The role of the Lead Professional
The Common Assessment Framework has been developed to enable practitioners to identify and work towards meeting the needs of children and young people defined as having additional needs. It is a holistic assessment, looking at the range of a child’s needs. The majority of children will have needs that can be met through the input of a single agency, working in conjunction with universal services. However a significant minority will have multiple needs that require a planned and integrated package of support. This will be provided most effectively when one person co-ordinates the delivery of the action plan and acts as a single point of contact for the family. This person will be carrying out the lead professional functions for that child or family.
The Lead Professional will:
Be a Single Point of Contact: the Lead Professional will be someone that children, young people and families can trust, who will support them to make choices and navigate their way through the system.
- This will benefit children and families by reducing the number of times they have to repeat information to different professionals; they will have a productive relationship with someone in whom they have developed trust.
Ensure appropriate and effective interventions: the Lead Professional will be someone who will work to ensure that children and families are supported via well planned, regularly reviewed and effectively delivered interventions.
- Communicating effectively with partners, the lead professional will draw on the skills and expertise of specialist practitioners, this will be agreed at Child in Need/Team around a Child meetings.
Reduce overlap and inconsistency from other practitioners: someone who will help co-ordinate and focus the multi-agency team around the child and young person.
It will be agreed at Child in Need/Team around a Child meeting who the best person is to be the Lead Professional.
