- Request
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1. Please answer specifically in relation to children with a plan of adoption/placed for adoption
a) Do you have a policy/procedure in relation to life story work?
If yes, please provide a copy.
If no, please state if work is underway to develop a policy/procedure.
b) Do you have guidance available for practitioners to support them in life story work?
If yes, please provide a copy.
c) Do you provide practice tools to support practitioners with life story work?
If yes, please describe them or provide examples.
If no, explain how practitioners are supported with this work.
2. Please answer specifically in relation to children with a plan of long-term foster-care including children placed with family or friends / placed in residential homes/return to parents has been ruled out
a) Do you have a policy/procedure in relation to life story work?
If yes, please provide a copy.
If no, please state if work is underway to develop a policy/procedure.
b) Do you have guidance available for practitioners to support them in life story work?
If yes, please provide a copy.
c) Do you provide practice tools to support practitioners with life story work?
If yes, please describe them or provide examples.
If no, explain how practitioners are supported with this work.
d) Do you provide later life letters to care experienced young people (Care Leavers)? If yes, at what age are they provided?
3. Please answer specifically in relation to children who are Child in Need/Child Protection
a) Do you undertake life story work with children who are classed as children in need/children subject to a child protection plan?
If yes, do you have a policy/procedure in relation to life story work?
If yes, please provide a copy.
If no, please state if work is underway to develop a policy/procedure.
If yes, do you have guidance available for practitioners to support them in life story work?
If yes, please provide a copy.
If yes, do you provide practice tools to support practitioners with life story work?
If yes, please describe them or provide examples.
4. Please answer specifically in relation to children involved in the Public Law Outline framework
a) Do you undertake life story work with children who you are engaged with via the Public Law Outline framework?
If yes, do you have a policy/procedure in relation to life story work?
If yes, please provide a copy.
If no, please state if work is underway to develop a policy/procedure.
If yes, do you have guidance available for practitioners to support them in life story work?
If yes, please provide a copy.
If yes, do you provide practice tools to support practitioners with life story work?
If yes, please describe them or provide examples.
5. Please answer specifically in relation to children with a Permanence Order (Special Guardianship / Child Arrangement)
a) Do you undertake life story work with children who you are engaged with who are subject to a permanence order via a Special Guardianship Order or Child Arrangement Order if the child is living outside of parental care?
If yes, do you have a policy/procedure in relation to life story work?
If yes, please provide a copy.
If no, please state if work is underway to develop a policy/procedure.
If yes, do you have guidance available for practitioners to support them in life story work?
If yes, please provide a copy.
If yes, do you provide practice tools to support practitioners with life story work?
If yes, please describe them or provide examples.
6. Please answer specifically in relation to children in a Private Fostering arrangement
a) Do you undertake any life story work for children you are engaged with via the private fostering regulations?
If yes, please provide details.
Please answer in relation to all categories above
1. Do you have a framework in place to track performance in relation to life story work? If yes, please provide a copy/detail.
2. Do you have any internally developed performance indicators in relation to completion of life story work? If yes, please provide the performance indicators that are internally reported on.
3. Do you have a quality assurance framework which specifically incorporates life story work? If yes, please provide a copy.
If no, explain how the quality of life story work is monitored within your Local Authority.
4. Please state who your life story work provider is?
If you do not have a life story work provider, please explain how this is managed within your local authority.
5. Does your local authority provide life story work training for practitioners? If yes, please provide details including whether this is provided internally or commissioned. If no, how do you support practitioners in developing their skills in engaging children and young people in life story work.
6. How many Therapeutic Practitioners does your organization employ directly? If none, please state. If you do employ directly, how many do you have (full-time equivalent) and what percentage of their time is dedicated to engaging children specifically with life story work?
If yes above, who provides the Therapeutic Practitioners with clinical supervision? - Decision
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1. 5.1.9 Life Story Work (proceduresonline.com)
a. Yes. Available at: 5.1.9 Life Story Work (proceduresonline.com).
b. Yes. Life Story Work (proceduresonline.com).
c. Yes. Practitioners are provided with a wide range of tools and training courses including, Signs of safety words and pictures training, family finding training.
2.
a. See answers above.
b. See answers above.
c. See answers above.
d. Yes - these are written at the end of care proceedings or at any time which the social worker feels would be helpful for the child.
3. Same as above.
4. Same as above.
5. Same as above.
6.
a. Yes where relevant - not all Private fostering arrangements are permanent.
1. No.
2. No.
3. No. Quality Assurance (QA) is completed by team managers.
4. Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) have dedicated life story practitioners employed within the service, social workers/early help practitioners are all trained to complete words and pictures/life story work.
5. Yes, provided internally.
6. All social workers and early help workers have access to trauma informed training, LCC also have a number of practitioners trained in various therapies across the service, along with children’s health practitioners, Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT), Healthy Minds, Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) practitioners, occupational therapists, and psychologists.
This varies according to which service the practitioners are based in but includes CAMHS, Psychologists, Occupational Therapists.
- Reference number
- 4940201
- Date request received
- 30 August 2022
- Date of decision
- 7 September 2022