The Lead Professional

[jomica]

http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/delive...adprofessional/

 

Hi Everyone

 

I've just been reading the new information on this link - it's headlined like this:

 

The Every Child Matters: Change for Children programme is working to ensure that children and young people who have additional needs achieve better outcomes and have a better experience of services through the provision of integrated support.

 

What do you think? Will having a lead professional help us and our children. Will getting the wrong person (I can just imagine getting our ASD specialist teacher) seriously hinder our case?

 

I wonder whether this is a step forward, or just another barrier that we're going to have to negotiate ...... ?

[Kazzen161]

The bit I read said that the lead professional will be different for each case - all the professionals involved are supposed to have a discussion and agree who is most appropriate to be the lead profesional. That person is then responsible for making sure everything that is agreed, does happen.

 

I can't see many professionals being eager to be the lead professional - the way education and SS work at the moment, it is very hard to imagine!

 

 

Karen

[Debs]

Hiya jomica

For lead professional you can also say Keyworker. I know that a lot of areas are now putting into place this way of working. This professional will co-ordinate the package of care that each child receives, the other key word here is 'integrated' as in integrated support or services which means that the lead professional will co-ordinate across all agencies that have an input into your child - health, social services, education, connexions, voluntary sector.

This professional will do as much or as little as you want them to, and also you will have a say in who this person is, it is in the interest of the different organisations for the parent and child to be comfortable with their lead professional as this will aid smoother interactions etc.

How the lead professional works is up to each area, this person may already be a professional who is known to you and has the most input into your childs care but they will retain their primary role as an OT or Social Worker or SENCO etc or, as is happening in some areas the keyworker/lead professional is a separate role and will only be a lead professional/keyworker.

Within my professional life I have been working with keyworkers for quite a while now and have only had positive outcomes, they know who is involved, where to signpost families, who to chase up etc I see it as a way of taking some of the pressure off families. HOWEVER, it has to be done well and with the right commitment behind it and with the child and family at the heart of it.

 

Hope this explains it!!

Debs xx

[pumpkinpie]

I think this is very much a mater of interpretation. In our area they are still debating who will be the lead professional, will it be the person who knows the family best, someone who is part of a team managing families and the paper work. In our area its a paper exercise rather than a real commitmant to disabled children and their families.

[oracle]

In may area they are still trying to decide if we will indeed have a Lead Professional I prefer Key Worker the Lead Professional gives me a vision of a complete pratt (sorry) and if you read the autism exemplar then we are all supposed to have a Key Worker But of course this is once again only guidance and not law.

 

I keep ringing SS and asking when these people are going to be appointed? I'm still waiting for an answer.

 

Oracle

[Flora]

On one of our visits to the secondary school, the SENCO introduced us to the learning support manager and told us that she is going to be William's Key worker when he starts there in September. I wonder if this is the same thing?

 

Lauren

[LKS]

On both of my children's statements Lauren it says *** will have a keyworker to liase between home and school so as to ensure consistent approach for all academc and social learning activities. Such weekly liason between home and school could be further supported by a termly multi-disciplinary review and monitoring arrangements. This will ensure a consistent approach throughout all areas of her educational life. You can guess how much this has happened My keyworker was the senco, I had no choice in that. So I suppose this isn't quite the same thing as is going to happen. Wouldn't it be just great to have someone making sure that everything that is supposed to happen for your child does happen.