What is the Common Assessment Framework?
The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is a key element to enable the delivery of frontline services that are integrated and focused around the needs of children and young people. The CAF is a standardised approach to conducting an assessment of a child's additional needs and deciding how those needs should be met.
The CAF will promote more effective, earlier identification of additional needs, particularly in universal services. It is intended to provide a simple process for a holistic assessment of a child's needs and strengths, taking account of the role of parents, carers and environmental factors on their development.
Practitioners will then be better placed to agree, with the child and family, about what support is appropriate. The CAF will also help to improve integrated working by promoting co-ordinated service provision.
What constitutes a CAF?
- A simple pre-assessment checklist to help practitioners identify children who would benefit from a common assessment
- A process for undertaking a common assessment to help practitioners gather and understand information about the needs and strengths of the child based on discussions with the child, their family and other practitioners as appropriate
- A standard form to enable practitioners to record, and, where appropriate, share with others the findings from the assessment.
What are the benefits of CAF?
The CAF will support practitioners to take a holistic approach when assessing the additional needs of the child or young person.
The CAF is an assessment that is common across children’s services. It will help practitioners to use a shared language, and support better understanding and communications. It will reduce the scale of different assessments that some children and young people experience and facilitate earlier intervention.
The CAF can help to identify whether a specialist assessment is necessary and avoid duplication by building up on accurate information.
