29 November 2024
A new Family Plan format will go live on Eclipse on Monday 2 December 2024.
Below, we have set out some important information about this change, why we've made it and what it means for you. Please take the time to read through.
What will this be used for?
- Children subject to Child In Need plans
- Children subject to Child Protection Plans
- Children who are stepping down to Early Help, where an outline plan is provided at the point of transfer.
The intention of this new template is to promote collaboratively forming our plans with children and families and making them SMART, clear and easier to write and use.
We are developing a '3 Minute Guide' for practitioners to support you in your use of the new plan template. We will also be producing a guide and communicating with our partners about these changes, so that everyone who needs to know about them is made aware.
Our Restorative Coaches, Operational Service Managers, practitioners from our Independent Reviewing and Safeguarding Service and our Practice Development Advisors from our Social Work Academy have created a short training session on using the new plan. They will be attending a locality meeting near you soon to answer any further questions you may have. For now, please keep reading for the answers to some of the more frequently asked questions.
Why has the template been changed?
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The template has been changed to make it simpler for both practitioners and families to use and understand, to strengthen recording around key aspects, and to reflect our restorative values of working with children and families.
The simplified wording will support everyone to develop a SMART plan.
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What is different?
- A new simplified, single statement setting out “What we are worried about and what does this mean for the child/young person”. This should provide the family with a clear summary of why the plan is in place and the impact of the current situation on the child/young person.
- A new overall statement around 'What’s going well and what does this mean for the child/young person?'. This should help the family to easily see what their strengths are and be used as a space for capturing progress made.
- The columns on the plan are simpler and easier for families to follow and use; think printing off and sticking on the fridge! The columns have been reworded using simplified language and terms:
- What harm are we worried about for the child/young person?
- What do we need to do?
- Who needs to do this?
- By when?
- How will we know when we have achieved this task?
- A change to how we measure safety, using our “Safety Scale”. Previously the scale measured “harm” on a scale of 0 (low harm) to 10 (high harm). The scale now measures “safety” with 0 being low safety, and 10 being high safety, moving to a more strengths based approach.
- A section ensuring that a key person has been identified to share the plan with the child/young person so that they can be fully informed and included in their planning.
- The ability to capture the date of the next meeting clearly for all to be able to see easily.
What is the same?
- Practitioners who use this plan template will still need to do so in partnership with families.
- The Contingency Plan for Care and Contingency Plan for Escalating Concerns section remain the same.
- The need to gather and record the views of Children and Families within the plan remains the same.
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Have practitioners and families been involved in developing this?
Yes. The development has been practice-led and colleagues across the service, including QARSS have been consulted. Most importantly, our Family Advisory Board have been involved with the development of the new template and have signed off the changes.
Will I be asked how it is working in practice to help improve it?
Yes. After the form has been live for three months, we will send out a questionnaire asking for your feedback. We will also hold a focus group for practitioners to share their experiences of using the new form and to help us to make improvements, where identified, based on your feedback.
As always, if you have any questions about the new plan template, please do speak to one of your Restorative Practice Coaches, the link Practice Development Advisor for your service, your Service Manager or me and we will do our best to help you.
Enjoy using the new plan in your work with the children and families of Devon – we look forward to hearing about your experiences of using it!
With thanks,
Vicki Whitehead
Head of Service for Practice, Quality Assurance and Safeguarding
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