What you need to know

Assessments are carried out under the Children Act 1989 in relation to:

• children in need (s17) when local authorities are supporting children and families
• children who may be at risk of significant harm (s47) when local authorities are supporting children and families.

Assessments can also be undertaken for early help.

These assessments may subsequently be filed with the court if care proceedings are initiated.

The process of assessment involves identifying needs, formulating plans, reviewing the success of the plans in achieving specified outcomes and reformulating needs when outcomes haven’t been achieved.

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What has changed?

• More than ever, high-quality assessments by social workers are key to care proceedings and to the family court working well
• All assessments that the local authority intends to rely on in support of its court applications should be prepared in advance of proceedings
• There is an expectation from all professionals involved in court proceedings for assessments to be analytical, succinct and evidence based.

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Good practice in assessment

The following is a set of statements that reflect good practice in assessments:

• Assessments need to be timely and proportionate
• Professionals need to work in partnership with families to explore their understanding of the current difficulties and listen to their suggestions about how things might change
• The assessment process should be explained to parents and children and their views incorporated
• Social workers need to be clear with parents about the ‘bottom line’ – explaining what must change and how quickly if statutory intervention is to be avoided
• There need to be clear processes for measuring progress with any agreed plans based on written agreements with families
• Assessments should be clearly linked to service provision and decision-making. Social workers need to ‘show their workings out’, ensuring that conclusions and recommendations flow clearly and logically from their analysis of what is happening in this family and why this matters
• Good assessments include a clear account of family history including the parents’ own experience of being parented as well as a description of each child’s individual experiences and how they have responded
• All of the men in the household and in the children’s lives should be included in the assessment
• Risk assessment should be part of every assessment and informed by knowledge of research relating to the static risk factors associated with risks of child maltreatment and family violence. Structured professional judgement combines the use of standardised actuarial tools and research with professional judgement. This is more reliable than clinical judgement alone
• Assessment is a process, not a product and should be ongoing throughout all work with families. Children in need can become children in need of protection at any stage, as risks can escalate rapidly and unpredictably.

For a list of the potential pitfalls in assessments and how to avoid them see the Ten Pitfalls_document from NSPCC (PDF download).

Practical issues to consider when assessing wider family members as potential carers can also be found in page ‘Family and friends Placement‘

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Characteristics of an analytical assessment

Aims

• provide an accurate and holistic picture
• provide an understanding of the purpose of the assessment
• be specific about the child’s needs and clear about their seriousness and the likely consequence or risks if they are not addressed
• be clear about what will happen as a result of the assessment.

Style

• be logical, show how conclusions and recommendations flow from the information
• be succinct, relevant and specific
• be jargon-free
• link the action plan back to specific parts of the assessment.

Expertise

• be clear about your concerns and the reasons for them
• include hypotheses and explanations.

Context

• show an understanding of the family history and context
• be clear about what we don’t yet know
• show an understanding of the emotional implications for the family of what has been observed
• show an open-minded and questioning approach.

Evidence

• be explicit about the knowledge, theory and evidence (from observation and research) that underpin your argument and your judgments
• include a clear, evidence-informed account of the likely impact on the child if needs are not met
• show confidence in your analysis and clear statements backed up by evidence.

Views

• include the family’s views and an analysis of them.

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Learning resources

Guidance

• Statutory guidance on assessments of children is contained in WORKING TOGETHER 2015 p 17
• The process for assessments before court proceedings is set out in the flowchart in Annex A to the Court Orders Guidance ( PDF file).

Characteristics of an analytical assessment

Analytical assessments: local practice example - Julie Penny, BCC Directorate for People.
Tips and good practice examples to support practitioners in conducting analytical assessments.
Running time: 02:37
Download video direct from Vimeo
Also viewable online via Adobe Connect
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Writing assessments - the five anchor principles

Brown et al (2012) devised a set of 5 questions arranged in sequence to shadow the process and stages of assessment: gathering relevant information, analysing and evaluating that information, drawing conclusions, making plans and reviewing progress. These are:

1. What is the assessment for?
2. What is the story?
3. What does the story mean?
4. What needs to happen?
5. How will we know we are making progress?

For more information on how the anchor principles are used, see the slide deck for Analysis and Critical Thinking in Assessment_dfE - slides in MS PowerPoint .PPTX format
Alternative Powerpoint 97-2003 .PPT format:
Analysis-and-Critical-Thinking-in-Assessment_dfE-slides-97-2003

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Using research in assessment

The use of knowledge from research is an integral part of developing evidence-based assessments. Research can provide evidence of what works for particular children, what makes good practice, and help substantiate conclusions and recommendations.

Local practice example – how to support incorporating research in assessments

Assessing the applicability of research to a case

This list of questions can be used to help practitioners assess the quality of a piece of research, how well research findings fit with the particular circumstances of a case and whether it can be used to inform the assessment.

Tools: Self Assessment in Relation to Specific Research
A tool for Self Assessment in Relation to Specific Research.
Download as a PDF: v1_tools_self_assessement_in_relation_to_specific_research_300514

What to do when there are no current literature reviews

Research reviews are useful in summarising and critiquing relevant research in a particular area. When these are not available practitioners must find and appraise existing research in their area of interest. The following provides useful steps on how to do this:

Tools: What to do when there are no current literature reviews
A tool advising what to do when there are no current literature reviews.
Download as a PDF: v1_tools_What-to-do-when-there-are-no-current-literature-reviews_300514.pdf

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List of journal subscriptions and key resources

1. Research in Practice website: www.rip.org.uk
2. Social Care Online: www.scie-socialcareonline.co.uk/
3. Adoption & Fostering: https://corambaaf.org.uk/bookshop/adoption-fostering-journal/accessing-journals
4. The British Journal of Social Work: http://bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/
5. Child Abuse Review: www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/5060/home
6. Child & Family Social Work http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=1356-7500
7. Child and Adolescent Mental Health www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=1475-357X&site=1
8. ChildRIGHT http://www.childrenslegalcentre.com/index.php?page=childright_archive
9. Children & Society www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0951-0605
10. NCB Vulnerable Children's Programme http://www.ncb.org.uk/vulnerable-childrens-programme
11. Journal of Integrated Care http://www.ijic.org/index.php/ijic
12. Journal of Adolescence www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/622849/description#description
13. Journal of Social Policy http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=JSP
14. Family Justice Knowledge Hub (Bulletins released periodically, example Family Justice Research Bulletin - 4 Mar 2014)

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Identifying needs and drawing up plans

Checklist for practitioners on the different stages of drawing up a plan, from identifying needs, to planning services and agreeing timescales.

Download the checklist as a Word .DOC file:
Checklist: Identifying needs and drawing up plans

or

Download the checklist as a .PDF file:
Checklist: Identifying needs and drawing up plans

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Assessing parent’s capacity to change

As with any assessment, it is important that the assessment of parents’ capacity - or equally a parent's capability - to change is underpinned with evidence. The following links provide useful resources on parenting capacity:

• Research in Practice (2013) Assessing parents' capacity to change
• Cleaver ET AL (2011) Children's Needs- Parenting Capacity
• Measuring and monitoring parent capacity: http://fosteringandadoption.rip.org.uk/topics/measuring-parent-capacity/
• NSPCC factsheet (2014) Assessing parenting capacity
• Ward ET AL (2014) Children on the edge of care: parent's ability to change.  A reference resource for social workers to support families where children’s safety and development are at risk.

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Test your knowledge

These exercises aim to help you embed knowledge in this area. A range of different formats have been used, and most can be used individually or in team learning. Discussing your learning with your supervisor will help to ensure it informs your practice.

Self-assessment: Assessing parental capacity to change

A short self-reflection exercise regarding your practice.

Download the exercise as a Word .DOC file:
Self-assessment: Assessing parental capacity to change

or

Download the exercise as a .PDF file:
Self-assessment: Assessing parental capacity to change

Analysing Assessments: Where are you at?

This tool is designed to help you to identify the aspects of assessment practice that you currently feel most confident about, and those areas that you might want to develop further.

Download the exercise as a Word .DOC file:
Analysing Assessments – Where are you at – Audit tool

or

Download the exercise as a .PDF file:
Analysing Assessments – Where are you at – Audit tool

What makes a good assessment?

An exercise to get practitioners thinking about the qualities of a good assessment.

Download the exercise as a Word .DOC file:
What makes a good assessment_5_anchor_principles

or

Download the exercise as a .PDF file:
What makes a good assessment_5_anchor_principles

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