www.newdirectionstraining.com

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• www.newdirectionstraining.com
• Integrated Working Lessons to Learn
• Mike Brown

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Training should increase

• Awareness-what to do if I am worried/concerned-how
  to report/who do I speak to?
• Competence
• Confidence
• Professional judgement
• Analysis and decision- which is clear and
  evidenced
• Process of supervision-tasks and actions with
  timescales

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Training should increase

• How to professionally disagreement-SCR
• Competence around completing chronologies-building
  that bigger picture
• How not to be a passive recipient of
  information
• How to write for the independent reader

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Training should increase

• Managers ability to manage, lead, direct and be
  in control. Autocratic vs democratic
• Roles and responsibilities at every level across
  agencies
• Knowledge/skills/abilities which equips
  professionals to do the job they are paid to do!!
• Quality assessments and risk assessments
• Developing protection plans
• Effectively chairing core groups
• Report writing
• Court reports
• Time management-how to be proactive/calm/clear
  thinker and not reactive/rushing around/losing
  control-what are the implications for the
  child/yp?

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Training should increase

• Working with avoidant families
• How to prevent drift and know how to re-group?
• Recognising when we should intervene and stop
  working in partnership
• Legislation/theories/research/SCRs-evidence
  informed practice
• Skills to work under pressure

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Training should increase

• A shared understanding of thresholds and
  processes/systems/common language
• We are all in it together
• Can do attitude and culture-supporting each other

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Other types

• Shadowing
• Mentoring
• Coaching
• Comprehensive inductions
• Reflective practice/clinical supervision
• Debriefing
• Making sure our work is inclusive/transparent/open
  and honest

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Reflection!

• Children are murdered by their
  parents/carers and not by professionals,
  however..

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Reflection!

• The extent of the failure to protect Victoria was
  lamentable. Tragically, it required nothing more
  than basic good practice being put into
  operation. This never happened.

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Baby P

• Limited effort to engage childs father
• Trust and responsibility placed in familys
  friend
• Insufficient assessment monitoring/review
• Pervasive belief that injuries caused by lack of
  supervision and childs behaviour
• Inability to identify and prosecute
• Delay in referral and provision to specialist
  health

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Baby P

• Delay in holding a legal planning meeting and
  advice on threshold criteria
• Various assessment processes had not reached an
  adequate understanding of how he got the injuries
  and bruises

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Victoria Climbie

• 12 missed opportunities-where someone could have
  done something
• 3 housing depts
• 4 SSD
• 2 GPs
• 2 hospitals
• NSPCC run family centre
• 2 Police CPT

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PUTTING INFORMATION TOGETHER

• Kouao and Victoria in London on a travel package
  which included seven nights BB(Kouao claimed
  that she was homeless)
• Within two days, Kouao presented as homeless
• Kouao had no means to support herself and
  Victoria for more than two days
• Kouao said that she left three other children in
  France
• Kouao said she came to England to improve her
  english

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PUTTING INFORMATION TOGETHER

• Victoria was said to be small and of stunted
  growth
• Kouao and Victoria appeared to have a different
  skin colour
• Kouao was forceful and manipulative and did
  not allow Victoria to answer questions staff
  directed to her
• SSD believed that Victoria was being coached in
  her reactions
• When Victoria cried it seemed to be staged
  managed

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PUTTING INFORMATION TOGETHER

• Kouao made it clear that she had no intention of
  returning to france
• Kouao claimed she was given money by French
  social security
• Kouao gave different stories to different workers
• Victoria was wearing a wig
• The photograph of Victoria on the passport was a
  questionable?
• Kouao was well dressed
• Victoria was shabby and resembled one of the
  adverts you see for Action Aid

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PUTTING INFORMATION TOGETHER

• When in the office Victoria did not play with the
  toys and stood silently
• There did not appear to be any parental warmth
  from Kouao towards Victoria
• When a meeting was fixed to perform an assessment
  of Victoria needs, Kouao attended without
  Victoria
• Despite being in the country for two months,
  Victoria still had not been registered with a
  school

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LL Case _ Caerphilly

• Mother and step dad history of substance misuse
  and domestic abuse links!!!
• ASBO served no referral made
• Initial referral made by carpenter
• Mother was hostile and uncooperative
• Child placed on CPR but no CP medical but
  evidence of violence, acceptance of mothers
  reasons
• Since case
• Joint protocols between adult and children
  services around DA and SM
• LSCB to receive reports on children on CPR who
  are medically examined
• Listen to the community!

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Reflection!!

• Be respectfully uncertain
• Do not just be a passive recipient of information
• Can you critically separate the story given from
  the actual reality?

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Key Messages-SCRs

• Agencies not seeing or speaking to the child/ren
• Lack of overview or reflection about events or
  about what is happening
• Poor risk assessments and not recognising risk
  factors across agencies
• Over-optimism about parenting capacity
• Poor recording

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Key Messages-SCRs

• Poor analysis and decision-making
• Not using historical information
• Not checking on the male (often changing)
  composition of households
• Being parent focused rather than child focused
• Taking parental statements at face value
• Poor communication between agencies

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Key Messages-SCRs

• Lack of management oversight of cases
• Poorly trained, inexperienced staff and managers
• Insufficient supervision
• Lack of focus on the childs circumstances and
  their impact on the child
• Not considering the full impact of domestic
  abuse, mental ill-health, substance misuse

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Why we lose sight of child/YP

• Professionals dont believe the childs account
• Child/YP is fearful of the professionals
• Professionals like the parents they are a nice
  family
• Child/YP has no verbal communication
• Parents appear nice and plausible
• Child is fearful of being removed into care
• Professionals are frighten of the parent (s)

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Why we lose sight of the child/YP

• Professionals dont want to be perceived as being
  racist or discriminatory towards the family
• Professionals feel powerless and get frustrated
• Overly sympathise with parents
• Organisational pressures and changes
• Lack of observations of child
• No real attempt made to ascertain the wishes and
  feelings of child
• Turnover of staff
• Professionals not agreeing to disagree and remain
  professional-hence child/family manipulates the
  situation

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ENGAGING CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND THEIR
FAMILIES INCLUDE

• Working ethically and with consideration for
  consent and confidentiality
• Understanding behaviour
• Interviewing
• Questioning
• Observation
• Listening
• Summarising
• Accurate empathy and reflective listening
• Giving constructive feedback
• Challenging
• Working for change and positive outcomes for all

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RIGHTS TO ACTION

• Have a flying start in life
• Have a comprehensive range of education and
  learning opportunities
• Enjoy the best possible health and are free from
  abuse, victimisation and exploitation
• Have access to play, leisure, sporting and
  cultural activities
• Are listened to, treated with respect and have
  their race and cultural identity recognised
• Have a safe home and a community which support
  physical and emotional well-being
• Are not disadvantaged by poverty

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Neglect

• Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a
  childs basic physical and psychological needs,
  likely to result in the serious impairment of the
  childs health or development.
• It may involve a parent or carer failing to
  provide adequate food, shelter and clothing,
  failure to protect a child from physical harm or
  danger, or the failure to ensure access to
  appropriate medical care or treatment.
• It may also include neglect of a childs
  basic emotional needs.

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Impact of Abuse and Neglect

• There are immediate and life long health,
  social, physical and emotional impact to
  childrens development and may lead to
  difficulties into adulthood.
• Children who experience abuse, witness violence
  and other trauma in early childhood may suffer
  long term, permanent impairment to their brain
  development

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Impact of Abuse and Neglect

• Trauma in early life can lead to problems in
  maintaining interpersonal relationships, coping
  with stressful situations and controlling
  emotions, learning and emotional difficulties,
  also it may lead to violence behaviours towards
  own partner and children, increased risk of
  teenage pregnancy, increased behavioural problems
  and increased risk of re-victimisation.

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Keeping the Child Central

• Children cannot wait indefinitely when the
  parents needs overtake the childs needs.
• When parents needs are in conflict with their
  childs needs, this increases the vulnerability
  of the child

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T.E.A.M _at_ Child/YP (holistic)
HV
School/College
Playgroup
CHILD
YOT
Police
Significant people
GP
Nursery
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Barriers to effective multi-agency working
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Working Together to Safeguard Children requires
All organisations providing services for children
to have

• Priorities for safeguarding children
• Commitment by senior management to safeguarding
• Accountability for safeguarding children
• Safe recruitment procedures
• Allegations against staff procedures
• Training in safeguarding children
• Induction in safeguarding children
• Policies and procedures for safeguarding children
• Work on interagency basis to safeguard children
• Culture of listening to children
• Whistle blowing procedures

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Partners
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Putting Information Together

• it is only when information from a range of
  sources is put together and analysed that a child
  either could be deemed a child in need or in
  need of protection (significant harm)

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Information Sharing

• Almost every child death enquiry since Maria
  Caldwell has never criticised professionals for
  sharing relevant information but they have for
  NOT.in a timely manner!

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Sharing Information

• Likely outcome if information is shared
• Data Protection Act 1998
• Human Rights Act 1998
• Freedom of Information Act 2000
• Children Act 1989 and 2004
• Likely outcome if information is not shared

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Sharing information without consent?

• You believe you need to share information you
  have gathered but this has been refused or you
  think it would be not appropriate to seek consent
• Decide if information is Confidential-if it
  is not and you judge information sharing to be
  legitimate and lawful, you may share. This
  should not be done ROUTINELY
• Seek legal advice and support from your agency
  and others if in doubt!

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Working Together

• the support and protection of children cannot be
  achieved by one agencyevery service has to play
  its part.
• All staff must have it place upon them the clear
  expectations that their primary responsibility is
  to the child and his/her family.
• Victoria case, the focus was on the needs of
  the adults responsible for her, rather than the
  child herself
• Lord Laming

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Integrated Working

• An awareness and appreciation of the role of
  others is essential for effective collaboration
  between organisations and their staff
• At the same time it is important to emphasise
  that we all share responsibility for safeguarding
  and promoting the welfare of children and young
  children-this undertaking is important as well to
  enable those children to have optimum life
  chances and to enter adulthood successfully in
  line with Rights to Action-7 Core Aims

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Significant Harm

• When you are concerned that a child/YP has
  suffered or is likely to significant harm as a
  result of
• -ill-treatment
• -impairment of health or development
• -seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another
  person
• Consult All Wales CP Procedures

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Assessment Framework
Health
Basic care
Education
Ensuring safety
Emotional and behavioural development
Child Safeguarding and promoting Welfare
Emotional warmth
Identity
PARENTING CAPACITY
Stimulation
CHILDS DEVELOPMENTAL NEEDS
Family and social relationships
Guidance and boundaries
Social presentation
Stability
Self-care skills
FAMILY AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
Community resources
Family history functioning
Income
Housing
Familys social integration
Employment
Wider family
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Analysis and Professional Judgement

• A Child Developmental Needs must be based on
  knowledge/research of what would be expected of
  the childs development. Are their concerns
  about the childs development in relation to the
  dimensions?
• Are we protecting the child from maltreatment?
• Are we preventing impairment of childrens health
  or development?

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Analysis and Professional Judgement

• Parenting Capacity should be draw on knowledge
  about what would be reasonable to expect a parent
  to give their child which ensures that the child
  is growing up in circumstances consistent with
  the provision of safe and effective care
• Whats missing?
• Capacity and prognosis for change?
• Can the parent change within the childs
  timescale? (Safety over time)

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Analysis and Professional Judgement

• Family and Environmental Factors should be
  drawing on knowledge about the impact these will
  have on both parenting capacity and directly on a
  childs development.
• Is the accommodation suitable/accessible for a
  disabled child?
• Impact of poverty/hardship/isolation?
• Who else is in the family/extended family that
  could help/ support? (It takes a village to
  raise a child-African saying)

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Risk Assessment

• Assessing risk can be defined as the systematic
  collection of information to determine the degree
  to which a child/young person is likely to be
  abused or neglected at some future point in time.
  (Doueck et al 1992) It should be linked to the
  question of whether the child/young person is
  safe in the current living situation

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Risk Assessment

• Assessing risk is not just about assessing the
  intention of harm from parents/carers to the
  child/young person or to themselves. It is the
  compilation of significant events, both acute and
  long-standing, which interrupt, change or damage
  the childs physical and psychological
  development which causes the significant harm

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Risk Assessment

• Must consider a risk statement
• Mike is at risk of physical and emotional
  neglect because/why.
• (list the current risks)
• Risk currently reduced by.
• Risk in future might be increased by.

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Signs of Safety Approach
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Why is this approach useful?

• Helps us to engage with children, young people
  and their families about their worries/concerns
  but also what is going well for them (strengths)
• Organises and structures our thinking in a
  logical manner from the huge amount of
  information we gather from various sources
• Helps us to be proactive not reactive
• Enables children, young people and their families
  to problem-solve their own issues/difficulties to
  make sustainable changes which will lead to
  better outcomes

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Why is this approach useful?

• Ensures that professionals are honest, fair,
  objective, inclusive and transparent
• Professionals have to justify their concerns and
  be accountable for them
• Professionals have to use language that makes
  sense to children, young people and their
  families
• Less likely to have families who are resistant or
  reluctant
• Ensures not to just concentrate on the
  deficits/negatives (as you will only just get
  more of this)

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Signs of Safety Approach

• PROTECTIVE FACTORS SAFETY/STRENGTHS/RESONABLE
  WHICH REDUCES THE RISKS/WORRIES/CONCERNS/NEEDS OF
  CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
  
  
• Versus
• VULNERABILITIES FACTORS-
• RISKS/WORRIES/CONCERNS/NEEDS/DANGERS
• CHILD DEVELOPMENT
• PARENTING CAPACITY
• FAMILY AND ENVIRONMENTAL

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Putting Signs of Safety into Practice

• We have been talking about some very serious
  matters. To give me a more balanced picture, can
  you tell me some of the things that you feel are
  good about this family?
• How confident are you and your family that you
  can make your child safe?

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Getting Plans to work

• It is the plan that is developed where
  everyone involved knows clearly what needs to
  remain the same/change, what needs to be
  achieved, what needs to be different within what
  timescale, with clear actions that are measurable
  (SMART)
• Children and their families are integral to
  this process. We must think and work differently
  in how we negotiate with children and their
  families

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Scaling and Goal setting

• What are the child/rens goals?
• What are the parents/carers goals?
• What are the agencies goals?
• 1-No engagement/no progress made
• 10-engagement/progress made which is real and
  meaningful to the childs safety and well-being

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Process Questions

• What is it we are trying to achieve?
• How are we all trying to achieve the goals set?
• How will we know that we have achieved our goals
  or that progress has been made?
• Who/what objective process will inform us that
  our concerns have been reduced or no longer
  exist?
• Who will do what, and by when, to achieve the
  goals?
• What is our exit strategy? Is it safe to doso?

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Review the Plan

• Any review needs to consider
• Have there been any changes since the last time
  we all met?
• What progress has been made?
• What difference has been made-have you made
  progress towards, or achieved, the differences
  you or the family hoped for?
• Do we need to consider other options?

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Put Simply!

• What needs to change?
• How will you know things have improved?

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AN OUTCOME FOCUSED PRACTICE MODEL
Workers will Family Members will
OUTCOMES (specific, realistic measurable agree
how progress will be measured and scale current
situation from 1-10 )
What looks different? (scale against
outcomes) Have plans been carried out? Impact of
the change? (update assessment) Has a good
service been provided?
child/parent will
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What are the solutions?

• What are we going to do differently?
• How can we improve the way we protect and
  safeguard children and young people?
• What one thing are you going to do differently
  after today?

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