1. Mary Castles Executive Director of Housing and Social Work
Welcome back to Day Two
Mary Castles
Executive Director of
Housing and Social Work

2. The Evidence Base for Getting it right for every child
Professor Jane Aldgate OBE
Professional Advisor, Getting it right for every child team, Scottish Government
Professor of Social Care, The Open University

3. What is Getting it right for every child?
Common coordinated framework for planning and action across all agencies
Child at the centre
All children, young people and families get the help they need when they need it

4. Child development theory (seeing the whole child)
Where does GIRFEC come from? - the research evidence base from child development
Child development theory (seeing the whole child)
What do we know about children who do well?
The impact on development of a child’s ecology
The importance of the early years

5. Child development evidence - relevant sources
Aldgate and Rose (2000) ‘Knowledge undperpinning the Assessment Framework’ Chapter 2 in DH, Assessing Children in Need and their Families: Practice Guidance, London,TSO
Daniel, Gilligan and Wassel (1999) Child Development for Child Care and Protection Workers, London, JKP
Daniel and Wassell (2002) Assessing and Promoting Resilience in Vulnerable Children, London,JKP
Aldgate, Jones, Rose and Jeffery (2006)(eds)The Developing World of the Child, London, JKP

6. What children and families say they want from services - some examples from research
DH overviews from 1996 onwards
e.g. (1996) Child Protection Now - Messages from Research
(2001) The Children Act Now - Messages from Research
SWIA (2006)
Time Well Spent
Looking after the Family
Celebrating Success

7. Evidence based policy (some examples)
For Scotland’s children (2001)
It’s everyone’s job to make sure I’m alright (2002)
Review of Children’s Hearings (2004)
SWIA Extraordinary Lives (2006)
Getting it right for every child (2006)
Combating poverty and income inequality (2008)

8. Well-being central to GIRFEC
Well-being embraces:
Welfare
Wellness
Well-being and Well-becoming

9. Children’s well-being and welfare: UNICEF’S definition From UNICEF (2007) Child poverty in perspective: An overview of child well-being in rich countries, Florence, UNICEF
The true measure of a nation’s standing is how well it attends to its children – their health and safety, their material security, their education and socialization, and their sense of being loved, valued, and included in the families and societies into which they are born.

10. The concept of wellness
Work of psychologists is moving from an emphasis upon the troubles and sickness of people to an approach which looks at how we acquire positive qualities
Approach gets away from success/ failure model to progressing
Kelly 1974 (quoted in Aldgate et al 2006)

11. A much more positive and optimistic view of childhood
Stress in early years need not affect children permanently
With the right circumstances children can develop resilience
Children who miss out on particular experiences can make up ground
Healthy development can occur under a far wider range of circumstances than was thought possible in the past
Schaffer, R (1998), Making Decisions About Children, Oxford, Blackwell

12. The Scottish Government: well-becoming and well-being
Children’s well-becoming:
confident individuals
effective contributors
successful learners
responsible citizens
Eight well-being indicators:
Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible and Included

13. The policy framework – whole child
Hope you found the first session useful and informative, further information on the GIRFEC approach can be found on our website, see address, and in The Guide to Getting it right for every child, available on the web and I think most of you have a copy, if not, help yourself on the way out. The Guide is an attempt to bring together GIRFEC values, components and practice elements in one place for practitioners and policy makers.
There will be a second chance to get the web address up at the end.
Now invite Lorimer and Andrew to do their presentations ……
Questions…..Boyd to facilitate

14. Why do we need Getting it right for every child?
Children fall through the gaps in services
Children with complex needs not picked up early
Children get passed from one agency to another
Agencies do not share relevant information properly
Processes are duplicated – a child may have several plans and many workers
Have very poor record for looked after children

15. Getting it right for every child – from vision to reality
National programme of support for all children in Scotland when they need help
Getting it right starts in the universal services for all children – health and education
Includes immediate response to protecting children in cases of serious risk
Proportionate and timely help – always friendly and efficient services
Early identification of problems and early intervention are fundamental – at any stage of seriousness
It expects all agencies to work together

16. Key principles of Getting it right for every child
Promoting the well-being of individual children and young people
Keeping children and young people safe
Putting the child at the centre, promoting opportunities and valuing diversity
Taking a whole child approach – using developmental-ecological theory
Building on strengths and promoting resilience
Providing additional help that is appropriate, proportionate and timely and supporting informed choice
Working in partnership with families
Respecting confidentiality and sharing information
Promoting the same values across professions and making the most of each worker’s expertise
Co-ordinating help and building a competent workforce

17. A network of support for every child

18. GIRFEC requires changes in Culture, Systems and Practice
Learning together, co-operating, children at the centre
SYSTEMS
Streamlining, simplifying, improving effectiveness
PRACTICE
Appropriate, proportionate and timely help, shared materials, tools, protocols

19. There are five questions all practitioners need to ask themselves:
Taking individual responsibility: identifying gaps in well-being and how to meet them
There are five questions all practitioners need to ask themselves:
What is getting in the way of this child’s well-being?
Do I have all the information I need to help this child?
What can I do now to help this child?
What can my agency do to help this child?
What additional help, if any, may be needed from others?

20. A national practice model of assessment, planning, action and review
combines knowledge, theory and good practice
defines risks and needs as two sides of the same coin
assessment should be proportionate and dynamic
assessment should not prevent immediate help from being put in place
analysis makes sense of information gathered
decision-making against the eight well-being indicators
the child’s plan should show what needs to be done, timescales and who takes action with reviews built in
Outcomes assessed in review

21. The GIRFEC Practice Model
The overall model. Should be becoming familiar to you. Identification of concerns; assessment and analysis of information, decisions on planning to address risk and need, action and a system for review and measuring outcomes.
This is the mothership. The Star Ship Enterprise which services all activity for children.
There are docking stations to provide specialist assessments. There are high speed measure- warp factor – for when speedy action is needed. But any specialist docking station has ultimate to be housed in the ship if everything is to come together.
So if a specialist assessment is made and the analysis requires immediate action to keep the child safe, that is done. That is an immediate short term outcome. But the other short, medium and long term needs and risks have to be tackled. The GIRFEC model requires everything to be looked at in the round as soon as possible to ensure that planning and action addresses those needs and risks.

22. Where protecting children fits into the practice model
Risk and need are two sides of the same coin
Assessing and managing risk are part of the same system
Risk includes looking at the current risks and the long-term impact
Risk has to be understood broadly in relation to all aspects of children’s well-being
Risk and the right to take risk is a normal part of life - can be positive
Risk involves only using narrow risk assessment and failing to act to meet needs and understand the impact of risk on the child

23. Action on risk and need requires:
Procedures: streamlined – immediate when required. A Getting it right for every child approach does not exclude Child Protection procedures.
Process: identification of risk and need, assessment, analysis, decisions, action, review – appropriate, proportionate and timely
Practice: skills of engagement, professional judgement, common language, checking, sharing, involving others as appropriate
All in a inappropriate, proportionate and timely way.
Just keep thinking the Starship Enterprise, docking stations ands warp factor 10.

25. Use the well-being indicators to identify concern
Why is this child not:
Safe, Healthy, Achieving,
Nurtured, Active
Respected , Responsible,
Included

26. Concerned about a Child?
Child Protection Procedures
Is there an immediate risk to the child?
Is there suspicion that an offence has been committed against the child?
Is there a risk of significant harm?
Consider information sharing protocols
Use appropriate immediate risk assessment
Getting it Right for Every Child does not replace Child Protection Procedures however these procedures will now reflect the roles and responsibilities of the Named Person, Lead Professional and the Single Assessment Record and Plan.
Where there is an immediate risk to the child, where there is suspicion that an offence has been committed against a child or where there is a risk of significant harm local Child Protection procedures must be followed.

27. Concerned about a Child?
Concern but no immediate risk
No suspicion of offence against the child
Consider information sharing protocols
Discuss with child/family/other practitioners

28. Options
1. Do proportionate assessment using well-being indicators and take action
2. Need further information – use My World Triangle and other assessment tools

29. Further information needed and/or serious risk
1. Using the My World Triangle proportionately to gather information
2. Incorporate any specialist assessments

30. Your should also be familiar with the this as the approach
Your should also be familiar with the this as the approach. As with the well wheel, immediate risk and need is covered by “keeping me safe”. Interested to hear from your child protection perspective how you see – or don’t see – the triangle applying. But remember “intensity”. This is a positive model to emphasise strengths and – in the next slide – resilience.

31. Using the Resilience Matrix to analyse information
Analysis
Using the Resilience Matrix to analyse information

32. Protective environment
Resilience Matrix
Protective environment
Adversity
Vulnerability
Resilience
Factors in the child’s environment acting as buffers to the negative effects of adverse experience
Characteristics of the child, the family circle and wider community which might threaten or challenge healthy development
Characteristics that enhance normal development under difficult conditions
Life events or circumstances posing a threat to healthy development
Always trying to move from the deficit to the positive.

33. Weighing the balance of evidence and making decisions
Using the well-being indicators to decide what are the needs to be addressed
What does this child need to happen to make him or her:
safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible and included?

34. The child’s plan Summary of needs and risks
Views of children and families
Who is to take action
Timescales and resources
Contingency plans
Review arrangements
Lead Professional arrangements where appropriate

35. Measuring changes and outcomes at review
Using the well-being indicators to see:
What has changed?
How far have needs been met?
How well have risks been managed?
What are the outputs?
What are the outcomes?
What should happen next?

36. Pathfinder seeing benefits for children who need help
Early intervention
Services targeted
Consistency
Common understanding
Practitioner time used well
Timely and proportionate help
More equality for whole family
More plans less registration
Parent and child positive experiences

37. What the changes are meaning in Highland
Children and families feel more confident that:
their worries and views have been listened to more carefully and their wishes have been heard and understood
they are more fully involved in discussions and decisions
they can rely more on appropriate help being available as soon as possible
the agency they first have contact with arranges for help to be provided from that agency and others, if necessary (through Named Person or Lead Professional)

39. Introduction to Stage 2 Systems Change
Mairi Tulbure

40. C = (D x S x P) > C C = Change
D = Dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs
S = Solution - identifiable and desired end state
P = Practicality - plan for achieving the desired outcome
C = The cost of the change to the organisation

41. Stage 2 Workgroups
Group 1: Universal record of concerns / request for assistance
Andrea Batchelor / Liz Kearney
Group 2: Chronology
Penny Cullum / Tom Cowan
Group 3: The Named Person / Lead Professional
Richard Burgon / Kathleen Colvan
Group 4: The Child’s Plan
Mary Fegan /
Group 5: Universal Assessment
Mary Castles / Margaret Brown
Group 6: Integrated Assessment
Brenda Doyle / Diane Dunn
Group 7: Information Sharing Protocol
Anne Donaldson / Trevor Baxter
Group 8. Operational Management
Mairi Brackenridge / Fiona Brown
Group 9. Core Competencies
Janice Longford / Debra Lindsay
Group 10. Locality Planning Model North
Brian Steele / Ian Macaulay
Group 11 Locality Planning Model South
Heston Johnstone / Kevin Mullarkey
Group 12. Evaluation
Charles Clark / Kate Rocks