Intro To Using Records

Introduction to the Records
used in the
Integrated Children’s System
Consultation Document
DRAFT – DECEMBER 2002

Contents
Section 1 Introduction
1.1 Introduction
1.4 The exemplars
Section 2 The Purpose and Use of the Records
2.1 Information Records
2.2 Contact Record
2.3 Completing a Contact Record
2.4 The Referral and Information Record
2.5 Completing a Referral and Information Record
2.6 Using the Referral and Information Record with Looked After Children
2.9 Placement Information Record for Looked After Children
2.11 Completing the Placement Information Record
2.13 Chronology
2.16 Completing the Chronology
2.19 Relationship with other parts of the system
2.20 Chronology and the Review Record
2.21 Closure Record
2.23 Assessment Records
2.31 Relationship between Assessment Records and Plans
2.40 Initial Assessment Record
2.42 Completing the Initial Assessment Record
2.43 Using the Initial Assessment Record in Child Protection
2.45 Child Protection
2.47 Record of the Strategy Discussion
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2.48 Completing the Record of Strategy Discussion
2.52 Record of Outcome of s47 Enquiries
2.53 Completing the Record of Outcome of s47 Enquiries
2.56 Initial Child Protection Conference Report
2.58 Completing the Initial Child Protection Conference Report
2.61 Relationship between the Records
2.61 Relationship between the Record of Strategy Discussion and the Initial Plan,
Child’s Plan or Care Plan
2.62 Relationship between the Record of Strategy Discussion and the other child
protection exemplars where the decision of the strategy discussion is to initial
s47 enquiries
2.63 Relationship between the Initial Child Protection Conference Report and the
Initial Assessment Record
2.65 Relationship between the Initial Child Protection Conference Report and the
Core Assessment Record
2.66 Relationship between the Child’s Plan and the Outline Child Protection Plan
2.67 Core Assessment Record
2.70 Completing the Core Assessment Record
2.72 Relationship between the Records
2.72 Relationship between the Core Assessment Records and Plans
2.73 Using the Core Assessment Records in Child Protection
2.76 Using the Core Assessment Records with Looked After Children
2.79 Assessment and Progress Records
2.80 Completing the Assessment and Progress Record
2.93 Planning
2.95 The relationship of plans to assessment
2.96 Involving children or young people and families
2.97 Being responsive to changes in a child or young person’s needs or

circumstances
2.98 Involving service providers from all relevant agencies/organisations
2.99 Enabling social workers and managers to identify specific and measurable
outcomes
2.100 Enabling social workers and managers to evaluate the impact of actions and
services
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2.101 Enabling the costs of service provision to be calculated
2.102 Types of plan
2.103 Initial Plan
2.104 Completing an Initial Plan
2.106 Child’s Plan
2.109 Completing a Child’s Plan
2.111 Care Plan
2.113 Completing the Care Plan
2.117 The relationship between the Care Plan and other records to inform the
Personal Education Plans
2.123 The relationship between the Care Plan and Health Plan
2.126 Relationship with other parts of the system
2.126 Using the Care Plan with children and young people in short break care
2.127 Using the Care Plan with children and young people who have an Adoption
Plan
2.128 Using the Care Plan with children and young people who have a Pathway
Plan
2.129 Reviewing the Care Plan
2.133 Adoption Plan
2.135 Completing an Adoption Plan
2.137 Pathway Plan
2.138 Completing a Pathway Plan
2.140 Part One: Needs Assessment
2.143 Part Two: The Plan
2.144 Completing a Pathway Plan
2.150 Review
2.152 Completing a Review Record
2.153 Closure Record
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Section 3 Using the Records for Managing Information
3.1 Introduction
3.6 Children’s Social Services Core Information Requirements
3.7 Benefits for Practitioners
3.13 Benefits for Front Line Managers and Supervisors
3.14 Benefits for Senior Managers and Policy Makers
Section 4 Consultation Questions
4.1 The Exemplars
4.2 Aims of the Exemplars
4.3 Consultation Questions
Annex 1
References
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SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION
Introduction
1.1 A set of draft records (exemplars) have been developed to assist Councils with Social Services
Responsibilities (CSSRs), together with other organisations, to prepare for the introduction of the
Integrated Children’s System (ICS) in their work with children in need and families. The
exemplars record the information, decisions, actions and plans at each stage in the process of
work with children and families. They also enable the costs of services provided to be recorded.
The conceptual model developed for the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and
Their Families (Department of Health et al, 2000) underpins the design and use of all the
exemplars.
1.2 This consultation document Introduction to the Records used in the Integrated Children’s System
provides information about the development, purpose and use of the exemplars of which a
selection are attached. To assist readers Section 4 provides a set of questions to use in responding
to this consultation exercise.
1.3 This consultation exercise is being undertaken in relation to a number of inter-related documents:
• Working with Children in Need and their Families: Consultation Document;
• Introduction to the Records used in the Integrated Children’s System: Consultation

Document;
• The Exemplar Records for the Integrated Children’s System.
These are available on the Integrated Children’s System website:

(www.doh.gov.uk/integratedchildrenssystem/briefings.htm ). The first two documents, together
with selected examples of the exemplar records, are available in hard copy. All the exemplar
records and the guidance to their use are available on CD ROM. These are being distributed
widely but additional copies can be obtained from Jim Brown, Department of Health, Area 125
Wellington House, 133-155 Waterloo Road, London SE1 8UG, telephone: 020 7972 4431, e-
mail: Jim.Brown@doh.gsi.gov.uk.
Action required:
If you wish to comment on any or all of the questions contained within the consultation
document, or if you have any other comments, please send your response to:
Jim Brown, Department of Health, Area 125 Wellington House, 133-155 Waterloo
Road, London, SE1 8UG
Or by Email to: ICS@doh.gsi.gov.uk
The closing date for responses is 31 March 2003.
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The exemplars
1.4 The exemplars have been developed in consultation with children and families, groups of
practitioners, managers, policy makers and academics. They are designed to support practice by
being clearly linked to the key processes of assessment, planning, intervention and review in
work with children in need and families. The exemplars are designed for use as a complete
system and they should not be used on a piecemeal basis, as this will undermine the integrity of
the system and the processes of assessment, planning, intervention and review.
The exemplars structure information systematically in order to:
• build up a picture of the child’s needs, within the context of their family and the
community in which they live;
• facilitate the processes of gathering of information, collation and analysis at each stage;
• support the development of plans, which include clear objectives and measurable
outcomes for children;
• facilitate review processes which monitor the child’s progress and the effectiveness of
interventions;
• enable information to be aggregated;
• estimate and monitor costs of services provided.
1.5 The exemplars provide a clear and consistent framework for the gathering and production of
information. They are designed to work within an electronic information system, which supports
single data entry of information, i.e. information once entered into the system can be stored and
transferred from one record to another. Stored information can be extracted for a variety of
reporting functions.
1.6 The exemplars are used to record information gathered at each stage of the process of work with
children and families. They are divided into four types:
Information;
Assessment;
Planning; and
Review.
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1.7 The exemplars comprise the following records:
Information
• Contact Record
• Referral and Information Record
• Placement Information Record
• Chronology
• Closure
Assessment
• Initial Assessment
• Record of Strategy Discussion
• Record of Outcome of s47 Enquiries
• Initial Child Protection Conference Report– incorporating the Outline Child
Protection Plan
• Core Assessment
• Assessment and Progress Record
Planning
• Initial Plan
• Child’s Plan – incorporating the Child Protection Plan
• Care Plan
• Adoption Plan
• Pathway Plan
Review
• Review Records
1.8 The exemplars are developed from the records and schedules which support the Assessment
Framework (Department of Health and Cleaver, 2000) and the Looking After Children System
(Department of Health, 1995). They have been refined to take account of the findings from
research and audits, as well as feedback from a series of consultation workshops held with
professionals, children and families in 2001-02. It is intended that these records will replace
the current Assessment Framework and Looking After Children records when the e-social
care records are introduced in 2005.
1.9 It is recognised that some Councils may choose to introduce the Integrated Children’s System
records at an earlier stage. These Councils will need to take into account the fact that some of
these records have yet to be used in practice. A research programme, which will include piloting
of the records (see Section 2, paragraphs 2.10-2.11 in Working with Children in Need and Their
Families (2002)) will take place between 2002 –2004, and its findings will be used together with
information from the consultation exercise to revise and refine the exemplars as necessary, prior
to implementation in 2005.
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1.10 For ease of reference Table One below illustrates how the records for use in the Integrated
Children’s System will replace those currently used in the Assessment Framework and Looking
After Children system.
Table One: Current and Proposed Records
Assessment Framework Integrated Children’s System

New Contact Record
Referral and Initial Information Replaced with revised Referral and Information
Record Record
Initial Assessment Replaced with revised Initial Assessment, which
includes Initial Plan
Core Assessment Replaced with revised Core Assessment
New Child’s Plan which includes Child Protection Plan
New Record of Strategy Discussion
New Record of Outcome of s47 Enquiries which
includes updated Initial Plan
New Initial Child Protection Conference Report, which
includes Outline Child Protection Plan
New Chronology
New Review Record
New Closure Record
Looking After Children
Essential Information Record Part 1 Replaced with revised Referral and Information
Record (see above)
Essential Information Record Part 2 Replaced with new Chronology
Placement Plan Parts 1 and 2 Replaced with Placement Information Record (which
includes parental agreements and consents)
Care Plan Replaced with revised Care Plan Parts 1 & 2
New Adoption Plan
New Pathway Plan Parts 1 & 2 (includes Needs
Assessment)
Review Form Replaced with revised Review Record
Assessment and Action Records Replaced with revised Assessment and Progress
Records
New Closure Record
1.11 For the purposes of this consultation, all the Information, Planning and Review Records are
being issued as paper versions but only two examples of each of the age related Core Assessment
Records and Assessment and Progress Records. Guidance on the use of the records within the
Integrated Children’s System and a full set of records will be available on CD ROM and on the
Integrated Children’s System website: www.doh.gov.uk/integratedchildrenssystem/.
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SECTION 2: THE PURPOSE AND USE OF THE
RECORDS
Information Records
2.1 These record essential information about the child and family, other professionals and agencies
in contact with them, and significant events in the child’s life. They also record information
relating to contact with and referral to social services and closure of cases.
The Information Records comprise:

Contact Record
Referral and Information Record
Placement Information Record
Chronology
Closure Record
Contact Record
2.2 The Contact Record generates a record of any contact made by or on behalf of a child and
family.
Completing a Contact Record
2.3 The person receiving the contact should complete and sign the Contact Record. If the case does
not proceed past this stage Councils with Social Services Responsibility (CSSRs) will need to
ensure that their policy on notification to individuals about whom it holds information and
storage of this information for a specific period of time complies with the Data Protection Act
1998.
The Referral and Information Record

2.4 The Referral and Information Record has three functions:
• to record the source and reason for referral or request for services;
• to record the response of social services and other relevant agencies to a referral or
request for services;
• to provide a record of essential information about a child or young person.
Completing a Referral and Information Record
2.5 A Referral and Information Record should be completed whenever a referral or request for
service is made by, or on behalf of, a child or young person. Where services are being provided,
the Referral and Initial Information Record should be regularly updated to ensure essential
information about a child or young person and family remains accurate and up to date.
Using the Referral and Information Record with Looked After Children
2.6 The Referral and Information Record provides the carers with essential information about the
child who is looked after. It replaces the Essential Information Record Part One of the 1995
Looking After Children Materials. As most children and young people who become looked after
are already known to social services, in these circumstances it will reduce the need to gather this
information at the point the child becomes looked after.
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2.7 When a child or young person becomes looked after, an up to date copy of the Referral and
Information Record should be given to the carers. The child or young person and parents
should have received a copy of the Referral and Information Record when it was completed.
At the point the child or young person becomes looked after it will be important to check
whether the child or young person and parents still have a copy, and that the information remains
correct and up to date.
2.8 Where a referrer has asked to remain anonymous any information that identifies the person
making the referral should be removed or obscured before the record is copied to the carer, child
or young person or family members.
Placement Information Record for Looked After Children

2.9 The Placement Information Record supplements the key information provided to carers in the
Referral and Information Record. It is completed at the time a child becomes looked after. It
contains key information required by carers in order to provide appropriate care for an individual
child and the parental agreements to:
• a period of accommodation under s20;
• specified medical treatments;
• delegation of a number of responsibilities including, for example, consent to overnight

stays;
• contact arrangements.
2.10 The Placement Information Record replaces The Placement Plan Parts One and Two of the 1995
Looking After Children Materials.
Completing the Placement Information Record
2.11 When the child or young person is placed the Placement Information Record should be
completed and put on the child or young person’s file. Copies should be provided to the
following people:
• the child or young person, in accordance with his or her age and understanding;
• the child or young person’s parents;
• the carers;
• the family placement social worker, where the child or young person is placed with
foster carers.
2.12 In all cases, except emergencies, all sections of the Placement Information Record should be
completed by the time a child or young person is placed. It is important for carers to have all of
the information at the start of the placement. Where this is not possible as much information as
possible should be entered on the record. All remaining sections of the Placement Information
Record should be completed as soon as reasonably practicable thereafter (see the Arrangements
for Placement of Children (General) Regulations,1991).
The Placement Information Record should be updated prior to each statutory review.
Chronology
2.13 The Chronology records all significant events and changes in the life of a child or young person.
The Chronology is an analytical tool designed to help social workers understand the impact,
both immediate and cumulative, of events and changes on the child or young person. The
Chronology will replace the Essential Information Record Part Two from the Looking After
Children system.
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2.14 This exemplar has been formatted to enable information about individual children and young
people to be aggregated for strategic planning purposes and for completion of statistical returns
required by the Department of Health, and other government departments.
2.15 Information about children and young people is recorded under the following headings:
• previous social services activity;

• the child’s health history;
• education, training and employment history;
• changes in the child‘s or young person’s legal status;
• placement history of a looked after child;
• history of any offences; and
• significant events and changes in the circumstances of the child and family.
Completing the Chronology
2.16 A Chronology should be started as part of the process of completing a Core Assessment, and be
updated during the period of social services involvement with the child or young person. In some
cases, social workers may wish to start a Chronology earlier and will need to use their
judgement as to when this would be helpful. For example, during an initial assessment it may
become clear that a child or young person has experienced considerable change. A Chronology
can help structure information to inform analysis and decision making.
2.17 Although a Chronology should draw on various sources of information such as previous social
work files and information from other agencies, the child or young person and his or her family
should be involved in the process of completing the Chronology. The involvement of family
members provides an opportunity to check the accuracy of information, and it can enable the
social worker to gain family members’ perspectives on particular events and develop an
understanding of their impact on individuals in the family.
2.18 The primary function of a Chronology is to record and organise factual information. It is also
used to record the social worker’s assessment of the impact of events on the child or young
person. For some children the impact of events will be evident at the time of the event or change,
but for others the impact may not be known and should be recorded later when it becomes
apparent.
Relationship with other parts of the system
2.19 The Chronology has been designed to facilitate the updating of information electronically within
an information system. The flow of information is explored more fully in Section 3, Using the
Records for Managing Information.
Chronology and the Review Record
2.20 A child or young person’s Chronology should be kept up to date. The Review Record has been
designed to be the primary source of information to update the Chronology.
Closure Record
2.21 The Closure Record summarises the impact of actions and services provided to a child and
family, and the evidence that supports the decision to close a case. This is used when it is
planned to cease work with a child or young person and family.
2.22 A Closure Record should be completed on all cases that progress beyond an Initial
Assessment. The Closure Record should detail the services and interventions provided to a
child or young person and their family since the previous review or assessment and record the
reasons for the case being closed.
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Assessment Records
2.23 The Assessment Records gather information about a child and family from a range of sources,
including other professionals and agencies, during a social work assessment. They provide a
structure for analysing the information and coming to an understanding of what is happening to
the child and family, their needs and actions to be taken. It is essential that children and families
are involved in the assessment process and their views are recorded. These records should
NOT be used as questionnaires when working with children and families. Their purpose is
to support social workers in recording and analysing information gathered during an assessment.
This should enhance the quality of both decision-making and plans for children in need.
The Assessment Records comprise:
Initial Assessment Record - for all Children in Need
Core Assessment Record - for all Children in Need
Assessment and Progress Record - for Looked After Children
Pathway Plan Needs Assessment - for Care Leavers
Record of Strategy Discussion - for children the subject of a Strategy Discussion
Outcome of s47 Enquiries Record - for children the subject of s47 enquiries
Initial Child Protection Conference Report - for children the subject of an Initial Child Protection
Conference.
2.24 The level of detail to be recorded in each assessment record changes to reflect the different needs
and circumstances of children and young people and the purpose of the assessment.
2.25 The heading of each section and the far left hand column of the Assessment Records contain
information and advice to guide social workers when completing an assessment. The prompts
and reminders include:
• research based information;
• information about child development, health and educational attainment standards; and
• suggestions about the use of specific tools, questionnaires and scales.
2.26 The Core Assessment Records, Assessment and Progress Records and Pathway Plan also contain
statements which are relevant to most children and young people. The statements are intended to
help social workers:
• plan the assessment;

• identify gaps in knowledge about a child or young person. For example, there may be a large
number of reports concerning a disabled young person’s medical condition. Using the Core
Assessment Record or Assessment and Progress Record to review the information may
identify that there is little or no information known about how parents or carers support the
young person, or whether the young person smokes or drinks;
• with structuring and recording the information gathered during an assessment;
• identify areas of strengths and difficulties;
• with analysis and planning.
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2.27 Each statement is accompanied by a Yes and a No box, and a Notes and Evidence section. The
statements are not questions and their purpose should be clearly understood. Social Workers are
required, following an assessment, to record their professional judgement about whether a
statement is correct for this child or young person by marking a Yes or No box, drawing on a
range of sources of information. They should then use the Notes and Evidence section to record
relevant information to evidence their judgement.
For example, a young child’s immunisations may not be up to date, but this may be on the advice
of his or her GP. In these circumstances the No box would be marked and the Notes and
Evidence section would be used to record the information from the parent(s) and GP and any
other salient information relating to immunisations which had been gathered during the
assessment.
Under NO circumstances, should the statements be used as questions which the social
worker, child, young person or carer completes with a simple yes or no answer.
2.28 Not every statement will have significance for an individual child or young person. For example,
where a young person has a learning disability the statements in the education section of a Core
Assessment Record may not reflect his or her developmental needs. Where this is the situation it
should be clearly recorded in the Notes and Evidence section. However, the statements in the
other dimensions and domains of the Record may be entirely appropriate for that child or young
person.
2.29 Where a specific statement is not appropriate, the social worker will need to consider how to
assess the child or young person’s needs appropriately. For example, the statements on SATS
results may not be appropriate for a child or young person with a learning disability who is not
following the National Curriculum. In these circumstances, the social worker should consider
how the child or young person’s educational progress is being assessed and measured, and if the
result is commensurate with his or her ability. The evidence for these decisions should be clearly
recorded in the Notes and Evidence section.
2.30 Social workers should gather the information for the assessment from a number of sources:
• discussions with the child or young person, parents, carers, other family members and
professionals working with child and family member;
• observations of child and his or her interactions, for example, with family members/carers;
• a review of existing information, for example, social services files including the existing
chronology, correspondence and reports from other agencies;
• the use of tools designed to assist in particular aspects of the assessment, for example:
• The Family Pack of Questionnaires and Scales (Department of Health, Cox and
Bentovim, 2000)
• The HOME Inventory (for children up to and including age 10 and their families) (Cox
and Walker, 2002)
• The Family Assessment (Bentovim and Bingley Miller, 2001)
• other specialist assessments, such as speech therapy, psychiatric & psychological.
Information from all these sources is brought together and recorded in the appropriate
Assessment Record.
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Relationship between Assessment Records and Plans
2.31 Where the conclusion of an assessment is that support from social services is necessary to
promote or protect the welfare of a child or young person, there should be a clear plan to guide
the interventions.
2.32 The Initial Assessment Record, Record of Outcome of s47 Enquiries and Initial Child
Protection Conference Report require a plan to be completed at the end of each record which
is intended to address immediate or short-term assessed needs.
2.33 The Pathway Plan contains two sections within the record; Needs Assessment and Pathway
Plan.
2.34 A core assessment provides a structured, in-depth assessment of the child’s needs where their
circumstances are complex. The Core Assessment Record provides a structured framework for
social workers to record information gathered from a variety of sources to evidence their
professional judgements, and facilitate analysis, decision making and planning. A completed
Core Assessment Record is then used to inform the Child’s Plan. When a child becomes
looked after, an up to date core assessment is required and is used to inform the child’s first
Care Plan.
2.35 A core assessment continues the process of collecting the information necessary to monitor the
progress of children and young people who are looked after. For children and young people who
remain looked after for longer periods, further assessments will be recorded using the
Assessment and Progress Records. The Core Assessment Records are aligned with the
Assessment and Progress Records to support a continuous process of monitoring a child’s
developmental progress.
2.36 It should be noted that the Core Assessment age bands currently in use have been modified as
follows to: pre-birth to 12 months, 1-2, 3-4, 5-10, 11-15, 16 years and over.
2.37 The Assessment and Progress Records are used to assess and monitor the developmental
progress of looked after children, and to inform the Care Plan. The first Assessment and
Progress Record builds on the information held in the Core Assessment Record.
2.38 A decision to complete an Assessment and Progress Record is made at the second review, i.e.
at four months from the start of the current care episode. This Record is to be completed by the
time of the third review, i.e. at ten months from the start of the current care episode. There are
four age related Assessment and Progress Records: 1-2, 3-4, 5-10 and 11-15 years. Prior to
the child’s first birthday, the pre-birth to 12 months core assessment record should be used to
record the assessment of a child who becomes looked after.
2.39 When a looked after young person reaches the age of sixteen, the Assessment and Progress
Record is replaced by a Pathway Plan, which includes an assessment of the young person’s
needs.
Initial Assessment Record

2.40 The Initial Assessment Record is the record of an initial assessment, and the decisions and
actions resulting from this assessment including an Initial Plan for the child.
2.41 An initial assessment identifies whether a child is a child in need, and the services and
interventions that are required to respond to those needs. It will also identify where a Core
Assessment is necessary to develop a fuller understanding of what is happening to a child and
family in complex circumstances.
Completing the Initial Assessment Record
2.42 This should be completed within a maximum of 7 working days from the date of referral, but
could be very brief depending on the child’s circumstances. In completing the initial assessment,
if it is known that a core assessment will be required, social work staff should make a
professional judgement about whether it is necessary to complete all sections before beginning a
core assessment. The fact that a decision is made to carry out a core assessment should not
prevent a child and family receiving the services that are necessary to support them. The initial
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assessment record should be shared with the child as appropriate and parents, unless to do so
would place the child at risk of significant harm.
Using the Initial Assessment Record in Child Protection
2.43 When children or young people, who are referred due to concerns of significant harm, are
unknown to social services or are not an open case, an initial assessment should be carried out to
assess whether the concerns are substantiated. The initial assessment may be brief, but the child
or young person should always be seen. When new information is received on an open case
which raises concerns about possible harm, it may be appropriate to repeat the initial assessment
to establish whether these concerns are substantiated.
2.44 If, at any stage during the initial assessment there is reasonable cause to suspect a child is
suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm, there should be strategy discussions/meetings
and inter-agency action in accordance with the guidance in Working Together to Safeguard
Children (Department of Health et al, 1999). This decision should be recorded in the Initial
Assessment Record.
Child Protection
2.45 The following three exemplars are concerned with child protection:
• Record of the Strategy Discussion;
• Record of Outcome of s47 enquiries;
• Initial Child Protection Conference Report.
2.46 They specifically relate to Working Together to Safeguard Children from the time of the strategy
discussion to the holding of an initial child protection conference. They are intended to support
the ongoing assessment process that takes place following the raising of concerns about a child’s
safety until the initial child protection conference. This concern may be raised at any time during
work with children and families.
Record of the Strategy Discussion
2.47 A strategy discussion should be held whenever there is reasonable cause to suspect that a child is
suffering or likely to suffer significant harm (see paragraphs 5.28 – 5.32, Working Together to
Safeguard Children). This may include children who are already looked after, for example,
when there is concern about abuse by carers. The Record of Strategy Discussion records the
decisions made at a strategy discussion/meeting. Such discussions may take place following a
referral to social services and initial assessment, or at any other time, if concerns about
significant harm emerge in the course of social services work with a child and family.
Completing the Record of Strategy Discussion
2.48 If the decision of the strategy discussion(s) is not to initiate s47 enquiries, but that further
services should be provided to support a child or young person and a plan is currently in place,
the actions identified at the strategy meeting should inform the revision of the existing plan for
the child. Where a plan is not yet in place, the actions identified at the strategy meeting should be
used to inform the development of an Initial Plan for the child or young person.
2.49 A strategy discussion may take place at a meeting or by telephone. Where more than one strategy
discussion is held in relation to a child or young person, a separate Record of the Strategy
Discussion should be completed for each discussion. If more than one child or young person in a
family is the subject of a strategy discussion, a separate record should be completed for each
child or young person. It will be important for these records to be collated and that further actions
identified for individual children or young people are co-ordinated. Where an action applies to
more than one child or young person, it should be recorded within each record. This will help to
ensure that actions (and the recording of these) do not become separated from the individual
children and young people to whom they apply.
2.50 It is the responsibility of the social services manager responsible for the strategy discussion to
ensure that a record of the discussion is completed and copied to all those involved in the
discussion.
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2.51 Further guidance on the purpose and conduct of strategy discussions can be found in paragraphs
5.28 – 5.32 of Working Together to Safeguard Children.
Record of Outcome of s47 Enquiries

2.52 This records the outcome of s47 enquiries which have been instigated following a strategy
discussion or meeting, and sets out the further actions to be taken after the s47 enquiries have
been completed.
Completing the Record of Outcome of s47 Enquiries
2.53 It is the responsibility of social services to decide how to proceed following s47 enquiries. This
decision should be made following consultation with all those involved in or making a
substantial contribution to these enquiries. Further guidance on the purpose, conduct and
outcome of s47 enquiries can be found in paragraphs 5.33 –5.52 of Working Together to
Safeguard Children.
2.54 The Record of Outcome of s47 Enquiries should be completed at the conclusion of the
enquiries to record the decisions made and the evidence that informed these.
2.55 It is the responsibility of the team manager to ensure that the record is completed and copies
provided to all those involved in the enquiries, including the parents, unless to do so would place
the child at risk of suffering harm, and, where appropriate, the child or young person. If the
decision is to convene an initial child protection conference, every attempt should be made to
distribute copies of the record to the relevant people in advance of the conference.
Initial Child Protection Conference Report

2.56 This provides a summary and assists analysis of the information gathered by social services at
the time the initial child protection conference is held i.e. from all existing information. This
includes information from an initial assessment, s47 enquiries and the core assessment to date,
for those children already known to social services involvement at the time the s47 enquiries
were initiated, information gathered during the course of social services involvement with the
child and family. This information is brought together in the Initial Child Protection
Conference Report and used to inform decisions made at the conference. Paragraph 5.61 of
Working Together to Safeguard Children sets out the information to be included in this report. If
the decision is to place the child’s name on the child protection register, this information should
inform the outline Child Protection Plan. Relevant information in the child protection conference
report should be included in the Core Assessment Record.
2.57 An initial child protection conference should be convened if, having completed s47 enquiries, it
is concluded that a child may continue to suffer, or be at risk of suffering significant harm (see
paragraph 5.52, Working Together to Safeguard Children).
Completing the Initial Child Protection Conference Report

2.58 When a decision is made to hold an initial child protection conference on a child or young person
an Initial Child Protection Conference Report should be completed prior to the initial child
protection conference. The social worker with lead responsibility for undertaking the s47
enquiries should complete the report.
2.59 The completed Initial Child Protection Conference Report should, in so far is consistent with
the safety of the child or young person, be shared with parents. It is important that the social
worker checks with the child or young person that he or she agrees to their views being recorded
in the report, and shared with parents or named other people. Some children or young people
may wish to present their views separately to the conference, so that their parents or a parent
cannot read them; for example, because a young person may be concerned about a parent’s
response to his or her views.
2.60 Where the child’s name is placed on a child protection register, an outline child protection plan
should be formulated at the initial child protection conference (see paragraph 5.64, Working
Together to Safeguard Children). This should be informed by the Initial Plan or any other type
of current plan. The Initial Assessment Record, Record of Outcome of s47 Enquiries and
Initial Child Protection Conference Report each require a plan to be completed at the end of
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the record. The format used for each of these plans is the same, to facilitate the transfer of
information between them.
Relationship between the Records

Relationship between the Record of Strategy Discussion and the Initial Plan, Child’s Plan or Care
Plan
2.61 If the decision of a strategy discussion is not to initiate s47 enquiries, but that further social
services should be provided to support a child or young person the actions agreed at the strategy
discussion should be used to update the existing plan for the child.
Relationship between the Record of Strategy Discussion and the other child protection exemplars
where the decision of the strategy discussion is to initiate s47 enquiries
2.62 The Record of Strategy Discussion should be used to inform the Record of Outcome of s47
Enquiries. When a decision is made to convene an initial child protection conference,
information from the Initial Assessment Record, Record of the Strategy Discussion and
Record of Outcome of s47 Enquiries should inform the completion of the Initial Child
Protection Conference Report. If the child is already known to social services, information
available from other records should also inform the Initial Child Protection Conference
Report.
Relationship between the Initial Child Protection Conference Report and the Initial Assessment
Record
2.63 Where the initial child protection conference is being held following a recent referral or re-
referral, the format of the report is intended to facilitate the transfer of information from the
Initial Assessment Record. The information from within the Initial Assessment Record will be
updated in the Initial Child Protection Conference Report, in the light of the information from
the s47 enquiries, sections of the core assessment that have been completed and information from
any existing social services records.
2.64 Where an initial plan is in place, the Initial Child Protection Conference Report should make
reference to the uptake and impact of services. For example, a child may have been provided
with day care or short break care, but have never taken up the service. The reason for the
family’s failure to use this service should be understood and reported to the conference.
Relationship between the Initial Child Protection Conference Report and the Core Assessment Record
2.65 Where an initial child protection conference is being held on an existing rather than a new case,
the Initial Child Protection Conference Report should draw on information from the s47
enquiries and the core assessment undertaken prior to the initial child protection conference as
well as all other available information. The format for the Initial Child Protection Conference
Report will facilitate the transfer of appropriate information from a Core Assessment Record
and other records within the system.
Relationship between the Child’s Plan and the Outline Child Protection Plan
2.66 Where a Child’s Plan already exists, the Initial Child Protection Conference Report should
include an analysis of the uptake and impact of planned actions and services on the child or
young person’s health and development and on parenting capacity. When a child’s name is
placed on the child protection register, the existing Child’s Plan should inform the Outline
Child Protection Plan which is developed at the Initial Child Protection Conference. This
Outline Child Protection Plan will, in turn, be further developed by the core group into the
detailed Child Protection Plan.
Core Assessment Record

2.67 A core assessment provides a structured, in-depth assessment of the child’s needs where their
circumstances are complex. The Core Assessment Record provides a structured framework for
social workers to record information gathered from a variety of sources to provide evidence for
their professional judgements, and facilitate analysis, decision-making and planning. A core
assessment should be completed within 35 working days of its commencement. A completed
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Core Assessment Record is then used to develop the Child’s Plan (see paragraph 4.33 on
Children in Need Plans in the Assessment Framework).
2.68 When a child becomes looked after, an up to date core assessment is required. It is used to
inform the child’s Care Plan. A core assessment continues the process of collecting the
information necessary to monitor the progress of children and young people who are looked
after. For children and young people who remain looked after for longer periods, further
assessments will be recorded using the Assessment and Progress Record. The Core
Assessment Records are aligned with the Assessment and Progress Records to support a
continuous process of monitoring a child’s development.
2.69 The Core Assessment Record is a recording tool and requires the skills, knowledge and
professional judgement of social workers to use it effectively. It should NOT be used as a
questionnaire with children and families: its purpose is to support social workers in recording
and analysing information gathered during an assessment. This should enhance the quality of
decision-making and plans for children in need.
There are six age related Core Assessment Records (it should be noted that the age bands
currently in use have been modified) as follows:
• pre-birth to 12 months;
• 1-2 years (up until the child’s third birthday);
• 3-4 years (up until the child’s fifth birthday);
• 5-10 years (up until the child’s eleventh birthday);
• 11-15 years (up until the young person’s sixteenth birthday);
• 16 years and over.
Completing the Core Assessment Record
2.70 The Core Assessment Record recognises that in order to obtain a clear understanding of the
inter-relationship between a child’s needs, parents’ capacities and the impact of family and
environmental factors, it is necessary to collect and analyse information obtained from a variety
of sources, using a number of different methods. The domains and dimensions of the Assessment
Framework provide the structure for the Core Assessment Records and are intended to assist
social workers in collating and recording information.
2.71 Social workers may wish to show the Core Assessment Record to parents prior to doing the
assessment and discuss the assessment process with them. At the completion of the assessment,
parents should be given a copy of the Core Assessment Record and the Child’s Plan or Care
Plan, unless by doing so the child’s safety would be placed at risk. Decisions not to share a
record with a particular person should be recorded.
Relationship between the Records

Relationship between the Core Assessment Record and Plans
2.72 Assessment is not an end in itself. The information gathered through a core assessment should be
used to inform the plan most appropriate to the child or young person’s needs and circumstances,
including decisions about which interventions are the most appropriate for this particular child
and family. For example, the core assessment will inform:
• a Child’s Plan when a child is living with his or her family;

• a Care Plan when a child or young person needs to be looked after;
• a Child Protection Plan where a child or young person has been subject of s47 enquiries
and his or her name been placed on a Child Protection Register.
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Using the Core Assessment Records in Child Protection
2.73 The objective of enquiries conducted by the local authority under s47 of the Children Act 1989 is
to determine whether action is required to promote and safeguard the welfare of the child who is
the subject of these enquiries. A Core Assessment should be commenced at the same time as s47
enquiries are initiated.
2.74 If, at the end of the s47 enquiries an initial child protection conference is not convened social
services should decide, having consulted the child or young person and their family, whether
further work on the core assessment is required or whether the assessment has been concluded.
Decisions will also be required about what further services should be provided and whether the
child and family wish to take these up. When an initial child protection conference is held, but
the child or young person’s name is not placed on the child protection register, the core
assessment should be completed with the family’s agreement and co-operation, and decisions
made about future service provision.
2.75 Where a child or young person’s name is placed on the child protection register, the core
assessment should be completed and used to inform the Child Protection Plan. This plan
should be developed fully by the core group, based on the Outline Child Protection Plan agreed
at the initial child protection conference.
Using the Core Assessment Records with Looked After Children
2.76 When a decision is made that a child or young person needs to be looked after, the core
assessment (and any additional information about the child and family since it was last
completed) will inform the Care Plan, and provide a baseline understanding of the child or
young person’s needs at the point he or she became looked after. This will enable the child or
young person’s developmental progress to be monitored and evaluated over time.
2.77 In circumstances where a child or young person becomes looked after and does not have an up to
date core assessment, this should be completed within 35 working days. The majority of
children and young people who become looked after return to live with their birth family within
eight weeks. Where this happens the core assessment should, with the family’s agreement, be
completed even if the child or young person returns home within 35 working days. The Core
Assessment Record will inform the Child’s Plan and help to ensure that appropriate support is
available to the child or young person and their family, thereby helping to prevent re-admission
to care.
2.78 Where the plan is for a child or young person who has been looked after for more than six
months to return home, a core assessment should be updated prior to the return home date. If for
any reason the core assessment has not been able to be updated before the child returns home this
should be done within 35 working days of the child’s return home. This updated Core
Assessment Record will inform the Child’s Plan and help to ensure that the child or young
person and family are provided with appropriate services.
Assessment and Progress Records

2.79 The Assessment and Progress Records are used to assess and monitor the developmental
progress of looked after children, and to inform the Care Plan. The Assessment and Progress
Record builds on the information held in the Core Assessment Record.
There are four age related Assessment and Progress Records:

• 1-2 years (up until the child’s third birthday);
• 3-4 years (up until the child’s fifth birthday);
• 5-10 years (up until the child’s eleventh birthday);
• 11-15 years (up until the child’s sixteenth birthday).
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Completing the Assessment and Progress Record
2.80 A decision to complete an Assessment and Progress Record is made at the second review, i.e.
at four months from the start of the current care episode. This Record is to be completed by the
time of the third review, i.e. at ten months from the start of the current care episode. If the child
or young person returns home before the assessment is completed, the information gathered
should be used to inform the core assessment and plan for the child or young person as
appropriate. An Assessment and Progress Record should be completed within a maximum of
35 working days from the start of the process.
2.81 An Assessment and Progress Record should be updated prior to each review. This should
include completion of the ratings which record the level of change since the last review (see
paragraphs 2.86-2.89). Prior to the review the child, where appropriate, carer, parent(s) and
social worker should meet to prepare for the review. A decision will need to be made about
whether the APR reflects the child/young person’s current progress and the APR should be
updated as appropriate.
2.82 The Assessment and Progress Record is a recording tool and requires the skills, knowledge and
professional judgement of social workers to use it effectively. It should NOT be used as a
questionnaire with children and families, carers and other professionals involved with the
child: its purpose is to support social workers in recording and analysing information gathered
during an assessment. This should enhance the quality of both decision-making and plans for
looked after children.
2.83 The Assessment and Progress Record has two key functions: as a tool for planning and
conducting the assessment, and as a record which brings together the information gathered
during the assessment to facilitate analysis. The Assessment and Progress Record should be
completed by the child or young person’s social worker. This responsibility should not be
delegated.
2.84 It is important to emphasise that the completion and use of the Assessment and Progress
Record is not a mechanical task of going through the sections, filling in boxes or making a few
comments. The purpose of reviewing the child or young person’s needs and their progress is to
come to an holistic understanding of what should be done in order to help the young person. The
statements provide good indicators of developmental needs and progress. Although not every
statement may be relevant to a particular child or young person, it is important to complete as
many as possible. They should be thought of as reminders to social workers of what they need to
know about the child or young person in order to assess their progress. If many of them are not
known it is unlikely that the assessment will be based on a good understanding of the child or
young person’s needs and therefore unlikely that reviewing and planning will best serve their
needs. These are not the only areas of importance and an assessment should take account of all
relevant areas for the child or young person using multiple sources of information. The
Assessment and Progress Record provides the means to record and summarise information
gathered during the assessment.
2.85 For guidance on use of the statements in the Assessment and Progress Records, please refer to
the beginning of the section on Assessments (see paragraphs 2.26-2.29). The information
required to make judgements about a child or young person’s developmental needs will be
collected through a variety of methods including: observations; discussions with the child or
young person, parents and other family members, carers, and other professionals; reports from
specialist assessments; existing information held on social services files; and the appropriate use
of other assessment tools.
2.86 At the end of each dimension, there is a summary assessment of the child or young person’s
developmental progress. The analysis of information gathered, is completed by the social
worker, who should then complete the summary assessment ratings of the child or young
person’s progress, based on his or her professional judgement following analysis of all the
information gathered in relation to the dimension.
2.87 There are two separate ratings to be completed in each dimension. In the first rating, there are
four descriptions of the child or young person’s progress and definitions of each are given to
assist social workers in making their assessment. These are intended to provide a summary
assessment of a child or young person’s development in a particular dimension. This will help to
identify areas of particular need for a child or young person and where actions should be
targeted.
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2.88 These are ratings of the child’s developmental progress on the different dimensions. Children
will often be doing well in one area but not so well in another. In making these ratings it is
important not to make allowances for a child’s particular circumstances. For example, a rating
should not reflect a judgement that the child is doing well given what he or she has been through.
Their circumstances are taken into account when considering parenting capacity and family and
environmental factors. The summary assessments include indications of how the progress of
disabled children and young people should be taken into account.
2.89 The next rating records the social worker’s assessment of the level of change since the last
Assessment and Progress Record was completed. This is intended to give an indication of the
child or young person’s development over time. Using both ratings together means that it should
be possible to demonstrate whether children are achieving progress over time even if they
continue to experience some difficulties. Conversely, the change ratings will alert social workers
and others involved in the review meeting to issues that may require specific attention and input.
To inform the child or young person’s statutory review the ratings of progress and change are
included in the Review Record. In order to monitor the child or young person’s progress over
time it is important that the summary ratings are completed even when it is considered that things
have changed very little. The ratings must be informed by an up to date assessment of the child.
The social worker should update the Assessment and Progress Record as necessary prior to
each review.
2.90 If any sections of the Assessment and Progress Record have not been revisited within the
appropriate time-scales, the review chair should query this and, if appropriate, ask that this work
be done. As a minimum the reasons for not updating a dimension should be recorded and the
basis for the ratings made clear.
2.91 The Assessment and Progress Record, like the Core Assessment Record, is structured
according to the domains and dimensions of the Assessment Framework.
2.92 Social Workers should plan how they will undertake the assessment and completion of the
Assessment and Progress Record. This will include an evaluation of existing information about
the child or young person to identify key gaps in the social worker’s knowledge about the current
situation, and the order in which dimensions should be assessed.
Planning
2.93 The impact of interventions in achieving better outcomes for children or young people and
families is dependent upon effective planning which is in turn informed by good quality
assessments. Information from research and the findings of audit and inspection have all
highlighted the challenges that planning can present for those working with children and
families. The criteria for a good quality plan are set out below.
Plans should:
• be developed from an up to date assessment;
• involve children and young people, and families;
• be responsive to changes in a child and young person’s needs or circumstances;
• involve service providers from all relevant agencies/organisations;
• enable social workers and managers to identify specific and measurable outcomes for the
child and young person;
• enable social workers and managers to evaluate the impact of actions taken and services
provided;
• enable the costs of service provision to a child and family to be calculated.
2.94 Plans within the Integrated Children’s System have been developed to support this approach to
child care planning.
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The relationship of plans to assessment
2.95 The development of plans within the Integrated Children’s System should always follow an
assessment of a child or young person’s developmental needs, parental and/or carer capacity to
respond appropriately to those needs and the impact of family and environmental factors on the
child or young person and their family. All plans for children in need identify the specific actions
to be taken within each of the three domains.
Involving children or young people and families
2.96 Children and young people and families should be involved as much as possible at all stages in
the planning process. It is important that the child or young person (in keeping with age and
understanding) and family members are consulted about the content of the plan, helped to
identify the actions and services required and participate in discussions about the way in which
they are to be provided. The plan should not be seen as a plan for professionals only, but should
identify the actions required by the child or young person and family members to achieve the
plan’s aim and meet the child or young person’s identified developmental needs.
Being responsive to changes in a child or young person’s needs or circumstances
2.97 Once a plan has been formulated and agreed, the needs and circumstances of children and young
people will not remain static and may even change in ways not anticipated at the time the plan
was made. The common format for all plans enables them to be developed in response to
changes in a child or young person’s needs or circumstances, irrespective of where he or she is
living.
Involving service providers from all relevant agencies/organisations
2.98 All children and young people receive services from a number of different agencies from birth, in
particular health and education. All agencies working with a child or young person should be
involved in the development of the plan. In some cases one or more agency may already have a
plan in place for their work with a child or young person, for example, a Statement of Special
Educational needs. Agencies working with a child or young person should ensure that planned
interventions are co-ordinated in a manner which will support the child or young person and
family in achieving planned outcomes. The Integrated Children’s System is designed to support
multi-agency working and the plans should assist co-ordination of activity between all agencies
involved with a child and family.
Enabling social workers and managers to identify specific and measurable outcomes
2.99 The tabular format used to record plans within the Integrated Children’s System is intended to
support social workers in developing SMART outcomes for children or young people; i.e.
Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Related to the assessment and have a clear Time-scale for
completion.
Enabling social workers and managers to evaluate the impact of actions and services
2.100 The effectiveness of interventions should be monitored and evaluated, at an individual level. This
action will provide important information for use in operational management and strategic
planning. The format for plans developed for the Integrated Children’s System supports a
systematic review of actions taken and services provided. Planned outcomes should be agreed for
each individual action or service. The actual outcome is recorded at the review or closure. This
will help the social worker determine whether the planned action or service has been (and if
necessary, continues to be) appropriate for the child or young person’s identified developmental
needs.
Enabling the costs of service provision to be calculated
2.101 Effective planning at a strategic level requires effective use of resources. The inclusion of details
about the frequency and length of time services are to be provided and the date services will
commence will enable social workers and managers to calculate the anticipated cost of plans.
This is intended to help social workers, managers and councils to make decisions about resource
use and allocation. For example, information from plans may indicate a projected overspend in a
team’s day care sponsorship budget. It is, however, important to remember that the plan only
provides information on planned costs. It cannot provide details of actual costs, as planned
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services may not be provided at the level or within the time-scales identified in the plan. This
information is gathered through the review record.
Types of Plan
2.102 The Plans comprise:
• Initial Plan for a child (follows an Initial Assessment and where appropriate s47
enquiries);
• Outline Child Protection Plan which is drawn up at an Initial Child Protection

Conference and informed by any existing plan;
• Child’s Plan (follows Core Assessment and incorporates Child Protection Plan);
• Care Plan (for Looked After Children);
• Adoption Plan (for children for whom the plan is adoption);
• Pathway Plan (for care leavers).
Initial Plan
2.103 The Initial Plan is intended to address immediate or short-term assessed needs. It is set out at the
end of the Initial Assessment Record.
A child or young person should have an Initial Plan:

• where services are to be provided as a result of an initial assessment and a core assessment is
not necessary;
• where services and actions are being provided whilst a core assessment is being carried out.
Completing an Initial Plan
2.104 The layout of the Initial Plan uses the same tabular format as the other plans, with two minor
differences:
• The domains are not broken down into dimensions. Social Workers should record relevant
information, in relation to each dimension, within the appropriate domain.
• A column has been included to record the outcome of actions and services. This
information should be used to monitor progress.
2.105 It is expected that other plans in the Integrated Children’s System will be reviewed using the
Review Record. As the Initial Plan for a child should only be used with less complex cases, the
final column should be completed by the social worker at review or closure.
Child’s Plan
2.106 For children and young people identified as having more complex needs, a core assessment
should be undertaken. A Children in Need Plan (see paragraph 4.33 of the Assessment
Framework) known in the Integrated Children’s System as a Child’s Plan is completed
following a core assessment. The format for a Child’s Plan is more detailed and will revise and
replace an Initial Plan for a child or young person.
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2.107 A Child's Plan is the Child Protection Plan for those children whose names have been placed
on the child protection register. A Child’s Plan will still be required for those children who have
had their names removed from the register, or who have ceased to be looked after, but remain
children in need who are in receipt of social services.
2.108 The Child’s Plan has been designed for use with all children in need who are not looked after
or leaving care and may also be used with children and young people receiving short break care
in conjunction with Part One of the Care Plan.
Completing a Child’s Plan
2.109 A Child’s Plan is informed by a core assessment and should set out how the following will be
addressed:
• the identified developmental needs of the child or young person;
• factors which impact on parents’ and carers’ capacities to respond to the needs of the child
or young person, drawing on their strengths and areas of competence whilst recognising
difficulties;
• wider family and environmental factors which may have an impact on the child or young
person and family, drawing on strengths in the wider family and community as well as
identifying difficulties.
2.110 The plan should be specific about the actions to be taken, identify who is responsible for each
action, and any services or resources that will be required to ensure that the planned outcomes
can be achieved within the agreed time-scales.
Care Plan
2.111 When a child becomes looked after, the core assessment is used to inform the Care Plan. It is
important that the child or young person and family, and the carers are clear about the purpose
of care or accommodation from the beginning of a placement. Therefore, the Care Plan should
be completed before a child or young person becomes looked after. In some cases, for example
in emergencies where this is not practicable, the Care Plan should be completed as soon as
possible and within 14 days of the child or young person being placed.
2.112 The structure of the Care Plan has been informed by the Care Plans and Care Proceedings
Under the Children Act 1989 Circular (Local Authority Circular LAC(99)29). This means that
information from the Care Plan should form the basis of the plan to be presented to the court,
where a child is the subject of legal proceedings in the Family Court.
Completing the Care Plan
2.113 Looking after a child or young person either through accommodation or being the subject of a
care order is a provision of service and a means of achieving the overall aim of the child’s care
plan. The Care Plan should identify this aim, and the time period appropriate to have a care
order or for the child or young person to be accommodated, and formulate planned outcomes
which are measurable. Without these it will be difficult to establish whether the placement is
achieving its aim.
2.114 The purpose of the period of accommodation or care, type of placement and action and services
provided should be informed by an up to date assessment. For children and young people
becoming looked after this will be provided by a core assessment, which will have been
completed prior to or within 35 working days of the child or young person becoming looked
after. Research indicates that most children and young people who become looked after are
already known to social services. Therefore, many will already have an up to date core
assessment and Child’s Plan. These should be used to inform the Care Plan. The format of Part
Two of the Care Plan is the same as that used in the Child’s Plan to facilitate the transfer of
information between plans. An up to date Core Assessment will be key to identifying
appropriate actions to support a reunification plan.
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The Care Plan is in two parts:
• Part One - sets out the overall aim of the plan for the child which can only be changed at a
statutory child care review.
• Part Two - identifies what services and actions are required to respond to the child’s identified
developmental needs.
2.115 The Care Plan includes the personal education plan, health plan and plan for permanence. For
some children and young people it will include a child protection plan. Where the overall aim of
the Care Plan is adoption or for older young people moving to independence, the Adoption
Plan and Pathway Plan will replace Part Two of the Care Plan.
2.116 In situations that require only Part One of the Care Plan to be completed, the final section of
Part Two should also be completed as this records the views of all parties regarding the Care
Plan and requires their signatures. The statutory review should consider Parts One and Two of
the Care Plan.
The relationship between the Care Plan and other records to inform the Personal Education Plan
2.117 Education plays a key role in the intellectual and social development of children and young
people. For some looked after children school may be one of the most consistent areas in their
lives.
2.118 A looked after child or young person is required to have a Personal Education Plan agreed within
20 school days of becoming looked after or joining a new school (Department for Education and
Employment and Department of Health, 2000).
2.119 The exemplars have been designed to support the process of developing Personal Education
Plans for children and young people in partnership with children or young people and families,
schools and education authorities, and carers.
2.120 An effective Personal Education Plan will be based on an understanding of a child or young
person’s educational experience and progress over time. The Chronology systematically gathers
this information. The Personal Education Plan will be informed by up to date assessments of a
child or young person’s educational progress and attitude towards education, the support they are
receiving from school and family, and the support they will be provided with being looked after.
The Personal Education Plan should ensure that essential arrangements for a child or young
person’s education are in place and are recorded. For example, how the child will get to school or
college is recorded in the Placement Information Record.
2.121 The actions and services to be provided as a result of an analysis of all this information are
recorded in the Education Section of the Care Plan and will constitute the Personal Education
Plan for the child or young person.
2.122 Schools, the young person and family members may wish to have a record of all the information
used to develop a Personal Education Plan. This can be produced from the information recorded
on:
• Pages 1, 10 and 11 of the Placement Information Record;

• The education section of the Chronology;
• The education section of the Core Assessment Record or Assessment and Progress
Record;
• The education section of the Care Plan.
The relationship between the Care Plan and Health Plan
2.123 Children and young people who are looked after are amongst the most socially excluded groups
of children in England and Wales. They have profoundly increased health needs in comparison
with children and young people from comparable socio-economic backgrounds who are not
looked after. These needs, however, often remain unmet. As a result, many children and young
21
people who are looked after experience significant health inequalities and on leaving care
experience very poor health, educational and social outcomes.
2.124 An holistic assessment of a child or young person’s health, including their attitudes and
behaviour towards his or her health, should be completed in time for a written report and health
plan to be available for discussion at the child’s first review i.e. four weeks after the child starts
to be looked after. If there is concern about possible abuse or neglect then the child should be
seen immediately by a doctor at the start of a care episode. Likewise, if the child has an acute
medical problem then he or she should be seen for this without delay.
2.125 The completed health assessment should be used to inform the health section of a child or young
person’s Care Plan. Often the health assessment will identify specific actions that are required,
for example, that a child needs to see an optician. The health section of the Care Plan should
specify who will make the appointment and accompany the child to it. The health assessment
may also identify areas where the child or young person has missed out on specific areas of
health education; for example, that a young person is unaware of the risks of unprotected sex.
The health section of the Care Plan should identify how this lack of knowledge will be
responded to, for example, discussion with a social worker or carer or designated nurse if
available, or an appointment at an advice centre for young people.
Relationship with other parts of the system

Using the Care Plan with children and young people in short break care
2.126 The Child’s Plan has been designed for use with all children in need and may also be used with
children and young people receiving short break care in conjunction with Part One of the Care
Plan. In situations that require only Part One of the Care Plan to be completed, the final section
of Part Two should also be completed as this records the views of all parties regarding the Care
Plan and asks for their signatures. The statutory review should consider Parts One and Two of
the Care Plan.
Using the Care Plan with children and young people who have an Adoption Plan
2.127 If it has been decided that the child should be placed for adoption then this will be specified in
Part One of the Care Plan. Following this decision an Adoption Plan should be drawn up for
the child or young person. The Adoption Plan should be informed by Part Two of the Care Plan
for the child or young person. When an Adoption Plan is in place it replaces Part Two of the
Care Plan.
Using the Care Plan with young people who have a Pathway Plan
2.128 Where a young person has a Pathway Plan this will replace Part Two of the Care Plan. The
Care Plan should inform the development of a young person’s Pathway Plan, which should
draw on the outcome of the young person’s most recent Assessment and Progress Record and
Pathway Plan Part One - Needs Assessment. Where a young person is no longer looked after
the Pathway Plan becomes the only plan for the young person.
Reviewing the Care Plan
2.129 Parts One and Two of the Care Plan should be reviewed regularly in accordance with the
Children Act 1989 and Review of Children’s Cases Regulations 1991 and Guidance.
2.130 Part One of the Care Plan can only be changed through a statutory review.
2.131 Part Two of the Care Plan may be changed in response to changes in the child or young person’s
needs or circumstances. However, any changes should be discussed with parents and other
relevant parties before they are made. Any change should be recorded in the Child’s Plan, with
the date and initials of the social worker responsible noted in the margin. A copy of any changed
sections(s) should be sent to all parties.
2.132 For eligible children, the statutory review should consider Part One of the Care Plan and the
Part Two of the Care Plan which is the Pathway Plan.
22
Adoption Plan
2.133 The National Adoption Standards in England (Department of Health, 2001) provide the
framework for the delivery of adoption services to children or young people, birth families,
prospective adopters and adoptive parents.
2.134 Many of the Standards are already required either by primary legislation or statutory guidance.
The new requirements under Section 7 of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 are:
• A plan for permanence must be in place for all looked after children at the four month
statutory review;
• Agencies must put in place systems to monitor their performance against the time-
scales set out in the Standards for matching children with adoptive families and
taking a decision on prospective adopters.
The remaining Standards will become statutory guidance from 1st April 2003.
Completing an Adoption Plan
2.135 Where a decision is made in a review that the best plan for a child is adoption as this is the most
appropriate plan for permanence for a child, an Adoption Plan should be drawn up. The
Adoption Plan outlines the key processes and time-scales and records all the actions required to
complete the adoption process. It also records the date the child is referred to the National
Adoption Register.
2.136 The Adoption Plan uses the same framework and tabular format as in the Care Plan. In addition,
it includes sections which record:
• support for adoptive parents;
• support to birth parents;
• contact arrangements;
• Family Finding Plan and timetable; and
• referral to the National Adoption Register.
Pathway Plan
2.137 The Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 requires a Pathway Plan for all eligible, relevant and
former relevant young people. The Pathway Plan fulfils the requirements both for assessing
the young person’s needs and planning services. The Pathway Plan replaces Part Two of the
Care Plan and Assessment and Progress Record for all eligible children, and is informed by
previous Care Plans, Review Records and Assessment and Progress Records.
Completing a Pathway Plan
2.138 The Pathway Plan uses the same framework and tabular format as in the Care Plan. In addition,
it includes sections in which:
• Part One records the assessed needs of the young person;
• Part Two records the actions and services required to respond to the assessed needs and to
provide support during the transition to adulthood and independence.
2.139 The Pathway Plan records the social worker’s assessment and is intended to provide a formal
record of an agency’s plan for a young person and the evidence upon which the plan was based.
The Pathway Plan, however, should be informed by the views of the young person and other
significant adults and professionals in the young person’s life.
23
Part One: Needs Assessment
2.140 The same principles underpin the Pathway Plan Needs Assessment as for all the other
assessments of children and young people. The Pathway Plan Needs Assessment uses the same
structure as the other assessment records. The Needs Assessment considers the young person’s
needs in relation to the seven developmental dimensions. Parenting Capacity is assessed under
the heading of Support, as this heading is more relevant and understandable to young people
leaving care. The section assessing the impact of Family and Environmental Factors has two
subheadings - Accommodation and Finance - as these are two important areas where young
people often encounter difficulties.
2.141 The structure of the Needs Assessment is similar to other assessments within the Integrated
Children’s System. For guidance on use of the statements in the Needs Assessment please refer
to beginning of the section on Assessments (see paragraphs 2.86-2.89)
2.142 The information gathered in the Needs Assessment is pulled together in the Analysis Section and
informs Part Two of the Pathway Plan.
Part Two: The Plan
2.143 The structure of the plan follows the same format as in the needs assessment. The tabular format
used for the Pathway Plan is the same as for all the plans. Each table is followed by the
contingency plan for that section. The final section of the Pathway Plan records the views of the
young person on the plan and the signatures of all relevant parties.
Completing A Pathway Plan
2.144 The responsible authority must complete a needs assessment within 3 months of a young person
becoming an eligible or relevant child whether he or she does so on turning 16 or later. It must
also prepare a Pathway Plan for eligible and relevant children, as soon as possible after
completing the needs assessment.
2.145 Young people should be actively involved in the assessment and planning. To support their
involvement in the process a consultation document, My Pathway Plan, has been developed to
enable young people to give their views on their needs and how these needs should be met.
2.146 Methods of assessment should take full account of the young person’s communication skills and
mobility requirements. Where a young person requires additional assistance to fully involve them
in the assessment process this should be offered.
2.147 The following people should also be consulted, unless there is an exceptional reason not to do so:
• young person’s parents, or others with parental responsibility;

• any person who cares for the young person on a day to day basis;
• a representative of the young person's school or college;
• the young person’s GP;
• an Independent Visitor, where appointed;
• any other person whom the responsible authority or the young person considers relevant;
• the Connexions Personal Adviser.
24
2.148 The Pathway Plan should also take account of any existing assessments and plans relating to the
young person. These may include:
• Assessment and Progress Record;

• Care Plan;
• Placement Information Record;
• Personal Education Plan;
• Health Plan;
• Transition Plan.
2.149 The Needs Assessment Record should not be used as a questionnaire with young people and
should not be given to the young person to complete. A good needs assessment will draw on
information gathered from a variety of sources which the social worker will collate and analyse
before completing the Pathway Plan.
Review
2.150 There are three review records:
• for children and young people who have received a core assessment and have a Child’s Plan;
• for children and young people whose names have been placed on a child protection register
and have a Child Protection Plan;
• for children and young people who are looked after and have a Care Plan and for young
people who are looked after and have a Pathway Plan.
These records follow the same format but differ where they take account of specific requirements
in relevant regulations and guidance.
2.151 The Review Record supports the following processes:
• monitoring the child or young person’s developmental progress over time and identification
of where needs are being met, partially met or are unmet;
• updating key information on the child or young person’s progress;
• consideration of the impact of services on a child or young person and identification where
planned services have not been provided;
• consideration of whether the Child’s Plan/Child Protection Plan continues to meet the needs
of the child;
• consideration of whether the Care Plan and placement continue to meet the needs of a looked
after child;
• identify and recommend any changes to the plan for the child or young person.
The reviews for children in need should be carried out within the time-scales set down in the relevant
legislation, regulations and guidance (see paragraph 4.36 of the Assessment Framework).
25
Completing a Review Record
2.152 The Review Record is in two parts:
• Part One is a review of the impact of actions and services provided to a child or young person
and family, and records key changes. It is completed by the social worker with responsibility
for the child or young person’s case;
• Part Two is an evaluation of the plan that is in place for the child or young person. It is
completed by the review chair who evaluates the extent to which the plan is meeting the
needs of the child or young person and identifies any changes that are required in the light of
information presented at the Review.
Closure Record
2.153 The Closure Record summarises the interventions and outcomes under each dimension. The
Closure Record is designed so that most of the information will be transferred electronically from
other records within the system.
2.154 The new information included in this record is the date of closure, the actual outcomes of service
provision or actions under the heading of each dimension and an overall summary of progress
achieved and the reasons for success, partial or non-achievement of planned outcomes.
2.155 In the event of the case being re-opened the record provides a summary of previous work carried
out and its impact on outcomes for the child/young person and their family.
26
SECTION 3: USING THE RECORDS FOR
MANAGING INFORMATION
Introduction
3.1 This section should be read in conjunction with Chapter 5 of the Consultation Document,
Working with Children in Need and Their Families, which accompanies this consultation
document. This section explains how the Integrated Children’s System and the supporting
exemplars will benefit practitioners, front line managers, senior managers and policy makers in
managing information.
3.2 Managing information successfully in social services is a complex process, but it is essential in
order to achieve the best possible outcomes for children and families, when using finite resources
for which there are many competing demands.
3.3 All information systems are dependent on the accuracy and completeness of information
entered if they are to be of use. This applies to the Integrated Children’s System. To achieve
this may require changes in culture, practice, processes and policy at every level within a council
and clear leadership from the top to achieve such a degree of change.
3.4 The exemplars provide a clear and consistent framework to assist social workers and managers to
gather, collate, analyse, monitor, transfer and update information. They are designed to help
improve practice by structuring the way in which information is recorded and used in decision-
making and planning. They are not a substitute for professional judgement but can provide a
format for organising the recording of evidence on which judgements have to be made. They are
designed for use within an electronic information system, which supports single data entry (i.e.
information once entered and stored in a system will be able to be transferred from one record to
another) and will require the development of relevant software to support their use. Stored
information can then be extracted for a variety of reporting functions which can be designed to
meet local and national requirements.
3.5 For the purposes of consultation, the exemplars have been produced in paper form,
necessitating the replication of information in the records. Within an IT system,
information would be electronically updated and transferred between records, minimising
the need for manual replication.
Children’s Social Services Core Information Requirements

3.6 The Children’s Social Services Core Information Requirements are currently set out in Version 2
of the Data and Process Models (Department of Health, 2001a and b). These information
requirements will be updated in Version 3, to take account of the new requirements of the
Integrated Children’s System, new legislation, regulations and guidance, and revised statistical
returns. The exemplars will collect the data on work with individual children and families set out
in Version 3 of the Data Model. The exemplars also reflect the processes of work with children
and families contained in the Process Model. The Core Information Requirements and the
exemplars will inform Council’s work when updating or commissioning, designing and
implementing new IT systems in order to manage information and meet the government’s
requirement for developing electronic social care records by 2005.
27
Benefits for Practitioners
3.7 The exemplars are designed for single data entry. Information once entered into the system can
be programmed to be transferred automatically to where it is required in other records and for use
in reports. To maximise benefits accruing from this for social work staff, councils will need to
plan to facilitate the direct input of information by practitioners, as this cannot be easily
achieved within a short time period. Where relevant software is not yet available to support
single data entry, the common formats used for every exemplar will allow practitioners to cut and
paste information.
3.8 A comprehensive information system will help social workers manage their work effectively, for
example, in producing standard letters and a variety of reports for different purposes, flagging up
missing data, diary planning for scheduling meetings and reviews, statutory visits or reviews that
are due or not recorded. This should help keep to a minimum the time currently used for
administrative tasks.
3.9 The exemplars provide a framework for recording information relevant at each stage of the social
work process. This will support information sharing and working across agency boundaries.
3.10 The exemplars should support the development of a common language across professions and
services, which will reduce misunderstandings and make it easier for children, young people and
families to understand the actions and services they receive.
3.11 The Integrated Children’s System records systematically key data in relation to individual
children and young people so that information can be aggregated to inform planning and service
provision at individual, team and strategic levels within councils as well as statistical returns.
Information generated from the exemplars can be used:
• to help social workers identify the most appropriate service for individual children and
their family;
• to provide social workers with records to inform the development of plans and
subsequent monitoring and review of the child or young person’s progress.
3.12 For example, a child’s educational and health history, changes of address, changes of placement
for looked after children and young people and changes in legal status are recorded in the
Chronology, which would be automatically updated in an IT system. Together these can be used
to provide a chronology of all significant events in a child’s life which will assist the social
worker, child or young person and family in understanding the child or young person’s needs and
the impact of inter-related events.
28
Benefits for Front Line Managers and Supervisors
3.13 Information generated from the exemplars can be used:
• to give managers information on the different types and levels of need of the children and families,
which their teams are working with. For example, this could be by need, age or gender in a
geographical area. This will help teams in planning services. They will be able to use such
information to identify gaps in services or determine whether different responses are needed;
• to assist teams in commissioning and negotiating services. The team will be able to assess which
local services or interventions are the most effective for particular needs;
• to estimate and monitor costs of services and interventions. This will help teams to identify patterns
of expenditure and whether particular groups of children are over or under funded. This will also
assist the management of devolved budgets as well as the making of bids for resources;
• to commence or stop payments to carers without them being required to complete a separate form;
• to support staff development. The exemplars will assist supervisors and managers to identify areas
of strength in a practitioner’s knowledge and practice, and areas where further training may be
necessary;
• to assist supervisors in their responsibilities to support practitioners and provide oversight on the
management of cases and their accountability for decisions that have to be made;
• to generate reports on individual and team activity and performance. These could include
information on:
! caseloads, including numbers, types of cases and levels of activity;
! performance in relation to local and national indicators, including time-scales;
! use, cost and effectiveness of local services;
! budgets; and
! could assist in identifying gaps in information, comparison of records, and monitoring of
practice standards within a team.
Benefits for Senior Managers and Policy Makers

3.14 The exemplars have been designed to record and update information which, when entered into an
information system, will enable councils to aggregate and access accurate up to the minute
information on their operations and performance. This has considerable potential. For example,
it will inform strategic planning and resource allocation by providing information about
prevalence and different types of need and demand for, and use of, services; operational
management by facilitating calculation of predicted and actual costs of interventions and
services; and performance management across a whole authority and its range of operations.
3.15 The exemplars provide a consistent framework which will assist intra- and inter- authority
transfer of information. This will also facilitate a consistent approach towards staff development
and training within and across councils, colleges and other organisations.
3.16 The exemplars are designed to collect the requisite children’s data for national statistical returns,
including the following: AD1: Adoptions of children looked after; CLA 100: Children looked
after; CPR2: Child protection registrations; CPR3: Child protection and Referrals; OC1:
Education/Employment status of care leavers . A full list of returns which can be completed
using the information gathered through the use of the exemplars is provided in Annex 1.
29
SECTION 4: CONSULTATION QUESTIONS
These consultation questions refer specifically to the use of the exemplars. In the separate consultation
document entitled ‘Working with Children in Need and their Families’ there is also a list of consultation
questions which ask agencies working with children in need to look at the potential impact of introducing
the Integrated Children’s System.
The views of agencies are sought on both sets of questions in order to inform the next stages of piloting and
development.
The Department of Health may, in accordance with the Code of Practice on Access to Government
Information, make available, on request, individual consultation responses. This will extend to your
comments unless you wish to inform us that you wish them to remain confidential.
Name _____________________________________________
Agency/organisation__________________________________
Address ____________________________________________
Please tick this box if you wish your response to remain confidential "
The Exemplars
4.1 The exemplars have been designed for use by social workers to assist their work with children,
young people and families. They are recording formats and are not, therefore, intended to be used
as questionnaires or for self-completion. Separate work has been commissioned to develop
materials to support direct work with children and young people. Further information is
available on the following website
http://www.doh.gov.uk/integratedchildrenssystem/briefings.htm.
Aims of the Exemplars

4.2 The aims of the exemplars are outlined below:
to support practice and management;
to allow monitoring of a child’s developmental progress over time;
to demonstrate how they support a single data entry system (although the forms have had to be designed
for paper-based use as well);
to demonstrate how different records can be generated;
to facilitate the generation of reports for different purposes from the information recorded in the
exemplars;
to facilitate information collation and analysis at both individual and aggregate levels;
to provide a summary of activity at different stages in the course of an agency’s involvement;
to provide a tool for use in supervision and for management of individual cases.
30
Consultation Questions
4.3 The Consultation Questions on the use of the exemplars are as follows:
(a) Do the records fit together?
(b) Is the purpose of each record clear? If not, Please give details
(c) Does this document provide enough information about the exemplars for the purposes of
implementation? If not, would further elaboration be helpful and in what form ? (A Practice Guide and
full set of records will be available on CD ROM and on the Integrated Children’s System website:
http://www.doh.gov.uk/integratedchildrenssystem/briefings.htm)
(d) Do the records reflect all the areas required for effective assessment, planning, intervention and
review?
(e) Will the records support coherent social work practice and processes?
(f) Will the records assist analysis and inform decision-making?
(g) Will the records support supervision of individual cases?
(h) Will the records support and allow monitoring of developmental outcomes for children?
(i) How are the records perceived by social services staff?
(j) How will the records be perceived by children and young people and parents?
(k) How will the records be perceived by carers?
(l) How are the records perceived by professionals other than social workers?
(m) Will the records generate the information required to manage and deliver services to children, young
people and families? Please list any gaps.
(n) Is the purpose and explanation of the summary assessment ratings in the Assessment and Progress
Records clear? Please include any ideas for improving them.
(o) Will the new Referral and Initial Record provide appropriate and significant information for carers
at the point a child becomes looked after? Will this reduce work load at point of becoming looked
after?
(p) Will the new child protection records support child protection work? Could they be improved? Please
give details.
(q) Is the tabular format used in the plans helpful? How might it be improved? Please give details.
(r) Will the Chronology achieve its aims? How might it be improved? Please give details.
(s) What additional help will staff need to be able to use the records as intended? For example, the
development of training and other types of resource materials.
31
Annex 1
Return/ Explanation Key Components Gathered through Informs
Indicator
AD1 Adoptions of Looked After Date started to be looked after in Care Plan/ Placement Information Chronology
Children (annual return) latest period of care. and Agreements
Date of approval of adopters. Adoption Plan Chronology
Date of best interest decision. Adoption Plan Chronology
Date of matching. Adoption Plan Chronology
Date of placement. Adoption Plan Chronology
Date of adoption. Adoption Plan Chronology
Was child adopted by his/her former foster Closure Record/Chronology Chronology
carers? Care Plan/Chronology
OC1 Educational Qualifications of Care Number of GCSEs A* - G. Chronology (via previous Chronology
Leavers (annual return completed on reviews/assessments)
each young person aged 16 or over
Number of GCSEs A* - C. Chronology (via previous
who ceased to be looked after in the Chronology
reviews/assessments)
year covered by the return)
Number of GNVQ. Chronology (via previous reviews/assessments) Chronology
Chronology (via previous

Number of other educational/vocational reviews/assessments) Chronology
Qualifications.
Chronology (via previous reviews/assessments)
Reason for having no qualifications on
Chronology
ceasing.
32
DRAFT DECEMBER 2002
Indicator
OC2 Outcome indicators for looked after

children (annual return)
Total number Number of children at 30th September looked Care Plan/Review Chronology
after for at least a year.
General Education Of these, the number eligible to receive full- Care Plan/ Placement Plan
time schooling in year of the return.
And of these the number who:

• were covered by a statement of SEN;
• received a permanent exclusion from Review Chronology
school;
• missed at least 25 days school for any Review Chronology
reason.
Chronology Chronology
Key stage 1 Number in Year 2 at school who were eligible Review Chronology
for the end of Key Stage 1 tasks and tests.
Number who sat all these tasks and tests.

Review Chronology
Number who attained at least a level 2c on the
reading, level 2 Reading Task or at least a
level 3 on the level 3 Reading/ Review Chronology
Comprehension test.
Number who attained at least level 2 in the

following:
• Writing task
• Spelling test
• Mathematics task/test Review Chronology
Review Chronology
Review Chronology
33
DRAFT DECEMBER 2002
Indicator
OC2 Outcome indicators for looked
after children
Key stage 2 Number in Year 6 at school who were eligible for Review Chronology
the end of Key Stage 2 tasks and tests.
Number who sat all these tasks and tests. Review Chronology

following:
• English Review Chronology
• Mathematics Review Chronology
• Science Review Chronology
Number in Year 9 at school who were eligible for Review Chronology

Key stage 3 the end of Key Stage 3 tasks and tests.
Number who sat all these tasks and tests. Review Chronology

following:
• English Review Chronology
• Mathematics Review Chronology
• Science Review Chronology
Number in Year 11 at school who were eligible for Review Chronology

GCSEs and GNVQs GCSE (or equivalent) examinations.
Number who sat at least 1 of these examinations.

Review Chronology
Number who obtained at least:
• 1 GCSE (or equivalent) at grade A* to G
• 5 GCSE (or equivalent) at grade A* to G
• 5 GCSE (or equivalent) at grade A* to C Review Chronology
Review Chronology
Review Chronology
34
DRAFT DECEMBER 2002
Indicator

children
Offending Number aged 10 or over at 30th September

and looked after for at least one year.
And of these, the number convicted or

subject to a final warning or reprimand Review Chronology
during the year, for an offence committed
while being looked after.
Number 5 years old or younger at 30th

Development September and looked after for at least one
year.
And of these, the number whose development Review Chronology

assessments were up to date.
Number of children looked after for at least Review Chronology

Immunisations one year whose immunisations were up to
date at 30th September.
Number of children looked after for at least Review Chronology

Dental checks one year who had their teeth checked by a
dentist during the year ending 30 September.
Number of all children looked after for at Review Chronology

Health assessments least one year who had their annual health
assessment during the year ending 30
September.

Indicator
35
DRAFT DECEMBER 2002
children
Number in year 11 at school who were Review/Pathway Plan

Position at age 16 or over eligible for GCSE (or equivalent)
examinations.
And of these, the number who at 30th

September were in:
• full-time education; Review or Pathway Plan and Chronology Chronology
• full-time training; Review or Pathway Plan and Chronology Chronology
• full-time employment with planned Review or Pathway Plan and Chronology Chronology
training;
• full-time employment with no planned Review or Pathway Plan and Chronology Chronology
training;
• full-time employment , education or Review or Pathway Plan and Chronology Chronology
training;
• unemployed as a result of ill-health or a Review or Pathway Plan and Chronology Chronology
disability;
• unemployed for other reason. Review or Pathway Plan and Chronology Chronology
OC3 Care Leavers on his/her 19th birthday Were you in touch with the young person on Pathway Plan, Review and Chronology Chronology
(annual return) his her 19th birthday?
If Yes, activity at 19th birthday. Pathway Plan, Review and Chronology Chronology
If Yes, accommodation at 19th birthday. Pathway Plan, Review and Chronology Chronology
36
DRAFT DECEMBER 2002
Indicator
CPR 3 Child Protection and Referrals
Total number of referrals (including Referral and Information Record Chronology

Referrals and assessments re-referrals) in the year.
Number of these that occurred within Referral and Information Record Chronology
(during year of return)
12 months of a previous referral.
Number of initial assessments completed with 7 working Initial Assessment Chronology
days of referral.
Initial assessments (during year of
return) Number of initial assessments taking more than 7 working
Initial Assessment Chronology
days to complete.
Number of core assessments completed with 35 working

days of initial assessment. Core Assessment Chronology
Number of core assessments taking more than 35 working

days to complete.
Core Assessment Chronology
Core Assessments (during year of
return)
S 47 enquiries and initial child Number of children who were the subject of s47 enquiries Record of strategy discussion Chronology
protection conferences initiated during the year.
Number of children who were the subject of initial child Initial Child Protection Conference Record
protection conferences held during the year. Chronology
Initial Child Protection Conference Record
Number of children whose initial child protection
conferences were held within 15 working days of the
initiation of the s47 enquiries. Chronology
Number of children and young Number of children on the child protection register on 31st Initial Child Protection Conference Chronology
people on the child protection of March: by age (including unborn children), sex and Record/Review
register (during year of return) category of registration.
37
DRAFT DECEMBER 2002
Indicator
SSDA 903 Number of children and young people White

Ethnic on the child protection register by Referral and Information Record/Initial Child Chronology
origin code ethnicity (during year of return) Mixed Protection Conference Record/Review
As above Chronology
A1,A2,A3 Asian or Asian British
As above Chronology
B1,B2,B3,
Black or Black British
B4
As above Chronology
Other ethnic groups
C1,C2,C3,
C5 As above Chronology
Unborn children
D1,D2,D3 Referral and Information Record/Initial Child Chronology
Protection Conference Record
E1, E2
SSDA 903 Number of children and young people

Legal code on the child protection register also
looked after by
legal status (during year of Interim Care Orders Placement Information Record/Care Plan Chronology
return)
C1 Full Care Orders Placement Information Record/Care Plan Chronology
C2 Voluntary agreements under s20 Placement Information Record/Care Plan Chronology
(single period of accommodation)
V2
Freed for adoption Placement Information Record/Care Plan Chronology
D1 On remand, committed for trial, or
Placement Information Record/Care Plan Chronology
detailed
J1, J2, J3
Ward of court Placement Information Record/Care Plan Chronology
W1
38
DRAFT DECEMBER 2002
Indicator

Number of children and young people
on the child protection register also
looked after by
legal status (during year of
return)
Children’s home or secure unit Placement Information Record Chronology
H1,H2,H3
H4 Foster placement Placement Information Record Chronology
F1,F2,F3
Placement Information Record Chronology
F4,F5,F6
Placed with own parents
Placement Information Record Chronology
P1
Other
All other
codes
Number of registrations Neglect Initial Child Protection Conference Record Chronology
by category of abuse
(during year of return) Physical abuse Initial Child Protection Conference Record Chronology
Sexual abuse Initial Child Protection Conference Record Chronology
Emotional abuse Initial Child Protection Conference Record Chronology
Multiple/not recommended Initial Child Protection Conference Record Chronology

Number of registrations By age group (including unborn) and sex. Initial Child Protection Conference Record Chronology
(during the year of return)
Registration activity Number of first time registrations. Initial Child Protection Conference Record Chronology
Number of re-registrations. Initial Child Protection Conference Record Chronology
Number of de-registrations By length of time on the register. Review Chronology
39
DRAFT DECEMBER 2002
Indicator
Children looked after by local
CLA 100 authorities (annual return)
Children looked after at 31st

March Total number of children and young people looked after on Care Plan/Placement Information Record Chronology
31st March in year of return.
By age groups and sex.

Care Plan/Placement Information Record Chronology
Number 18 and over and placed in a community home by
sex. Care Plan/Placement Information Record Chronology
SSDA 903 Legal status (at 31st March)
Legal code
C1 Interim Care Orders Care Plan/Placement Information Record Chronology
C2 Full Care Orders Care Plan/Placement Information Record Chronology
V2 Voluntary agreements under s20 Care Plan/Placement Information Record Chronology

(single period of accommodation)
D1 Care Plan/Placement Information Record Chronology
Freed for adoption
J1, J2, J3 On remand, committed for trial, or Detailed Care Plan/Placement Information Record Chronology
L1,L2,L3 Emergency orders or police protection Care Plan/Placement Information Record Chronology
W1 Ward of court Care Plan/Placement Information Record Chronology

SSDA 903 Placement (at 31st March)
Placement
code
F1,F2,F3 Foster placement inside CSSR Care Plan/Placement Information Record Chronology
Foster placement outside CSSR Care Plan/Placement Information Record Chronology
F4,F5,F6
Children’s home inside CSSR Care Plan/Placement Information Record Chronology
H3
Children’s home outside CSSR Care Plan/Placement Information Record Chronology
H4
Secure unit Care Plan/Placement Information Record Chronology
H1,H2
Hostels and other supportive residential placements Care Plan/Placement Information Record Chronology
H5
40
DRAFT DECEMBER 2002
Indicator
CLA 100 Children looked after by local

authorities (annual return)
SSDA 903 Placement (at 31st March)

Placement
code
S1 Residential Schools Care Plan/Placement Information Record Chronology
R1,R2,R3, Other residential settings Care Plan/Placement Information Record Chronology
R4,R5
Placed for adoption Care Plan/Placement Information Record Chronology
A1
Placed with own parents Care Plan/Placement Information Record Chronology
P1
In lodgings, residential employment or living independently Care Plan/Placement Information Record Chronology
P2,P3
Absent from agreed placement
Chronology
M1,M2,M3
Other placement
Care Plan/Placement Information Record Chronology
Z1
SSDA 903 Category of need at 31st March
Need code
N1 Abuse or neglect Not gathered on exemplars1
N2 Disability Not gathered on exemplars
N3 Parental illness or disability Not gathered on exemplars
N4 Family in acute stress Not gathered on exemplars
N5 Family dysfunction Not gathered on exemplars
N6 Social unacceptable behaviour Not gathered on exemplars
N7 Low income Not gathered on exemplars
N8 Absent parenting Not gathered on exemplars
1
These categories are from the Children in Need census. They were developed for the administrative use of Councils with Social Services
Responsibilities and were not intended to be shared with families etc.
41
DRAFT DECEMBER 2002
Indicator
CLA 100 Children looked after by local

authorities (annual return)
SSDA 903
Ethnic origin Ethnic origin as at 31st March
code
A1,A2,A3 White Referral and Information Record Chronology
B1,B2,B3, B4 Mixed Referral and Information Record Chronology
C1,C2,C3, C5 Asian or Asian British Referral and Information Record Chronology
D1,D2,D3 Black or Black British Referral and Information Record Chronology
E1, E2 Other ethnic groups Referral and Information Record Chronology
Indicator Explanation Gathered through Informs
PAF
A1 Percentage of children looked after with 3 or placements during one year. Care Plan/Chronology Chronology
A2 Percentage of young people leaving care with at least 1 GCSE at grades Chronology (via previous reviews/ Chronology
A – G, or GNVQ. assessments)
A3 Percentage of children registered during the year on the child protection CP Conference Report/Referral and Chronology
register, who had been previously registered. Information Record
A4 Percentage of young people at age 19 who were in education, training and Pathway Plan/Review Chronology
employment, and were looked after in their 17th year (aged 16).
B7 Percentage of children looked after who were in foster placements or Care Plan/Adoption Plan Chronology
placed for adoption.
B8 Average weekly expenditure per looked after child in a foster care or a CSSR stats. Informed by Review
children’s home.
B9 Average weekly expenditure per looked after child in a children’s home. CSSR stats Informed by Review
B10 Average weekly expenditure per looked after child in foster care. CSSR stats Informed by Review
42
DRAFT DECEMBER 2002
PAF (cont.)
C18 Final warnings and convictions of children looked after. Review Chronology
C19 Health of children looked after. Review Chronology
C20 Percentage of child protection cases which should have been reviewed Review Chronology
during the year, that were reviewed.
C21 Percentage of children de-registered from the child protection register Review Chronology
during the year, who had been on the register continuously for 2 years or
more.
C22 Percentage of children under 10 who were in foster placements or placed Care Plan Chronology
for adoption.
C23 Percentage of children looked after who were adopted during the year. Adoption Plan/Chronology Chronology
C24 Percentage children looked after continuously for at least 12 months and were of Chronology Chronology
school age, who missed 25 or more days schooling for any reason
during the previous school year.
C25 [Something missing here] CSSR inspection
D35 Percentage of children looked after continuously for at least four years, who Care Plan/Placement Information Chronology
had been in their foster placement for at least two years.
E44 Percentage of children’s services gross expenditure on children in need but CSSR Statistics Informed by Review
not looked after.
E45 Ratio of proportion of children in need that were from ethnic minorities to the Referral/CSSR Statistics
proportion of children in the local population that were from ethnic
minorities.
43
DRAFT DECEMBER 2002
Quality To ensure that children are securely attached to carers capable of providing
Protects safe and effective care for the duration in childhood.
Objective
One
QP1 Percentage of children looked after with a named social worker. Care Plan/Placement Information Chronology
QP2 For looked after children adopted during the year, the average time spent Chronology (Information from Care Plan and
looked after prior to adoption. Adoption Plan)
QP2a Number of children looked after for under one year before adoption. Chronology (Information from Care Plan and
Adoption Plan)
Number of children looked after for a duration of one year to under two Chronology (Information from Care Plan and
QP2b
years before adoption. Adoption Plan)
Number of children looked after for a duration of two years to under three Chronology (Information from Care Plan and
QP2c years before adoption. Adoption Plan)
Number of children looked after for a duration of three years to under five Chronology (Information from Care Plan and
QP2b years before adoption. Adoption Plan)
Number of children looked after for a duration of five years or over before Chronology (Information from Care Plan and
QP2b adoption. Adoption Plan)
New
Number of looked after children in placements outside the council area. Placement Information Record and
Indicator
Agreements
Number of looked after children in placements 20 miles or more from the Placement Information Record and Agreements
New
council area.
Indicator
See PAF table

PAF indicators A1, D35,E44,C23 also inform this objective
44
DRAFT DECEMBER 2002
Quality To ensure that children are protected from emotional, physical and sexual abuse and
Protects neglect.
Objective
Two
QP ii [2.3.5] Percentage of children on the register with a key worker. Initial Case Conference Report/ Chronology
Child’s Plan/Review
PAF indicators A3, C21, C20 also inform this objective See PAF table
Quality To ensure that children in need gain the maximum life chance benefits from educational
Protects opportunities, health care and social care.
Objective
Three
QP4 The number of children permanently excluded from school. LEA data
QP5 The proportion of schooling lost in the local authority through unauthorised LEA data
absence.
PAF indicator E45 also inform this objective See PAF table
45
DRAFT DECEMBER 2002
Quality To ensure that children looked after gain the maximum life chance benefits from
Protects educational opportunities, health care and social care.
Objective
Four
QP4.0.1 The proportion of LAC reviews within the preceding six months that were Review
Completed within the required timescale.
QP8 The proportion of looked after children obtaining at least 5 GCSEs at grades A* - C during the Core Assessment/Review
Chronology
most recent school year, as a ratio of the proportion of all
Children in the CSSR achieving those standards.
QP9 The percentage of children who had been looked after continuously for at least twelve months Core Assessment/Review
Chronology
and were of school age, who were permanently
excluded from school at any time during the previous school year.
QP10 The proportion of all children looked after at 31st March who were from Referral and Information Record and Care
ethnic minorities, divided by the proportion of all children in the CSSR. Plan and CSSR stats
PAF indicators A2,C18,C19, C24 also inform this objective See PAF table
46
DRAFT DECEMBER 2002
Quality To ensure that young people leaving care, as they enter adulthood, are not isolated and
Protects participate socially and economically as citizens.
Objective
Five
The percentage of those young people who were looked after on 1st of April in their 17th year (aged
QP11 16), who had regular contact with the social services department until their 19th birthday. Pathway Plan
Of children who were looked after on specified date for return aged 16 or more and who
subsequently left care, the proportion with whom SSD are in contact 31/09 in specified year for
QP11a return. Pathway Plan
The percentage of those young people who were looked after on 1st of April in their 17th year (aged
16), who were known to have suitable accommodation.
QP12 Pathway Plan
Of children who were looked after on specified date for return aged 16 or more and who
subsequently left care, the proportion known to have suitable accommodation in specified year for
return.
QP12a Pathway Plan
PAF indicator A4 also inform this objective
See PAF table
Quality To ensure that children with specific social needs arising out of disability or a health condition
Protects are living in families or other social settings in the community where there are assessed needs
Objective Six are adequately assessed and reviewed.
QP13 The number of disabled children looked after during the year under an agreed series of short term
placements, expressed as a percentage of all Referral and Information Record/Care Plan
children looked after at any time in the year.
47
DRAFT DECEMBER 2002
Quality To ensure that referral and assessment processes discriminate effectively between different
Protects types and levels of need and produce a timely response.
Objective
Seven
Percentage of referrals that were repeat referrals within 12 months.
QP iii [7.1] Referral and Information Record Chronology
Percentage of initial assessments completed with 7 working days of referral.
QP iv [7.2] Initial Assessment Record Chronology
Percentage of Core Assessments completed within 35 working days.
QP v [7.3] Core Assessment Record Chronology
Percentage of completed assessments that set out objectives and
QP vi [7.4] appropriate service responses within the child’s timescales. Core Assessment/ Child’s Plan/Care Plan Chronology
Quality To actively involve users and carers in planning services and in tailoring individual packages Information from all Exemplars will provide
Protects of care; and ensure effective mechanisms are in place to handle complaints. evidence of involvement of users
Objective
Eight There are no specific indicators for this objective.
Quality To ensure through regulatory powers and duties that children in regulated services are Information from the Review will provide
Protects protected from harm and poor care standards. evidence that visits to children looked after
Objective and on the child protection register have been
Nine There are no specific indicators for this objective. carried out with statutory timescales.
Quality To ensure that social workers are appropriately skilled, trained and qualified, and to promote
Protects the uptake of training and skills.
Objective
Ten There are no specific indicators for this objective.
48
DRAFT DECEMBER 2002
Quality To maximise the benefit to service users from the resources available, and to Information from Plans and Reviews will provide
Protects demonstrate the effectiveness and value for money of the care support evidence of effectiveness, choice and cost of
Objective provided, and allow for choice and different responses for different needs and services
Eleven circumstances.
PAF indicators B7,B8,B9,B10,C22 inform this objective See PAF table
49
DRAFT DECEMBER 2002
References
Bentovim A and Bingley Miller L (2001) The Family Assessment of Family Competence, Strengths and
Difficulties. Pavilion Publishing, Brighton.
Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 (2000). The Stationery Office, London.
Cox A and Walker S (2002) The HOME Inventory - Home Observation and Measurement of the
Environment. Pavilion Publishing, Brighton.
Department of Health (1989) Care Plans and Care Proceedings Under the Children Act 1989 (Local
Authority Circular LAC(99)29). Department of Health, London.
Department of Health (1991) Arrangements for Placement of Children (General) Regulations 1991. HMSO,
London.
Department of Health (1995) Looking After Children: Trial Pack of planning and Review Forms and
Assessment and Action Records (Revised). HMSO, London.
Department of Health (2001a) Children’s Social Services Core Information Requirements. Data Model
Version 2.0. The Department of Health, London.
Department of Health (2001b) Children’s Social Services Core Information Requirements. Process Model
Version 2.0. The Department of Health, London.
Department of Health (2001c) National Adoption Standards in England. Department of Health, London.
Department of Health (2002) The Exemplar Records for the Integrated Children’s System. Department of
Health, London.
Department of Health, Children and Young People’s Unit and Connexions (2002) Working with Children in
Need and their Families: Consultation Document. The Department of Health, London.
Department of Health and Cleaver H (2000) Assessment Recording Forms. The Stationery Office, London.
Department of Health, Cox A and Bentovim A (2000) The Family Assessment Pack of Questionnaires and
Scales. The Stationery Office, London.
Department of Health, Department for Education and Skills and Home Office (2000) Framework for the
Assessment of Children in Need and their Families. The Stationery Office, London.
Department of Health, Home Office, Department for Education and Employment (1999) Working Together
to Safeguard Children: A guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
The Stationery Office, London.
50

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Introduction to the Records

DRAFT – DECEMBER 2002

1.4 The exemplars

Section 2 The Purpose and Use of the Records

2.1 Information Records

2.2 Contact Record

2.3 Completing a Contact Record

2.4 The Referral and Information Record

2.5 Completing a Referral and Information Record

2.9 Placement Information Record for Looked After Children

2.11 Completing the Placement Information Record

2.16 Completing the Chronology

2.19 Relationship with other parts of the system

2.20 Chronology and the Review Record

2.21 Closure Record

2.23 Assessment Records

2.31 Relationship between Assessment Records and Plans

2.40 Initial Assessment Record

2.42 Completing the Initial Assessment Record

2.43 Using the Initial Assessment Record in Child Protection

2.45 Child Protection

2.47 Record of the Strategy Discussion

2.52 Record of Outcome of s47 Enquiries

2.53 Completing the Record of Outcome of s47 Enquiries

2.56 Initial Child Protection Conference Report

2.58 Completing the Initial Child Protection Conference Report

2.61 Relationship between the Records

2.67 Core Assessment Record

2.70 Completing the Core Assessment Record

2.72 Relationship between the Records

2.72 Relationship between the Core Assessment Records and Plans

2.73 Using the Core Assessment Records in Child Protection

2.79 Assessment and Progress Records

2.80 Completing the Assessment and Progress Record

2.95 The relationship of plans to assessment

2.96 Involving children or young people and families

2.97 Being responsive to changes in a child or young person’s needs or

2.98 Involving service providers from all relevant agencies/organisations

2.102 Types of plan

2.103 Initial Plan

2.104 Completing an Initial Plan

2.106 Child’s Plan

2.109 Completing a Child’s Plan

2.111 Care Plan

2.113 Completing the Care Plan

2.126 Relationship with other parts of the system

2.129 Reviewing the Care Plan

2.133 Adoption Plan

2.135 Completing an Adoption Plan

2.137 Pathway Plan

2.138 Completing a Pathway Plan

2.140 Part One: Needs Assessment

2.143 Part Two: The Plan

2.144 Completing a Pathway Plan

2.152 Completing a Review Record

2.153 Closure Record

3.6 Children’s Social Services Core Information Requirements

3.7 Benefits for Practitioners

3.13 Benefits for Front Line Managers and Supervisors

3.14 Benefits for Senior Managers and Policy Makers

Section 4 Consultation Questions

4.1 The Exemplars

4.2 Aims of the Exemplars