Care and Pathway Planning (SIL)

Arrangements to complete the Needs Assessment and a timetable for this assessment should be discussed and agreed at the young person’s statutory review prior to their sixteenth birthday.  The assessment should be completed no later than three months after this date.

The practitioner undertaking the assessment should make every effort to ensure that the young person has choices in relation to the venue where the assessment sessions will take place. E.g., the young person’s home, the practitioner’s place of work, or any other environment where the young person may feel most comfortable, relaxed, and at ease.

The practitioner may have to arrange several meetings with the young person in order to fully explore all the dimensions/domains within the Needs Assessment to gather all the relevant information.

Young people should be actively involved in the assessment and planning process and although it is important that the Pathway Plan is informed by the views of the young person, it should also be informed by the views of other significant adults and professionals involved in the young person's life. The consultation of these significant adults and professionals should be discussed and agreed with the young person and could include:

• The young person's parents or others with parental responsibility;
• Any person who cares for a young person on a day-to-day basis;
• A representative of the young person's school or college;
• The young person's GP or any other medical professional involved with the young person;
• An Independent Visitor (where appointed);
• Any other person whom the responsible authority or young person considers relevant;
• Personal Advisor.

Additional information should also be gathered as part of the assessment process from existing records such as the Care Plan, the most recent Assessment & Progress Record, Placement Information Record, and the Personal Education Plan.

The Pathway Plan Needs Assessment uses the same structure as other assessment records and considers the young person's needs in relation to the seven developmental dimensions.

Parenting capacity is assessed under the heading of Support, as this heading is more relevant and understandable to young people leaving care. The section assessing the impact of Family and Environmental Factors has two sub-headings Accommodation and Finance, as these are two important areas where young people often encounter difficulties.

The information gathered in the Needs Assessment is pulled together in the Analysis Section and informs Part Two of the Pathway Plan.

The practitioner should share the completed Needs Assessment with the young person to highlight and discuss the young person's identified needs, strengths, and skills that will be recorded in the Pathway Plan. Identifying and recording strengths and skills in addition to the identified needs will prevent the completed assessment from presenting as negative and will produce a more balanced assessment.

The structure of the Plan follows the same format as the Needs Assessment and should be drawn up in partnership with the young person, ensuring that they are fully involved in the planning process and able to make choices (where this is possible) regarding services to be provided to meet identified need. This section should be prepared as soon as possible after the completion of the Needs Assessment using the information gathered from the various sources.

From the information collated and analysed in the Needs Assessment, the practitioner will be able to complete all the sections of the Plan by:

• Identifying and recording the young person’s strengths and needs;
• Recording action to be taken and/or services to be provided to meet identified needs;
• Recording the frequency and length of the service to be provided;
• Identifying & recording the person/agency responsible for providing/facilitating the service;
• Recording the date that the service will commence;
• Identifying and recording how the young person’s progress will be monitored.

At the end of each section, there is a space to provide a Contingency Plan that will identify the actions to be taken if it becomes clear that the original plan is no longer possible. The practitioner should share the completed Pathway Plan with the young person and obtain their views in respect of the plan, recording these on the final section (back page) and obtaining the signatures of all the relevant parties.

Summary of the Pathway Planning Process

• Discuss the Pathway Plan with the young person at the LAC review prior to their sixteenth birthday (timetable sessions & agree the venue for sessions to take place);
• Arrange Pathway Planning sessions with significant adults and other professionals involved with the young person;
• Gather additional information from the young person's care files;
• Collate & analyse all the information gathered and complete Part One (Needs Assessment);
• Share the completed assessment with the young person highlighting the identified needs, strengths and skills to be included in Part Two (The Plan). Discuss services/resources to be provided & timescales for action to be undertaken that will be included in the plan;
• Complete Part Two (The Plan) and share this with the young person to obtain their views in relation to the contents of the plan;
• Include the young person’s views on the final section (back page) of the plan and obtain the signatures of relevant parties;
• Completed copies of Part Two (The Plan) should be given to the young person, their Reviewing Officer, and a copy placed on the young person's Leaving Care file.

Consultation / young people’s involvement & views

• Young people have the most important voice when issues around their care are raised;
• Young people must be listened to and must be heard;
• For young people to develop real ownership of placement they must see that their voices have a direct impact on the quality of their care;
• The views of young people are obtained formally and informally in many different ways.

These include:

• Young people’s questionnaires to be used monthly;
• Social workers to be encouraged to visit the young people on a regular basis;
• Staff to have regular liaison with the relevant social worker;
• Every young person is to be given a Young Persons Guide upon admission;
• Young people’s meetings to be held at least monthly;
• Young people to be consulted on the menus and activities weekly;
• Independent visitors to be offered/sought to all young people.