Children & Young People Now
August 2010
Comment
Kim Bromley Derry – immediate past president, Association of Directors of
Children's Services
For some time, early intervention has been a popular phrase on the lips of professionals,
senior managers and, more recently, politicians. In the last few weeks, we have
seen the coalition government initiate its own review into how we can spot potential
problems in the lives of children and their families earlier and how we can prevent
them escalating to the point where these families need resource-intensive and drastic
interventions.
That early intervention is in the best interests of all seems obvious. Statutory
interventions such as child protection investigations or criminal justice proceedings
are traumatic and stressful and often alienate the families we are trying to help.
Previous work has focused on demonstrating that intervening early is also cheaper
in the long run when the total impact on the public purse is taken into account.
But there are challenges in designing, implementing and evaluating specific local
services. This requires good data on costs and outcomes, decision-making structures
that make good use of this data and a long-term vision that incorporates savings
over the lifetime, not only of the project, but of the children and young people
who use it.
We know there are successful schemes out there making a difference to the lives
of children and their families.
ADCS, C4EO and key partners have been working to collate and validate these examples
and identify what makes them successful. The resulting messages are clear.
Successful provision has a pervasive culture based on respect. It includes universal
services at the heart of a continuum of support with outreach work to help vulnerable
groups. It is creative when it comes to building capacity such as using peer volunteers
and ongoing evaluation is paramount. Projects that incorporate these principles
have seen dramatic results. Children and their families require less support, rather
than more, over time.
When budgets are shrinking and demand rising, early intervention is not a luxury,
it is a necessity.
Making the difference
Implementing CAF and sharing information - Warrington
The Warrington Family Support Model team is a key source of support and information
for agencies working with families
The Warrington family support team identifies trends to shape service provision
In recent years, the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) has become a core part of
work with vulnerable children and families.
In Warrington, children's services developed a model for integrated working to help
roll out CAF, backed by a team based within Warrington Borough Council.
The Warrington Family Support Model (WFSM) team has become a key source of support
and information for all agencies working with families and is an example of local
practice validated by C4EO.
As well as offering support on devising care plans and ensuring professionals get
the right training, the six-strong team uses data to identify trends and shape service
provision.
As in other areas, it has taken a while for some to embrace a new way of working.
Actually getting access to information on different IT systems was another challenge.
It was important staff at all levels knew what was going on.
"We met frontline practitioners and that brought up issues like the fact people
were worried about the extra time and paperwork," says CAF manager Debra Leadbetter.
"We also worked at practice management level, looking at challenges like quality
control, and finally at the strategic level with key partners in the children's
trust."
Now the ContactPoint database is to be scrapped, the WFSM will continue to be a
key channel for sharing information between agencies.
One big change is that professionals now use the same terms to talk about risk and
levels of need, says Leadbetter.
"Before, a health visitor would use different terms to a social worker, but now
it's 'I'm working with a Level 3 family' or 'they need a Level 2 parenting course',"
she says.
Children and families have noticed the difference. "They're saying they feel more
at the centre of things," says Leadbetter. "Now when they ask for help, a range
of professionals will get together to look at how best to co-ordinate support."
Latest figures show a reduced level of need for 57 per cent of families who go through
the process.
Key points
- Communication is vital. WFSM uses websites, emails and newsletters
- Develop resources to support your work, such as WFSM’s guidance on good supervision
to help managers support frontline staff
- Share information about who is doing CAF and the results to help smash misconceptions
- Ensure CAF is integrated into everything. WFSM "CAF proofs" strategy documents and
helps voluntary groups write it into policy.
Need to know
Key Stage 2 Test scores and teacher assessments
The latest Key Stage 2 results for England were published in August and this year
include the results of teacher assessments as well as test results for English and
Maths.
These two bits of information can produce different results, explains Simon Rutt,
head of statistics at the National Foundation for Educational Research and C4EO’s
data lead.
So, it is vital users of this information understand what it means.
Teacher assessments look at a pupil’s ongoing work across a particular subject and
are not a prediction of what a pupil will get on a test.
For example, in English this will include speaking and listening in addition to
the reading and writing skills assessed in the written tests.
Meanwhile, Key Stage 2 tests provide a snapshot of a pupil’s knowledge of a particular
subject at a certain point in time.
No test can assess a complete curriculum area and remain manageable and valid.
The tests are governed by strict procedures, reviewed by subject experts and teachers,
and trialled on hundreds of pupils.
However, neither the test results nor assessments can be 100 per cent reliable,
says Rutt.
"If a different teacher assessed the same pupil, would they agree? If a pupil sat
the test again, would they get the same result?" he says.
"In interpreting the Key Stage 2 results of 2010, it is important to remember what
you are looking at and that different methods of measurement will ultimately measure
different things."
Nuggets of useful knowledge
Pupils achieving Level 4 or above in maths in the 2010 Key Stage 2 tests was
80%
compared to 81% by teacher assessments
The percentage of boys achieving Level 5 in English in the 2010 Key Stage 2 tests
was
26%
compared to 40% for girls
The 2010 Key Stage 2 results have been embroiled in controversy after
4,000
schools boycotted the tests
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