A brief guide to CAF and early help - proceduresonline.com · CAF is also the primary mechanism for referral to children’s social care. The original concept of the Common Assessment

www.southwark.gov.uk/caf

A brief guideto CAF andearly helpOur local model – January 2013


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Introduction Southwark has developed an approach to earlyhelp which is detailed in our strategy andincludes the development of the integratedlocality-based early help service. Our focus is on identifying and meeting needs for children,young people and families earlier and moreeffectively. A fundamental component of earlyintervention is defining what help is needed;which is why high quality assessment is sosignificant. The strategy highlights our localcommitment to developing a commonapproach to the understanding and recordingof the needs of children, young people andfamilies; from the earliest point of identification.It is our intention that effectively targeting helpat these stages will reduce reliance on specialistservices and enable children, young people andfamilies to become as independent as possiblein identifying and addressing any concerns thatarise in family life.

CAF is also the primary mechanism for referral to children’s social care.

The original concept of the CommonAssessment Framework [CAF], where the threedomains of:

■ child’s needs

■ parental capacity

■ family and environment

provided a holistic structure for assessment, aswell as a common language and approach, iswhat we wish to build on. We emphasise theimportance of telling the child’s story, tellingthat story in such a way that is meaningful andprovides useful ideas on next steps. It is likelythat as we implement this guidance, and as weundergo a continuous process of monitoringand review of the approach, changes will bemade to both the guidance and the recordingtools. We are now using what is called ‘Version18’ of the CAF assessment record; as well asdeveloping further our single family-focuseddelivery plans and review records.

The common assessment in Southwark is ashared assessment, planning, delivery andreview framework for use across services andpartners in the community. It is a tool that willhelp in the early identification and assessmentof children and young people’s additionalneeds and promote co-ordinated serviceprovision to meet them, as well as ensuringthat such provision is rigorously monitored andreviewed. It provides a framework for reachinga shared understanding with families and otherpractitioners about a child or young person’sneeds and how these can be met. It is criticalthat it includes an engagement with childrenand young people that is not tokenistic orsuperficial, but one which genuinely takes theviews and feedback of children into account. It is our firm belief that all children, regardlessof age or need, are capable of expressing aview about their lives – our focus is onsupporting practitioners in listening to andacting on these views.

We are promoting the four-step processoutlined in national CAF guidance for managersand practitioners:

This guidance is structured as a series ofquestions, which we hope keeps it as practicalas possible. If you have any questions or queriesabout the information contained here, pleasecontact the early help service on 020 7525 2714 or [email protected].

Step1: Identify needs early

Step 2: Assess those needs

Step 3: Deliver help in an effectiveway (using integrated processes suchas team around the child or family andlead professional or lead person)

Step 4: Review progress


1. What is CAF? CAF is at it’s heart an interaction that takesplace between a you as a practitioner(sometimes more than one) and a child, youngperson and / or their parent or carer. In theinitial stages of this interaction, you askquestions to gather information and begin to interpret and analyse that information (doingthis in conjunction with the child, young personor parent / carer).

As such, the single most important factoraffecting the quality and effectiveness of CAF is the relationship between the young person,parent / carer and you as the practitioner. Theprocess of engagement and coming to a jointunderstanding of a family’s difficulties with themshould be a positive and empowering process.The assessment should not be done to butwith a family.

Research in Practice (www.rip.org.uk) havedeveloped materials to support better qualityassessment for children, young people andfamilies and Southwark has adapted some of these as part of our approach to CAF. These materials highlight that good qualityassessment is about telling the child or young person’s story in the most effective way possible.

Telling a story involves deciding, in a logical way, which information is relevant and thenconnecting relevant circumstances, facts andevents to create a coherent narrative. CAF is the child’s story, which we need listen to and acton their views. Formal recordings of the storyshould never contain surprises for children,young people or families and should always bewritten in language they understand.

As you help the child and family tell their story,you’ll be reflecting on what the story means,and getting the meaning out of the facts is thekey to effective analysis. There is sometimes atendency sometimes to think: here is theproblem, what’s the solution? and we missout on the crucial stage of fully understanding

and analysing the story. The more weunderstand the meaning for the child, youngperson and family, the more effective we will be in responding to families’ needs.

The record of this story, and it’s meaning, iscalled the CAF assessment record. Thisdocuments the assessment, the outcomesdesired, and any actions required to meet theoutcomes. This CAF assessment record can thenbe used to share information between agenciesif required. The assessment record can also beused to evidence a request made to anotheragency / service for their involvement.

Completing a common assessment does notguarantee the provision of particular services.We are all mindful to understand local prioritiesand the availability of local services, and do notpromise services on behalf of other agencies ororganisations.

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2. What are the principlesunderpinning a goodassessment? The following is taken from the Children’sWorkforce Development Council guidance onCAF for practitioners. It states that a goodquality common assessment provides ananalysis of the child or young person’sstrengths and needs and is:

■ valid – what the assessment has assessedand why

■ accurate – the assessment provides anaccurate representation of the strengths andneeds of the child or young person

■ clear – the assessment is clear, concise andunderstandable by all those involved and anypractitioners who may get involved or takeresponsibility for the child or young person’scase at a later stage

■ inclusive – the assessment represents theviews and opinions of the child or youngperson and/or family

■ promotes equal opportunity – theassessment is not biased and gives positiveexpression to the opinions and experiencesof the child or young person and / or theirparents / carers without prejudice ordiscrimination

■ authentic – the assessment is an accurate,evidence-based record of the discussion

■ professional – the assessment is non-judgemental and follows organisationalcodes of practice for recording / writingpublic documents

■ solution-focused – the assessment focuseson what the child or young person and theirparents / carers want to achieve

■ ecological – the assessment focuses on thevarious systems within which the child oryoung person operates (home, setting /school, the community, etc.)

■ practical – the assessment identifies thestrengths and needs clearly and identifiesappropriate action.

3. How do I complete the CAFassessment record?It is essential that the identifying details (e.g.,names, dates of birth, etc.) are accurate andcomplete as this will ensure that if additionalservices are required, they are directed at theright child, young person or family. It is alsoessential to record who was present at theassessment and why the assessment has beendone – a good quality CAF should provide aclear link between the reason for assessment,the assessment information itself and theresulting action plan (see diagram below).

A critical component of the assessment isexploring whether there are factors in theparenting and family and environmentdimensions impacting on the development of the child or young person. For example,indicating that the parent is ‘anxious’ or‘depressed’ and not including any informationregarding the impact of this on the child doesnot always help other services understand thekinds of concerns that a practitioner may ormay not have.

Some key practical messages that may be of helpto you in your practice include:

■ CAF is meant to reduce the number of times a children, young person or parent / carer isrequired to tell their story. If the informationrecorded is vague or incomplete, it mayrequire further assessment, which is preciselywhat we are trying to avoid. This must bebalanced with succinct and conciseinformation that is easily understood by others.

■ Practitioners don’t need to write detailedcomments in every section – if the promptsare not relevant, there are no concerns or itwas not assessed, indicate this in the box.

■ The person providing the assessmentinformation recorded should be clearlyindicated; this is especially important wherethere are differences of opinion between thekey people involved (e.g., the young persondisagrees with their parent / carer’s view of the situation or the parent / carer disagreeswith the Health Visitor’s view, etc).

■ Objective statements should be includedwherever possible, not people’s subjectiveinterpretations of events. There are not alwayscommon views of terms such as ‘aggressive’,‘disruptive’, ‘violent’, etc. and it is more helpful to record actual behaviours or toprovide examples to illustrate a point.

■ Children, young people and their families may refer to peers / other parents or adults in the child’s life during the assessment – these individuals should not be named on any records.

■ Parenting capacity is not as often as wellassessed as the other domains and this issomething that will be addressed in CAF and early help training going forward – we are now able to offer the HOME Inventoryassessment (a standardised method ofassessing parenting and the homeenvironment). Interested practitioners shouldreview MyLearningSource for details ofupcoming courses.


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why the assessment is being done

the information collected during the assessment

the action plan agreed as a result


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■ If the details of a school-age parent andtheir child are included on the same record,or children from the same family, it shouldbe clearly indicated what informationrecorded relates to which individual.

■ CAF action plans that are lists of referrals tobe made to other agencies do not promotethe sense of partnership, engagement andindependence we are seeking. Practitionersneed to feel confident and capable ofapplying some interventions, strategies orapproaches themselves and using processsuch as consultation and their own skills /expertise to better inform this (especiallywhile awaiting a request for service fromanother agency). Action plans shouldinclude what the CAF assessor him/herself isgoing to do, as well as meaningful actionsfor the family (where appropriate).

Practitioners should capture as much of thedetail of both the assessment and any actionalready taken – it should be clear what theissues are, why you and / or others such asthe child, young person or parent / carer thinkthese issues are occurring and what strategiesyou are going to try or have tried (andwhether these have made a difference).

4. What do I do at the actionplanning stage of CAF?A critical component of any CAF is the actionplan or the delivery plan. A clear connectionbetween the assessment and action plan iscrucial, and it should never just be a list ofreferrals to other agencies. Children, youngpeople and families need to be involved in theirplan and in defining outcomes that are SMART(specific, measurable, achievable, realistic andtime-bound).

The national guidance on CAF states that goodaction planning requires a methodical processthat clearly identifies the components andsteps needed for improved outcomes. Thisprocess should be:

■ comprehensive – considering all significantoptions and impacts

■ efficient – not wasting time or resources

■ inclusive – the child or young person, theirparent / carer and other people affected bythe plan must be involved and encouragedto take on actions themselves whereappropriate

■ informative – decisions are understood bythe people involved

■ focused – short-term decisions supportlong-term goals

■ logical – each step leads to the next withina broad strategic framework of SMART1

objectives and solution-focused outcomes

■ transparent – everybody involvedunderstands how the process works.

Both the initial plan and any other deliveryplans should state clearly what is to be done,by when and by whom. The plan should alsoinclude how outcomes will be measured, anddetails of how the plan will be monitored,reviewed and evaluated.

Our quality assurance process has noted thatplans that are linked to the purpose of theassessment and the assessment informationgathered are more coherent and rational. Also,as with the national guidance, Southwark plansthat include meaningful actions for the child,young person and / or family membersthemselves have been considered to be:

■ of a higher quality

■ more likely to promote a sense ofpartnership, mutual engagement andindependence (rather than dependence onservices to ‘fix’ issues).

1 SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic and Time-bound.


5. What do I do once I havecompleted the CAF?The most important thing to do it is beginimplementing the actions included in theaction plan. Southwark has adapted thenational CAF guide’s planning and reviewrecords, which can be used for the ongoingcycle of planning and review following an initialassessment (new assessment information canjust be added to the CAF).

6. If I am sharing the CAFassessment record to request aservice from another agency,what do I do?If on completion of the CAF, it is decided thatinvolvement from other services would be ofbenefit, parental consent should then be soughtfor the information to be shared.

Support from targeted and / or specialistservices can only be accessed if these servicesare clear about how a practitioner has identifiedneed, what action has been already taken, bywhom and what impact this has had. All of thiscan readily be recorded on the CAF andremoves the need for most of the other formfilling that may have been required in the past.

The completed CAF should then be sent toSouthwark’s integrated duty triage. If you havea secure email address, you can email therecord to [email protected]. You canalso post the record to integrated duty triage at Sumner House, Sumner Road, London SE155QS or fax it to 020 7525 2670. If you aresharing a CAF assessment record forsafeguarding purposes, please see Section 14.

7. Do the records supportdifferent phases of the CAFand early help cycle? Yes. When practitioners discuss CAF, they maybe referring to any one of the following phasesof the intervention cycle:

These documents are available on theSouthwark website, at any CAF training you attend or through requesting [email protected]. There is a Word and PDF version available of the CAF assessment record dependent onpractioner preference.

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1. a standard record to document theassessment (supporting assessmentand initial planning)

2. a delivery plan proforma (supporting further planning)

3. a review record proforma(supporting reviewing progress)


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8. Who completes CAFs?Practitioners most likely to complete CAFs arethose working in universal services (midwives,school nurses, health visitors, teachers, earlyyear’s practitioners, commissioned voluntarysector providers, etc).

CAF records provide a structure fordocumenting information that any of thesepractitioners gather by having a conversationwith a child, young person or parent / carer,and for identifying what actions need to betaken to address their recognised needs. Ithelps these practitioners to get other servicesto assist, because targeted and specialistpractitioners will recognise that concerns arebased on evidence. Other services inSouthwark use the CAF and integratedworking improves as we each recognise andexpect an assessment in this format.

9. Who are CAFs completed for?The CAF is aimed at children and young peoplewith additional needs that are not being metby their current service provision, or are likelyto not be met without additional help. Weknow there are some critically importantprotective factors for children and youngpeople, such as:

■ reaching potential and making goodprogress in learning and development

■ good social and emotional skills

■ positive parenting.

If we identify for assessment children andyoung people where:

■ they are struggling in terms of progression in development and learning

■ there are issues with school attendance and/ or disruptive or challenging behaviours

■ they have poor social and emotional skills

■ their parents / carers are experiencingchallenges that impact on their capacity toparent (e.g., where domestic abuse, activeand chaotic parental drug use, parentalmental ill-health or learning difficulties areimpacting negatively on the child’sdevelopment).

We are more likely to be targeting the rightgroups, where we can make the biggestdifference. If you are unsure whether a CAFshould be completed for a particular child, youcan always access a consultation service fromduty triage.


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10. What can help me decide whether a CAF isrequired?To help settings meet the needs of children,young people and families independently werequire a range of processes, includingcapacity for practitioners across services toaccess to one another’s expertise withoutalways requiring a referral – one way of doingthis is through consultation.

Consultation ensures that practitioners:

■ begin to develop a better understanding ofone another’s thresholds for service access

■ share strategies / interventions with oneanother that can be immediatelyimplemented to provide effective servicesfor children, young people and their families

■ are signposted to the right service quicklyand easily.

In circumstances where a referral or a request for service is necessary, accessingconsultation can also enhance the quality of information provided to the service fromwhom the referral / request is made. As such, consultation may be very helpful topractitioners considering whether a CAF isrequired, or those completing a CAF whowish to discuss appropriate approaches.Practitioners who have completed theassessment may wish to use a consultationservice with another service to generate awider range of effective interventions that they can put in place as part of thedelivery plan.

Further information on consultation acrossthe children’s workforce will be forthcoming.

11. What do I need to knowabout consent, informationsharing and confidentiality?An important component of CAF is that itshould be done with the child, young person or parent / carer so that they can fullycontribute to a shared understanding ofstrengths and needs, are aware of what actionsmight ensue (including those that theythemselves will take forward), and haveparticipated in the design of the action plan.

When practitioners in early years settings,schools or academies identify areas of concernfor children and young people with additionalneeds they will consider what information isnecessary to share with other agencies in linewith their information sharing procedures.Generally speaking, the information that isshared must be consistent with the purpose of sharing it, which is to address a child oryoung person’s additional needs.

As such, parents / carers are aware that:

■ careful consideration is given to informationthat is shared and they have an understandingof the sort of circumstances when this wouldtake place

■ if it is done for the benefit of both the childor young person and those around them andso may reduce any perceived stigma attachedand allay fears regarding external agencyinvolvement.

When practitioners work with parents / carersto ensure they understand the value of the CAF,it should be possible in most cases to obtaintheir consent to share it if necessary. It isimportant that practitioners highlight itsbenefits. In particular, the fact that the morerelevant, accurate and up-to-date informationthat is shared with other practitioners, the morelikely it is that they do not need to tell theirstory repeatedly and that their child’s needs willbe met quicker and more effectively. If adequate


information cannot be shared then childrenmay be subjected to more assessments and thistakes people away from being able to deliverthe help required.

The parent / carer should understand that anyinformation that is shared will be treated withthe utmost confidentiality and they as parentscan, subject to some caveats, place limits on thesharing. Those caveats are generally thosewhere there is legislation that might lead toenforcement action of some sort. A goodexample is the use of CAF for attendanceissues. The CAF process will help to identifyprobable causes and potential solutions andsharing of the contents of the record of these,i.e. the CAF assessment record, does not requireconsent unless the record contains details thatare not relevant to the enforcement action (inwhich case these details can be redacted).

Further guidance on information sharing isavailable through the Southwark SafeguardingChildren’s Board.

12. What is the relationshipbetween CAF and otherassessments?The common assessment is a generic, holisticassessment. Specialist assessments are ordinarilyundertaken only by practitioners from specificprofessional groups and have a much morespecific purpose.

There are broadly two types of specialistassessment, each of which interacts with theCAF in a different way:

■ Checks or assessments for specificdevelopment characteristics or milestoneswhich apply to all children and young people.For example, the developmental checksundertaken by health professionals as part of the healthy child programme, or progress

checks against the national curriculumconducted in schools, such as the FoundationStage Profile or end of key stage assessments.

■ Additional assessments for children andyoung people with known issues or wherethere are specific or acute concerns. Examplesinclude assessments under section 17 of theChildren Act 1989, drugs screening andassessments of children and young peoplewith disabilities.

Some children and young people coming intocontact with specialist services or who arehaving specialist assessments conducted mayalready have had a common assessmentundertaken. In such instances, informationfrom the CAF can be used to inform thespecialist assessment. Using a CAF in this wayreduces the need for a child or young personto repeat the same information to differentpractitioners, and it can also save time.

It is not always necessary to undertake a CAFfollowing a specialist assessment. A CAF is not needed if it is clear (from the specialistassessment) that the child or young person’sneeds can be fully met by practitionersconcerned.

For further information, the national CAFguidance shows the relationship between theCAF and other assessments.

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13. What is the relationshipwith the lead professional orlead person?A CAF may be completed by a leadprofessional (we are now using the term leadperson in accordance with the preferences ofSouthwark’s parents and carers who have beenvery helpful in contributing the development ofour early help approach) or may identify a needfor one to best support the delivery of the CAFaction plan. Any practitioner working withvulnerable children and families should beprepared to take on the role of lead person and should see this as an integral part of their work.

The functions of the lead person are to:

■ act as a single point of contact for the childor family, who they can trust and who canengage them in making appropriate choices,negotiating their way through the systemand effecting change

■ coordinate the delivery of actions agreed bythe practitioners involved (i.e. the TAC orTAF) to ensure that children and familiesreceive an effective service, which isregularly reviewed. These actions will bebased on the outcome of the assessmentand recorded in the single plan as part ofthe CAF process

■ reduce overlap and inconsistency in theservices required.

Who takes on the role of the lead person willdepend on the child’s needs and current serviceprovision. The role may be carried out by aperson from any background, includingpractitioners from universal, targeted orspecialist provision. This should be agreed atthe first TAC / TAF meeting, though maychange where appropriate.

The practitioner who ‘gets the ball rolling’ e.g.,through starting the CAF process with a family,

may initially be the lead person. However, asclearer picture of the child’s needs and other’sinvolvement emerges, it may be moreappropriate for another practitioner to take onthe lead person role.

Criteria for selection of a lead person include:

■ the priority needs of the child or family

■ the existing or potential relationship withthe child or family

■ the wishes of the child or family (wherepossible)

■ responsibility for the work set out instatutory or best practice guidance

■ the knowledge, skills, ability and capacity ofthe involved practitioners.

All practitioners involved must keep the leadperson informed of any developments and anyrecommendations to discuss the level ofsupport needed for the child or family. It is thelead person’s responsibility to ensure all agreedactions from the child or family’s single plan aremonitored and reviewed regularly. This mayinvolve following up actions agreed by otherpractitioners, but the lead person is notresponsible or accountable for the actions ofother practitioners or services.

14. What do I do if identify asafeguarding concern? When you are concerned that a child or youngperson has been harmed or abused or is at riskof being harmed or abused, you must followSouthwark Safeguarding Children Boardsafeguarding children procedures. A CAF isnow a requirement to make a referral tochildren’s social care’s referral and assessmentteam but in situations where immediatesupport is required it is not necessary. If you areuncertain about whether a case warrants a


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referral to children’s social care, you can call andspeak to Duty 020 7525 1921 or speak to thedesignated child protection lead for your agency.If you are unsure as to who these people areduty will advise.

Making a referral to children’s social care

The CAF is now also the referral mechanisminto children’s social care. In most instances aCAF would be undertaken as described in thisguidance and it is this assessment that wouldassist the assessor in deciding whether areferral into CSC is needed or not. Where thereis evidence that a parents’ vulnerabilities arehaving a significant impact on the child/ren andthe assessment concludes that the children areIn Need (as defined in Section 17 of ChildrenAct 1989) and threshold is met for a referralinto CSC, then the CAF is completed as fully aspossible and sent to RAD @southwark.gov.uk.

On receipt of the referral document the dutymanager will make a decision whetherthreshold is met for an initial assessment to beundertaken by a social worker. The quality ofthe assessment underpinning the referral is key in assisting the manager in this decisionmaking. If the duty manager decides thethreshold is not met, but there is a need fortargeted early help, then the early help dutymanager who sits alongside the CSC managerwill review the referral and consider whetherthe case can be presented at the early helppanel. In all instances the assessor will getwritten feedback regarding the outcome oftheir referral.

15. How can I find out more? If you want to find out more about what ishappening with CAF, TAC / TAF and leadperson, please contact colleagues in the earlyhelp service. Pauline Armour is the head ofservice and there are five teams (one centraland four locality based):

Fiona Phillips: early help strategic developmentmanager (central team)

Gill Roberts: early help locality manager(Peckham, Peckham Rye and Nunhead)

Hanna Hancock / Emma Pearl (job share): earlyhelp locality manager (Camberwell andDulwich / joint lead for educational psychology)

Sharon Hemley: early help locality manager(Borough, Bankside and Walworth)

Emma Kennedy: early help locality manager(Bermondsey and Rotherhithe / joint lead foreducational psychology)

16. How can I access trainingon CAF? A full programme of CAF training is beingimplemented. Please contact organisationaldevelopment in corporate learning anddevelopment for further details([email protected]) or a colleaguein the early help service. Details of the training and making an application canbe found on My Learning Source(www.mylearningsource.co.uk).

If you are from a setting or school or academy,and releasing staff is difficult, your EHS linkofficers will endeavour to address your trainingneeds on a bespoke basis.

Documents

A brief guide to CAF and early help - proceduresonline.com · CAF is also the primary mechanism for referral to children’s social care. The original concept of the Common Assessment