CAF Policies and Procedures

The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is a standardised approach used across England to assess the additional needs of children and young people who require early help from more than one service. It provides a shared language and structured process that enables practitioners from different agencies to work together in identifying needs, coordinating support, and preventing problems from escalating to the point where statutory intervention becomes necessary.

Organisations that work with children and families, including schools, nurseries, health services, youth organisations, and voluntary sector providers, must understand the CAF process and embed it within their policies and procedures. This article explains the purpose of the CAF, the legal framework that underpins it, when and how to use it, and how your organisation's policies should reflect CAF requirements.

The Legal Framework Underpinning the CAF

The Common Assessment Framework operates within a legal and statutory context established by several key pieces of legislation and government guidance.

The Children Act 1989

The Children Act 1989 is the foundational legislation for child welfare in England and Wales. It established the principle that the welfare of the child is paramount and introduced the concept of "children in need" under Section 17. It placed a duty on local authorities to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area. The CAF process aligns with the Section 17 threshold by providing a mechanism for identifying children whose needs fall below the threshold for statutory social care intervention but who nevertheless require coordinated early help.

The Children Act 2004

The Children Act 2004 strengthened the framework for inter-agency cooperation in children's services. Section 10 placed a duty on local authorities to promote cooperation between relevant partner agencies, including health bodies, police, education providers, and youth offending teams, in order to improve the wellbeing of children. Section 11 required these organisations to make arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. The CAF serves as a practical tool for fulfilling these duties by facilitating multi-agency assessment and planning.

Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023

The latest edition of Working Together to Safeguard Children (2023) provides the statutory guidance that all organisations working with children must follow. It reinforces the importance of early help and sets out the expectation that local areas will have effective arrangements for identifying children who would benefit from early help services. The guidance makes clear that practitioners should be able to use the CAF, or an equivalent local early help assessment, to identify needs at the earliest opportunity and coordinate a multi-agency response.

The Ofsted Single Inspection Framework

The Ofsted Single Inspection Framework evaluates the quality of children's services provided by local authorities, including the effectiveness of early help arrangements. Inspectors assess whether early help assessments are timely, whether they accurately identify needs, and whether they lead to effective plans and outcomes for children. Organisations that participate in the CAF process are therefore subject to scrutiny as part of the wider inspection of local safeguarding arrangements.

What is the Purpose of the CAF?

The CAF was developed to ensure that children and young people with additional needs receive the right support at the right time, before their difficulties become entrenched or require more intensive intervention. Its core purposes are:

• To provide a simple, consistent process for early identification of additional needs
• To enable practitioners to assess the full range of a child's needs, including health, education, emotional wellbeing, family circumstances, and social development
• To promote a shared understanding between agencies, reducing the need for families to repeat their story to multiple professionals
• To coordinate multi-agency support through a single plan with a designated lead professional
• To reduce duplication and ensure that services work together effectively
• To empower families by involving them as active participants in the assessment and planning process

The CAF is a voluntary process that requires the informed consent of the child (where appropriate) and their parent or carer. It is not a referral to social services and does not replace statutory assessments under Section 17 or Section 47 of the Children Act 1989.

When Should a CAF Be Completed?

A CAF should be initiated when a practitioner has concerns that a child's needs are not being met by universal services alone and that the child would benefit from early help involving more than one agency. This is sometimes referred to as the "early help threshold" or "additional needs threshold."

Examples of situations where a CAF may be appropriate include:

• A child whose attendance at school is declining and who is showing signs of emotional distress at home
• A young person who is disengaging from education and is at risk of involvement in antisocial behaviour
• A child with speech and language needs who also requires support with social development
• A family experiencing housing difficulties, parental mental health issues, or financial hardship that is affecting the child's wellbeing
• A child with a disability whose needs require coordination between health, education, and social care services

It is important to note that a CAF is not appropriate where there are concerns about a child being at risk of significant harm. In such cases, a referral to children's social care for a statutory assessment must be made immediately.

Who Can Initiate a CAF?

Any practitioner who works with children and families can initiate a CAF. This includes teachers, teaching assistants, health visitors, school nurses, GPs, nursery staff, youth workers, family support workers, housing officers, and practitioners in the voluntary and community sector. The practitioner does not need to be from a specific agency or hold a particular qualification; they simply need to have identified that a child has additional needs that require a coordinated response.

The practitioner who initiates the CAF will often take on the role of lead professional, although this role can be transferred to another professional who is better placed to coordinate the support plan.

The CAF Process: A Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Pre-Assessment Discussion

Before initiating a formal CAF, the practitioner should have a conversation with the child and their parent or carer to explain the process, discuss the concerns, and obtain consent. This is a critical step, as the CAF is a consent-based process. The practitioner should explain what a CAF involves, how information will be shared, and what the potential benefits are for the child and family.

Step 2: The CAF Assessment

The assessment itself uses a structured form that covers three domains:

• Development of the child: Health, education, emotional and social development, behavioural development, identity and self-esteem, family and social relationships, self-care skills, and learning
• Parents and carers: Basic care, safety, emotional warmth, stimulation, guidance and boundaries, and stability
• Family and environment: Family history and functioning, wider family, housing, employment, income, social integration, and community resources

The assessment should be carried out with the family, not done to them. The practitioner gathers information through conversations with the child, parents, and other professionals already involved, building a holistic picture of the child's strengths and needs.

Step 3: Developing the Action Plan

Based on the assessment, the practitioner and family work together to agree an action plan. This plan identifies specific outcomes for the child, the actions required to achieve them, who is responsible for each action, and the timescales involved. Where multiple agencies are involved, a Team Around the Child (TAC) meeting is convened to agree the plan collectively. A lead professional is identified to coordinate the plan and act as the single point of contact for the family.

Step 4: Delivering and Reviewing the Plan

The action plan is implemented by the agencies and professionals identified within it. Regular review meetings are held, typically every six to twelve weeks, to assess progress, update the plan, and adjust support as needed. The lead professional is responsible for ensuring that reviews take place and that all agencies fulfil their commitments. The CAF can be closed when the identified outcomes have been achieved, or it can be stepped up to a social care referral if the child's needs increase.

Information Sharing and Consent

Effective information sharing is essential to the success of the CAF process. Practitioners must share relevant information with other agencies involved in supporting the child, whilst complying with data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. The statutory guidance in Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 makes clear that information sharing for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is lawful and expected.

Consent for information sharing should be obtained from the parent or carer (and the young person, where they are of sufficient age and understanding) at the outset of the CAF process. Practitioners should explain clearly what information will be shared, with whom, and for what purpose. Where consent is withheld but there are safeguarding concerns, practitioners must consider whether a referral to children's social care is necessary regardless of consent.

How Organisational Policies Must Reflect the CAF

Any organisation that works with children has a responsibility to ensure its policies and procedures support the effective use of the CAF. This means that your organisational documentation should include:

• A clear statement of commitment to early help and the use of the CAF as part of the organisation's safeguarding arrangements
• Guidance for staff on when and how to initiate a CAF, including the early help threshold criteria used by your local authority
• Procedures for obtaining and recording consent from parents, carers, and young people
• Information sharing protocols that comply with UK GDPR and reference the guidance in Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023
• The role and responsibilities of the lead professional, including expectations for coordinating TAC meetings and reviewing action plans
• Training requirements for staff, ensuring that all relevant practitioners understand the CAF process and are confident in carrying out assessments
• Links to the organisation's wider safeguarding policy, including procedures for stepping up from early help to a statutory referral
• Record-keeping requirements, including secure storage and retention of CAF documentation

Without clear policies in place, organisations risk inconsistent practice, poor outcomes for children, and adverse findings in regulatory inspections. Ofsted and other inspectorates will expect to see that early help arrangements are embedded in organisational culture and supported by written procedures.

How Policy Pros Can Help

Policy Pros works with schools, nurseries, healthcare providers, charities, and other organisations to develop clear, compliant CAF policies and procedures. Our experienced writers understand the legal requirements of the Children Act 1989, the Children Act 2004, and Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023, and we can produce documentation tailored to your organisation's size, sector, and local authority requirements. We also offer a comprehensive range of health and social care policies and procedures, including safeguarding, information sharing, and multi-agency working. Contact us to discuss how we can support your early help arrangements.