ISA Guidance and Documents
This section holds the materials produced during 2004 as part of Torbay's ISA Programme.
These materials have been produced by multi-agency groups of staff working in Torbay, facilitated by both local lead officers and Consultants with experience in the IRT/ISA fields.
The DfES have required ISA Programmes across England to produce certain materials locally, to promote the improvements in information sharing and assessment that have been recommended through recent enquiries, most notably on Victoria Climbie.
This website will hold the most recent and up to date versions of the materials. Some of these materials will require amendment over time to reflect changing circumstances, and the continuing production by DfES of new Regulations and Guidance emerging from the Children Act 2004.
Staff are not expected to read and make sense of these documents in isolation.
There will be a series of introductory and training events during 2005, aimed at raising the awareness of staff across agencies of the ISA agenda, and how it affects you. Some of these events will be general and some quite specific and targeted, to ensure that staff are aware of how they should deal with information sharing and assessment consistently.
These sessions will introduce the materials held in this section, and most importantly will create opportunities to improve our understanding and abilities to work together as effectively as possible.
Index of Guidance and Documents:
A Practitioners Guide to Information Sharing & Assessment
This is a PDF version of the desktop practitioners guide that introduces ISA and which will be available in all workplaces
Consent to share personal information within and between agencies: a guide for practitioners
This guide is for practitioners and seeks to explain the issues surrounding consent: when and how to gather and record consent, when consent is not required, and includes a practical checklist (which will be available in a handy format).
The DfES ISA National Evaluation conducted by the Royal Holloway Research Team has identified this document as an example of good practice.
You & Your Information – Leaflet for children, young people and families
This currently is in draft format, a group of young people are working on the design and the finalised version will be placed here once completed, and made available across agencies for distribution
Information Sharing Protocol – "High level"
This is a quite complex document that forms the basis of a formal protocol between agencies in Torbay for information sharing. In practical terms the User Guide and Working Practices Agreements will be of greater use to practitioners. This high level protocol will be signed off by each participating agency.
Information Sharing Protocol & Working Practice Agreement – User Guide
This user guide is for all practitioners who need to share information, and puts the principles of the Protocol in context and explains how it should be used in day to day practice.
Working Practice Agreements:
(more to follow)
Working Practice Agreements (WPAs) are being produced to ensure practitioners working in a specific area of service are clear about the detailed information sharing issues that apply to that service area.
Further WPAs that will be required cover areas such as:
- mental health disorder among young people
- homelessness among young people
- substance misuse
- teenage pregnancy / young parents
- disabled children & young people
- truancy
- victims of crime
- early years
- youth services
Children Missing from Education
DfES require local authorities to have a robust process and agreement for how to respond to the needs of children missing from education. This is still under development within Torbay, but will be based on the Children Missing Education Good Practice Guide produced by DfES.
Risk Management Policy
This policy has been approved by Torbay Council, Torbay Children & Young Peoples Strategic Partnership, and Torbay Area Child Protection Committee. It sets out the policy for risk management when working with vulnerable children, young people and their families
Legal Framework for Information Sharing
This brief document explains the legal framework which supports information sharing, and references the various legislation that governs this
Role of Data Protection Officers & Caldicott Guardians
This brief document explains the roles of Data Protection Officers and Caldicott Guardians, and sets out the Caldicott Principles
Consent Form – Parents
Consent Form – C&YP (electronic version will be added later)
Multi-agency Children & Families Referral Form
Family Self Assessment Record
Multi-agency Initial Assessment Record
Core Assessment Records (this document not available electronically)
These forms are those which were introduced in Torbay under the Framework for Assessment of Children in Need and their Families. They should be available in hard copy in your workplaces (with the exception of the Core Assessment Records which are led by social care practitioners). In time electronic versions will be available.
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