Using the Early Help communication tools during ...

[Pages:2]Guide to using the Early Help tools during assessments with children and families There are a number of conversation tools available for practitioners to use when holding an Early Help Conversation with children and families.

1. "What's working well?" wheel The What's Working Well Wheel should be used as a conversation enabler. It is a shared tool for use by the practitioner and the individual or family, and puts the emphasis on listening and building rapport.

It removes the need to use formal paperwork and allows the individual to take the lead in explaining what's important to them.

Using the Wheel as a guide, the practitioner should work around the five aspects of life: Home, School/College, Social/Community, Health and Wellbeing and Work Life. By exploring what's working well in these areas, a practitioner will begin to build a picture of the strengths within a Household. Within each aspect of life, the practitioner should work with the individual to undertake a self-assessment (on a scale of 1-10) of how well things are going.

The conversation should move on to explore "what could be better", and practitioners can work to support the individual in identifying potential goals. This might involve challenging self-limiting beliefs. Practitioners should not jump to solutions but work together to establish how someone can start to get things going well again

It's important that practitioners explore how ready and able someone is to actually take action. Using the reverse side of the wheel, professionals should let the person identify their ability, capacity and motivation to take positive steps towards achieving their goals. This is important as it will help to inform the practitioners as to the speed, intensity and sequential nature of interventions that may follow.

2. The Three Houses This is another practical way to ensure an individual is at the centre of the assessment and planning process. The tools are designed for use with children and young people, but could be adapted and used equally well as a scribble pad for adults.

This method mimics the key assessment questions in the Early Help framework ?What's working well?, What could be better and why?, and what needs to happen (the plan)?

You can either print and use the A3 or A4 template available for download at .uk/earlyhelppractitioner, or you could draw your own houses on paper, labelling them `Worries', `Good Things' and `Dreams'. If using the template, start by drawing over the faint outline of the houses or ask the child to do so. This first interaction should help to break the ice.

Next, explain what each house is for-

"In the middle house, we'll put in the things that you like and are going well in your life. That's the "House of Good Things". "On one side we will write or draw your worries, so that's the "House of Worries". On the other side we'll have the "House of Dreams" where we can write or draw how you'd like things to be in your life."

Together choose whether to write words or do drawings ? whatever is most appropriate. Ask the child whether they want to do the writing/drawing, or if they'd like you to do it. The child should always be the leader on what is drawn ? always make sure you use the child's exact words and ideas.

You could use prompts like: What is good about where you are living at the moment? What is good about school? What is good about your friends? After exploring positive things, often the child will be ready to talk about what's not going well and their worries. As the child starts to open up about their worries, ask them for permission to put what they're saying into the house of Worries.

Ask the child to choose a number between 1-10 to explain how well they think things are going.

Explain what will happen next and get their permission to show the houses to others, whether that is their parents or professionals. Try to involve the child and go at their pace.

Presenting the child's assessment to parents and others Taking the child's words/pictures back to the parents often makes adults see the situation differently. Start with the house of Good Things. Ask the parent what they believe their child will have said is going well in their life. This will help you to engage the parent and will give you a sense of the parent's insight into their child's perspective. Repeat this with the house of Worries and house of Dreams.

3. The Fairy/Wizard Tools The same process for using the Three Houses tool described above applies. Using the A3/A4 template available at .uk/earlyhelppractitioner, or else drawing your own fairy (with dress, wings and a star) or Wizard (with cape, wand and spell bubble), ask the child whether they would like you to draw/write or whether they would like to do it.

Then explain what each part of the drawing represents: The Fairy's wings and the Wizard's cape represent what's good and working well in the child's life. The Fairy's/Wizard's clothes represent what is not going well, what is worrying the child or `what needs to change' The Fairy's star and the Wizard's spell bubble represent wishes coming true and hopes for the future. Use this space to record the child's wishes and dreams for a future.

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download