On Thursday 30 June 2011, Nottinghamshire's Early Intervention and Prevention Strategy was approved at the meeting of the County Council. The Strategy brings together a number of recent developments including the Pathway to Provision, and sets out a clear future direction for the development of early intervention and prevention services in Nottinghamshire.
The Strategy has been developed in response to the national policy context and the local needs of children and young people in Nottinghamshire and applies across the Nottinghamshire Children's Trust and its constituent services.
The Strategy defines what we mean by early intervention in Nottinghamshire; sets out the principles that will underpin the future development of services; and outline the Strategy's link to other local priorities and strategies.
The Strategy further defines the five future key strands of early intervention and prevention work in Nottinghamshire, based upon the five golden threads from C4EO's report on early intervention, Grasping the Nettle. For each of the five strands there will be an implementation plan.
The five key strands are:
1. The provision of services to ensure the best start in life
2. The development of language for life
3. The engagement and support of parents and carers
4. The development of effective structures and processes
5. The use and provision of management information
Lastly, our Strategy outlines the impact indicators (current performance) that will be used to measure our success in improving outcomes for children, young people and their families.
For a summary of the full Strategy see the ambitions, principles and priorities statement in the right hand column.
Pathway to Provision
The Pathway to Provision is a two part resource which includes a multi-agency thresholds guidance document and an on-line resource available through the Family Service Directory.
The Pathway to Provision multi-agency threshold guidance has four sections which includes:
Nottinghamshire's Continuum of Children and Young People’s Needs; definitions and indicators for practitioners to assist in the identification of levels of need for children and young people; Pathway to Provision at the four levels identified; and a number of appendices including the Step Up and Step Down Process for when referrals are made into Children's Social Care and when support from Children's Social Care is coming to an end. For further information visit the Pathway to Provision webpage.
Common Assessment Framework
The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is a holistic assessment used to identify the strengths and needs of children and young people from pre-birth to age 19. The CAF assessment is used at the early intervention stage to ensure a thorough assessment is completed at the earliest opportunity, allowing practitioners to work together to formulate an effective package of support. This is a consent based process. Please visit the CAF webpages for more information.
Joint Access Teams
Joint Access Teams are recognised as the key mechanism for early intervention in Nottinghamshire. There are 42 JATs across the county, meeting on a monthly basis to discuss children and young people with early intervention or targeted needs. JATs have a 0-19 focus, supporting professionals to identify who is most appropriate to work with families as well as generating good local information about where families can access advice about emerging difficulties. For further information relating to meeting times and venues visit the JAT webpages.
