Change for children

Issue 5 – November 2008

• New Area Team Directories
• Best Practice
• Changes to Support for Young Parents
• Targeted Youth Support - early intervention for Rochdale's vulnerable young people
• Level 4 of the Equality Standard Achieved
• Integrated Working Processes
  - Information Sharing
  - Common Assessment Framework
  - ContactPoint
  - Integrated Working
  - Area Teams
  - Service Directories
  - Lead Professional
  - Children's Workforce Reform
• Multi-agency training courses
• Feedback on our Children's Workforce Welcome Event
• A Day in the Life of …
• Contacts
• Date of the next issue

NEW Area Team Directories

Diane King Lead - Change for Children
Director of REAL Trust

It gives us very great pleasure to launch Rochdale Borough’s Area Team Directories. We hope that you will find these resources a useful tool in  supporting integrated service delivery. The directories will be updated  electronically every six weeks to ensure that the information provided is up-to-date and takes account of staff mobility. Updated copies will be available to download from www.rochdale.gov.uk/children.

In implementing the Children’s Act and the Every Child Matters Agenda we know that we are all supporting the most ambitious national agenda this century. Integrated working will enable us all to improve the lives of  Rochdale’s children, young people and families but it is only possible with the engagement of all involved in services for children, and indeed children, young people and families themselves.

The process of change is never pain free. To fully integrate services for children and families we will all have to give up treasured ways of working, discard old attitudes and think about our ways of working in partnership across the new emerging Children’s Workforce. We hope that the information contained within the directories will provide the first steps in this process.

Area Teams will be co-ordinated and supported by Integrated Service Lead Officers and Children’s Champions, who will be allocated to each area. Their roles will be to bring together the appropriate range of multi-agency geographical teams within a defined area of the Borough.

Their responsibilities include ensuring;

• The best service for families, children and young people;
• That staff in the Area Teams meet to share professional development needs, and liaise informally to work towards a better understanding of their different roles;
• That children’s services staff signpost families, young people and children to the appropriate services.

We expect these colleagues to also have a monitoring role, and if you are experiencing difficulties or require additional support please contact them directly.

We know that no profession will be able to meet the demands of the new century without the strongest commitment to its own continued  development. Change for Children has at its heart the development of a new Children’s Workforce. Rochdale’s children’s services are supporting and facilitating the necessary professional development through the REAL Trust (www.realtrust.org.uk Tel. 01706 925076). This well received multi-agency development programme is available to all Rochdale children’s workforce personnel.

Best Practice

Do you have an example of excellent practice within your team or service?

Rochdale Council’s Change for Children Team are creating a website of examples of professional best practice for all agencies that work with  children and young people. The aim of the website is to share ideas and promote new ways of working.

If you have an example that you would like to submit for inclusion on the website please email us the details under the following headings:

• What it is?
• Why it is good?
• Who to contact for more information

Send your information to integrated.services@rochdale.gov.uk or telephone 01706 925063.

Changes to Support for Young Parents

From 23rd September, changes have been made to the way young parents are supported in Rochdale borough.

The previous support scheme, Sure Start Plus, will no longer operate and instead support will now be available through the young parent workers in Sure Start’s Parenting Support Team. They will be part of a multi-agency team consisting of four young parent workers, a Connexions personal advisor and a teenage pregnancy midwife.

Each young parent worker will be linked to a Children’s Centre and an area of the borough:

Alison Horton, Sandbrook Children’s Centre, Kirkholt.
Tel. 01706 653677

Donna Badger, Derby Street Children’s Centre, Heywood.
Tel. 01706 369889

Hayley Watson, Langley Children’s Centre, Middleton.
Tel. 0161 653 9526

Vacant post, Newbold Children’s Centre, Rochdale.
Tel. 01706 649729

They will be working with young parents under the age of 21 on a one-to-one basis and supporting young parent groups running in Children’s Centres for parents under the age of 25.

Other members of the Parenting Support Team include Pat Lowe, Teenage Pregnancy Midwife for under 18 year olds and Helen Roebuck, Connexions Personal Advisor for under 20 year olds. Both cover the whole borough but are based at Sandbrook Children’s Centre tel. 01706 653677.

If you would like more information or want to refer a young parent you can contact the Parenting Support Team direct on 0845 226 5533 or telephone one of the Children’s Centres.

Targeted Youth Support - early intervention for Rochdale's vulnerable young people

Targeted Youth Support (TYS) is a national initiative which is an aspect of the broader integrated services agenda designed to bring earlier interventions and better co-ordinated service responses to the more vulnerable young people in our communities.

TYS also sits within the ‘Swift and Easy Access’ Extended Schools core  delivery strand which identifies issues and barriers for young people as early as possible and puts into place an appropriate needs led response that will enable young people to progress and not get stuck or sidelined.

Targeted Youth Support has seven key principles:

1. A clear and well rounded picture of individual needs (e.g. via a Common Assessment Framework).
2. Earlier intervention based around a clear needs led action plan.
3. A package of support that is well coordinated via a key worker contact (i.e. Lead Professional).
4. Specialist support is more easily accessed via universal settings (i.e. in school).
5. Vulnerable young people are better supported through transitions.
6. Support is more timely, accessible and relevant to the needs identified.
7. Young people and their families are able to influence service delivery and change.

Apart from the full range of integrated services tools and processes such  as Common Assessment Framework (CAF), e-CAF, Lead Professional, Threshold Model, ContactPoint etc. TYS is also promoting a vulnerability matrix to guide practitioners in identifying and prioritising issues with young people. The vulnerability matrix combines the elements of the CAF with the Threshold Model to aid practitioners in describing and prioritising issues with families and each other using common terminology.

TYS is currently most active around Rochdale’s 14 secondary schools  including the PRS/Brownhill Federation where we are establishing small assessment and referral panels to identify vulnerable young people in schools and design an appropriate support package with SMART outcomes.

September to December 2008 is a crucial phase for TYS as we are  working to government targets with an expectation of completing the roll out by the end of the year. To date, both schools and outside agencies have been very positive and supportive of TYS – but we still need more people on board.

If you need more information about TYS please contact David Baker (tel. 925112) or Emily Nickson (tel. 926202) in the Youth Service or look on www.dcsf.gov.uk or www.tda.gov.uk.

Level 4 of the Equality Standard Achieved

Rochdale Council has been externally assessed as having reached Level 4 of the equality standard which only 14% of all metropolitan authorities in England have achieved.

The Equality Standard provides a framework to help Local Authorities to integrate equality into employment and delivery of services.

As part of this process, Schools Service submitted evidence of how they meet the Equality Standard’s objectives and targets which particularly  focus on information and management systems. Schools Service collected information and examples of best practice across its service structure and the equality moderators complimented the process we have in place to monitor targets especially in relation to race, disability and gender.

Reaching Level 4 is a fantastic achievement that reflects the Council’s commitment to equality. The Council and Schools Service will now be working towards achieving the final level of the standard.

Integrated Working Processes

In Every Child Matters (ECM) the Government sets out its vision for improved services for children and young people. A fundamental part of the vision is a move towards more integrated, multi-agency ways of working which overcome professional boundaries and barriers that have existed within some parts of children’s services.

There are a number of processes that are in place and/or being developed locally as part of the Every Child Matters Change for Children Agenda and some key points for you to cut and keep are shown below. For local  information visit www.rochdale.gov.uk/children or tel 01706 925063.

Information Sharing

• Sharing information is a vital part of early intervention for children and young people.It is important that practitioners understand when, why and how they should share information.
• Practitioners should explain to children, young people and families what and how information will, or could be shared and why, and seek their agreement.
• The exception to obtaining consent to share information is where to do so would:
  - put the child, young person or others at increased risk of significant harm or an adult at risk of serious harm;
  - it would undermine the prevention, detection or prosecution of a serious crime including where seeking consent might lead to interference with any potential investigation.
• Practitioners must always consider the safety and welfare of a child or young person when making decisions on whether to share information about them.
• People should, where possible, respect the wishes of children, young people or families who do not consent to share confidential information.
• Seek advice when in doubt, especially where doubt relates to a concern about possible significant harm to a child or serious harm to others.
• For more information go to www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/deliveringservices/informationsharing/

Common Assessment Framework

• The aim of the CAF is to identify, at the earliest opportunity, a child’s or young person’s additional needs.
• The CAF is an assessment that is common across all services for  children and young people in England.
• The CAF will reduce the time wasted on unnecessary assessments and duplication of information and speed up service delivery.
• The CAF will only hold information on some children with consent and for a limited period of time.
• The CAF contributes to the delivery of integrated frontline services.
• The national eCAF solution will support the Common Assessment Framework and is due in Autumn 2009.
• The eCAF will allow practitioners to electronically create, store and share the CAF securely.
• For more information go to www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/deliveringservices/caf/

ContactPoint

• ContactPoint will be a vital part of delivering early intervention for children who need additional services and effective safeguarding for children at risk of harm.
• ContactPoint will cover all children in England.
• ContactPoint will only include the name, address, gender and date of birth of the child, and contact details for:
  - parents or carers;
  - educational setting (e.g. school);
  - primary medical practitioner (e.g. GP practice);
  - practitioners providing other services;
  and
  - a lead professional for that child (if appointed);
  - the person who completed the CAF (if one has been undertaken).
• ContactPoint will not include any assessment or case information.
• ContactPoint will reduce the time wasted on unnecessary referrals.
• ContactPoint will free up a significant amount of time, enabling practitioners to spend more time delivering services.
• Access to the information held about children will be restricted to those who need it as part of their work and all use will be monitored and audited.
• Records of children whose circumstances may mean that they are at increased risk of harm may be subject to shielding.
• For more information go to www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/deliveringservices/contactpoint/

Integrated Working

• Integrated working is everyone supporting children and young people working together effectively to put the child at the centre, meet their needs and improve their lives. In Rochdale borough, this will be implemented through Area Teams.
• Integrated working is achieved through collaboration and coordination at all levels, across all services, in both single and multiagency settings.
• Integrated processes will ‘drive’ multiagency working. They will also  support the delivery of integrated frontline services such as:
  - Information Sharing;
  - CAF;
  - Lead Professional;
  - ContactPoint.
• Through integrated working; practitioners can combine their professional expertise, knowledge and skills, to identify needs earlier, deliver a coordinated package of support that is centred on the child or young person, and help to secure better outcomes for them.
• At a strategic level, implementation of integrated working is underpinned and supported by:
  - the development of Children and Young People’s Plans;
  - the Children’s Services Grant;
  - support and advice from the Children’s Workforce Development Council on the development of integrated children’s workforce strategies;
  - monitoring – using the annual performance assessment and joint area reviews (JARs).
• For more information go to www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/deliveringservices/integratedworking/

Area Teams

• Area teams will improve the services and outcomes for children, young people and their families within the Rochdale Borough by utilising skills, establishing relationships and creating networks of local resources.
• Area teams will ensure a more focussed ‘team around the child’.
• All area team members are essentially part of two principal teams. Their specialist team, through which they are line managed, and the ‘area’ team in which they work or are responsible for.
• Rochdale borough will have 5 area teams:
  - Heywood;
  - Middleton;
  - Pennines;
  - Rochdale North;
  - Rochdale South.
• Area team members may not be based in one location but will work across a geographical area within the Rochdale borough.
• Each team will be co-ordinated by a ‘Children’s Champion’ or an ‘Integrated Services Lead Officer’ who will ensure that the teams deliver the best services for families, children and young people.
• For more information go to www.rochdale.gov.uk/children

Service Directories

• The service directory is a comprehensive online information-bank of all types of children’s and young people’s services (aged 0-19) available both locally and nationally.
• Online local area service directories enable practitioners to access up-to-date details of services available to meet the needs of children and young  people.
• Service directories should contribute to a reduction in the number of inappropriate and misdirected referrals.
• In Rochdale, the directory is currently known as the ‘Children Schools and Families (CSF) Directory’ and is maintained by the Family Information  Service.
• The directory can be accessed via www.rochdale.gov.uk/csfdirectory

Lead Professional

• The Lead Professional is a practitioner who takes on a ‘lead role’ in coordinating front line services for children and young people.
• Lead professionals act as a single point of contact for a child or family.
• Lead professionals reduce overlap and consistency in services received.
• Lead professionals are only accountable to their home agency and are not responsible for the actions of others.
• The role of Lead Professional can be taken on by different practitioners in the children’s workforce.
• For more information go to
  www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/deliveringservices/leadprofessional/

Children's Workforce Reform

In the summer of 2005 the government consulted on its proposed  children’s workforce strategy. The vision is:

• The children’s workforce strives to achieve the best possible outcomes for all children and young people, and to reduce inequalities between the most disadvantaged and the rest.
• The children’s workforce is competent, confident and safe to work with children and young people.
• People aspire to be part of and want to remain in the children’s workforce, where they can develop their skills and build satisfying and rewarding careers.
• Parents, children and young people trust and respect practitioners.
• The government’s response to the consultation outlines that we, a partner, will:
  - Reform the children’s workforce so that it supports the five outcomes more effectively, with a stronger focus on early identification and prevention.
  - Develop and roll out a common core of skills and knowledge for the children’s workforce.
  - Improve recruitment, retention and the quality of practice.
  - Bring services together around the needs of children, young people and families through Area Teams made up of professionals from different disciplines and organisations.
• For more information go to www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/deliveringservices/workforcereform/

Multi-agency Training

Applications for places on any of the following courses should be made to Rachael Hodges (01706 925076) rachael.hodges@rochdale.gov.uk. Alternatively, you can book yourself a place on the REAL Trust website at www.realtrust.org.uk Where possible, training is organised by area within the borough to enable practitioners to meet and network with each other. Please specify which area you would like to attend when booking.

Introduction to Integrated Working - Level 1

This course is intended for all members of the Children’s Workforce who work, directly or indirectly, with children, young people and their families, or whose work might impact upon them. This is a basic introduction to multi-agency integrated working, set within the context of Every Child Matters and other national and local initiatives.

Applying the 'Threshold Model for Safeguarding the Welfare of Children' - Level 1

All members of the Children’s Workforce within Rochdale Borough are required to be aware of the Threshold Model for Safeguarding the Welfare of Children and how to apply the model and work in partnership with other agencies. Managers should attend the training prior to all other staff.

Information Sharing Training - Level 1

The aim of the course is to help practitioners from different agencies and professional backgrounds gain an understanding on information sharing  and to ensure it becomes an integral part of the way in which practitioners fulfil their duties.

Common Assessment Framework (CAF) and Lead Professional - Level 1

The aim of this course is to equip a range of practitioners/managers from different agencies and professional backgrounds within the Rochdale Borough Children’s Workforce, to gain an understanding of the key aims and principles of the Common Assessment Framework (CAF).  Participants will have an opportunity to explore issues around the implementation of the CAF and understand who can undertake the role of Lead Professional.

Electronic Common Assessment Framework (eCAF) - Level 2

Rochdale Borough Children’s Trust is currently piloting the use of an electronic tool (known as eCAF) to help support practitioners when undertaking the Common Assessment Framework on a child or young person.

Practitioners attending this training MUST have previously attended the Level 1 ‘CAF and Lead Professional’ course. They must also have had an Enhanced CRB for their current post within the last 3 years. Places are limited to 10 in each session so book early.

Feedback on our Children's Workforce Welcome Event

On Tuesday 17th June 2008 I attended at Heywood Civic Centre for the  Children’s Workforce Welcome Event as I had just been appointed as an Assistant Education Officer with SEN Assessment Team.

I must admit that I approached my attendance at the event with a certain amount of scepticism, as I have worked for Rochdale Metropolitan  Borough Council for nine years and felt that I would probably be seeing old faces from different agencies which I already had experience of working with. However, I was greatly surprised and pleased by how much I learned at the event and the number of new contacts I made. I did catch up with a few old friends. However, as there are new initiatives and agencies springing up all the time it was very good to catch up on what support for families and children was now available.

After visiting the various stands and gathering up lots of information leaflets as well as the obligatory free pens and mouse mats, I was shown to a table by Kath Earp, my facilitator for the event. I was placed at a table with a Clinical Psychologist, an Early Years worker, two community nurses and a Teaching Assistant Trainer. It was very  nteresting to speak with people who were in roles which I would come into contact with in the future. I came away from the event armed with a lot of new information and having made new contacts with other workers. Had I attended a similar event when I first started working for the Council my working practices would have been greatly enhanced and I feel that I would have performed my previous roles more effectively.

I therefore commend the Change for Children Team for their great organisation and for having the foresight to establish such events. Many thanks. Lindsey Macmillan - Assistant Education Officer

The next Welcome Event is being held on Thursday 12th February 9:30am – 12pm (venue to be confirmed). Please speak to your line manager  before submitting your name to the REAL Trust on 01706 925076.

A Day in the Life of … Stephen Mason

Job
I am a Newly-qualified Staff Nurse working with the Children’s Community Team and my role is to reduce the length of stay in hospital for children, ensuring a smooth transition between the hospital and home environment.

Base
The Children’s Community Nursing Team (CCNT) at Milnrow Health Centre. Tel. 01706 641430.

8am
Into the clinic for coffee, handover and allocation of patients for the day. My first visit is in Heywood to check a child’s wound. I’m greeted by an over excited dog and apologetic grandparents! The wound was dressed appropriately and advice given.

10am
Second visit of the day to dress a burn. The severity of this burn necessitated specialist advice from a senior member of our team and resulted in a referral to a specialist unit for further advice. As a newly-qualified nurse, having the support of our team on mobile phones is essential and really reassuring.

11.30am
Back to base, write records, order prescriptions, update electronic data system and have a quick lunch.

1.30pm
I attend a ‘discharge planning meeting’ on the children’s ward at Rochdale Infirmary. An opportunity to meet the members of the multi-disciplinary team and set goals and targets for a child with very complex needs. The whole object of the meeting is to facilitate the child returning home with the best quality of life possible. I leave the meeting with a list of actions that will need addressing once back at base.

3.30pm
My final visit of the day to a child with severe eczema. Parents need reassuring that newly prescribed treatment is working……… and it is. Health promotion plays a part in every visit but particularly around conditions such as eczema where correct application of treatment is essential.

4.45pm
Back to the office, phone calls, e-mails, update records, record mileage and time sheets. Prepare for handover the next day.

6pm
Finish – love the job and I feel appreciated by families I visit. Knowing we are enabling families to be together in their own homes when children are ill is very rewarding. Not knowing what tomorrow will bring is exciting and sometimes a bit daunting but I’m enjoying every minute of it and developing lots of skills.

Contacts

Diane King - Lead - Change for Children
Tel. 01706 925017

Marian Begolo - Children’s Champion
Tel. 01706 925063

Anne Marie Bocock - Children’s Centre Project Manager
Tel. 01706 747234

Sandra Bowness - Sure Start Team Leader
Tel. 01706 747244

Brian Braithwaite - Integrated Working Lead Officer
Tel. 01706 925117

Diane Cantello - Integrated Working Lead Officer
Tel. 01706 925113

Kate Chambers - Integrated Support Officer (CAF)
Tel. 01706 925127

Linda Clegg - Children’s Services Manager
Tel. 01706 747048

Kathy Earp - Integrated Services Support & Development Officer
Tel. 01706 925098

Steve Garner - Children’s Services Manager - Provider Services
Tel. 01706 710750

Bernadette Gee - ContactPoint Data Manager 
Tel. 01706 925693

Sally Greenwood - Voluntary and Community Sector Liaison Officer
Tel. 01706 631291

Sue Hackett - Healthy Schools Programme Manager
Tel. 01706 652966

Chris Kelly - Information Team Manager
Tel. 01706 925004

Ed Kelly - Principal Youth Officer
Tel. 01706 925111

Karen Kenton - Children’s Strategic Commissioning Manager
NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale
Tel. 01706 652870

Emma Metcalfe - Extended Schools Programme Manager
Tel. 01706 652964

Nimisha Mistry - Equality and Community Cohesion Officer
Tel. 01706 652972

Claire Platt - Head of Integrated Children and Young People’s Service
NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale
Tel. 0161 655 1472

REAL Trust (Multi-agency Training)
Rachael Hodges - 01706 925076

www.realtrust.org.uk/ecm.aspx  

Rochdale Borough Children’s Trust
The Highwood Centre, Highwood, Norden
Rochdale OL11 5XP
Tel. 01706 652992
Email everychildmatters@rochdale.gov.uk

Safeguarding Children Unit
0845 226 5500

www.rbscb.org

Kath Sanderson - CSF Partnerships Team Manager
Tel. 01706 652982

Date of the next issue

If you have any items you would like to include in the March 2009 issue please contact Lindsay Noble on 01706 652975 or email lindsay.noble@rochdale.gov.uk.

Please pass this newsletter on to colleagues and if you have any questions or comments or would like further information on Rochdale Borough Children’s Trust, please telephone 01706 652992.

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