1. Getting it right for every child

2. GIRFEC has evolved over time:
GIRFEC: origins
GIRFEC has evolved over time:
Kilbrandon Report 1964
Children (Scotland) Act 1995
For Scotland’s Children (2001)
It’s everyone’s job to make sure I’m alright (2002)
Review of Children’s Hearings (2004)
Key messages:
Clear evidence of need for GIRFEC
Building from recognised and established practice and theory
Building on good practice

3. What is GIRFEC ?
Getting it right for every child is a way of working which focuses on improving outcomes for all children by placing the child at the centre of thinking, planning and action
It affects all services that impact on children (i.e. adult services working with parents/ carers)
It builds from universal services: moving crisis intervention to early intervention
It streamlines processes and uses IT to support best practice on information sharing
Key messages:
GIRFEC affects all services for children and is about improving outcomes for all children
It involves transformational change and is strongly connected with the Early Years Framework

4. The core components of Getting it right for every child
Improving outcomes for children
Common approach to gaining consent and sharing information where appropriate
Integral role for children
Co-ordinated and unified approach , based on the Well-being Indicators
Streamlined planning, assessment and decision making - the right help at the right time
Key message:
To implement GIRFEC, all the core components have to be built in to planning and practice

5. The core components of Getting it right for every child
Co-operation, joint working and communication
A Lead Professional to co-ordinate
Maximising the skilled workforce within universal services
A confident and competent workforce across all services
The capacity to share demographic, assessment, and planning information electronically
Key message:
To implement GIRFEC, all the core components have to be built in to planning and practice

6. So what does this mean for children, young people and families?
Children will:
feel confident about the help they are getting
understand what is happening and why
have been listened to carefully
be appropriately involved
be able to rely on appropriate help and have a streamlined and co-ordinated response.
Key message:
Focus on the benefits of GIRFEC practice for children, young people and families

7. The GIRFEC approach comprises:
Core components
Principles and values
Common understanding
Shared language
Practice model (needs and strengths)
Well-being and well becoming
Key messages:
Through the approach, promote opportunities and value diversity
Safety first and consider the whole child: a developmental-ecological approach
Promote well-being of individual children and young people
Build on strengths and promote resilience
Help should be appropriate, proportionate and timely, co-ordinated as necessary
Support informed choice, working in partnership with families
Information sharing with consent or when necessary without consent for reasons of safety
Shared values across professions
Connected workforce development and service inspection
It’s about how services work together to support any child
Starts in the universal services for all children – health and education
Early identification of problems and early intervention
Immediate response to protecting children in cases of serious risk
Build on strengths, support family solutions when safely possible
Shared framework for assessment and planning
Streamlining processes when possible
Lead professional to co-ordinate complex services
One child’s plan

8. GIRFEC: Child at centre & a network of support
Key messages:
This is the central concept of GIRFEC – the vision.
Promoting appropriate, proportionate and timely action
As the spiral progresses, the help provided is more targeted, more specialist and ultimately ends with compulsory measures
In GIRFEC there are no thresholds - but depending on need, action should be taken.
Need to ensure practitioners share information when appropriate
Build from the needs of the child, drawing on the family and those closest to the child as necessary – to build a strong network of support

9. Children’s well-becoming: confident individuals effective contributors
The Scottish Government: vision for children - supported by eight well-being indicators
Children’s well-becoming:
confident individuals
effective contributors
successful learners
responsible citizens
Supported by the 8 well-being indicators:
Safe Healthy Achieving Nurtured
Active Respected Responsible Included
Key messages:
Four capacities central to Curriculum for Excellence and in outcome agreements
Relationship between each is important in GIRFEC practice

10. Elements of the GIRFEC practice model
My World Triangle
Well-being wheel
Resilience matrix
Key messages:
These are the components of the GIRFEC practice model: well-being, child’s world, resilience
Designed to break down real or artificial barriers.
Based on shared values and principles, building to a common language and understanding and looking for transformational change.
Aim to:
Identify and support protective resources
Nurture the child’s capacity to benefit from these resources
Understand the impact of adversity and trauma
Work to reduce impact of adversity

11. Well-being Key messages: Inter-relationships between the segments
To be successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens, a child’s well-being should be considered as set out in the eight indicators: safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible and included

12. Key messages:
Consider each side of the triangle and identity what needs to be done;
Take an overview of what is needed, making use of the resilience matrix;
Don’t just record the information, but analyse it and plan accordingly
Need for coherence across policies
Note:
The above was developed as part of the preparatory work for an integrated assessment framework (IAF) in Scotland. Similar to those in England and Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland we have placed the child at the centre and describe everything from the child’s perspective. This IAF preparatory work was absorbed into Getting it right, although many local authority areas continue to work on IAF development. Moving to developing GIRFEC practice building from IAF work.

13. Resilience Matrix Key message:
Always trying to move from the deficit to the positive.
Adapted from Daniel, B., Wassell, S. and Gilligan, R. (1999) Child Development for Child Care and Protection Workers, Jessica Kingsley Publishers Ltd., London and Philadelphia and Daniel, B. and Wassell, S. (2002) Assessing and Promoting Resilience in Vulnerable Children, Jessica Kingsley Publishers Ltd., London and Philadelphia. Published by kind permission of the authors and Jessica Kingsley Publishers Ltd., London and Philadelphia.

14. Planning, action and review
Use the well-being indicators to plan, take action and review.
Where necessary develop a plan that incorporates all elements of involvement to meet a child’s needs.
When two or more agencies are involved, action coordinated by a Lead Professional.
Review the outcome of the plan with the child, young person and family.
Key messages:
Inter-relationships between the segments
To be successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens, a child’s well-being should be considered as set out in the eight indicators: safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible and included

15. The GIRFEC Practice Model
Key messages:
Brings together core tools into one practice model applicable to all professionals
The GIRFEC model requires everything to be looked at in the round as soon as possible to ensure that planning and action addresses those needs and risks
If a specialist assessment is made and the analysis requires immediate action to keep the child safe, that is done and represents an immediate short term outcome
However, other short, medium and long term needs and risks have to be tackled too

16. Building electronic information sharing solutions as part of GIRFEC practice
New version of the national eCare framework structured around the GIRFEC practice model will support:
Electronic sharing of information (all children, all needs and issues)
Controlled messaging of information about child protection issues
The development of a chronology and/or a child’s virtual shared record
Key messages:
Electronic information sharing is integral to the implementation of GIRFEC practice
eCare supports good practice, it is an enabler not a driver
The eCare programme is about all children, not just those who have child protection issues or multiple needs

17. National implementation requires…
CULTURE CHANGE
Learning together, co-operating, children at the centre
SYSTEMS CHANGE
Streamlining, simplifying, improving effectiveness
PRACTICE CHANGE
Appropriate, proportionate and timely help, shared materials, tools, protocols
Key message:
The national implementation plan focuses on change across these three areas

18. Now and ongoing - rolling programme
Implementation when?
Now and ongoing - rolling programme
Pathfinders and Learning Partners - at different stages
Highland, pan Lanarkshire, West Lothian, Edinburgh, Angus, Domestic abuse pathfinders
Wider learning community
Parallel tracks connected to Early Years/Road to recovery/Equally Well/ASL etc.
Key messages:
Learning from pathfinders and learning partners
Importance of connecting policy as part of national implementation – long term programme of change
Supporting an on-line Learning Community
Role of Government to support, enable and facilitate implementation

19. Early learning from pathfinders
Child and family involvement is improved
Cross agency executive sign up is vital
Inter-agency training is key to supporting change
Common language and understanding leads to early and appropriate action
More appropriate referrals to the reporter and CP register
Key message:
GIRFEC implementation is demonstrating how improvements can be made in practice and what is required to achieve this

20. Spring 2009: national implementation plan (5 – 10 years)
Next steps
Spring 2009: national implementation plan (5 – 10 years)
Summer 2009: learning exchange document (Highland)
Autumn 2009: initial evaluation report
On-going: development of national electronic information sharing solutions under eCare framework
On-going: connecting GIRFEC with inspection and workforce development
Key messages:
Long term programme of change
Creating a national learning environment
Electronic information sharing integral to the implementation of a GIRFEC approach

21. SG website www.scotland.gsi.gov/gettingitright
Keeping updated
SG website
Partner Newsletter
Learning Community