1. North East Lincolnshire Council Practice Briefing

2. Aims Clarify the FFAP function Putting SOS into context
Single Assessment Review
Changes to Single Assessment
Purpose and content of Early Help Assessment
The Future

3. FFAP FAMILIES FIRST ACCESS POINT

4. MASH+FFAP= FFAP!
On the 9th January 2017, the MASH and the FFAP merged, bringing together the statutory and early help elements for one combined front door.
The purpose of this merge is to strengthen the front door offer of Children’s Social Care to ensure that children and families receive the right response at the right time.

5. FFAP Structure- Partners
Police Designated Decision Maker
3 Police Researchers
Safeguarding Health
4 Senior Social Workers
2 Case Supervisors
1 Team Manager
6 Early Help Practitioners
Matrix management by EH manager

6. Purpose of the FFAP
Sharing of Information and Intelligence Across the Safeguarding and Early Help Partnership to:
Improve safeguarding and early help decision making at the point of referral
Make the right decisions at the earliest point of contact
Multi-agency analysis of information to identify need, harm and future harm

7. Unique position of the FFAP
Access partnership intelligence in one place
Access to partnership data bases
Skilled practitioners take information at the earliest stage to reduce delay (Social Work information gathering and decision making)
Overview of children’s safeguarding and Early Help across services.

8. What FFAP can do for you!! Safeguarding Discussions
Advice on accessing Early Help Services
Information Advice and Guidance
FIS

9. Consent Every contact, is opened on CCM.
We cannot progress discussions unless you have consent.
Safeguarding is the only thing that can over ride consent.
Please talk to families about your worries before you contact FFAP.

10. Any Questions?

11. The Single Assessment

12. Signs of Safety In 2015 we adopted The Signs of Safety Approach.
Solution Focused Questioning Approach.
Family Focused not directional.
The Signs of Safety model was created in Western Australia during the 90’s, based on the use of Strength Based interview techniques and draws upon techniques from solution focused brief therapy (SFBT).
Establishing constructive working relationships and partnerships between professionals and family members, and within the family themselves
Engaging in critical thinking and maintaining a position of inquiry
Staying grounded in the everyday work of child protection practitioners
Designed to assist a worker to think their way through an issue in order to take the assessment map to the family and other professionals involved

13. Single Assessment Review
Provides a clear framework for having difficult conversations
Good way of looking at the whole family unit
Improves integrated working across all partners
But need to improve:
Training and consistency of practice
Links into interventions that may have taken place previously
Support to some partners to give confidence in using the process
Understanding of the purpose of single assessment.
Launched on Nov 2015
Reviewed in Dec 2016

14. Purpose of Assessment
A Tool to support professionals to think through and map their concerns to be used for their own purpose.
To share information with another service i.e. Child Development Centre, so they are able to ascertain if they will need a service from them.
To request support through Early Help Services.
To facilitate a safeguarding discussion with FFAP, when you have concerns about a child.
The EHA is a tool which develops over time

15. Changes to Single Assessment
Name – Early Help Assessment
Front Sheet
Safety Planning
Service Help Plan
Child’s views/Direct work
Parents Views
Family Networks Views

16. What do we need to see in the EHA
Names of all family members, address and contact details are essential.
Any of the family network you know support the family... This will grow over time.
Consent, needs to be explicit
Be Clear about what you are worried about..
Your strengths should be directly linked to the worries.

17. Danger Statements Themed Danger Statements Simple Language – No Jargon
Who is worried
What are they worried about – giving examples of the worry.
What will be the impact if nothing changes.

18. Safety Goals Expectations - should be realistic and achievable.
Goals – should aim to make the situation safe enough for the child to remain/return to the family home or in PEI reduce the risk of negative outcomes for the child.
Specify the behaviours you need to see for you not to have a worry anymore.
More of-Calm responses
Less of-Hitting Shouting
Child attending School

19. 4. Safety Goals ACKNOWLEDGE (Past) HARM WHAT (Future) DANGER HOW
Known impact on the child
ACKNOWLEDGE
What people have been doing to address the worry
WHAT
What will it look like for you not to have a worry?
DANGER STATEMENT
SAFETY GOAL
(Future)
DANGER
Behaviours by child/parent/carer that poses a risk to the child
FAMILY GOALS
HOW
Agency bottom line/s
Explain again the book ends of the case being clear that the danger/worry statement is explaining clearly exactly what it is we are worried about, reminding them that there should be 1 danger/worry statement per theme... And that each danger statement should have its own safety goal.
The safety goal should acknowledge what the family have been doing that is positive to address the worry, but should be clear about exactly what it will look like when you are not worried, this will inform parents/network of what they will need to do.
And the bottom lines are the agency bottom lines, non negotiables. i.e. mum and dad will not punch, kick and scream at each other when the kids are around them.... Even if they are upstairs
Explain that family goals are also important to consider as these give us an understanding of what the family want to see happen and their aspirations for the future

20. Safety Plans Safety Plans are not service plans
Safety Plans are specific actions that the family are going to take to take them from Danger Statement to Safety Goal.
Safety Plans are written by the family network with the support of professional.
THEY ARE NOT WRITTEN BY PROFESSIONALS FOR FAMILIES TO FOLLOW...

21. Strengthening Families
0-19 Thematic Model
Health and Wellbeing
Young and Safe
Strengthening Families

22. Early Help the Future
A clear pathway of universal, primary and secondary interventions, tailored to the needs of the locality.
Multi-Disciplinary Teams – with specific specialisms to meet the community need. All working within the same model of practice and talking the same language.
Specialist Targeted Support for the most needy in those communities.

23. Support for you... SOS training. Practice Development Sessions FFAP
Practice Leads
Early Help Practitioners
Practice Guidance

24. Questions