A Common Assessment can be used for an unborn baby, baby, child or young person who may have additional, unmet needs. It is not necessary to complete a Common Assessment on every child. Those who are progressing satisfactorily, or already having their needs met, do not need one. A Common Assessment is also unlikely to be needed if the child’s needs are clear and can be met by the child, their parent/carer or the assessing agency (although practitioners should look beyond the presenting problem).
The use of the pre-assessment check list may help decisions on whether or not a Common Assessment should be undertaken.
Practitioners can consider a series of questions to ask to decide where a Common Assessment might be appropriate, to aid their decision making.
Many agencies are using the Common Internal Record (CIR) as their own internal recording system. Following its use, if the situation warrants a Common Assessment, much of the information needed has already been collated. Once transferred to electronic format this information can contribute significantly to the completion of a Common Assessment. Information is available from the IPC’s.
Practitioners should not undertake a Common Assessment when the child is at risk of significant harm but should follow the Leeds Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures in the normal way or where there are exceptional circumstances.
A Common Assessment is likely to be of most help when:
there are unmet needs which have been identified by an agency that cannot be met by their routine service delivery and therefore may involve other agencies
there is reason to think that a child/young person is not making age appropriate progress but it is not clear what the underlying causes are or what would help
the child/young person is likely to need coordinated targeted support from more than one agency in order to achieve the Every Child Matters five outcomes
the child is engaged with a number of agencies each focussing on specific issues and an holistic overview that identifies the family’s perspective would be beneficial for all
as an exit strategy from specialist involvement
The following are triggers for a common assessment taken from national guidance;
· missing developmental milestones or, e.g., making slower progress than expected at school, regularly missing medical appointments and immunisations etc;
· presenting challenging or aggressive behaviours (e.g. bringing a knife into school), abusing/misusing substances or committing offences;
· experiencing physical or mental ill health or disability (either their own or their parents’);
· exposed to substance abuse/misuse1, violence or crime within the family;
· undertaking caring responsibilities;
· bereaved or experiencing family breakdown;
· bullied or are bullies themselves;
· disadvantaged for reasons such as race, gender, sexuality, religious belief or disability;
· homeless (or being threatened with eviction), and those living in temporary accommodation;
· becoming a teenage mother/father or the child of teenage parents;
· not being ready to make the transition to post-16 services;
· truanting persistently.
Some more examples of situations where a common assessment might be appropriate include:
· where a routine post-natal visit causes the practitioner to be concerned about the living circumstances of a newborn;
· where a practitioner believes a child may have additional needs and wants to understand better what they are and what the appropriate response is, for example, where a school or early years setting perceives a child is being affected by elements such as domestic situations or health which are not necessarily related to SEN;
· where a practitioner is considering a referral to another service (e.g. to local authority children’s social services, Child and Adolescent Mental Health services or a youth service); (note that if the child is at risk of harm or it is self-evident that specialist assessment is necessary, an immediate referral should be made);
· to provide more holistic information to augment decision-making at School Action or School Action Plus in cases where needs are not such as to require a statutory SEN assessment;
· as the basis for integrated case-working within multi-agency teams or targeted support in universal services, e.g. within extended schools or children’s centres and other early years settings;
· to support lead professionals by enabling them to build up and maintain an overview of needs and strengths; or where it is likely that several agencies are or need to be involved in supporting the child;
· where a child is displaying aggressive behaviour, e.g. carrying a knife, or in relation to bullying, truancy, withdrawal or other behavioural and emotional issues;
· where a child is exhibiting problematic or anti-social behaviour and where the underlying cause may be hidden (e.g. substance abuse/misuse);
· where a child appears to have additional needs, but is unlikely to be eligible for support under existing threshold criteria for specialist services e.g. local authority children’s social services or a statement of SEN.
The ideal practitioner to undertake a Common Assessment with a child, young person and family will be appropriately trained, know the child, young person and or family, and have established trust and rapport. It will not always be possible for a practitioner who already knows the family to undertake the Common Assessment. For example the family may be new to an area, however where possible it should be undertaken by a practitioner who has established a positive working relationship.