GIRFEC An Overview for Schools

Learning Intentions

By the end of this session you will have:

• an understanding of the legislative context of GIRFEC

• an understanding of the revised Continuum of Support

• an operational understanding of how the new processes fit within the CoS

• An understanding of the Child’s Planning Meeting process

Why GIRFEC?

• 2006 Scottish Executive introduced the GIRFEC approach

• Subsequent policies encompass GIRFEC including:– The Early Years Framework– Curriculum for Excellence– We Can and Must do Better– Equally Well

• Children and Young Person (Scotland) Bill

Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill

• Proposed GIRFEC duties:

• Local Authority Children Service Plans

• Agreed definition of wellbeing (SHANARRI)

• Named Person Role

• Single Child’s Planning Process

• Statutory duties to share information

5 Key GIRFEC Questions

1. What is getting in the way of this child or young person's well-being?

2. Do I have all the information I need to help this child or young person?

3. What can I do now to help this child or young person?

4. What can my agency do to help this child or young person?

5. What additional help, if any, may be needed from others?

The National Practice Model

Key Roles – Named Person

The legislation will ensure that all children and young people from birth up to the age of 18

have access to a Named Person

• pre-birth to 10 days: the midwife• 11 days to school entry the health visitor • P1 to P7 the head teacher • S1 to S6 the head teacher• S4-S6 (not in school) to be decided

Key Roles – Named Person

• Main point of contact for a family

• Involve families in decision making

• Record concerns that are raised

• Use the GIRFEC framework to assess the needs of the child and plan for meeting needs

• Be responsible for the implementation of a single agency plan

• Ensure information is shared with the right people at the right time

• Contribute to planning for children who need extra help at key transition points.

• The role of the Named Person should be no more than they currently do in the course of their work.

Key Roles – Lead Professional

• Act as the main point of contact for the child and family and relevant practitioners in relation to the Child’s Plan

• Ensure the Child’s Plan is accurate and up-to-date, implemented and reviewed

• Support the child and family to understand what is happening, ensure their views and wishes are heard and involve them in decisions that affect them

• Make sure the child is supported through key transition points and ensure a careful and planned transfer of responsibility especially when another practitioner becomes the Lead Professional and/or responsibility reverts to the role of the Named Person.

Single Child’s Plan

• One plan, to be used by a single agency or several agencies working together to support the child.

• As Getting it Right for Every Child is being implemented nationally, the Child’s Plan Meeting will streamline the functions of existing forums, such as Looked After Children Reviews, Child Protection Case Conferences, reviews of children’s health and Co-ordinated Support Plan reviews.

• The format and attendees of the Child’s Plan Meeting will reflect the complexity of the child’s needs and circumstances.

• The Child’s Plan is co-ordinated by the/a Lead Professional.

GIRFEC in West Lothian

Continuum of Support Level 4: SORG

• Presumption of Mainstream

• Remit of SORG (regular & transition)

• SORG referrals and feedback

Overview of Support

Educational Psychology Service

IT Support

Autism Outreach Service

Primary Behaviour Outreach

Secondary Behaviour Outreach

Dyslexia

ADHD Outreach

Hearing Impaired Service

Home and Hospital Outreach

Language Outreach

Access Services

Child Protection Officer

Looked After Children Outreach

Pre-School Home Teaching Service

Music Therapy

Attendance Group

Community Child HealthChild and Adolescent Mental Health ServiceOccupational TherapySpeech and Language TherapyPhysiotherapySocial PolicyChildren and Disabilities TeamCriminal JusticeChildren and Young People’s TeamReporter to the Children’s PanelCommunity Policing

Level 1 CoS: Named Person Responsibilities

Wellbeing Concerns process• Main point of contact for the family / public and other

professionals regarding the child• Wellbeing Concerns Form to be used to record

concerns and to plan for further action

• Points to consider: – How will this be used in our school/agency? – How could it be used to record plans that already take place?

eg. IEP consideration, SfL discussions, decisions about within school additional support

Wellbeing Concern Form

Level 2 CoS: Named Person responsibilities

Assessment of Wellbeing process

• The Assessment of Wellbeing form is the start of the Single Child’s Planning process and is part of the Single Child’s Plan.

• Designed to support the Named Person in taking decisions about further action

• Proforma is a place to record all information about an individual child

• Proforma aids decision making process for the Named Person

• Propose that process is implemented initially for all children for whom it is appropriate in Nursery, Primary 7, current S1 and any children currently at Level 3 of CoS. Ultimately, this requires to be in place for all pupils.

Points to consider:

How can we plan to implement this for the pupils as outlined above?

How can it support processes already in place in our school?

How could this be used in within my agency setting?

Single Child’s Plan (Assessment of Wellbeing)

Single Child’s Plan (Child’s Planning Meeting)

Core elements of a Chronology

• Key dates of birth, life events, moves etc

• Transitions, life changes

• Key professional interventions, reviews, hearings etc

• Facts

• Brief note of an event and reason for its significance

• Source of information

• The actions which were taken, including no action

Chronology Format

Date of Event

Detail of Event

Action Taken Outcome Wellbeing indicator

Code

Brief description of the event, including the name of reporter

A description of the event and any actions taken

A description of any outcomes from the action taken

The most relevant SHANARRI indicator (Safe, Healthy, Active, Nurtured, Achieving, Respected, Responsible, Included)

Each recorded chronology item should be appropriately graded for significance.

Chronologies

• responsibility of Named Person

• helps to keep track of children’s situation

• allows for a historical perspective on circumstances and may suggest needs

(FAQ document available)

Child’s Planning Meetings

Level 2/3 CoS: Named Person / Lead Professional

Child’s Planning Meetings

• Aim to streamline the process for schools and children/families

• Importance of pre-meeting preparation• Strengths based approach• Clearer recording and action planning process• Decision about whether a Lead Professional is required

should be considered at the meeting

Solution Oriented Principles

• A focus on future possibilities enhances change

• The problem is the problem, not the person

• Everyone has their own ways of solving problems. Co-operation enhances change.

• In all situations, there are strengths and resources that can be used to effect change

• Small changes can lead to bigger changes

• If something works, do more of it. If it doesn’t work, do something different.

Why a Solution Oriented Approach for Child’s Planning?

• It offers principles and a structure for identifying creative solutions

• Helps us develop goals and solutions rather than analysing current problems

• Focuses on the present and future, on goals and how to achieve them

• Recognises the importance of involving the person in the solution process

• Focuses on ‘what works’ and amplifying strengths rather than analysing weaknesses

Problem Solving Solution Building

9.30 am

9.45 am

10.15 am

10.30 am

Problem Talk

Solution Talk

Solution Talk

Problem Talk

Preparing for a Child’s Planning Meeting

• Only professionals already working with the child/young person should be invited to a Child’s Planning Meeting

• Relevant professionals will have already been involved as a result of the Assessment of Wellbeing (AoW) process.

• The AoW process will have identified areas of concern that can be shared at the meeting.

Participation in the meeting

• Genuine engagement of the child and family in the meeting is dependent upon effective preparation

• The views of the child / young person should be gathered before the meeting in order to support their engagement in the process. A variety of tools are available for this purpose.

• Consider whether this approach would be helpful for use with parents too

• Consider how this might be used with other agencies

My Views / What I think

My Views / What I think

Pre-Meeting preparation (professionals)

Discuss your thoughts on the participation of children and young people in meetings.

What do you do currently to support this?

• What are the strengths of supporting children to participate in meetings?

• What are the challenges? • What are the solutions?

Activity: Participation of children and young people in meetings

Roles in the meeting

SO Meeting Stages

1. Explaining the meeting format

Facilitator:

Use 5 minutes at the start of the meeting to outline the stages of the meeting and the purpose of this approach to a Child’s Planning Meeting

(see suggested script)

2. Strengths / Protective Factors

Facilitator: open a discussion about the child’s strengths

–What strengths does the young person have?–Explore areas of interest/activity–Invite everyone to share something that they consider to be a strength of the child/young person–Invite the child/young person to contribute to this discussion

3. Concerns / Risk Factors

Facilitator: open a discussion about the reasons why the meeting has been convened.

What is not working just now?

– Discuss the current concerns– Take everyone’s views into account– Take time to agree on the top priorities

This discussion will be used to identify goals for the meeting.

4. Current Strategies / Exceptions

Facilitator: explore what is currently working well. Explore times when the issues are not as challenging.

Strategies•What strategies are currently working? •What should we keep doing?•What could we try to do differently?•What has worked or made a difference in the past?

Exceptions: •When is the problem not so difficult, what is different about those times?•When was the last time things were even a little better? What was different then?

Use Scaling to identify the most effective strategies

5. Goals / Desired Outcomes

Facilitator: open a discussion about what people at the meeting want to be different / where do we want to be?

‘If things were a little better over the next week, what would John / his teacher / his parents be doing differently?’

How would we know?

•Which exceptions can be developed/expanded?•Which strategies can grow, be altered or re-tried?•What can we try to do differently?

This information can also be used to identify possible goals for action

6. Constructing the Child’s Plan

• Agree the priority goals jointly• Goals should be worded positively

Then agree:

• Who will do what?• When will it be done?• When will we review?

Providing a Constructive Summary

Facilitator provides a 5 minute summary including:

• Key things that have been discussed• Review of the Plan• Thanks for attending and contributions• Take time to reflect on the usefulness

of the Child’s Planning Meeting process – use Scaling?

• Transfer the notes to the formal paperwork

Child’s Planning Meeting Stages

Activity: Child’s Planning Meeting

Prepare an Action Plan for Jamie

Accessing the Documents

Edweb: ASN section (coming soon)

http://www.westlothian.gov.uk/article/3083/GIRFEC