Explain how to identify the needs of children and young people. Explain the importance of working with others to assess the needs of children and young people to inform planning. The best way to go about identifying the needs of children and young people are through observation and information received from all the avenues possible, these may include such people as; The child/young person – Nobody else will know exactly how they feel unless they are given their right to express how they feel and what they want. Parent/foster parents – Are a great source of information as they have already spent a lot of time with the child/young person and tend to know their likes, dislikes, ability, needs etc.
Previous carers – Another great source of previously working with that individual and so being able to give information on the same level as a parent Social workers - Continue to be able to give great information on the child’s background, needs, previous care etc. Previous observations made regarding that individual – Observations based on previous meetings as regards to the information you have been given by any of the above sources.
The more information gained the better the outcomes for care will be for that individual. By working with others to assess the needs of any child/young person carers are able to develop a fuller and more accurate plan of the child’s/young person’s needs.
Analyse current evidence about effective methods of ensuring participation and engagement of children and young people of all ages and levels of understanding in assessment and planning. Effective methods to ensure participation and engagement of children and young people of all ages and levels of understanding of their care plan and their contribution to it are; Choosing an appropriate location to do their observation and talk about their care wants/needs Play activities – to engage the child into play and relaxing the situation so it’s not so formal Asking the child/young person for their contribution to likes, dislikes and interests Within my work setting all the children have different levels of capacity to understand in their assessments and plans for their future.
When a child has the capacity to understand they are able to attend LAC reviews and contribute to their assessment giving them a sense of control over their own lives, feel like their opinion is valued and that their assessment is specific to their individual needs. In cases where the child lacks the capacity due to the level of autistic spectrum disorder there is a need for their needs to be met via advocacy.
Explain the importance of permanency planning for children and young people. The importance of permanency planning for children and young people are that it provides the people working with them with the opportunity to assess the individual’s needs and circumstances. To be able to make effective plans for their long term future and development although this can change as time goes by and should be reviewed at the sign of any changes for the child/young person. In some cases there may need to be an advocate in place due to the child’s/young person’s disability. In my work setting there is a very high standard of importance on consistency and routine due to the children disability.
Having this consistency by all staff working in the same way and continually using PEC’s for each child’s routine to give them a visual aid and verbal aid gives the children a sense of knowing what is going on for that particular time of day. During this process the child/young person dependant on capacity has the ability to ask for or change things on their routine especially when it comes to free time/choice time. Keeping consistent with this structure allows great permanency planning to take place. 2. Be able to participate in the assessment and planning for children and young people towards the achievement of positive outcomes. Explain how the goals and targets identified will support the achievement of positive outcomes.
The goals and target identified in each child’s/young person’s care file will support the achievement of positive outcomes by encouraging them to do realistic and achievable activities, then praise them for their positive outcome in-turn reinforcing their belief in themselves and having a positive attitude to achieving more (enhancing their wellbeing). These person centred goals and targets will always be based on an individual and focused on their needs and ability. Explain how to support a child or young person and others to understand and agree the goals, targets and outcomes of the plan. Within my work setting we support our children and young people to understand and agree goals, targets and outcomes of their individual plans by engaging in communication via; Social stories – These enable us to communicate with each child/young person to help them understand a need to do something, when they are going to go on a day trip/doctors/hospital or even a holiday and many other aspects can be explained using this method.
PECS – These help children/young people to explain how they feel, what they want or what they need and don’t want. They are a vital part of our daily life working with the children/young people I work with daily. Schedules – These are used all day every day to give each child/young people a structure to follow so they don’t have any unexpected events that may upset them etc. (They are use full in explaining the individual’s morning routine and what is expected of them).
