Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC): child's plan - practice statement

3. When should a child’s plan within GIRFEC be considered?

Children and young people have the right to appropriate support from their families and communities to enable them to reach their full potential across all aspects of wellbeing.

Where a wellbeing need has been identified, practitioners working with the child or young person or a family member, including the named person where appropriate, should ask themselves the five GIRFEC questions:

• What is getting in the way of this child or young person’s wellbeing?
• Do I have all the information I need to help this child or young person?
• What can I do now that is needed and appropriate to help this child or young person?
• What can my agency or organisation do now to help this child or young person?
• What additional help, if any, may be needed from others?

If additional support is required for the child or young person and this can be provided by the agency that has identified the wellbeing need, a single agency child’s plan can be initiated with agreement of the child or young person and their family. For example, to modify a child or young person’s learning environment if a need has been identified within their education setting, or to co-ordinate a number of different health supports.

If it is assessed that the additional support required involves more than one agency, the practitioner should discuss the benefits of arranging a meeting between multi-agency partners with the child or young person and their family. If they agree, a meeting can be arranged and a lead professional appointed.

Where the support of a named person is accepted by the child or young person and their family, the named person should remain a key partner to the child’s plan regardless of whether they are the agreed lead professional. There is no obligation on the children, young people or their families to accept the support of a named person acting in that role alone, however, they may still have a role within the child's plan, for example as a guidance teacher on behalf of the school or as health visitor.

An assessment of wellbeing should seek to identify all the factors in the child or young person’s life which may be affecting their physical, mental or emotional wellbeing. This will help establish how best to support the child or young person. This process should also include an assessment utilising the My World Triangle and Resilience Matrix as outlined in Practice Guidance 1 - Using the National Practice Model, and the agreement of shared, desired outcomes using the Wellbeing Wheel, which will form the basis of the multi-agency child’s plan.