The Lead Professional
Evidence from practice suggests that appointing a lead professional is central to the effective frontline delivery of integrated services for children with a range of additional needs. Delivered in the context of multi-agency assessment and planning, underpinned by CAF or relevant specialist assessments, it ensures that professional involvement is rationalised, co-ordinated and communicated effectively.
More importantly, it helps to overcome some of the frustrations traditionally experienced by service users with a range of needs, requiring input from a range of practitioners, for example:
numerous lengthy meetings;
lack of co-ordination;
conflicting and confusing advice;
not knowing who to speak to;
the right support not being available at the right time.
the vision for the lead professional
All children and young people with additional needs (including complex needs),
who require integrated support from more than one practitioner, should experience
a seamless and effective service where one practitioner takes the lead to ensure
that services are co-ordinated, coherent and achieving intended outcomes.
It can also help alleviate the frustrations often felt by practitioners, for example:
difficulties in accessing specialist help;
inadequate, misleading or inappropriate referral information;
barriers to information sharing and communication problems;
over-large and bureaucratic case conferences and management meetings, to the
detriment of delivering early intervention support.
The functions of the lead professional
Who can be a lead professional?
The lead professional is not a job title or a new role, but a set of functions to be
carried out as part of the delivery of effective integrated support. These functions are
to:
Act as a single point of contact for the child or family, who they can trust and
who can engage them in making choices, navigating their way through the system
and effecting change.
Co-ordinate the delivery of the actions agreed by the practitioners involved,
to ensure that children and families receive an effective service which is regularly
reviewed. These actions will be based on the outcome of the assessment and
recorded in a plan.
Reduce overlap and inconsistency in the services received.
The lead professional is not a job title or a new role, but a set of functions to be
carried out as part of the delivery of effective integrated support. These functions are
to:
- Act as a single point of contact for the child or family, who they can trust and
who can engage them in making choices, navigating their way through the system
and effecting change. - Co-ordinate the delivery of the actions agreed by the practitioners involved,
to ensure that children and families receive an effective service which is regularly
reviewed. These actions will be based on the outcome of the assessment and
recorded in a plan. - Reduce overlap and inconsistency in the services received.
An important principle underpinning these functions is that the lead professional should ensure that the child and family remain central to any decisions made, and should provide them with sufficient information to empower them to make their own decisions, acting as a sounding board if necessary. The aim is that these functions become ‘embedded’ within a practitioner’s wider remit so that a range of people are able to act as the lead professional. All practitioners are likely to have other tasks and responsibilities in relation to the children they are working with. An exception to this is the ‘designated’ model of key working that operates, for example, for some children with disabilities. In these cases, the practitioner is employed exclusively to provide a lead role (i.e. as a key worker).
Tasks
The list below gives some examples of the tasks a Lead professional may need to carry out to deliver the functions above:
The list below gives some examples of the tasks a Lead professional may need to carry out to deliver the functions above:
Build a trusting relationship with the child and family (or other carers) to secure their
engagement and involvement in the process.
Be a sounding board for them to ask questions, discuss concerns and act as the
single point of contact and communication for them and the involved agencies.
Co-ordinate the delivery of an agreed set of actions which provide a solutionfocused
package of support and co-ordinate the process by which this will be
regularly reviewed and monitored.
Identify where additional services may need to be involved and put processes in
place for brokering their involvement (this may need to be carried out by their line
manager rather than by the lead professional themselves).
Be the single point of contact for all practitioners who are delivering services to the
child, including staff in universal health and education services, to ensure that the
child continues to access this support.
Continue to support the child or family if more specialist assessments need to be
carried out.
Support the child through key transition points but, where necessary, ensure a
careful and planned ‘handover’ takes place if it is more appropriate for someone
else to be the lead professional.
