CAF and Lead Professional in Derby

Justine Gibling CAF/LP Project Manager

What we are doing?

• History of CAF in Derby. • Context of the CAF project.• The developments in the project.• Our learning.

• What still needs to be done.

History

• Pilot in the Rosehill area of the City 2002 -2004• Culturally diverse• Sure Start area• Multi-agency steering Group• Building on lessons learned in North Lincs – reporting

better outcomes for families

Funding

• Initial funding from NRF 2002 – 2004 for a Project Manager & Admin support

• Received further funding 2004 – 2006 for Project Manager, 2 x Project Workers & Admin support

• Funding is now agreed until end March 2008

Early lessons

• Concept during the pilot was generally well received.• Different issues for different groups.• Developed shared indicators of need across a range of

agencies.• Positive experience of achieving holistic information to inform

judgements and decisions/ Evidenced based referrals.• Involvement of local parents/carers/communities was vital

and began to dispel myths about some services, e.g social care and the role of social workers

City wide roll out

• Following the pilot the Children & Young Peoples Strategic Partnership requested and supported City wide roll out (2004)

• Fits with the wider ICS/Change for Children agenda• CAF became part of the ICS team• Established links with ISA Project• Developed an Implementation Strategy• Developed the role of the ‘CAF Champion’

Strategic Support

• CAF Project sits within the Performance and Commissioning division of the Children and Young People’s Department

• The project is under the Partnership, Performance & Participation element with close links to the Assessment & Commissioning element

CAF/Lead Professional:

Derby Model

TYS pathfinder

Implementation Strategy

• 3 strands to the Implementation Strategy1. Briefing sessions to managers2. Training using the DfES materials3. Training for Parents

• This also closely supports the swift & Easy element of one of the core offers for extended services in schools

Briefings to Managers and Communities

• Briefings across the City were given (and continue to be given) to groups of managers including: Health, Social Services, The Voluntary Sector, Youth Service, Youth Offending Service, Comm Paeds, Midwives, Sure Start Programme managers, Housing, Refuge services, Special educational Needs Service

• Plus briefings to Specialist Services to discuss how CAF fits into specialist Assessments

DfES Training

• The project uses the materials produced by the DfES and has adapted them to reflect local practice and procedures

Training for Parents

• 12 week training course developed during the pilot: ‘Common Assessment framework and Safeguarding Children’

• Accredited through OCN local to Derby

• Examines all aspects of the Common Assessment Framework, plus exercises on Values & Judgements, local services, the Law, child development and safeguarding issues

External evaluation• External evaluation commissioned from Lancaster

University to explore the effectiveness of the training for parents as a way of embedding CAF into communities

• Positive findings

• Other LA’s requesting to buy the training manual

• 15 courses delivered so far across the city

Lancaster University Evaluation

How parents and professionals develop a common language for helping children and families

“Towards the end of the course the group seems to have developed and stabilised the common language of thinking in terms of support, and focussing on the child's needs in order to know what support may be given”

“The idea of the family having a choice about the assessment and owning a copy of the material is welcomed. This idea may fit well into the common language of support instead of risk prevention”

CAF Champions

• Executive group were asked to nominate Champions within their agencies to be responsible for implementation issues across their service

• Began by agreeing the role of the CAF Champion• Bi-monthly meetings

Our learning• Good strategic management and cross agency support• Partnership engagement and ownership of the Common

Assessment Framework• The process of engaging managers through briefing sessions and

awareness raising• Good quality training for practitioners

• The formulation of a CAF Champion group agreed at the Strategic Executive Group

• The beginnings of systems and processes to enable the strategy• Two way communication between leaders and frontline staff• Practitioners have given positive evaluations of the CAF training• The training course for parents & accredited learning

Our learning

• CAF can be used to identify service gaps in localities – a powerful Commissioning tool.

• CAF identifies the positives• Dedicated team to offer needs led support following

training and with individual case by case scenarios.• Project team to act as a conduit between services.• Goodwill across our partnership and those who see

what a difference this agenda makes for children and young people.

Lead Professional Trailblazer

• Within a local Sure Start/Children’s Centre to implement the role of the Lead Professional

• Multi-agency support• Identify training and support needs• Management issues• Escalation and disputes• Learn lessons to contribute to develop locality based

working• Community evaluation/parent researchers

Our learning

• Support network to discuss the developing role was vital

• Practical training: minute taking, chairing meetings• People knew why they needed to attend the meeting• Conflict resolution and empowerment

issues/perceived status within the group• Achieving outcomes for children and young people• Positive evaluation

Challenges• Capacity in the CAF project to support the implementation (training and briefings etc)• Coordinated implementation plan.• Competing priorities/demands.• Monitoring information.• Middle managers – getting on with the day job.• Some services not attending meetings.• Protocols and gaps.• Time element – what did we do before?• Waiting for the right time, for everything to be in place!

Future Developments

• Re-configure the project to reflect locality working

• Integrated process coordinators in each locality to support the developments of Integrated Processes and Integrated Frontline delivery

• Embed CAF and the role of the Lead Professional

Thank you!