ADOPTION & FOSTERING SERVICE EVENT Monday 2nd March 2015 We are going to spend the next hour looking at SSOSWB and how this relates to what we are doing in Corporate Parenting. Suffolk Signs of Safety and Wellbeing

SUFFOLK SIGNS OF SAFETY & WELLBEING It is one year since Signs of Safety and Well-being approach to practice was officially launched in Suffolk, with the commencement of an extensive programme of training and development for ALL staff in CYPS and partner agencies. The training provided to date includes 2 day training, for all staff, 5 day PL training for managers, senior practitioners and other staff with an interest in training and development, coaching sessions for PLS and awareness sessions for partners including schools and health colleagues , adult services etc. All CYPS staff should have completed the 2 day training but we have a severe shortage of Practice Leads in Corporate Parenting. As an update on the Practice Leads situation - awaiting full outcome of MEIC to see where existing Practice Leads will be located to make the spread of knowledge and expertise more even across the county and teams. Given that I am the only PL in Adoption and Fostering currently, I am confident that those managers and senior practitioners who put themselves forward to become Practice Leads will gain a place on the June training. … could you please put your hand up if you have not yet completed the 2 day training? Nearly all of us… IS THERE ANYONE PRESENT WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHAT THE SIGNS OF SAFETY AND WELLBEING FRAMEWORK for PRACTICE IS?

The way we work with families, children, carers and other professionals using Signs of Safety and Wellbeing as our practice framework, is underpinned by key principles and disciplines. CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHAT SOME OF THOSE KEY PRINCIPLES AND DISCIPLINES ARE?   See next Slides…

Key principles and disciplines Using the voice of the child Using the language of the family Empowering the family Involving the wider family/ social network Common language that aids integrated working across service boundaries Effective partnership working   Risk sensible practice It provides a structure for slow thinking

Key principles and disciplines Constructive working relationships are fundamental Maintaining a stance of (critical) inquiry -always be prepared to admit you may have it wrong (Munro) The paperwork and tools serve the conversation (not the other way around) Families and front line practitioners use what works and adapt materials to apply to them I want us to hang on to this last point as we are going to explore it a little more later on…

WHERE HAVE WE GOT TO? EXERCISE ONE GET INTO SMALL GROUPS and for 5 MINUTES COME UP WITH A LIST OF WHERE YOU ARE USING SSOSWB? Consider: How are we using Signs of Safety in our everyday practice? What tools do you use in your work with children and families, prospective adopters and foster carers, existing carers/adopters or special guardians? What policies, procedures, documents and processes have we adapted to facilitate the approach? FEEDBACK – Going forward we need to figure out where could we adopt the approach in the work we do in Corporate Parenting? I hope to run another workshop soon (all day or ½ day) to look at this in more detail but today I want to look at how we approach SSOSWB and in particular how we adapt the original version, designed principally for Child Protection, to our own needs in adoption and fostering.

ADAPTATIONS OF SIGNS OF SAFETY FOR THE CONTINUUM OF SERVICE For Adoption and Fostering This session looks at the key aspects of the Signs of Safety approach that are applied unchanged and those that are adapted across the continuum of service.

The simplified continuum of service encompasses: Early help /Privately Fostered Children çè Children in need çè Child protection çè Looked after children è Special Guardianship/Adopted children Across the service spectrum… it is acknowledged that the SSOSWB approach should be adapted to suit the needs of the task, the level of intervention (early help or child protection?) and be understandable for the families we work with… The language must be relevant and appropriate…

ASSESSMENT & PLANNING FRAMEWORK   When we think about the situation facing this family: What are we worried about? What is working well? What needs to happen? Harm Danger statement Complicating factors      Existing strengths Existing safety Safety goals Next steps On a scale of 0 to 10 where 10 is everyone knows the children are safe enough for child protection authorities to close the case and zero means things are so bad for the children they can’t live at home, where do we rate this situation? (if different numbers place different people on the continuum) 0 ç−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−è 10 Here is the Framework in its original form, relating to child in need/ child protection work. The key changes apply to the three column assessment and planning framework.   The framework shows the four domains of enquiry and seven analysis categories and shows those domains and categories that stay the same across the continuum of service: YELLOW The words not highlighted can be changed to suit our needs and circumstances… so let’s think about that now.

EXERCISE 2 – Pt 1: ALTERNATIVES? Harm è Danger è Statement Existing safety è Safety goals è   TWO PARTS to Exercise Two The first is to consider what alternative language can we use to the describe what we are working with? Remember: Harm – this is the factual information that causes us to be worried/concerned. It is the observable behaviours e.g. incidents of domestic violence, times a child has run away, number and nature of arguments in the home. The Danger Statement – this is the statement we make to be clear about the danger and what will happen if thing do not change “the bottom line”. Existing Safety – those protective factors that help to mitigate the risk and harm e.g. supportive family members, school etc. Safety Goals – these are where we want to be; the outcomes we want to see for the child and the family (not the service! Although they should be the same!!)

EXERCISE 2 – Pt. 2 Adaptations to the Scaling Question 0 – 10 Mess to success? Placement Stability? YOUR SUGGESTIONS? The Second is to consider some examples of how we could use the Scaling Question in Fostering and Adoption work, whether in recruitment and matching or supervision, placement management and ongoing support and especially in reviews You have a hand-out to use in Groups? 10 minutes discussion Feedback 10 mins

SUGGESTIONS Harm è Danger è Existing safety è Safety goals è   Risky behavior Critical worry Concern Risks Main worry Disconnections Worry statement Critical risk Worst case scenario Getting worse Positive relationships Positive developments Good things Happy things When it was different When it worked Connections Goals Wellbeing goals Success goals Stability goals Achievement goals Motivations Dreams Changes Stuff that’s gotta change Examples of Adaptations to the Scaling Question:   Mess to success - On a scale of 0 to 10, where 10 means my life is ‘on track’ to where you want to go in life and 0 is my life’s a complete mess, where are you? Placement stability – On a scale of 0 to 10 where 0 is things have got so bad, there is so much conflict, anxiety and mistrust that …. (the foster child) has to leave the placement now, and 10 is we have all understood what has happened and what we need to do so we can live and work together into the future happily and are totally up for doing it, where are you? And where is…?

How Many of the Parts of the Assessment and Planning Framework to Use ? Practitioners and partners will vary as to how many parts of the assessment and planning framework will be used in different cases and circumstances. The three columns alone may guide some discussions with partners and referrals. All four domains of enquiry, the three columns and scaling questions, will be used in all formal assessment and planning across the continuum. As assessment and planning and case management proceed, the analysis categories will come into play. It may be that a ‘worry statement’ and ‘goals’ are enough to plan the case. The more complex the case, the more analysis categories will come into play. Remember: Assessment is always a work in progress

Signs of Safety Signs of S_ _ _ _ _ s Signs of W_ _ _ _ _ _ g THE NAME – “SIGNS OF …. ”  QUIZ Signs of Safety Signs of S_ _ _ _ _ s Signs of W_ _ _ _ _ _ g Signs of St_ _ _ _ _ _ y Signs of A_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ t Signs of M_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ n With the various adaptations, the name Signs of Safety itself, when working with families and young people, can be adapted. Signs of Success Signs of Wellbeing Signs of Stability Signs of Achievement Signs of Motivation

WHAT STAYS THE SAME? PRINCIPLES DISCIPLINES SIGNS OF SAFETY TOOLS OTHER KEY ASPECTS OF SIGNS OF SAFETY - Questioning approach, Networks, Appreciative enquiry PRINCIPLES - All the principles apply:  Working relationships, Stance of critical enquiry, Being grounded in everyday practice  DISCIPLINES  The following disciplines apply unchanged: Plain language, Statements focusing on specific observable behaviors, Skillful use of authority   OTHER SIGNS OF SAFETY TOOLS Three houses, and also the fairy and wizard and other variations apply across the continuum.  Word and pictures explanations and plans can apply across the continuum. OTHER KEY ASPECTS OF SIGNS OF SAFETY Questioning approach is central across the continuum. Networks of family and friends and community supports apply across the continuum. Appreciative enquiry, with families, young people and practitioners describing good practice and what made it so, is powerful for learning and development, across the continuum. THANK YOU FOR TAKING PART TODAY. LOOKING FORWARD TO OUR NEXT OPPORTUNITY TO GROW our use of SSOSWB IN OUR SERVICE