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Contents

1. Planning the Assessment  
2. Gathering Information 
3. Decision Making and Care Planning 

1. Planning the Assessment

The planning of the assessment should take account of the following:

• The impact of equality issues, for example the need for an interpreter or other specialist input in relation to mental health or learning disability;
• The historical information already available in relation to the family – this information should be read and collated into a chronology of significant events, including changes of address, requests for support, significant incidents, referrals from other agencies, meetings held and missed appointments;
• A consideration of the evidence as to the parents’ difficulties in meeting the child’s developmental needs, the explanations given by the family for these difficulties and the outcome for the child if the difficulties continue.

At, or shortly after, the Admissions Meeting, a written agreement should be produced setting out how long the assessment will take and what is expected of the family at the different stages.  An example of a Working Agreement is contained in the Practice Guidelines document referred to at the beginning of this chapter.

In addition Appendix 2 of the detailed Practice Guidelines contains a sample time-table for individual sessions with a parent – for the gathering of information as set out in section 2 below.

2. Gathering Information

2.1 Information relating to the parent

This will involve the following:

• Obtaining information from the parents to facilitate consideration as to their motivation and potential for change - a questionnaire is available on pages 7 to 14 of the Practice Guidelines - to assist consideration of how best to engage them in the assessment;
• The compiling of a genogram in order to gain an understanding of the family structure.  Detailed guidance on compiling a genogram is set out on page 16 of the Practice Guidelines’
• Obtaining information to assist in understanding the parent’s current living situation and any issues which may impact of their parenting capacity – the Practice Guidelines include more detailed guidance and exercises to help explore the issues of partner support (pages 18 to 27), domestic violence (pages 28 to 29), drug or alcohol misuse (pages 30 to 35), mental health (pages 36 to 41) and self-esteem (pages 42 to 47).

2.2 Information relating to the parent/child relationship

This will involve the following:

• Obtaining information about the parent’s attitude to and ability to empathise with the child – the Practice Guidelines include exercises to explore the parent’s pre and post-natal history and feelings towards the child (pages 48 to 50) – to assist consideration of the meaning of the child to the parent;
• Obtaining information as to the parenting style, i.e. the extent to which parents show control and supervision in their parenting and the extent to which they show emotional warmth, acceptance and involvement.  More detailed guidance and a checklist are available on pages 51 to 53 of the Practice Guidelines;
• Direct observation of contact between the parent and child – a Record Sheet is available on 54 to 56 of the Practice Guidelines – this will assist the assessment of the child’s attachment to the parents – information as to Attachment is provided on pages 58 to 61 of the Practice Guidelines.

2.3 Information relating to the child

This will involve the following:

• Obtaining information as to the child’s developmental needs depending on his or her age;
• Obtaining information as to the child’s vulnerability and resilience – indicators of both are set out on pages 62 and 63 of the Practice Guidelines;
• Individual sessions with the child to ascertain his or her wishes and feelings – suggested prompts for school age children are set out on page 64 of the Practice Guidelines – guidance about how to conduct such sessions is also set out on pages 65 and 66);

2.4 Information relating to the parenting capacity

This will involve the following:

• Obtaining information as to the parent’s home management and life skills and ability to provide for the child’s physical needs – questions are set out on pages 68 to 73 of the Practice Guidelines;
• Obtaining information as to the parent’s ability to protect the child from harm or danger through:
  1. Direct observation of the child and parent(s) as to the parent’s effective supervision of the child and anticipation of hazards, and
  2. Individual sessions with the parent(s) to look at home safety issues, their social support/protective safety network, their ability to give priority to the child’s safety - such as in relation to issues of domestic violence, mental health or substance misuse - and their willingness and ability to acknowledge previous concerns:
     
     
• Obtaining information as to the parent’s ability to meet the child’s emotional needs through:
  1. Direct observation of the parent/child interaction, and
  2. Individual sessions with the parent(s) regarding their own childhood and their relationship with their child:
     
     
• Obtaining information as to the parent’s ability to promote the child’s learning and intellectual development, through:
  1. Direct observation of the child and parents as to how the parent gives attention to the child, shows understanding of and interest in the child’s development and encourages the child’s play and language
  2. Home visits to obtain evidence of whether the home environment is ‘child-centred’
     
     
• Obtaining information as to the parent’s ability to provide consistent guidance and boundaries for the child, through:
  1. Direct observation of the parent/child interaction, including how the parent imposes appropriate behavioural limits on the child, follows through their instructions and responds to the child’s disagreement; and
  2. Individual sessions with the parent(s) regarding their own childhood experiences of discipline and their current attitude to discipline.
     
     
• Obtaining information as to the parent’s ability to provide a stable family environment, through:
  1. Direct observation of contact between the parent and child, including whether the parents attend regularly and on time, whether the parents’ own relationship is supportive or in conflict during the sessions, and whether the parent’s responses to the child are predictable and consistent; and
  2. Individual sessions with the parent as to the parent’s current living situation, relationships with partner and the family history (see 2.1 above), the family’s level of social integration or isolation
  3. Testing and analysing the information

The Practice Guidelines include several checklists to assist with the evaluation of the information gathered:

• A Risk Assessment Checklist (page 84)
• Model of Risk Assessment (page 85)
• Analysis Checklist (page 86)

The analysis stage of the assessment should include consideration of the following questions:

1. What factors have impaired parenting capacity?
2. How has the parent’s behaviour impacted on the child’s development?
3. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the parent and wider family?
4. What are the child’s needs, wishes and feelings regarding intervention and outcome?
5. What changes and/or services does the parent think are needed?
6. What have been the effectiveness of previous intervention and the length of time over which previous improvements have been sustained?
7. What is the parent’s ability and willingness to make the required changes within the developmental time-span of the child?
8. What are the barriers to achieving the desired outcomes?
9. What are the consequences if the desired outcomes are not achieved?

A framework for assessments in relation to unborn children is also set out on pages 88 and 89 of the Practice Guidelines.

3. Decision Making and Care Planning

The final part of the assessment is drawing conclusions and making recommendations as to any action required in order to effect change and improve parenting.  The assessment at this stage needs to be written up – and will often need to be written in a form that can be presented in Care Proceedings.

A Care Planning process map is set out on page 90 of the Practice Guidelines to help move from the assessment of need to developing a Care Plan.

Page 91 contains a format for a Care Plan and page 92 a format for a Statement of Evidence.

There is also guidance for report writing on pages 93 to 97.

See also Care Proceedings, Legal Framework and Preparing of Evidence Procedure, which contains more detailed guidance as to the format and contents of Statements for Court.

End