Key Roles
LOT1284 Your Health Visiting Service.pdfHV pathway visual.docxHealth Visitor
Health Visitors play a pivotal role in the prevention and early identification of concerns about the wellbeing of a child, including more serious protection and care concerns. Health Visitors provide a consistent, knowledgeable and skilled point of contact for families, assessing children's development and planning with parents and carers to ensure their needs are met. As a universal service, they are often the first to be aware that families are experiencing difficulties in looking after their children and can play a crucial role in providing support.
Prior to entry to an Early Learning and Childcare setting, the child's Health Visitor will be the key point of contact for support and advice with regards to a child's wellbeing and any necessary planning required. Where appropriate, the Health Visitor will arrange a Child's Planning Meeting before the child starts at their Early Learning and Childcare establishment to ensure an effective transition and hand over to the named education contact. Prior to school entry, the Health Visitor will still have a role in supporting the child and their family but will do so as a participant rather than the leader of the child's planning process.
The Health Visiting Pathway
The Universal Health Visiting Pathway presents a core home visiting programme to be offered to all families by Health Visitors as a minimum standard, and defines and enhances Health Visitors responsive way of working with parents and their children.
Named Education Contact
A Named Education Contact will be in place at entry to an educational establishment. For some children this will be from age two. For children who have started primary school, the Named Education Contact will be a member of the school Senior Leadership Team: either a Depute Head Teacher or Head Teacher. For young people in secondary schools, this will be either their guidance teacher or Depute Head Teacher. Primary and secondary schools have transition arrangements in place to ensure documentation and key information about the Child's Planning Framework is shared between schools.
National Practice Guidance Getting it right for every child – Practice Guidance 2 – Role of the named person – 2022
What is their role?
The role of the Named Education Contact is twofold. They act as a point of contact for children, young people, families, school staff and other agencies who have wellbeing concerns about a child or young person. They also promote, support and safeguard the wellbeing of children and young people. To do this, they draw on the National Practice Model which ensures that a holistic view of wellbeing is taken using the wellbeing indicators of: safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, responsible, respected and included. They also ensure that wellbeing needs are identified and met in a multi-agency and integrated way, with the child or young person and their family at the centre of all decisions.
How do they do this?
make sure that the child, young person and family are aware of the existence and function of the role and be the first point of contact for them;
encourage the child or young person and family to participate in decisions which affect their lives;
encourage parents to understand and contribute to their child or young person’s wellbeing;
develop and maintain positive relationships with the child, young person and family;
ask parents/carers and children and young people for consent to share information with other professionals when it is in the best interest of the child or young person’s wellbeing;
maintain accurate and up to date information about the child or young person’s wellbeing including any assessment and planning documentation;
monitor and review progress on the child or young person’s development and access appropriate, proportionate and timely help when required;
respond appropriately to other professionals with an interest in the child or young person’s wellbeing (within information sharing protocols);
initiate and co-ordinate any help a child needs from within their own service;
initiate and co-ordinate any help a child or young person needs from another agency (up until the point a Lead Professional is appointed);
facilitate positive transitions for the child or young person, including sharing information and ensuring that they are aware of any additional help the child may need;
support the role of the Lead Professional
Lead Professional
A Lead Professional will always be required in cases where children and young people require multi-agency assessment and intervention (e.g. targeted level). The appointment of a Lead Professional does not remove the need for a Named Education Contact.
The Lead Professional is an agreed, identified person within the network of practitioners who are working alongside the child or young person and their family. In most cases, the professional who has the greatest responsibility in co-ordinating and reviewing the Child’s Plan will undertake this role. Throughout a child or young person’s journey, this person may change depending on the child or young person’s needs, but there should always be a Lead Professional identified when there is a targeted level of intervention in place.
A Lead Professional should be able to provide confident leadership and should be familiar with the remit of different agencies to be able to co-ordinate the help needed. It is important that, as far as possible, children, young people and families are supported and enabled to fully participate in any decisions about who is to be the Lead Professional.
Therefore, choosing the Lead Professional should be influenced by:
the child, young person and/or family’s needs;
the best interests of the child or young person;
the child, young person and family’s full participation in decision-making;
previous contact or positive relationship with the child, young person and family; and
any statutory obligation defined in law towards a child or young person, for example
when a child or young person needs a Co-ordinated Support Plan under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004.
Once it has been agreed that there is a need for a Lead Professional, choosing the Lead Professional should be influenced by the type of support being offered; the strength of existing relationships; and any statutory responsibility to co-ordinate support, for the child, young person or their family. Where no agreement can be reached on who should assume the role, it should be escalated to Service Manager/s.
National Guidance - Getting it right for every child – Practice Guidance 3 – Role of the lead professional – 2022
"The choice of Lead Professional should be agreed taking into account the views of the child, young person and family; the kind of support that they need; the complexity of the plan; previous contact and relationship with the child, young person and family and if there are statutory responsibilities."
In the following situations the Lead Professional will always be a social worker:
Where a child or young person is the subject of a Statutory Order.
Where a child or young person is the subject of a Child Protection investigation.
Where a child or young person is on the Child protection register.
Where a child or young person is 6 months post registration of the Child Protection register.
Where a child or young person is on an interim Compulsory Supervision Order or Compulsory Supervision Order.
Where a child or young person is the subject of an assessment surrounding possible accommodation (cusp of care).
The Role of the Lead Professional
support children, young people and families to fully participate in discussions about what is happening in a child or young person’s world, where this is in their best interests, and in consideration with their full spectrum of rights;
ensure as far as possible that the child or young person and their family understand what is happening at all times, and support them to participate in decisions being made;
act as a main point of contact for all, particularly to ensure the child or young person and their family are not required to tell their story multiple times to multiple professionals;
oversee the implementation of the Child’s Plan and check that it is reviewed, accurate and kept up-to-date;
ensure that targeted support is helping to improve agreed outcomes for the child or young person;
promote teamwork between agencies, and work in partnership with the named person;
support the child or young person and their family during key transition points, particularly any transfer to a new Lead Professional;
have an awareness and understanding of the working practices of other agencies.