Cafcass puts relationships at the heart of practice

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The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) was praised by Ofsted in February for introducing a relationship-based model across all areas of its practice.

Inspectors said the move had resulted in a “palpable cultural change across the workforce” that was instrumental in promoting “kind, sensitive and respectful” practice.

Cafcass launched its Together with Children and Families practice framework in 2021 in response to areas that needed attention following an Ofsted inspection three years earlier.

It said the new framework comprised a set of values that would guide and streamline the experience of children and families involved in public and private law proceedings in the family courts.

• Read CYP Now’s special report on family courts and care proceedings here

In its latest report, Ofsted said initiatives such as the practice framework exemplified the ambition of senior leaders to ensure every child has an “exceptional experience” when Cafcass is involved in their lives.

“It was designed as a cultural change programme at its heart and we’re working over at least four years to see the progress we are aiming for,” explains Barry Tilzey, assistant director for Cafcass’s national improvement service.

“It’s everything that’s within the framework that gives us that exceptional experience - clear communication, the sharing of our recommendations so children and parents understand what’s happening, the quality of that relationship when you are talking with them and understanding their strengths and worries.

“That’s what will make an exceptional experience and the practice framework is the part that drives that achievement.”

There are five strands to the practice framework: reflective and group supervision, appreciative inquiry, assessment and planning, family storyboards and introductory letters and reporting to court.

Tilzey says “significant” changes were made to the way child assessment plans are carried out.

“We weren’t teaching new assessment skills - we knew that our social workers were good at working with children and families – but we wanted them to show their workings out and the best way is to use a questioning framework,” he explains.

Assessment plans are written around three central questions: what are the risks for the child, what is special and unique for them, and what are the strengths in the family system?

Responses to these questions then “pull down” into asking what the impact on the child is and what words the practitioner will have for that, explains Tilzey. Examples include: how are you going to talk to a child about what you’re seeing, what are your recommendations, and what will their response be?

“To be able to say it to a child, you must really know it and understand what is going on so you can talk to children about very complex and difficult things and explain them in a way that is safe and understandable,” he adds.

The use of family storyboards is an example of a practical method introduced under the framework in response to how its key values are understood and upheld.

Tilzey says the values were written down around what was already in place but were improved and developed further to sit within the framework.

Using storyboards for the ‘holding children and families at the heart of our practice’ value helps children to understand what is happening and what things will look like when Cafcass is no longer involved.

For the framework’s value around knowing more about a child and what is important to them, the use of introductory letters helps start involvement with families before either side has met in person.

Expectations were put in place for practitioners to send letters to children linked to a unique experience. Tilzey explains: “One social worker wrote about how they liked to collect shells when they went to the beach. A child then brought some shells in when they first met with that practitioner.”

A further element to introductory - and goodbye - letters is the use of QR codes that allow children and families to provide feedback.

In its latest report, Ofsted noted a “genuine desire” to continually learn from feedback from children and families was a “real strength”.

“That feedback is beginning to give us a greater understanding as to what difference this practice framework is making,” Tilzey says.

“It might be that we are not going to agree on everything but at least [they] felt listened to and respected and understood and those are the questions we ask in our feedback.”

“You can’t have a feedback system unless you have a relationship-based framework. It was very important to get it right and learn from it.”

Impact

Nationally, 93% of children said they felt listened to by their family court adviser. For parents and carers, the figure was 86%.

“There will be some variation from area to area but that tells us there is more to do,” Tilzey says. “It’s good but we know that not every single person is feeding back and we need additional feedback from our quality assurance system.”

Now in its third year, the practice framework has produced “encouraging progress” Tilzey says, alongside an “outstanding” rating of Cafcass overall by Ofsted earlier this year.

“It will be at least four years, probably five, before we feel confident that we’ve got to the targets and where we want to be.”