CYP 3.6 Understanding partnership working in services for children and young people

Partnership refers to public agencies and professionals working together by sharing information and expertise knowledge to provide a comprehensive and holistic service to meet the needs of children and young people.

Referrals to public agencies and professionals will usually be made when concerns are shared about a child or young person's health, learning or home circumstances.

Referrals to public agencies and professionals can be made by practitioners, parents and carers and by the child or young person themselves.

Referrals are made to different agencies by the care or educational setting manager who will complete a Multiple Referral Form or Common Assessment Framework form (CAF).

Find out how referrals are made in your setting and
describe the process step by step.

Importance of multi-agency working together

Working under one umbrella enables them to function effectively as they are sharing the same information and it is exchanged more quickly , hence reducing any delays to interventions.

Facilitate early identification of children's needs and allows earlier intervention.

Referrals can be made quickly and reduce repeated referrals.

Reduce the risk of borderline child abuse cases slipping through the net.

Reduce the work being relicated across agencies, hence saving time and money.

The table below shows the functions of different agencies and professions and the support that is offered by them.

Partners

Agencies and Professionals	Function	Reasons for making referrals
Doctors (GP)	Diagnosis potential medical conditions. Referred by carer, nursery, school, health visitor.	Child who is failing to communicate may be referred to a GP for test to identify problems such as a hearing impairment. Delay in walking or for a medical condition.
Health Visitors	Visit and gives advice on feeding, weaning on new births. Gives support to new parents. Works with other professionals to retain the overview of the health and well-being of children and family in the area. Trained on safeguarding of children.	Child who is not eating may be offered advice and information on how to encourage children to eat. To check and monitor the physical developments of new born babies. Provide specific support for post natal depression. Provide families with specific support around health areas of concern.
Social Services	Provide co-ordinated service to families who have a range of issues. Referred by nursery carer or school setting, health visitor, GP, police	Child who is being abused is referred to social services. Signs of abuse Safe guarding issues
Speech & Language Therapist	Work to improve communications. Referred by Local Education Authority or GP	Child who has difficulty talking may be referred to a speech therapist. Delay in language development.
SENCO (special educational needs coordinator)	Coordinates with other professionals to provide the necessary support for the child. Ensuring that needs of pupils with special educational needs are met. Provides additional support for children with special educational needs and challenging behaviour. Also liaise with parents. Every school has a s.e.n.c.o policy and a SEN coordinator. If parent has any concern over child's progress, then they can contact the SEN coordinator.	Child with special educational needs: cerebral palsy or autism, asperges syndrome or dysphraxia Child who behaves aggressively towards others in the setting.
Educational psychologist	If child has special educational needs, nursery or school will discuss issues with parents and any interventions. If no progress then child will be referred to the educational psychologist after receiving permission from parents. School contacts the Local Authority who arranges for an educational psychologist to carry out an assessment on the child.	Dyslexia and learning difficulties
Paediatricians	Has expertise knowledge and skills to support children with a range of issues. Referred by a GP after assessment.	Dyspraxia ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) Developmental impairment Developmental delay Medical conditions such as epilepsy, asthma, obstructive sleep apnoea, genetic syndromes and cerebral palsy.
Physiotherapist	The role of the physiotherapist is to assess and manage children and young peoples with movement disorders, disability or illness. Provide physical intervention, advice and support. Referral can be made by any health professionals: paediatricians, GP, health visitor or school nurse.	Delay in physical and motor development. Physical disability Cerebral palsy ( impaired motor function.
Child psychologist	Provide counselling and other forms of therapy. A child psychologist specializes in understanding thought processes and actions of children and interpreting them to guide appropriate mental health treatment. Referral from GP, hospitals and social workers.	Emotional behavioural problems:Emotional behavioural problems: excessive anger, bed wetting or eating disorder, cries, mood and depression Social isolation or trauma events or abuse. withdrawn worried and stressed sulky or tearful. Insomnia , poor appetite, academic or social functioning.
Identify other partnerships within YOUR work setting	Describe the function of the partnerships in your setting	Describe the function of the partnerships in your setting

Characteristics of partners working together
and barriers to partners working together

Characteristics of partners	Barriers to working together
Have expertise knowledge	May lack experience or not be specialised enough. Using jargons and terminologies that are familiar. May not be a good listener. May only speak English. May be too opinionated. Unable to understand the needs of others. Maybe rude or arrogant. Maybe be ignorant of other culture.
Have good communication skills
Be non-judgemental
Be empathetic
Show respect

Can you identify other characteristics and describe
the barriers to working together.

Reasons for partnership between carers and parents:

Parents can provide comprehensive information about their child, such as background, preferences and so forth.
Carers can support parents with emotional or social problems.
Carers can give parents confidence in their parenting skills.
Carers can encourage parents to engage in their children learning.

Can you think of anymore?

Barriers to developing partnership:

Stressful lives and circumstance - poverty, disability, illness or single parenthood
Language barriers - some parents may lack confidence in speaking English if it is not their first language.
Work pressure - long hours and unpredictable work patterns.

Can you think of anymore?

Information sharing between partners

Data Protection 1998 information requires personal information to be securely stored and used only for the purpose stated. All information should be up to date, accurate, relevant and retained only as long as necessary.

Policies for information sharing	Conflicts and dilemmas in relation to sharing information
Personal records: name, address and admissions form are confidential and cannot be shared with other parents. Medical records are confidential and cannot be shared with other parents. Accident records / incidents reports have to be kept confidential and locked in a secure drawer. Developmental records such as Observation , planning and photographs are confidential, but parents can have access to them if needed. Every matter relating to safe guarding is confidential. Staff in the work settings have responsibility to share information with other agencies in order to safe guard children. The head of the centre or designated staff member will disclose any information about child to other member of staff on a need to know basis only.	Children have a right to privacy and confidentiality. Staff should not pass on any information to other parents for them to gossip or talk about. Parents need to feel confident that their child will not be topic of playground gossip. Children and young people need to feel secure that their personal information is kept confidential and protects them from being teased or bullied in the educational settings. A parent may want to take photographs of their children playing with other children. But this would not be permitted due to confidentiality and safeguarding policy. Parents may want address of other children in the nursery because they want to send them an invitation to their children' s birthday party. Teacher or carer are not permitted to divulge this information, but may provide phone numbers after receiving permission from parents. Parents may not agree to their child being referred to a specialist ( child psychologist or an educational psychologist), but if it is in the interest of the child, the nursery or school setting can override parents decision. If a nursery carer or school teacher observes repeated signs of physical abuse, then he/she must report it to the manager. Parent' s consent is not required as it may place the child at greater risk. After assessing the child, manager reports the abuse to social services who will report it to the police too without the need of parent' s consent.
Identify the policies in your work setting that include details of information sharing. For each policy describe the procedures for information sharing.	Draw from your work setting to give an example of where there may have been a conflict or dilemma in relation to information sharing.

Policies for information sharing

Conflicts and dilemmas in relation to sharing information

Personal records: name, address and admissions form are confidential and cannot be shared with other parents.

Medical records are confidential and cannot be shared with other parents.

Accident records / incidents reports have to be kept confidential and locked in a secure drawer.

Developmental records such as Observation , planning and photographs are confidential, but parents can have access to them if needed.

Every matter relating to safe guarding is confidential. Staff in the work settings have responsibility to share information with other agencies in order to safe guard children.

The head of the centre or designated staff member will disclose any information about child to other member of staff on a need to know basis only.

Children have a right to privacy and confidentiality.
Staff should not pass on any information to other parents for them to gossip or talk about. Parents need to feel confident that their child will not be topic of playground gossip.

Children and young people need to feel secure that their personal information is kept confidential and protects them from being teased or bullied in the educational settings.

A parent may want to take photographs of their children playing with other children.
But this would not be permitted due to confidentiality and safeguarding policy.

Parents may want address of other children in the nursery because they want to send them an invitation to their children' s birthday party.
Teacher or carer are not permitted to divulge this information, but may provide phone numbers after receiving permission from parents.

Parents may not agree to their child being referred to a specialist ( child psychologist or an educational psychologist), but if it is in the interest of the child, the nursery or school setting can override parents decision.

If a nursery carer or school teacher observes repeated signs of physical abuse, then he/she must report it to the manager. Parent' s consent is not required as it may place the child at greater risk.

After assessing the child, manager reports the abuse to social services who will report it to the police too without the need of parent' s consent.

Identify the policies in your work setting that include details of information sharing. For each policy describe the procedures for information sharing.

Draw from your work setting to give an example of where there may have been a conflict or dilemma in relation to information sharing.

Importance of clear communication and recording information that is
legible, grammatically correct, clear and accurate:

Prevent misinterpretation
Prevent misunderstanding
Prevent any confusion
Information is read correctly
Safe time and stress

How communications and records are recorded and securely
stored meeting data protection requirements:

All children' s records and communication via email, note pad, letter, referral forms or application forms are recorded and secured in the following ways:

Information recorded and saved in a computer is accessible by person in authority and with the use of a pass word.
Paper-based information should be stored in a locked cupboard and access by manager or other authorised person.
Information should not be kept longer than necessary and shared by relevant partnerships with the consent of the person.

REFERENCES

DFE (2014) Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

DFE (2014). Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage

DEF(2014). Early years (under 5s) foundation stage framework (EYFS)

DFE (2014) Keeping children safe in Out of hours provisions

DFE(2014) Early Years Outcomes

Parents - guide to EYFS (2014)

What to expect and when (2014)

The British Association for Early Childhood Education
(Supported by DFE)

Every Child Matters 2003)

Effective Pre-school and Primary Education 3-11 Project (2003-2008)

DFE (2008) Effective Pre-School and Primary Education 3-11 Project (EPPE 3-11)

Parliament (2003) Every Child Matters

Tassoni et al (2010) Level 3 Diploma Children and Young People's
Workforce (Early Learning and Childcare). Pearson: Harlow Essex

Caroline Meggit et al (2011) CACHE Level 3 Children and Young People's
Workforce Diploma: Early Learning and Child Care.
Hodder Education: London

www.gov.uk/government/
publications/
2010-to-2015-government-policy-childcare-and-early-education

www.education.gov.uk/publications
www.foundationyears.org.uk.
www.legislation.gov.uk/
www.4children.org.uk

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CYP 3.6 Understanding partnership working in services for children and young people