Child's or young person's plan
Getting it right for every child proposes that for all children who require one, there will be an integrated and agreed plan. The plan will be based on a view of the child's needs as a whole, identifying the action necessary to address those needs, specifying who is to take what action and recording what improved outcomes are expected within what timescale. The plan should help children and young people, families and professionals understand and be clear about what action is needed, why action is being taken and what improvements should result.
The Scottish Executive expects that every child going to a Children's Hearing should have a plan by December 2007. Practioners and agencies need to ensure that by December, any child or young person going to a hearing has a plan where the following key parts are recorded:
- A summary of the needs which have to be addressed.
- What is to be done?
- Who is to do it?
- How will we know if there are improvements?
- Contingencies?
Guidance on the Plan
Guidance on the Child's or Young Person's Plan was made available at the National Symposium which took place on 26 January 2007. This guidance is the first of a set of tools for practitioners, which will be developed and improved in the light of experience and developing legislation.
Whether a child's or young person's plan is short and simple or more complex and detailed, the plan should be recorded and kept safely and securely. The level of detail in any plan should match the complexity, concerns or needs identified.
Guidance on the Implementation of the Child's or Young Person's Plan was also published to help agencies prepare for the implementation of these requirements.
Plan template example
Local areas and agencies may already be using their own systems or forms to capture the information necessary to devise plans. Local areas and agencies are encouraged to share practice in this area.
To help practioners devise and complete a Child or Young Person's Plan the Scottish Executive has designed an (optional) example template of the Child or Young Person's Plan (based on the consulted document Proposals for action - section 3 issued in June 2005).
The Scottish Executive hopes that report writers will use the template or something similar to meet all local planning requirements for children going to Hearings by December 2007. The template will not only require report writers to think about all the information required for a child's plan: it will also provide a mechanism for local authorities to assess whether they are meeting the expectation for plans by December 2007. Whatever planning mechanism is used, the Scottish Executive expects that those considering plans (mainly reporters and/or children's panel members) will be testing the information provided against the headings and ensuring that multi-agency information has been collected and that recommended action is based on multi-agency agreement.