Common Assessment Framework (CAF) and Lead Professionals

Information for families

• Common Assessment Framework (CAF)
• Lead professional

Common Assessment Framework (CAF)

The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) for children and young people is essentially a tool for identifying a child’s needs and what is working well in their life, and then putting in place a plan to make sure they get the support they need.  Undertaking a common assessment helps everyone working with a child or young person to work together, and puts the child or young person and their family at the centre of the process. The CAF is voluntary, and both the assessment and the resulting action plan must be agreed by the parent/carer and/or the child or young person.

In Haringey, CAFs can be undertaken by a range of practitioners working with children and young people. If you have concerns about your child’s progress, you should contact a practitioner who knows your child, like a teacher or a health visitor, to discuss whether a CAF should be undertaken.

Undertaking a common assessment may identify a need for additional services to be involved in supporting the child or young person. In Haringey, a completed CAF can be used as a referral form for requesting this additional support, provided the parent or carer and/or the child or young person has given their consent.

The leaflets in the attached files section below provide further information for parents/carers and children and young people on the CAF process.

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Lead professional

If a number of people are providing support to a child or young person, one of these people will be appointed as a ‘lead professional’. A lead professional is someone who takes the lead to co-ordinate support for a child and their family. Their role is to:

• Act as a single point of contact for the child or family, who they can trust and who can engage them in making choices, navigating their way through the system and effecting change.
• Co-ordinate the delivery of the actions agreed by the practitioners involved, to ensure that children and families receive an effective service which is regularly reviewed.
• Reduce overlap and inconsistency in the services received.

In Haringey, the selection of a lead professional follows on from the completion of a CAF. Completing the CAF will help pull together the various services who may be working with a child, and give everyone involved the opportunity to consider who should take on the lead role. Completed CAFs are then considered by the CAF panel, which will designate a lead professional, taking into account the views of the child and family and of the practitioners involved.

If you would like more information, please contact the CAF Administrator on 020 8489 3169.

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Attached Files