Common Assessment Framework (CAF) in Milton Keynes

Welcome to CAF in Milton Keynes. This page will help you find out more about the CAF, the role of the Lead Professional and the Team Around the Child (TAC) approach in Milton Keynes. It will give you access to key documents including the CAF form – and also points you in the direction of the CAF Coordination Service who can support you through the process of accessing appropriate support for children, young people and their families.

About Common Assessment Framework

CAF is a standardised approach to conducting an assessment of a child/young person's additional needs and deciding how these needs can be addressed. CAF can be used by practitioners across a variety of services working with children, young people and their families and is a key component of the Every Child Matters (ECM) Agenda.

Milton Keynes has a CAF Coordination Service, which aims to support practitioners attend training, complete CAF and develop effective support plans aimed at ensuring the child/young person is able to achieve positive outcomes by accessing timely support. Should you have any queries regarding completing a CAF or want to check if a child/young person has one please contact the team who are always happy to help.

The CAF is intended to provide a simple process for holistic assessment of a child/young person's needs and strengths, taking account of the role of parents/carers and environmental factors on their developmental progress. Practitioners must work with the child, young person and their carers to agree what support is required and what information should be shared.

Area Based Effective Support Panels

Area Based Effective Support Panels have been set up to look at the use of the CAF and make sure that the right support is given to children and families when it is needed. These panels are held on a fortnightly basis and are made up of senior representatives from services across the children’s workforce.

As a practitioner, you will need to liaise with your local CAF coordinator to ensure completed CAFs are put forward to the panel.

Area	Venue	Panel timing	CAF coordinator
South/West	Bletchley Youth Centre	Tuesday 1.30pm – 3.30pm	Maxine Saving 01908 252761
Central/East	MK Academy	Wednesday 9.30am-11.30am	Sandy Webster 01908 254672
North	Radcliffe School	Thursday 9.30am-11.30am	Gary Allebone 01908 252644

The Panel allocates resources, suggests a Lead Professional where appropriate and reviews progress in more challenging cases. The Panel will also identify gaps in provision which will be recorded and reported on.


The following resources have been created to explain more about CAF:
Common Assessment Framework leaflet
Information for practitioners

Contact the CAF Team.

CAF Toolkit
The following documents will help you start the CAF process.

CAF form March 2012
CAF - closing template
CAF pre-assessment checklist_(91K)
CAF supporting tools_(360K)
Introduction to assessment_(148K)
2009 Lead Professionals Guide
2009 Lead Professionals Managers Guide
2009 Managers Guide
2009 Practitioners Guide
CAF factsheet_(221K)
Information Sharing Protocol

Effective Support for Children and Families in Milton Keynes
'Effective Support for Children and Families in Milton Keynes - Guidance on working together with children and families' is about how organisations who work with children and families can all work together, making use of Common Assessment Framework , Lead Professional and information sharing, to meet the needs of children at the earliest point possible.

View the Effective Support Windscreen here

Training
A range of CAF courses has been developed to ensure that practitioners are equipped with the knowledge and skills needed in order to make a CAF referral, be involved in the process and to support the family through the process.

Practitioners will need to identify the relevant ‘pick and mix’ style training that meets their requirements.

The training programme and the three locality area maps can be accessed through the Milton Keynes Safeguarding Children Board website..

You can also access the Children's Social Care Learning and Development Directory: 2011-2012 here. If you would like to apply for training, please download and complete the application form.