Integrated working tools
Helping you work better together for children and young people
Integrated working simply means working better together to get help for children and young people sooner rather than later. It's all about helping you to play your part - whether you're a volunteer, full-time manager or a frontline worker.
You can use integrated working tools whenever you spot a child or young person who needs extra support. Early intervention can make all the difference and also save time, money and work in the
long run.
"I suppose that I never used to think that these ways of working with children and families were that relevant to me"
Click here to read how the integrated working tools helped Gary
Key areas include:
Common assessment framework (CAF)
CAF is the crucial first step in getting extra help for a child or young person. It's a process that helps you to identify what needs to be done so that you can bring the right people together as early as possible. Another advantage is that the child or young person only has to tell their story once.
Lead professional
By co-ordinating all activity, the lead professional becomes a single point of contact for everyone involved, especially the child or
young person.
Information sharing
When a group of people are involved with an individual child or young person they need to know when, why and how to share information with each other. These materials will give you practical advice and guidance on appropriate ways to share information.
All together, a better way of working
Click here to find out more about integrated working and the tools and guidance which can help you.Gary Cole, volunteer
"I suppose that I never used to think that these ways of working with children and families were that relevant to me, but CAF has already helped us to improve things for a
number of children."
Gary is a Senior Accountant with Barking and Dagenham Council and volunteers at the weekend for John Perry Children’s Centre. Gary has already experienced the value of integrated working, with the common assessment framework (CAF) enabling him to work within a team to help a number of children and young people who were identified as having additional needs.
Read more about Gary's case study.
