes are being followed with
appropriate information sent into the Cheshire
East
CAF
team
as well as their own service records being maintained to a high
standard. Managers should quality assure the assessments undertaken
by their staff and ensure their service are meeting their
responsibilities by resourcing the appropriate interventions.
Please refer to the section on
Providing
Effective Supervision on the Childrens Workforce Development
Council (CWDC) website.
Quality Assurance
The Cheshire East
CAF
team quality assure a
sample of Common Assessment Forms received as well as those
submitted by practitioners new to the process. A
Quality Assurance tool is available to support practitioners (PDF,
114KB). There is also a
Quality Assurance tool for their managers (PDF, 114KB) in
undertaking quality assurance on their own
CAF
paperwork. It is the
responsibility of managers to ensure that completed assessments are
of high quality and that action is taken to meet the needs of
children and young people
Information sharing
Managers need to work with their teams to remove any barriers or
misconceptions which still exist about sharing information. The
cross government
Information Sharing: Guidance for Practitioners and Managers (PDF,
1.75MB), is an excellent document which supports the
information sharing process and outlines the seven golden rules of
information sharing. Please refer to the section on
Information
Sharing on the
CWDC's
website.
Support the role of The Lead Professional
CWDC
have produced national guidance specifically to help Managers to
support their staff undertake this role. More than anything
families want to tell their story only once and to have a named and
known person to link with them and liaise with agencies working
with them. That person is the Lead Professional. Unfortunately,
many practitioners are still very hesitant about undertaking the
role of Lead Professional. They worry they do not have the support,
skills or time required. Lead Professional training is available to
develop their skills. Many practitioners will already have the
skills required but lack confidence in their own ability so team
managers have a key part to play in supporting the role through
encouragement and approving time. If teams take on their share of
Lead Professional roles then time and money will be saved by all
agencies as work and resources will not be duplicated. More
importantly children and their families will receive a better
service. Please refer to the section on
Lead
Professional guidance on the
CWDC's
website as
well as the
Lead Professional Guide for Practitioners – March 2010 (PDF,
2.71MB) and
Lead Professional Managers Guide – March 2010 (PDF, 3.4MB.
Encourage your team to attend Common Assessment Framework multi
agency meetings
It is essential that where possible, invited practitioners attend
multi agency meetings in person to support the child / young person
in having their needs identified and met. A written report should
be available where attendance is not possible but managers should
advocate attendance as the preferred approach.
Common Assessment Framework Champions
Identify staff to be
CAF
Champion or mentors who
can support their peers. Your
CAF
champion can keep the team
informed about
CAF
updates and let them know about the informal “working lunches” the
Cheshire East
CAF
team run. These are held
in different parts of Cheshire East and are becoming a popular
forum for practitioners to share experiences, ask questions
and to glean ideas from each other. Details the
CAF
“working lunches” are
available our
“What’s
New” page.
Create the ethos in your team
They are there to find solutions to identifying and meeting the
needs of children and young people. An assessment left in a drawer
or passed over to someone else does not address the issues and
improve outcomes. As a matter of routine get staff to ask the
question “What is life like for this child?” and ACT to make a
difference.
Be positive about the benefits of multi-agency integrated
working
Ask children, young people and families how they perceive your
service. The Common Assessment Framework is there to simplify
processes and to bring consistency in our work with children and
young people. Undertaking a Common Assessment or becoming a Lead
Professional should be an embedded part of team processes and not
viewed as an ‘add on’ to the day job. However, the “effective
implementation of
CAF
requires leadership and
management at all levels“ with managers prepared to lead the
cultural change required for people to see the benefits and
importance of changing ways of working. Please visit
the Children's Workforce Development Council website for
further details about
multi-agency
integrated working.
In Cheshire East the numbers of Common Assessments being
completed is steadily rising and the benefits are being realised. A
consistent approach across all agencies would offer a better
service to families and improved outcomes for children and young
people. As a manager you can help by being a driver in your
organisation and by breaking down the barriers in the way of
CAF
development.
The Cheshire East
CAF
team are happy to advise
and support you so do contact them and discuss any issues you may
face. It is only by working together that we can improve what we
do.
* “The Common Assessment Framework for children and young
people: A Guide for managers” Page 47 CWDC 2009.
