“The local authority considers that (the Claimant’s) needs will be met in a mainstream school. The programme to support (the Claimant’s) needs will be provided by the school from its total delegated budget in the context of the whole school inclusion policy. This will enable the school to provide 35 hours from a teaching assistant per week for her emotional behavioural and social difficulties and her hearing impairment. This will be in addition to resources already available at the school.”
“(The Claimant’s) case has gone to Panel numerous times. Parents agree with professionals about a specialist placement. (The Claimant) herself states that she wants to go to a special school. (The Claimant) needs life skills and the expertise and opportunities available to her at a special school. (The Claimant) is not yet in a position to be able to work in the large setting of a mainstream school and is not ready to take on GCSE options. (The Claimant) is very vulnerable and is a health and safety risk to herself and to others in such an open situation. The school does not understand what benefit it would be for (the Claimant) to actually attend this school. In conclusion Friern Barnet School does not agree to be named on (the Claimant’s) Statement because from all the evidence sent to the school it is obvious that a mainstream setting is not what (the Claimant) requires and we question what benefit there would be to (the Claimant) should the local authority decide that she should attend Friern Barnet School”
“(10) For the purposes of this Part a child shall be taken to be in need if : (a) he is unlikely to achieve or maintain, or to have the opportunity of achieving or maintaining, a reasonable standard of health or development without the provision for him of services by a local authority under this Part; (b) his health or development is likely to be significantly impaired, or further impaired, without the provision for him of such services, or; (c) he is disabled. (a) he is unlikely to achieve or maintain, or to have the opportunity of achieving or maintaining, a reasonable standard of health or development without the provision for him of services by a local authority under this Part; (b) his health or development is likely to be significantly impaired, or further impaired, without the provision for him of such services, or; (c) he is disabled. and “family”, in relation to such a child, includes any person who has parental responsibility for the child and any other person with whom he has been living.”
“2.1 Assessing whether a child is in need and the nature of these needs requires a systematic approach which uses the same framework or conceptual map for gathering and analysing information about all children and their families, but discriminates effectively between different types and levels of need. The framework in this guidance is developed from the legislative foundations and principles in Chapter 1 and an extensive research and practice knowledge which is outlined in the practice guidance (Department of Health, 2000a). It requires a thorough understanding of: • the developmental needs of children; • the capacities of parents or caregivers to respond appropriately to those needs; • the impact of wider family and environmental factors on parenting capacity and children. 3.1 Assessment is the first stage in helping a vulnerable child and his or her family, its purpose being ‘to contribute to the understanding necessary for appropriate planning’ (Compton and Galaway, 1989) and action. Assessment has several phases which overlap and lead into planning, action and review: • clarification of source of referral and reason; • acquisition of information; • exploring facts and feelings; • giving meaning to the situation which distinguishes the child and family’s understanding and feelings from those of the professionals; • reaching an understanding of what is happening, problems, strengths and difficulties, and the impact on the child (with the family wherever possible); • drawing up an analysis of the needs of the child and parenting capacity within their family and community context as a basis for formulating a plan. 3.9 A decision to gather more information constitutes an initial assessment. An initial assessment is defined as a brief assessment of each child referred to social services with a request for services to be provided. This should be undertaken within a maximum of7 working days but could be very brief depending on the child's circumstances. It should address the dimensions of the Assessment Framework, determining whether the child is in need, the nature of any services required, from where and within what timescales, and whether a further, more detailed core assessment should be undertaken. An initial assessment is deemed to have commenced at the point of referral to the social services department or when new information on an open case indicates an initial assessment should be repeated. All staff responding to referrals and undertaking initial assessments should address the dimensions which constitute the Assessment Framework. There is more detailed discussion about the contribution of respective agencies in Chapter 5. 3.11 A core assessment is defined as an in-depth assessment which addresses the central or most important aspects of the needs of a child and the capacity of his or her parents or caregivers to respond appropriately to these needs within the wider family and community context. While this assessment is led by social services, it will invariably involve other agencies or independent professionals, who will either provide information they hold about the child or parents, contribute specialist knowledge or advice to social services or undertake specialist assessments. Specific assessments of the child and/or family members may have already been undertaken prior to referral to the social services department. The findings from these should inform this assessment. At the conclusion of this phase of assessment, there should be an analysis of the findings which will provide an understanding of the child’s circumstances and inform planning, case objectives and the nature of service provision. The timescale for completion of the core assessment is a maximum of 35 working days. A core assessment is deemed to have commenced at the point the initial assessment ended, or a strategy discussion decided to initiate enquiries under s47, or new information obtained on an open case indicates a core assessment should be undertaken. Where specialist assessments have been commissioned by social services from other agencies or independent professionals, it is recognised that they will not necessarily be completed within the 35 working day period. Appropriate services should be provided whilst awaiting the completion of the specialist assessment. 3.37 Gathering information requires careful planning. However difficult the circumstances, the purpose of assessing the particular child and the family should always be kept in mind and the impact of the process on the child and family considered. It has to be remembered that: • the aim is to clarify and identity the needs of the child; • the process of assessment should be helpful and as unintrusive to the child and family as possible; • families do not want to be subjected to repeated assessments by different agencies; • if, during the assessment, the child’s safety is or becomes a concern, it must be secured before proceeding with the assessment. 3.42 It is essential that a child’s safety is addressed, if appropriate, during the course of undertaking direct work with him or her. There are five critical components in direct work with children: seeing, observing, talking, doing and engaging: • Seeing children: an assessment cannot be made without seeing the child, however young and whatever the circumstances. The more complex or unclear a situation or the greater the level of concern, the more important it will be to see the child regularly and to take note of appearance, physical condition, emotional wellbeing, behaviour and any changes which are occurring. • Observing children: the child’s responses and interactions in different situations should be carefully observed wherever possible, alone, with siblings, with parents and/or caregivers or in school or other settings. Children may hide or suppress their feelings in situations which are difficult or unsafe for them, so it is important that general conclusions are not reached from only limited observations. • Engaging children: this involves developing a relationship with children so that they can be enabled to express their thoughts, concerns and opinions as part of the process of helping them make real choices, in a way that is age and developmentally appropriate. Children should clearly understand the parameters within which they can exercise choice. In offering children such options, adults must not abdicate their responsibilities for taking decisions about a child’s welfare. • Talking to children: although this may seem an obvious part of communicating with children, it is clear from research that this is often not done at all or not done well. It requires time, skill, confidence and careful preparation by practitioners. Issues of geographical distance, culture, language or communication needs because of impairments may require specific consideration before deciding how best to communicate with the child. Children themselves are particularly sensitive to how and when professionals talk to them and consult them. Their views must be sought before key meetings. Again, a range of opportunities for talking to children may be needed, appropriate to the child’s circumstances, age and stage of development, which may include talking to the child on their own, in a family meeting or accompanied by or with the assistance of a trusted person. • Activities with children: undertaking activities with children can have a number of purposes and beneficial effects. It is important that they are activities which the child understands and enjoys, in which trust with the worker can develop and which give the child an experience of safety. They can allow positive interaction between the worker and the child to grow and enable the professional to gain a better understanding of the child’s responses and needs. 4.1 The Guidance has emphasised that assessment is not an end in itself but a process which will lead to an improvement in the wellbeing or outcomes for a child or young person. The conclusion of an assessment should result in: • an analysis of the needs of the child and the parenting capacity to respond appropriately to those needs within their family context; • identification of whether and, if so, where intervention will be required to secure the wellbeing of the child or young person; • a realistic plan of action (including services to be provided), detailing who has responsibility for action, a timetable and a process for review. 4.11 To summarise the analysis stage: • A child’s needs must be based on knowledge of what would be expected of this child’s development; • Parenting capacity should draw on knowledge about what would be reasonable to expect of parental care given to a similar child; • Family and environmental factors should draw on knowledge about the impact these will have on both parenting capacity and directly on a child’s development. 4.12 Professionals will be drawing on their respective knowledge bases to inform the judgements they come to about a child’s circumstances, whether the child is in need and whether their health and development is likely to be impaired without the provision of services. For some children, decisions will also have been made about whether they are suffering or are likely to suffer significant harm. The knowledge base will include information about the factors which are intrinsic to all children such as temperament, genetic make-up and race, and other factors which may be intrinsic to some children, such as physical or sensory impairments. 4.20 In drawing up a plan of intervention, careful distinction should to be made between judgements about the child’s developmental needs and parenting capacity and decisions about how best to address these at different points in time. These decisions will have to take account of a number of factors including: • how existing good relationships and experiences can be nurtured and enhanced; • what type of interventions are known to have the best outcomes for the particular circumstances of the child who has been assessed as in need; • what the child and family can cope with at each stage. Complicated arrangements regarding the provision of services and interventions might well overwhelm the child or individual family members; • how the necessary resources can be mobilised within the family’s network and • within professional agencies, including social services; • what alternative interventions are available if the resources of choice cannot be secured; • ensuring interventions achieve early success and have a beneficial impact. The self-esteem of children and parents is critical to the outcome of longer term intervention. Good experiences are important when many other aspects of family life may be in chaos or problems feel insurmountable; • there may be an optimal hierarchy of interventions which will require distinguishing between what is achievable in the short term, what will have maximum impact on the child and family’s wellbeing and what are the long term goals; • identifying what the child regards as highest priority, for example, learning to ride a bicycle may be far higher on a child’s list of wants than therapy, and such practical wishes should be taken account of because they may result in changes which will enable the child to make use of therapeutic help. • It will be essential to achieve some parts of a proposed intervention within a predetermined timescale, in order to meet the child’s needs. Other components of a plan will be less pressing and although desirable to achieve, not considered necessary for the prevention of future significant harm. 4.21 Underlying these critical considerations is the importance of keeping the child at the centre of the planning processes. Three key aspects of a child’s health and development must inform the content and timing of the plan: • ensuring the child’s safety; • remembering that a child cannot wait indefinitely; • maintaining a child’s learning.” • the developmental needs of children; • the capacities of parents or caregivers to respond appropriately to those needs; • the impact of wider family and environmental factors on parenting capacity and children. • clarification of source of referral and reason; • acquisition of information; • exploring facts and feelings; • giving meaning to the situation which distinguishes the child and family’s understanding and feelings from those of the professionals; • reaching an understanding of what is happening, problems, strengths and difficulties, and the impact on the child (with the family wherever possible); • drawing up an analysis of the needs of the child and parenting capacity within their family and community context as a basis for formulating a plan. • the aim is to clarify and identity the needs of the child; • the process of assessment should be helpful and as unintrusive to the child and family as possible; • families do not want to be subjected to repeated assessments by different agencies; • if, during the assessment, the child’s safety is or becomes a concern, it must be secured before proceeding with the assessment. • Seeing children: an assessment cannot be made without seeing the child, however young and whatever the circumstances. The more complex or unclear a situation or the greater the level of concern, the more important it will be to see the child regularly and to take note of appearance, physical condition, emotional wellbeing, behaviour and any changes which are occurring. • Observing children: the child’s responses and interactions in different situations should be carefully observed wherever possible, alone, with siblings, with parents and/or caregivers or in school or other settings. Children may hide or suppress their feelings in situations which are difficult or unsafe for them, so it is important that general conclusions are not reached from only limited observations. • Engaging children: this involves developing a relationship with children so that they can be enabled to express their thoughts, concerns and opinions as part of the process of helping them make real choices, in a way that is age and developmentally appropriate. Children should clearly understand the parameters within which they can exercise choice. In offering children such options, adults must not abdicate their responsibilities for taking decisions about a child’s welfare. • Talking to children: although this may seem an obvious part of communicating with children, it is clear from research that this is often not done at all or not done well. It requires time, skill, confidence and careful preparation by practitioners. Issues of geographical distance, culture, language or communication needs because of impairments may require specific consideration before deciding how best to communicate with the child. Children themselves are particularly sensitive to how and when professionals talk to them and consult them. Their views must be sought before key meetings. Again, a range of opportunities for talking to children may be needed, appropriate to the child’s circumstances, age and stage of development, which may include talking to the child on their own, in a family meeting or accompanied by or with the assistance of a trusted person. • Activities with children: undertaking activities with children can have a number of purposes and beneficial effects. It is important that they are activities which the child understands and enjoys, in which trust with the worker can develop and which give the child an experience of safety. They can allow positive interaction between the worker and the child to grow and enable the professional to gain a better understanding of the child’s responses and needs. • an analysis of the needs of the child and the parenting capacity to respond appropriately to those needs within their family context; • identification of whether and, if so, where intervention will be required to secure the wellbeing of the child or young person; • a realistic plan of action (including services to be provided), detailing who has responsibility for action, a timetable and a process for review. • A child’s needs must be based on knowledge of what would be expected of this child’s development; • Parenting capacity should draw on knowledge about what would be reasonable to expect of parental care given to a similar child; • Family and environmental factors should draw on knowledge about the impact these will have on both parenting capacity and directly on a child’s development. • how existing good relationships and experiences can be nurtured and enhanced; • what type of interventions are known to have the best outcomes for the particular circumstances of the child who has been assessed as in need; • what the child and family can cope with at each stage. Complicated arrangements regarding the provision of services and interventions might well overwhelm the child or individual family members; • how the necessary resources can be mobilised within the family’s network and • within professional agencies, including social services; • what alternative interventions are available if the resources of choice cannot be secured; • ensuring interventions achieve early success and have a beneficial impact. The self-esteem of children and parents is critical to the outcome of longer term intervention. Good experiences are important when many other aspects of family life may be in chaos or problems feel insurmountable; • there may be an optimal hierarchy of interventions which will require distinguishing between what is achievable in the short term, what will have maximum impact on the child and family’s wellbeing and what are the long term goals; • identifying what the child regards as highest priority, for example, learning to ride a bicycle may be far higher on a child’s list of wants than therapy, and such practical wishes should be taken account of because they may result in changes which will enable the child to make use of therapeutic help. • It will be essential to achieve some parts of a proposed intervention within a predetermined timescale, in order to meet the child’s needs. Other components of a plan will be less pressing and although desirable to achieve, not considered necessary for the prevention of future significant harm. • ensuring the child’s safety; • remembering that a child cannot wait indefinitely; • maintaining a child’s learning.”
“…There should be a systematic assessment of needs which takes into account the three domains (child’s developmental needs, parenting capacity, family and environmental factors) and involves collaboration between all relevant agencies so as to achieve a full understanding of the child in his or her family and community context. It is important moreover to be clear about the three stage process: Identification of needs, production of a care plan and provision of the identified services. It seems to me that where an authority follows a path that does not involve the preparation of a core assessment as such, it must nevertheless adopt a similarly systematic approach with a view to achievement of the same objectives. Failure to do so without good cause will constitute an impermissible departure from the guidance.”
“44. In R(AB and SB) v Nottingham City Council[2001] EWHC Admin 235 [2001] 3 FCR 350, as Mr Wise correctly points out, Richards J emphasised the rigour and detail required of a local authority embarking upon an assessment such as this. At the end of the process, what is needed is a document, as Richards J put it at para 20 from which “it should be possible to see what help and support the child and family need and which agencies might be best placed to give that help”
“It was essentially a descriptive document rather than an assessment, and in any event sufficient detail was still lacking both as regards the assessment itself and as regards the care plan and service provision. There was no clear identification of needs, or what was to be done about them, by whom and by when”
“The pathway plan should be explicit in setting out the objectives and actions needed to achieve these; this should include who is responsible for achieving each action and timescale for achieving it.”
“In any case where a child is not receiving suitable education it is necessary to consider the whole picture in order to decide in what respect, if any, this is attributable to a breach of duty by the local education authority. If there is no suitable education available that is reasonably practicable for the child, the authority will be in breach of Section 19. If suitable education has been made available which is reasonably practicable, but for one reason or another the child is not taking advantage of it, the local authority may well be in breach of duty in failing to exercising its powers to ensure that the child receives that education. It will not, however, be in breach of Section 19.”
“As regards (the Claimant’s) exposure to sexual abuse, the London Child Protection Procedures would not be activated as (the Claimant) is currently not at risk of harm, as she is not allowed out alone in the community. Her parents are acting to protect her and we would therefore and have a strategy meeting to discuss this”