Processes for whole family work

When a family worker or lead professional is assigned to support a whole family, there are several processes they should utilise to ensure that the help offered is appropriate and properly coordinated. These processes are summarised below and further information can be found on the Buckinghamshire Safeguarding Children Partnership’s website.

The role of a lead family worker or lead professional is to be the main contact for a family and to work with others to make sure the family gets the help they need.

A lead family worker or lead professional can come from any early help service or organisation in Buckinghamshire. If possible, they will be someone the family already knows.

Professionals use an early help assessment to collect and understand information from the family about their strengths and needs.

They complete the assessment with all family members and include their thoughts and feelings about their situation.

This helps the lead professional working with the family to work with others so the family can get the help they need.

A Team Around the Family (TAF) meeting is between the child, their family, and professionals who know them. Any professional who works with the family can organise it.

These meetings are used when a family would benefit from help from a range of sources and this needs to be coordinated or when several people are already involved in offering help to the family.

The purpose of these meetings is to share information about what the family is going through and to discuss solutions that can help. The goal is to build on the family's strengths to promote positive change.

Family members should be fully included in this discussion, and the next steps should be guided by their views.

Everyone in the meeting should come ready to share information, give advice, and, if needed, offer practical help for the family.

Once an Early Help assessment is carried out with a family, the lead professional will work with them to make an action plan. This plan will show the type of help they need and how to get it. The action plan will have clear goals and details about who will do what and by when.