Background
The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is one of the contributing elements to the following, both of which are outlined in the Children Act 2004:
- The delivery of integrated services that support inter-agency co-operation; and
- The safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.
The CAF is central to the strategy outlined in Every Child Matters: Change for Children. The strategy's aim is to prevent difficulties arising in the lives of children and young people. The CAF will also support local areas in achieving many of the standards set out in the National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services.
The CAF helps support better information sharing between practitioners. It also provides practitioners with guidance on identifying the need for extra support and assessing specific needs and provides a vehicle for gathering practitioners together to address those needs. The concept of the Lead Person (LP) is also introduced as a means of co-ordinating and overseeing any interventions.
CAF Forms
Bury CAF form (MSWord 313kb, 8 pages)
CAF pre-assessment checklist (MSWord 83kb, 2 pages)
To download the CAF form or pre-assessment checklist please follow the instructions below:
- Right-click on the relevant link.
- Select 'Save Target As...' and save the document to an appropriate location.
- Once completed, the Bury CAF form should be attached to an email addressed to caf@bury.gov.uk.
- The pre-assessment check list is to assist in determining if an assessment is required and does not need to be emailed.
CAF Practice Guidance
CAF practice guidance (pdf 307kb, 30 pages)
Lead Person Practice Guidance
Lead person practice guidance (pdf 42kb, 6 pages)
CIN Web pages
Children in need procedures, forms and information
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Here are some FAQs relating to the Common Assessment Framework:
Why do we need a CAF?
Most agencies and practitioners who work with children and young people undertake some form of assessment to determine what services should be offered. Each agency however adopts its own assessment approach and hence there is lack of co-ordination and consistency between them.
A more consistent approach to assessment is required as some children and young people are being assessed and asked for the same information time and time again. Others are having important needs overlooked because they fall outside the remit of the assessing agency and to improve inter-agency referrals by providing evidence to support requests for intervention.
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What is the CAF?
The CAF is a national standard approach to conducting an assessment of the needs of children, young people and their families and deciding how these should be met. It has been developed for use by practitioners in all agencies, both statutory and voluntary, from combining the underlying model of the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families with the main elements used in other assessment frameworks.
The CAF consists of:
- a simple checklist to help practitioners identify children and young people who would benefit from a common assessment;
- a process for undertaking a common assessment to help practitioners gather and understand information about the needs and strengths of a child or young person;
- a standard form to help practitioners record, and, where appropriate, share with others the assessment findings in terms that are helpful in working with the child, young person and their families to find a response to unmet needs.
Nineteen elements are covered in three domains:
- development of a baby, child or young person including health and learning;
- parents and carers;
- family and environmental factors.
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Who is the CAF for?
The CAF is for children and young people with additional needs who according to the judgement of practitioners require extra support to help them achieve the 5 Every Child Matters outcomes:
- being healthy;
- staying safe;
- enjoying and achieving;
- making a positive contribution;
- achieving economic well-being.
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What is the aim of the CAF?
The CAF is expected to promote a new approach to working with children and young people that is common to all agencies engaged in delivering services to them. The CAF should:
- support early intervention by providing methods to help practitioners who come into day to day contact with children and young people to identify, assess needs and decide how these should be met at an early stage;
- improve multi-agency working by enabling a lead person to maintain a single overview record of the needs and strengths of a child or young person who is in contact with several agencies, embed a common language of assessment, need and response and also improve trust, communication and information sharing between practitioners;
- reduce bureaucracy by providing practitioners with a fuller overview of a child or young person’s needs and strengths hence reducing the number of inappropriate inter-agency referrals, separate assessments and different agencies working with a child;
- enable information from the assessment to be shared effectively between services thereby improving targeted and tailored service delivery.
The cultural shift that is required from practitioners engaging with the CAF will have benefits for the future development of the Children’s Trust and provide a more integrated approach to delivering services across Bury.
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What is the CAF’s relationship with specialist assessments?
The CAF will not replace statutory specialised assessments. However, there has been consultation with agencies responsible for these assessments to determine how they would fit with the CAF and avoid duplication. The CAF may be appropriate to be used before, or in conjunction with a specialist assessment to help understand and articulate the full range of a child’s needs. It can help ensure that the referral to a specialist service is relevant and can build up a comprehensive picture of needs, rather than a series of partial snapshots.
Consultation will take place with relevant agencies to agree the relationship between the CAF and:
- the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families;
- the Connexions Assessment APIR;
- the Young Offenders Assessment Profile ASSET used by the Youth Offending Team and ONSET assessment and referral framework used by Youth Inclusion and Support Panels and Youth Inclusion Programmes;
- the SEN (special Educational Needs) Code of Practice;
- the Foundation Stage Profile;
- assessments undertaken by health practitioners e.g. as part of the National Health promotion Programme.
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Who will carry out the assessments?
It is expected that the majority of common assessments will be undertaken or arranged by practitioners in universal services such as early years, schools and health settings as these are best equipped to identify possible needs of children and young people in their early stages.
All practitioners, however, working with children and young people should have an awareness of the CAF and either know how to complete a common assessment themselves or know how to arrange to have one carried out.
All services will identify staff that will be trained in completing common assessments. They would need to have specific skills and knowledge to undertake and complete assessments and some knowledge of local services and thresholds for access.
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When should a common assessment be carried out?
A common assessment can be done at any time on unborn babies, new babies, children or young people. It is designed for use when:
- there is concern about how well a child or young person is progressing;
- the needs of the child or young person are unclear, or broader than a service can address on its own;
- a common assessment would help identify the needs and strengths of a child or young person and provide a basis for getting other services involved.
If, however, a child or young person is at risk from harm then the Bury Safeguarding Children Board procedures should be followed.
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What is the relationship between CAF, the Lead Person and Information Sharing?
The CAF, Lead Person and Information Sharing are essential for the effective provision of integrated services to children, young people and their families.
- the CAF provides a process for identifying needs and bringing services together to meet those needs swiftly and effectively;
- where a range of needs are identified that require an integrated response, the Lead Person will co-ordinate these actions and act as a single point of contact for the child, young person and family;
- effective Information Sharing then helps practitioners work together to deliver a coherent and relevant service.
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Where does ContactPoint (previously known as the Information Sharing (IS) Index) fit with the CAF?
Like the CAF, ContactPoint is a tool to improve integrated working. It will help identify which practitioners are or have been working with a child or young person. It is anticipated that ContactPoint will record that a common assessment has been completed, when this was done and by whom.
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Will the information be kept confidential?
The detail of assessments will not be held on ContactPoint. A practitioner will only be able to ascertain if a common assessment exists. They will then need to contact the relevant practitioners to access the information gained from the assessment. This information will only be given if it is deemed appropriate and with the consent of the child, young person or their family. The only exception to gaining consent would be if information gathered led to concern that a child or young person was suffering from or at risk of significant harm.
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What support will be provided?
A Lead Officer for CAF has been in post in Bury since October 2006 to facilitate the development of the CAF and the role of the Lead Person across all agencies in the statutory, private, voluntary and independent sectors. A multi-agency steering group chaired by the Lead Officer for CAF has been established to oversee the implementation and delivery of these. Agencies so far represented on this group are: Early Years; Connexions; Children’s Disability Team; Early Break; Safeguarding Team; Independent Reviewing Team; Education Welfare; Schools; and Primary Care Trust.
The Department for Children, Schools & Families (DCSF) has provided training packages that will be adapted for local use and a comprehensive training programme will be arranged for all relevant practitioners. The DCSF is also working with the Children’s Workforce Development Council to embed the CAF into relevant national occupational standards and qualifications.
Practitioners will need to generate, store, access and share CAF forms. Discussions are taking place to provide computerised support that will be accessible across all agencies.
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Where can further information be obtained?
For a national perspective, further information can be gained from the 
Every Child Matters website. The website also provides HM Government Information Sharing Guidance, which is practised by Bury Council practitioners.
For local information, contact Bury MBC's Lead Officer for CAF on 0161 253 7919 or email CAF@bury.gov.uk
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