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Paper

From assessment to analysis

abstract

The Looking After Children materials and the recording tools designed to support the Assessment Framework and the Integrated Children's System were developed to improve outcomes for vulnerable children and families by supporting the practitioners through key practice processes of assessment, planning, intervention and reviewing: 

The Integrated Children's System...will provide and assessment, planning, intervention and reviewing model for all children in need.

(Cm 4776, 2000, p.42) 

Research on the use of these materials (Ward 1995, Cleaver and Walker 2004 and Cleaver et.al. 2008) have indicted that the records have improved the timeliness of assessments, supported social workers in gathering and recording information and increased the involvement of children and families.

However, although the tools were designed to 'provide a structured framework for social workers to record information ...to provide evidence for their professional judgements, facilitate analysis, decision making and planning (Walker, Scott and Cleaver 2002 p207)', the research continues to highlight issues in relation to the quality of analysis

When information was recorded in the analysis section of the record, in approximately half the cases...social workers had noted additional descriptive information about the child and family - it was not an analysis of the information' circumstances (Cleaver and Walker 2004).

Using a mixture of presentation based on the research evidence, review of literature on analysis and group discussion (or work) this workshop will explore how practitioners can be supported through the process of assessment to analysis.

The workshop will be of interest and relevance to practitioners, managers and those involved in training practitioners.

 Key references

Cleaver, H.  and Walker, S.  (eds) (2004) Assessing Children's Needs and Circumstances: The Impact of the Assessment Framework. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Cleaver, H., Walker, S., Scott, J., Cleaver, D., Rose, W., Ward, H. and Pithouse, A. (2008) The Integrated Children's System: Enhancing Social Work and Inter-Agency Practice. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Walker, S., Scott, J. and Cleaver, H. (2002) Implementing the Integrated Children's System: Training Pack. London: Department of Health.

Ward, H. (ed) (1995) Looking After Children: Research into Practice. London: HMSO Contact details

Contact details

Steve Walker, Principal Consultant - Children and Young People, Improvement and Development Agency for local government (IDeA), England.

Email: steve.walker@idea.gov.uk

Jane Scott, Research Fellow, Centre for Child and Family Research, Loughborough University, Leics, LE11 3TU, UK.

Email: jmscott@btinternet.com

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