MULTI - AGENCY THRESHOLD GUIDANCE. Identifying Need and Analysing Risk when working with Children in Walsall

Transcription

1 MULTI - AGENCY THRESHOLD GUIDANCE Identifying Need and Analysing Risk when working with Children in Walsall November 2013

2 BETTER TOGETHER FOR CHILDREN Contents 1. Foreword Page 3 2. Introduction Page Purpose of this guidance 2.2 How this guidance was developed 2.3 Expectations 2.4 Where to go for more advice and guidance 3. Children and Young People in Walsall Pages Our Vision and Ambition 3.2 Working in Partnership 3.3 Children in Need 3.4 Significant Harm 3.5 Definition of a Child 3.6 Our Population 4. Principles Page Thresholds for Support Page Risk 5.2 Universal Services 5.3 Early Help Single Agency Response 5.4 Early Help ~ Additional Support 5.5 Statutory Intervention 5.6 Multi- Agency Screening Team 5.7 The Early Help Process 5.8. The role of a Lead Professional 6. Step Up Step Down Guidance Pages Context 6.2 Who is this Guidance for? 6.3 What do we mean by Step Up and Step Down? 6.4 What is the role of a lead Professional? 6.5 How do we support our children and young people stepping down from social care intervention? 6.6 How to Step Down from an Initial Assessment 6.7 How to Step Down From a Child in Need (CiN) Plan 6.8 How to Step Down from a Child Protection Plan 6.9 How to Step Down from a Looked After Care Plan 6.10 Dispute Resolution 6.11 Quality Assurance 7. References Page 17 Appendix 1 Working Together 2013 Walsall Flowcharts Pages Appendix 2 Step Down Pathways Social Care to Early Help Page 24 2

3 1. Foreword Walsall Safeguarding Children Board recognises that safeguarding and promoting the welfare of vulnerable children and young people is a shared responsibility and that commitment to a whole family approach from a whole partnership is essential in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of children. The planning of services to deliver effectively and successfully requires agencies and professionals to work in partnership with each other and with service users. This is needed at strategic and operational levels to ensure services are comprehensive, complementary and co-ordinated. Effective service provision depends on skilled and consistent information sharing; sustained collaboration; understanding and mutual respect between agencies and professionals. The purpose of this guidance is to provide colleagues across our partnership a single document outlining the thresholds in Walsall and the operational principles which will support us in working together. It is only by working together, intervening earlier to provide services to children and young people which meet their identified needs that we will collectively be able to make a real difference for the children and young people of Walsall. Working Together 2013 states that: The provision of early help services should form part of a continuum of support to respond to the different levels of need of individual children and families and It is important that there are clear criteria for taking action and providing help across this full continuum. Having clear thresholds for action which are understood by all professionals, and applied consistently, should ensure that services are commissioned effectively and that the right help is given to the child at the right time 8 Members of Walsall Safeguarding Children Board agree to implement the guidance within their own agency by: promoting ownership of it at all levels ensuring it is disseminated to all staff ensuring that all staff are familiar with and follow this guidance ensuring that any service specific protocols and guidelines are consistent with the principles of this guidance ensure that work across the whole partnership is informed by the views and voices of children and young people The Board and I are confident that the principles and guidance contained within this document will support the step change required in the way partners work together with families to deliver better outcomes for children and young people in Walsall. I would like to thank those who took time to respond to the consultation and contributed to the development of this document and look forward to seeing its impact throughout the year. Robert Lake Chair of the Walsall Safeguarding Children Board Ensuring productive relationships between individual practitioners will need to be supported by a strong lead from elected and appointed local authority members and the commitment and leadership from chief officers and senior managers of partner organisations. Individual practitioners need to be supported in meeting their responsibilities under this guidance through the provision of appropriate training, adequate resources and high quality management support and supervision. 3

4 2. Introduction 2.1 Purpose of this guidance This guidance has been developed to support all professionals working with children and young people across Walsall so that everyone is clear about: the thresholds for access to services which support the actions needed to improve the outcomes for children a common language individual responsibility when working with children young people and the families the responsibilities of different agencies and what is needed to support professionals in their roles Whilst it is recognised that many organisations services have thresholds to enable the right children and young people to access higher level specialist support, this guidance has a particular focus on the threshold for accessing services from Children's Social Care. A shared understanding of this threshold helps to ensure that resources are targeted effectively at those children and young people who most require them, and supports practitioners in making appropriate referrals. The threshold framework also supports multi-agency working by the development of a common language and an agreed model for responding to need across the children's workforce in Walsall. 2.2 How this guidance was developed In March 2013 the Government published Working Together to Safeguard Children ; x.html ments/working%20togetherfinal.pdf which replaces and streamlines previous guidance. Working Together lays out the responsibilities of all agencies and professionals to safeguard children from harm, protect them from abuse and ensure their welfare and developmental needs are being met. All those who work with children, young people and their families must be familiar with Working Together This document has been developed in line with Working Together 2013 and explains how thresholds of need should be considered when determining which service is best placed to respond to the needs of the child or young person. It sets out those circumstances in which Children s Social Care Services will provide a service and those where other services and providers may provide a better option for support for the child often through early help or universal services. This guidance takes account of the Framework for Assessment of Children, the Early Help Offer and should be read in conjunction with other practice guidance. Deciding that a threshold has been reached and that a child or young person needs additional support is not easy: There is no diagnostic gold standard...and therefore decision-making...can be very difficult and thresholds hard to establish. It is essential to place the child or young person at the centre of the assessment. 2 All members of the partnership have been consulted with in developing this document providing feedback, challenge and comment on each iterative version of the guidance. This document has then been written by a number of professionals who have led on the active development of the final document. It will be reviewed on an annual basis. 2.3 Expectations It is the expectation of member organisations of the Local Safeguarding Board that all professionals working with children, young people and their families in Walsall will work within this guidance and pay full regard to the more detailed policies and procedures in place. 2.4 Where to go for more advice and guidance All professionals will work within their own agency s policies and procedures and all agencies share the WSCB Safeguarding policies and procedures which can be accessed at: The Multi Agency Screening Team (MAST) is the first point of contact for any professional or concerned individual who has concerns about a child. MAST can be contacted on MAST will provide consultation, advice and support and will make a decision regarding the most appropriate course of action. 4

5 3. Children and Young People in Walsall 3.1 Our Vision and Ambition Partners and organisations across Walsall have high ambition for all children and young people in Walsall. We recognise that we are Better Together for Children. The overriding vision for children is contained in our Children and Young People s Plan 2013 to2016 which can be found at: en_and_young_people 8217_s_plan_ pdf. Our vision of Better Together for Children, recognises that Walsall children face significant disadvantage during their early years, particularly in relation to financial hardship, high levels of child poverty, weak employment prospects and high infant mortality rates. It is for these reasons that a multi-agency approach is required in striving to achieve better outcomes for children. support from a range of universal services and most children will achieve positive outcomes through the provision of universal services. They do not have any identified additional needs and sit at one end of the continuum of need. Some of these children are at risk of poorer outcomes and these are children with additional needs. They require targeted support from education, health and/or prevention and intervention services. 3.3 Children in Need A lesser number of children group will be Children in Need (Section 17, Children Act 1989) and require specialist social work intervention to achieve their full potential. 3.4 Significant Harm A small minority of highly vulnerable children will need specialist interventions to protect them from serious abuse or neglect and sit at the other end of this continuum. We seek to meet the needs of all our children, taking a whole system approach to the design of services to ensure that we are effective and efficient in all that we do. This comes from what children and young people have told us they want: I tell my story once Support and services join up around me People do what they promise I feel better and safer Working in Partnership A joined up multi-agency approach is essential in ensuring that we work with families effectively. Decisions regarding how to respond when there are concerns about a child or young person can be complex and are often open to interpretation. This is because the needs of children and young people generally are wide ranging, and because the needs of specific children can change and fluctuate over time. It is therefore crucial that all practitioners working with children and young people feel confident about determining when specific services should be accessed and the processes for doing so. Longitudinal research shows that the large majority of children thrive best in their own families with 5 The concept of significant harm was introduced in The Children Act 1989 as the threshold at which compulsory intervention in family life was in the best interests of children. It gives local authorities a duty to make enquiries to decide whether they should take action to safeguard or promote the welfare of a child. 3.5 Definition of a Child For the purposes of this document a child is anyone from pre-birth to 18 years whatever their circumstances; this includes those living independently, in hospital, in custody, in the armed forces, in custody or in further education. Some young people over 18 will continue to access services provided by the children s workforce, for example those who are care leavers, those with a statement of special educational need and those young people with complex disabilities who are subject to transitional planning into adult services. 3.6 Our Population The 2011 census for Walsall tells us that while White British remains the largest single group at 76.9%; the proportion of residents from a minority ethnic group has risen since 2001 to 23.1%. This is higher than the 19.5% average in England and Wales. In considering the needs of all our children we must also ensure that we take into account a

6 child s racial, cultural, religious and linguistic background when making decisions about how best to identify and meet their needs. Research indicates that disabled children face an increased risk of abuse or neglect 3 and can require additional support. They can experience greater vulnerability as a result of negative attitudes about disability and they may have additional needs relating to physical, sensory, cognitive and/ or communication impairments. They can also experience access to services and resources differently, e.g. having more residential care or less access to the other community resources utilised by other children. These issues are explored in Protecting Disabled Children: Thematic Inspections Key Principles Underpinning our Practice Working Together 2013 seeks to ensure that all local areas have effective safeguarding systems in place and sets out the principles that should underpin all safeguarding arrangements. Our approach in Walsall seeks to ensure that as we adopt a multi and inter-agency approach with an emphasis on early identification and early intervention our practice is informed by evidence and draws on the practitioner s knowledge and experience, research and data and consultation with children, young people and their families. It is important that all professionals and organisations share a clear and consistent set of principles to the way in which they work. These are: Information Sharing serious case reviews have repeatedly shown that a failure to share information has contributed to the death or serious injury of a child effective sharing of information between professionals and partner agencies is essential to achieve appropriate identification of need and engagement of relevant services, whether these are around emerging issues that could be addressed via Early Help or when intervention by safeguarding children services is necessary Working Together 2013 explicitly states: fears about sharing information cannot be allowed to stand in the way of the need to promote and protect the safety of children 5 all professionals are expected to know when and how to share information no professional should ever assume that someone else has passed on information or concerns about the safety and wellbeing of a child Safeguarding is Everyone s Responsibility all professionals need to share information appropriately and in a timely way with regard to the primary interests of the child. Professionals working in universal services have a responsibility to identify the symptoms and triggers of abuse and neglect and to share that information and work together to provide children and young people with the help they need 6 all professionals should be able to discuss concerns for an individual child or young person with colleagues and with children s social care all professionals and agencies need to work closely together to ensure that children and families get the right help at the right time to achieve their full potential. all professionals and agencies should contribute to delivering whatever actions or services are needed to safeguard a child or young person and promote their wellbeing all agencies must be involved in reviewing the outcomes for individual children to ensure their welfare and wellbeing are met A Child Centred Approach effective services require a clear understanding of the needs of the child based on hearing the voice of the child or young person promoting the resilience of all children and intervening early to tackle problems that emerge will help to make this happen ensuring that all those who come into contact with a child or young person are aware of their needs and alert to any risks or potential risk of harm intervention rooted in child development 6

7 Parental Consent Consent is always sought from the parent/carer before an Early Help assessment is undertaken and families are actively involved in the process. However, children, young people and their families sometimes do not wish to provide that consent and Working Together 2013 states:...if parents and/or the child do not consent to an early help assessment, then the lead professional should make a judgement as to whether, without help, the needs of the child will escalate. If so, a referral into local authority children s social care may be necessary. 7 This does not mean that practitioners should not be persistent in seeking consent, they should be innovative in their attempts to engage children, young people and their families who are experiencing difficulties and may be resistant to engaging with professionals. If the family do not engage sufficiently, practitioners need to consider the risks to the child, including any developmental risks, and whether these risks will escalate without support. In considering the risks, professionals may need to speak with colleagues in their own and other agencies, their agency safeguarding lead, or the Multi Agency Screening Team (MAST) on Thresholds for Support Children and young people have different needs and will need different types and levels of support to ensure that they meet their full potential both as children and later as adults. The threshold diagram describes the four levels of need and support that children, young people and their families in Walsall might experience. The Early Help offer fits into the 4 levels of need or vulnerability below. However, as individuals, children rarely fit neatly into these categories; neither do their circumstances always change in predictable or sustained ways. We recognise that the needs of children and young people can fluctuate, moving or jumping acrosss categories as life events take place. All children and young people have access to a range of universal services provided in their communities. These services include early years settings, schools, health services, leisure facilities, housing, youth services and services provided by voluntary organisations. Some children with additional needs may require extra support provided by a single agency or comore than one agency. ordinated support from Where this is necessary the expectation is that there is a focus on the child or young person and that the provision of early intervention is at the earliest opportunity to provide the right support for the right child at the right time. There are four levels of intervention Level 1 ~ universal services Level 2 ~ Early Help through a single agency response to identifiedd additional needs Level 3 ~ Early Help Additional support ~ a co- response to identified ordinated multi-agency additional needs Level 4 ~ Statutory Intervention of Children s Social Care The Walsall thresholds model provides a conceptual framework to develop a common understanding amongst practitioners of children and young people s needs. It considers how practitioners identify the specific strengths and needs of children, young people, their families and carers so that they get the right support at the right time. 7

8 5.1 Risk One of the challenges that faces professionals when considering the needs of a child or young person is determining when a level of need may escalate, or has escalated, to the point where they consider that there may be a risk of significant harm to the well being of the child or young person. Professionals need to adopt a risk sensible 9 approach, one that encompasses Healthy scepticism and respectful uncertainty 10. To do this effectively, the needs of the child need to assessed along with the protective factors in a child s life and their resilience in terms of the child/young person s development, their family and the environmental context. Risk can be described as the potential impact on the child or young person s well being connected to the issues or situations in their lives, referred to as risk factors. There are a number of well identified risk factors including: Development: temperament; levels of emotional maturity; gender; IQ; school transition stages. Parenting and family: bereavement; high criticism/low warmth parenting; parental discord; domestic violence; parental involvement with the criminal justice system; poor supervision. Environment: inadequate housing; multiple moves (education or housing); poverty; lack of family and social networks Risk is cumulative and a single risk factor on its own may mean that professionals do not need to be overly concerned. Multiple factors are likely to be present when assessing needs and risks. Signs that a child or young person has particular needs are not found in a single piece of evidence, nor does the need for child protection come labelled as such. The presence of a number of indicators, relatively minor in themselves, may together pose a significant risk. Similarly, just one factor may be serious enough in itself to warrant a more specialist or intensive service. Any professional in any doubt about a child being potentially at risk should consult with their line manager or their organisation s lead for safeguarding. 5.2 Universal Services Universal Services are available to all children and young people. The universal services most readily identified that children and families will access are primary health and education. Most children will access these services successfully and have their needs fully met via these services, their family, the voluntary sector and their wider informal support networks. Examples of the needs and circumstances which will be met by universal services are: post natal care for mother and new born baby through midwifery services advice provided by health visitors or children centres to parents on sleeping and feeding routines education needs meet through schools routine dental treatment advice and guidance on careers Most children and young people will fall into this category, living in secure, loving and protective environments where their needs are met. These children are at Level Early Help Single Agency Response This is a single agency response and is based on a dialogue with the child and their family. The role of the professional working with this group of children and young people is to promote healthy lifestyle, increase their resilience and achievement thus maximising their life chances. It is also about empowering families. These children will usually make good progress overall through universal services. However, occasionally, some children and young people will have additional needs that require some extra help to ensure they reach their full potential. Their needs may relate to health, educational or social development and may be time limited. If the issues are not supported at this early stage they may develop into more serious concerns, which will be more difficult to overcome. These are children at Level 2. If the threshold for referral to children s social care is not met but professional advice or guidance is required, MAST should be contacted on

9 Examples of presenting characteristics and needs in this area are: Child s Developmental Needs: These include physical and emotional health needs, learning and behavioural development, family and social relationships struggling to achieve expected targets at the end of key stages no barriers to learning but may lack focus or need additional curricular and pastoral support requiring advice or support with a single specific health issue a child who is sad because of bereavement or loss - death of a friend or extended family member, parental separation, chronic ill health of a family member Family and environmental issues: Key Services likely to be involved include: Children s Centre GP Early Years settings Young Person s Health Advisor Schools Police Health visiting service Voluntary and Community Sector Midwife Youth provision School nurse Professionals will undertake assessments according to the presenting need. This will include family history and relationships, wider family, housing and finance benefits and housing issues financial issues which mean the child is living on the edge of poverty children affected by difficult family relationships a child or young person who usually respects school and parental boundaries but who starts being late for school or staying out late a child at risk of bullying or being bullied a child or young person experiencing friendship or relationship issues struggles to keep or maintain relationships Parenting: This include basic care, guidance and boundaries, emotional warmth and stability while ensuring safety basic issues with parenting contact disputes between parents/carers parents request advice /support to manage their child loss of a significant adult 9

10 5.4 Early Help ~ Additional Multi-Agency Support These children and young people will be more vulnerable than most. Their needs will generally be identified by practitioners working in universal services who feel that coordinated additional input from other agencies is also needed to ensure needs are met. Early Help Additional Multi-Agency Support is a process of carrying out a holistic assessment to understand what the needs of a child, young person or family may be and determine what additional support they may need. Information is recorded in a consistent way about strengths and needs to help practitioners and families to work together more effectively. Where required a planned package of multiagency support will be coordinated by a lead professional. Most children and young people will only need to be supported for a short period of time until they are strong and resilient enough to only require additional single agency support or universal services. These are children at Level 3 Examples of presenting characteristics and needs in this area are: Child s Developmental Needs: These include physical and emotional health needs, learning and behavioural development, family and social relationships poor school attendance identified language and communication difficulties at risk of exclusion/ short term fixed term exclusions not achieving some key milestones Statement of Educational Needs in conjunction with other issues young people who are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) child or young person with a disability who requires specialist support to maintain them in a mainstream setting 10 health concerns relating to diet, hygiene, alcohol which are not immediately hazardous missed medical appointments mental health needs requiring specialist services from Child & Adolescent Health Services (CAMHS) or within the community child or young person who is self harming child or young person having suicidal thoughts teenage pregnancy criminal activity sufficient to be referred to Youth Offending Service for further assessment experimenting with substance misuse evidence of frequent or regular substance misuse multiple school and/or housing moves significant low self esteem experiencing bullying regularly needed to provide care for a family member ~ a young carer Inappropriate sexual behaviours demonstrating extremist views evidence of changing behaviours leading to risk taking behaviours Parenting: This include basic care, guidance and boundaries, emotional warmth and stability while ensuring safety adoption support advice parents request advice to manage their child parents engaging with agencies but have their own needs child often scapegoated by carers loss of parent/carer level of supervision is inadequate in relation to the child s age parental learning disability, parental substance misuse or mental health beginning to impact of their ability to meet the child s needs inconsistent care multiple carers

11 substance/ alcohol misuse by carers in their home historic domestic abuse carers unable to set boundaries and have an inconsistent approach to parenting teenage parents Family and environmental issues: This will include family history and relationships, wider family, housing and finance acrimonious divorce/separation severe overcrowding, temporary accommodation, homelessness, unemployment family is socially excluded serious debts/poverty impacting on the ability to care for the child/children escalating victimisation for the family by the local community Children and young people require a co-ordinated assessment of their needs. Key Services likely to be involved include: All agencies involved at Level 1 and 2 others as appropriate, e.g.: Exclusion & Reintegration Service Drug and Alcohol Services Educational Psychologist Special Educational Needs Services Youth Offending Service Area Family Support Teams Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service Family Nurse Partnership Teenage Pregnancy Services Commissioned family support providers Short breaks providers for disabled children 5.5 Statutory Intervention Statutory intervention is made in response to complex need. This usually involves multi-agency input along with children s social care support where the consequence of non intervention could result in risk or serious harm to the child or young person or failure to achieve reasonable standards of health and development without that support. These are children at Level 4 and children with this level of need include: children and young people requiring protection, at risk of significant harm and all children who are subject of a child protection plan children and young people who need to be taken into care and who are looked after by the local authority children and young people where the child or young person has a disability and a significant level of service is required children who because of their circumstances are Children in Need as identified in Section 17 of the Children Act These include children on the edge of care children in custody, and those receiving or requiring specialist mental health input These areas and the interventions that take place are governed by the Children Act 1989 and are summarised below. Children and young people in need of specialist support are unlikely to achieve and maintain a reasonable standard of health and development. After an initial assessment has taken place, a specialist children s social worker will be allocated as the lead professional, coordinating any multiagency support that is necessary. The needs of children and young people at Level 4 will be more complex and there is a greater likelihood that their parents / carers capacity to provide adequate care for them will also be significantly compromised or impaired. Children requiring protection are suffering or are likely to suffer significant harm if action is not taken. In these circumstances a range of practitioners will be involved, again with a specialist social worker acting as lead professional. A regular Child Protection Conference (CPC) will be held to draw up and monitor the progress of a Child Protection Plan. 11

12 In the most extreme cases where there is evidence of a child continuing to suffer significant harm, or where the harm already suffered is significant enough; practitioners at the CPC may recommend that a child needs to be taken into care. Here the aim is to find the best care for the child, ensuring stability and permanence as quickly as possible. 5.6 Multi Agency Screening Team (MAST) The MAST provides a single point of contact and gives professionals and members of the public the opportunity to discuss the support needs children and young people with specialist professionals. These staff deal with issues that span level 2-4 services i.e. children who have additional needs that are likely to need multi-agency support, children in need of specialist social care intervention and those in need of protection. Discussion with the MAST can lead to a number of outcomes depending on the child s needs including: discussing and agreeing if a referral to children s social care is advised to address the need identifying whether a multi agency early help assessment and response is suggested and where needed, identifying a lead agency to coordinate advice and signposting to the caller on where support for the child and family is available through universal or single agency additional support services. This will usually result in no further involvement of Children s Social Services (See Appendix 2) ensuring that verbal notification to the appropriate service is given immediately. All contacts with the MAST will be responded to within one working day, (24hours Monday to Friday). When there is an immediate need to protect a child because they are believed to be being harmed or at risk of harm staff must telephone the MAST on These are usually referrals classed as child protection under Section 47 Children Act 1989 and will be immediately processed and forwarded to the Initial Response Service for action. All staff and partners must follow the referral process and follow up a verbal referral with a written referral by using a WSCB1 form. If consent is not sought or not provided, the rationale for this should be recorded on the WSCB1. The WSCB1 should then be sent to: MAST@walsall.gcsx.gov.uk 5.7 The Early Help Process Every Early Help assessment (level 3) completed in Walsall will be undertaken jointly by the lead professional and the relevant Area Coordinator. Area Coordinators are available to chair assessment meetings and reviews. Dialogue between relevant agencies and the parents / carers / young person should take place prior to the assessment meeting about how the Early Help assessment will be undertaken. A further meeting when the assessment has been completed can be used to share the outcomes and future plans. This plan will then be reviewed at no more than six weekly periods. When children s social care are supporting a child or family (level 4), a plan will already be in place and the allocated social worker will always be the lead professional. The practitioners involved in looked after children reviews, core groups, child protection conferences or supporting a child in need form the team around the child. Professionals and members of the public who have concerns for the welfare of a child or young person during evenings and weekends should contact the Emergency Response Team on The concerns about the child should always be discussed with the family first and their agreement sought to make a contact to the MAST sought UNLESS the professional feels that to do so would place the child at increased risk of significant harm. 12 Any children s worker is able to provide information and advice on each of the thresholds and the early help support available for children and young people; professionals seeking advice should feel able to seek that from peers and colleagues from across the partnership. Single agency response to indentified needs (Level 2) can be provided without the need to refer to MAST on

13 5.8 The role of a Lead Professional Anyone working with children and young people can take on the role of lead professional. The lead professional will act as a single point of contact that the child or young person and their family can trust, and who is able to support them in making choices and in navigating their way through various pathways for support. The lead professional should co-ordinate services from differing agencies, ensuring children receive appropriate interventions when needed, that these are well planned, regularly reviewed effectively delivered and have the required impact. The lead professional is responsible for supporting the family to play an active role, building their resilience and enabling them to become more self sufficient. Where families needs are escalating or they are not responding to the support being offered, a more intensive response may be required. Similarly, as families become stronger and more resilient they will need less additional help. This is referred to as the step up or the step down process. 6. Step Up Step Down Practice Guidance 6.1 Context The Framework for Continuing Support to Vulnerable Children (or Step Up Step Down) promotes a framework of a defined and gradually increasing or decreasing level of support to children and their families. The process for Step Up Step Down should be read in conjunction with the above threshold guidance which explains how children s needs are considered when deciding what level of service may be best to meet them. The thresholds guidance sets out those circumstances in which Children s social care specialist services will provide an intervention and those where, while there may be no further action for Children s social care, other services and providers may provide an option for support for the child often through universal or a single agency s services. Deciding if a threshold has been reached for requesting a child protection service or whether a child is ready to step down is not easy and the Thresholds document provides guidance for those working with children and young people about the steps to take when their professional judgement indicates that boundaries have or may have been reached. 6.2 Who is this Guidance for? This guidance is aimed at all practitioners who are supporting children and their families. The guidance aims: To get practitioners to reflect on the role they can play in supporting a child and their family successfully stepping down from a social care intervention. To provide some best practice for practitioners who are identified as the lead professionals as part of a step down process 6.3 What do we mean by Step Up and Step Down? Where families needs are escalating or they are not responding to the support being offered, a more intensive response may be required. Similarly, as families become stronger and more resilient they will need less additional help. These situations may require increased or decreased levels of support that the family need; responding to this is referred to as the step up or the step down process. It is critical though that a child and their family experience a seamless continuum of support throughout the thresholds without delay. Although the principles set out in this guidance document can be applied to support families moving across the Thresholds, this guidance document focuses on the Step Up and Step Down to and from Early Help (level 3) to Child in Need / Child Protection (level 4) that requires Children s Social Care intervention. 6.4 What is the role of a lead Professional? it was easy to speak to someone I d already known they lifted a burden off me. All the pieces are back in the puzzle again now (mum of two children) Anyone working with children and young people can take on the role of lead professional. The lead professional is a key role to ensure we are holding the baton for children in Walsall. 13

14 The lead professional will act as a single point of contact that the child or young person and their family can trust, and who is able to support them in making choices and in navigating their way through various pathways for support. of the outcome of their initial assessment and convene a Child in Need meeting or Child Protection Conference as appropriate. All of the professionals already involved with the family will be invited to these meetings. The lead professional should co-ordinate services from differing agencies, ensuring children receive appropriate interventions when needed, that these are well planned, regularly reviewed, effectively delivered and have the required impact. If an Early Help Lead Professional identifies a child protection concern, as set out by the multi agency threshold document, a referral into the Multi Agency Assessment Team (MAST) must be made without delay. All staff must follow the referral process and will be requested to follow up a verbal referral with a written referral by using a WSCB1 form (downloadable from Walsall Safeguarding Board website). The WSCB1 should then be sent to: MAST@walsall.gcsx.gov.uk Where there is an existing Early Help Assessment and/or plan, this should be provided for information if possible. Where it is not clear whether a referral to the MAST is required, please consult the threshold document, seek your manager s advice or contact the MAST for information and advice. Consent should be sought from the family prior to a step up request, unless it is not possible to obtain consent in a timely way and delay would be detrimental, or where seeking consent would place the child at increased risk of significant harm. If consent is not sought or provided, the rationale for this should be recorded on the WSCB1. If, following the consideration by MAST, the referral is allocated for an Initial Assessment within Social Care a social worker will contact the family and the partner agencies already involved with the child. The case will remain open to Early Help and any service provided by Early Help should continue while the initial assessment is carried out. Communication between the Early Help lead professional and the Social worker will be vital to ensure service provision is maintained. If following Initial Assessment, the child is assessed to be in need and Children s Social Care need to provide a service, the case will be transferred from Early Help and an allocated social worker will assume the Lead Professional role. The social worker will inform the Early Help lead professional How do we support our children and young people stepping down from social care intervention? As a partnership, we believe that the more robust the step down plan (from the public care, child protection or Child in Need), the better we will assist children to achieve and maintain improved outcomes through their increased resilience and that of their families. Whilst a child may no longer need to be Looked After by the local authority or to have a Child Protection Plan or Child in Need Plan, it is highly likely that they will continue to have needs, at Level 3 or 2 which may make them vulnerable. Their families should be supported in caring for them and will benefit from a period of coordinated support from across the partnership at this stage in their journey. Robust Step Down arrangements will ensure that the pattern of multi-agency and integrated working in Walsall is sustained whilst children and families build their sustainable strategies and resilience. This is important to avoid child and families bouncing back through the system in a way which is damaging to children and young people and fails to take account of parents and/or carers abilities to provide meaningful care which adequately meets their needs at that stage of the child or young person s age and development. As progress is reviewed, a child / young person s support can be stepped down from Social Care Services. This means that step down can occur from: a Child in Need Plan a Child Protection Plan a Looked After Care Plan When a decision has been made that a child is no longer in need of Social worker intervention, but some ongoing lower level of support is required and the family/child have given consent to support and for information to be shared, then a referral will be made to early help using the step down process.

15 The decision to refer to Early Help for step down will be made by child s social worker and will be informed by a Child in Need (CiN) review meeting or a Child Protection Conference or Looked After Children Review. 6.6 How to Step Down from an Initial Assessment Cases will be stepped down where an Initial Assessment has been undertaken by a social worker and the child has identified needs which can be met by level 3 support. The child will be redirected through the Early Help Pathway (see Appendix 2) to identify a lead service and early help lead professional. As part of the redirection the Initial Assessment will be passed to the lead professional and will function as the Early Help Assessment. The early help lead professional will provide supportive contact with and coordinate multi-agency support to the child and family, with their agreement, usually for up to 6 months. There will be formal reviews of the child and family s needs after 6 weeks and 12 weeks which will enable the lead professional, with the child and family to make a decision to continue with the support at Early Help Level 3 or further Step Down to Level 2; single agency additional support. There will be further reviews at 6 weekly intervals to ensure that the child and family continue to make progress and to consider further step down. When the child s circumstances are satisfactory at the review then the child and family will be encouraged to continue receive support through Universal Services (level 1). 6.7 How to Step Down From a Child in Need (CiN) Plan Where a case is being stepped down from an existing CIN plan the social worker will convene a final CIN meeting which will also serve as the initial Early Help meeting. The social worker will invite the family and other professionals of this meeting. This meeting should identify a new early help lead professional and produce an Early Help plan to ensure the identified needs for support are met through an Early Help offer (level 3, multi-agency). support plan will be held after 6 weeks and 12 weeks to enable the lead professional, with the child and family to make a decision to continue with the support at Early Help Level 3 (multi-agency) or further Step Down to Level 2 (single agency additional support).there will be further reviews at 6 weekly intervals to ensure that the child and family continue to make progress and to consider further step down. When the child s circumstances are satisfactory at the review then the child and family will be encouraged to continue receive support through Universal Services (level 1). 6.8 How to Step Down from a Child Protection Plan A child who is on a Child Protection Plan can be stepped down to a Child in Need Plan or Early Help. Where a final Core Group considers a child no longer requires a Child Protection plan and recommends the child s needs can be safely met through an Early Help offer, an Early Help lead professional will be identified at that meeting. Once the recommendation of a Step Down to Early Help has been endorsed by the final Review Child Protection Conference, the lead professional will coordinate an Early Help meeting within 10 days with the family and professionals to agree an Early Help support plan. The Step Down lead professional will take the lead to monitor the child s welfare and any services to the family, usually for a period of up to 6 months. The review of the support plan will be held after a maximum of 6 weeks and at 12 weeks which will enable the lead professional, with the child and family to make a decision to continue with the support at Early Help Level 3 or further Step Down to Level 2. There will be further reviews at 6 weekly intervals to ensure that the child and family continue to make progress and to consider further step down. When the child s circumstances are satisfactory at the review then the child and family will be encouraged to continue receive support through Universal Services. The Early Help lead professional will monitor the child s welfare and any services to the family usually for a period of up to 6 months. The review of the 15

16 6.9 How to Step Down from a Looked After Care Plan Consideration of a Looked After child who returning home to a parent or relative will be done in a planned and structured way. In deciding on the return home, the social worker will have carried out an assessment considering issues relating to the reunification and will have produced a return home support plan to address the identified needs. The assessment will include consultation with the child/young person and consideration of support for the child/young person and their family in returning home in a planned and effective way. The decision about a child returning home will be made at their Statutory Looked After Child Review and the child s social worker will give consideration to introducing Early Help resources to the child/young person care plan at the earliest stage possible to ensure that the Step Down process is effective and sustainable. Supporting a child in returning home will be supported through 4 stages once the plan has been endorsed at the child s Looked after Review: consideration of the issues in returning home and how they need to be addressed within the care plan start the planning for step down with all relevant agencies involved transition plan where the social worker and Early Help lead professional will work together to support the child and their family child and family fully supported through a agreed Early Help offer. A lead professional for the Step Down will be identified in consultation with the child/young person and their family. Where possible and appropriate a Family Group Conference will be used as part of the Step Down planning process to ensure that the child/young person and the family are fully involved in drawing up a support plan. At an Early Help planning meeting with the child/young person and their family the child s social worker and the lead professional will identify any remaining issues and/or support needs. These should then be outlined to all the relevant agencies delivering targeted and/or universal services. During the transition stage the social worker will continue to work together with the Step Down lead professional for a minimum of 6 weeks. any services to the family, usually for a period of up to 6 months. The review of the support plan will be held after a maximum of 6 weeks and at 12 weeks which will enable the Lead Professional, with the child and family to make a decision to continue with the support at Early Help Level 3 or further Step Down to Level 2. There will be further reviews at 6 weekly intervals to ensure that the child and family continue to make progress and to consider further step down. When the child s circumstances are satisfactory at the review then the child and family will be encouraged to continue receive support through Universal Services Dispute Resolution In the event of the early help lead professional and social worker not agreeing on a decision to step down then contact will be made with the early help team manger to discuss the issues within 1 working day of receipt of contact. A discussion will then take place between the team manager and the Lead Professional and if no agreement can be reached then the matter will be escalated to the Early Help operational lead and the IRS operational lead who will ensure resolution within 7 days Quality Assurance Compliance to the guidance and its level of impact will be evidenced by a range of information sources: Monthly case file reviews and annual theme audits by the Family Support Panel. Service User and professionals feedback will be gathered and taken into account in service development. Any complaints, their outcomes and the learning derived from them Quantifiable data will be monitored around children s step up and step down arrangements; the extent of any bounceback, the duration of service provision at each level and the reasons for ending service provision. The results of these, together with learning and relevant actions around areas for further development will be presented to the Walsall Safeguarding Children Board. In the final stage the Step Down lead professional will take the lead to monitor the child s welfare and 16