PRIORITIES FOR CHANGE Changes required for the implementation of the

1. PRIORITIES FOR CHANGE Changes required for the implementation of the Common Assessment Framework to be effective View as slide show for links to work See www.changeforchildren.co.uk for further details These priorities for change were identified by delegates at the Regional Learning Project event 1/2/07. Eight groups selected top 10 priorities for change and scored them for impact and difficulty. The results are presented here without censorship or editing.

2. The priority changes have been arranged in terms of impact and difficulty. Click each active cell below to see what is suggested What impact? Great impact but hard to do Click to see these suggestions Great impact but quite hard Click to see these suggestions Quite do-able and great impact Click to see these suggestions Most do-able and great impact Click to see these suggestions Greatest impact Most do-able and considerable impact Click to see these suggestions Considerable impact but hard to do Click to see these suggestions Considerable impact but quite hard to do Click to see these suggestions Considerable impact and quite do-able Click to see these suggestions Considerable impact Hard to do and only limited impact No suggestions made in this category Quite hard and only limited impact Click to see these suggestions Quite do-able but only limited impact No suggestions made in this category Most do-able but limited impact No suggestions made in this category Limited impact Quite hard to do and little impact No suggestions made in this category Quite do-able but little impact No suggestions made in this category Hard to do and little impact Click to see these suggestions Most do-able but little impact No suggestions made in this category Little impact Hard to do Quite hard to do Quite do-able Most do-able How do-able are the changes required?

3. CLICK TO GO BACK Changes required for the implementation of the Common Assessment Framework to be effective (identified by delegates at RLP event 1/2/07 – see www.changeforchildren.co.uk) • Priority changes for CAF • Hard to do and little impact • Getting to know professionals in all areas to create multi-agency teams • Developing skills to complete forms • Increasing awareness of the CAF process

4. CLICK TO GO BACK Changes required for the implementation of the Common Assessment Framework to be effective (identified by delegates at RLP event 1/2/07 – see www.changeforchildren.co.uk) • Priority changes for CAF • Quite hard to do and only limited impact • Engagement of PCTs and health partners – their role is crucial • Stability in management

5. CLICK TO GO BACK Changes required for the implementation of the Common Assessment Framework to be effective (identified by delegates at RLP event 1/2/07 – see www.changeforchildren.co.uk) • Priority changes for CAF • Considerable impact but hard to do • Creating sufficient resources

6. CLICK TO GO BACK Changes required for the implementation of the Common Assessment Framework to be effective (identified by delegates at RLP event 1/2/07 – see www.changeforchildren.co.uk) • Priority changes for CAF • Considerable impact but quite hard to do • Clarity on information sharing – anticipated problem for the police • Creating sufficient resources to meet identified need • Long term approach to planning, funding, evaluation and use of targets • Be clear about referral processes and procedures

7. CLICK TO GO BACK Changes required for the implementation of the Common Assessment Framework to be effective (identified by delegates at RLP event 1/2/07 – see www.changeforchildren.co.uk) • Priority changes for CAF • Considerable impact and quite do-able • Building the skills and confidence of staff, especially lone workers, to ask the ‘right’ questions and build trusting relationships that share information • Training to parents, young people and ‘communities’ • Disseminate and ‘scale up’ successful small projects to build confidence of local professionals • Ensuring clear focus of how CAF fits with existing multi-agency meetings/panels eg in the community, extended schools • Senior staff taking ownership • ICT and support systems in place

8. CLICK TO GO BACK Changes required for the implementation of the Common Assessment Framework to be effective (identified by delegates at RLP event 1/2/07 – see www.changeforchildren.co.uk) • Priority changes for CAF • Most do-able and considerable impact • Communications when CAFs are started

9. CLICK TO GO BACK Changes required for the implementation of the Common Assessment Framework to be effective (identified by delegates at RLP event 1/2/07 – see www.changeforchildren.co.uk) • Priority changes for CAF • Great impact but hard to do • Clear, workable, uncluttered systems to make CAF work for families and professionals • Practitioners need to understand the reality of the CAF process to bring about appropriate support • Finding solutions for the families that ‘disappear’? • Working together more effectively – losing professional ‘preciousness’ for the sake of the overwhelming importance of a child’s entitlement • Work at ‘professional boundaries’ – where do you start? Who starts it? • Flexible thresholds to services to ensure no exclusion to services • Getting GPs involved – persuading them about early intervention • Professionals need to become more open-minded, less introspective and job protective • De-commission to re-commission • Dispel the myth of CAF – it is highly do-able – we’ve seen the evidence today! • Achieving competency and emotional intelligence among practitioners

10. CLICK TO GO BACK Changes required for the implementation of the Common Assessment Framework to be effective (identified by delegates at RLP event 1/2/07 – see www.changeforchildren.co.uk) • Priority changes for CAF • Great impact but quite hard to do • Resolving the conflict of frameworks – will CAF replace or run alongside? • Developing clear, locally agreed processes • Remove obstacles of language, referral rates, paperwork • Getting families on board – empowering them through the process • Give it time to work before we judge it • All agencies to trust CAF assessments that they might not have originated • For all professionals to accept it as their responsibility • Get all partners, especially schools to embed CAF within their own processes • Develop awareness of available resources • Develop shared indicators of need • Leaders to take ownership • Use joint targets between agencies to get ‘buy in’ of all partners • Staff development – training in multi-agency forums • System to deal with capacity issues that allow families to take part in meetings • Dedicated resources and change of thinking about use of resources • Care, supervision (standards) and support for lead professionals • Headteachers to see the power of CAF • Co-locate people to create required teams

11. CLICK TO GO BACK Changes required for the implementation of the Common Assessment Framework to be effective (identified by delegates at RLP event 1/2/07 – see www.changeforchildren.co.uk) • Priority changes for CAF • Quite do-able and great impact • Same format for all so that movement across boundaries does not affect things • Involving children and their families from the onset of CAF • Providing good quality, inclusive multi-agency training • To build organisational/agency knowledge and willingness to undertake the CAF • Developing systems and structures to enable CAF processes • Involve and consult young people • Need for systems to ‘talk to each other’ despite data protection • Obtaining consent/permission of families at the early stages to bring them along as full partners if/when the problems develop • Clear operational guidance including when and how to ‘CAF’. • Widespread publicity and training for parents • Strategic planning and implementation to ‘join up the dots’ • Taking CAF to the stakeholders to say “Your services, your say, your CAF” • Develop on-going local support for good practice networks • Change of attitudes and building trusting relationships • Multi-agency CAF implementation project team to support • Clarification within PCT as to how CAF ‘fits’

12. CLICK TO GO BACK Changes required for the implementation of the Common Assessment Framework to be effective (identified by delegates at RLP event 1/2/07 – see www.changeforchildren.co.uk) • Priority changes for CAF • Most do-able and great impact • Total sign up of all partners – top down • Identify examples of CAF benefits to minimise scepticism and show how needs can be met more effectively • Identify key staff that should be involved/undertake CAFs • Training to managers to understand the rationale for CAF • Training for staff who undertake CAF • Fully engage the voluntary sector • Appoint CAF Champions, especially at strategic level • Create local case studies that demonstrate success for a young person that wouldn’t have happened without CAF • Embed CAF within integrated service developments • CAF must become an organisational priority for which staff and organisations are held to account • Strategic partnerships that work • Multi-agency locality training • Ensure family involved and ‘in control’ – their needs lead the process • Panels must enable, not block, access