Unit_029

Unit 029 – Working together for the benefit of children and young people Outcome 1 1. Explain the importance of multi-agency working and integrated working: Multi-agency and integrated working are important because they are two ways in which we can ensure that the needs of a child or young person are met fully. Through the use of multi-agency working we can ensure that all of the individual needs of the child or young person are met through the use of a holistic approach of agencies, teams or services working together. Integrated working is of importance because it can help provide the appropriate level of care and support for children and young people and also their families. 2. Analyse how integrated working practices and multi-agency working in partnership deliver better outcomes for children and young people: Integrated working practices help to deliver better outcomes for children and young people because it ensures that all of the people working with the child or young person are using a consistent approach. By having the teams around the child develop and agree a strategy for working with a child or young person we can ensure that a consistent method is used which will benefit their outcomes. Multi-agency working helps to deliver better outcomes for children and young people because often the challenges that children and young people do not fit neatly into one category. For instance if a child or young person has a diagnosis of Autism they may have a delay in their communicative abilities. A Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) can help with this, however it may be that they have overall developmental delay. If this is the case then a psychologist may need to be involved. An occupational therapist may also be of use also. The more people who are involved in working around a child or young person the more specialist knowledge can be provided in overcoming any challenges that may arise. This in turn means that the outcomes of a child or young person are likely to benefit. 3. Describe the functions of external agencies with whom your work setting or service interacts: One external agency, with whom my service interacts is an occupational therapist. The function of an occupational therapist at my service is to formulate and deliver individual occupational therapy intervention programmes based on clinical assessments. These may include motor sensory cognitive/perceptual assessments, client education or school/home/environmental visits. A second external agency with whom my service interacts is the health services. This may include general practitioners, dentists, health visitors or speech and language therapists or specialist doctors. . It is the function of health services to support the children and young people at my service with any health related issues. They also prescribe them medication or a course of treatment, provide assistance with language and communication or development. Education services are another external agency that interacts with my service. Education services include specialist teachers, teaching assistants, special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCO’s) and educational welfare officers. Educational services have the function of supporting the child or young person through their educational development. They will also provide support for those children and young people with special educational needs. A fourth external agency with whom my service interacts is social services. Social workers and family support workers are included within social services. Social services have the function of supporting the child or young person’s safety and welfare. They also provide assistance to families to help them find and access local services. My service also interacts with psychology services. Psychology services may include clinical psychologists, educational psychologists or play therapists. It is the function of psychology services to support with any mental health issues that a child or young person may have. They will also provide assistance with behavioural issues and children and young people who have learning difficulties. 4. Explain common barriers to integrated working and multi-agency working and how these can be overcome: One potential barrier to integrated and multi-agency working is poor communication between partners. Without effective communication information may not be shared. This difficulty can be overcome by ensuring that all people and agencies involved use simple non-technical language in order to promote understanding with all those involved. A second barrier to integrated and multi-agency working could be a lack of co-ordination between the different agencies and individuals involved. This could result in areas being missed as information has not been shared or multiple agencies taking responsibility for the same areas. In order to overcome this barrier the individuals and agencies should formulate a plan of action together clearly defining who has what responsibility, with whom they will share information, how and when. Multiple agencies taking the same responsibilities may also be a result of a lack of understanding about the roles or involvement of the different partners. In order to overcome this potential challenge each person or agencies role and responsibility should be clearly defined so that all people involved have an understanding of each other. Ineffective policies and procedures can also be a barrier to integrated and multi-agency working. Without having clearly defined policies and procedures confusions can arise. Policies and procedures should be regularly updated with all agencies involved in the updated process to ensure that they remain effective at all times. Policies and procedures should also be updated in response to an event happening that calls for an adaptation to them. 5. Explain how and why referrals are made between agencies: Referrals are made between agencies in order to ensure that effective support is provided to children and young people and their families. Referrals are also made to ensure that the needs of children and young people and their families are fully met. Referrals can be made verbally either in person or over the telephone. They can also be made in writing which can include letters or email. Referrals can be made by a child or young person, their parent or main carer or professional practitioners. 6. Explain the assessment frameworks that are used in own UK home nation: Since 2005 in England the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) has been used. CAF is a method of assessing what needs a child or young person may have. CAF is also of use in helping to promote consistency between the multiple agencies who may work around a child or young person. CAF main aim is to integrate all agencies perspectives on a child or young person in order to develop a holistic approach to the child or young person’s needs that can be applied consistently across all services. If a child or young person has a family that are involved there will be a lead adult who is assigned to the child or young person. It is then the leads adults’ responsibility to ensure that the family is provided with interventions when necessary. The lead adult should also promote consistent working practices between practitioners. The lead adult is there to provide the family with a first point of contact to help them with decisions. The summary of the assessment should provide information on the child or young person. It should identify what areas the child or young person is strong in and what areas they are in need of support. The CAF summary is broken down into sections which include the child or young person’s family and environment and how this may impact upon them. How able their parents and/or carers are able to provide the child or young person with support to meet their developmental needs and what the developmental needs of the child or young person are. Outcome 2 1. Select appropriate communication methods for different circumstances: '' Not sure what they are asking here Gem. Is it a written answer or evidence based' 3. Prepare reports that are accurate, legible, concise and meet legal requirements: '' And here do I need to provide a report that I have written' If so I’m sure something I have written for AH in the past is on the system I can add here' Outcome 3 3. Analyse the potential tension between maintaining confidentiality with the need to disclose information: a. Where abuse of a child or young person is suspected: Although it is important to maintain confidentiality with regard to information about children and young people, it is vitally important that information be disclosed if there is a suspicion of a child or young person being abused. If this is the case then information about the child or young person may have to be passed on to an appropriate person for the protection of that child or young person. Information should, however, only be shared with the designated person and no other people. We should also keep in mind the persons who is suspected of abusing the child or young person’s right to confidentiality as they are innocent until proven guilty and disclosure of their identity could have adverse side effects for them. b. When it is suspected that a crime has been/may be committed: If a child or young person is suspected of committing or going to commit a crime then it is also vital that the relevant information be passed on to the appropriate agencies and/or people. This again is in order to protect the child or young person and to keep them safe. Only the necessary information should be shared and confidentiality should be maintained wherever possible.