At organisational level, the Risk Model provides organisations with a risk management system for ensuring consistency of practice in Children's Services and a formal approach to the management of risk.
At individual case level, the Risk Model is a practice tool to assist social workers to assess the threshold of risk of significant harm. It is this threshold that determines many of the duties of Local Authorities in the areas of child protection and care proceedings.
The Risk Model focusses on assessing whether there is harm and if so, whether the harm is significant? It provides an analysis framework to consider the information available and make decisions. It is a progressive model; providing an initial screening stage and then a further detailed risk assessment format if that was necessary. Where required, other specialist assessment tools are available to inform the assessment.
It has two stages. Stage 1 is risk screening. Screening all cases routinely allows you to check if there are any concerns about significant harm in the case, at that time. This is often called Risk 1. Many Authorities implement Risk 1 in supervision. All cases can be screened, ensuring nothing is missed.
The second stage is Stage 2 or Risk 2. This is a formal risk assessment that can be used on cases when that is necessary.
The Risk Model was developed to assist social workers and managers in casework. It was triggered by a question from a practitioner who needed to present the Court with a risk assessment. At that time, the Assessment Framework was in place with formats such as the Core Assessments document. None of the formats at the time were considered appropriate by the Court for understanding issues around risk. The Risk Model was developed to provide a format for risk assessment in Children Services.
This is one of the most important decisions within Children Services. It is the threshold of significant harm that determines whether Local Authorities have a duty to intervene or otherwise have to respect the private lives of families.
The Risk Model was developed by Gwynedd Children Service and Bruce Thornton of JBT Training and Consultancy.
The Risk Model was developed by Gwynedd Children Services. It has been implemented in over 18 Local Authorities across England and Wales. This includes 9 Authorities in Wales and 9 in England.
It has also been modified for use in Family Justice for CAFCASS Cymru and also adapted for use in early intervention services in a large metropolitan Authority in England.
The Risk Model focusses on some of the most challenging decisions in Children Services in the UK. Because of this, it is important that the Risk Model is implemented carefully and that staff are trained to use it.
Bruce Thornton, who co-authored the Risk Model with Dafydd Paul provides training and advises Authorities about their plans to introduce the Risk Model into practice. To contact Bruce Thornton please email him on bruce.thornton@btinternet.com or through his website at www.bruce-thornton.info.
Stage 1 – Risk Screening - The process of risk screening asks a brief question. “Do you have any concerns about the likelihood of significant harm?”
Of course, to answer this screening question the worker needs to have a good understanding of the concept of ‘significant harm.’ This understanding is developed through training and supported with guidance documents such as the Significant Harm Supplement. This refers to the Case Law that has developed to clarify the definition of significant harm.
Stage 2 - Risk Assessment (or ‘Risk 2’) gathers information across a range of different areas. It gathers information about the critical components of assessing risk. These include:
- Understanding the capacity of the parents/carers
- Understanding the needs of the child
- Assessing the level of harm
- Classifying the harm
- Predicting the likelihood of future harm
- Considering whether the harm is significant
After considering and gathering information, it leads to an analysis of the information and to decisions.
One of the other versions of the Stage 2 Risk Assessment is specially designed for pre-birth risk assessment. This has a different focus as it predicts likelihood of significant harm when the child is born. It also has a special Pre-birth Supplement to support the assessment.
As part of Stage 2 – Risk Assessment the assessor is asked to summarise professional opinion in two key areas. These are whether the parents/carers have the capacity to meet the child's needs and protect them from harm and secondly, to what degree are the child's needs being met?
In the question about meeting the child's needs, the term ‘critical need’ is used. It is important that this is accurately judged as it determines how much evidence of harm is indicated. ‘Critical need’ should not be interpreted using the common language use of the word ‘critical.’
A ‘critical need’ is best judged by asking the question – is this a matter of ‘life and limb,’ a matter so serious if unmet to cause the child substantial short or long term harm? This judgement would be obvious and beyond doubt by any reasonable person.
In the Risk Model ‘critical need’ should not be treated in the way it is used in common language. Avoid asking is it critical that a child goes to school? Or is it critical they see a dentist? These things are important and society would want these things to be in place for children. This may well be an unmet need. However, this is not a ‘critical need’ in the context of Risk 2.
As a definition, think of it in the same way you'd remember that ‘significant harm’ was a legal concept. That it had a different meaning to the way ‘significant’ is used as a word in common language and in other contexts.
The Risk Model has been developed from front line practice. It was not developed from academic research.
The Risk Model is a practice framework to support evidence based practice. It has been developed from practice research, based on how the definition of various elements of harm and significance are defined through emerging Case Law.
The assessment gathers information and analyses evidence; structures this through analysis into decision making that is evidence based.
Assessment in Children Services is based on a holistic assessment of care and support needs. However, often the concerns are very specific. For example, within assessments including risk assessments, there may be a need to understand a parent's capacity to change or objectively assess the home conditions in cases of neglect.
Specialist tools can provide a focus on these areas. These are catalogued in the Risk Model and are clustered according to themes such as Substance Misuse or Domestic Violence. Over 30 tools have been integrated into the Risk Model. Several of these are widely available tools such as Home Conditions, Graded Care Profile and Strengths and Weaknesses. Others have been specially developed including three Parental Capacity to Change tools, Young Carer Assessment and the Resilience Checklist.
The Risk Model was developed by Gwynedd Council and Bruce Thornton. Gwynedd Council's vision is that practice innovation in Children Services is shared.
The Risk Model supports decision making in the most difficult areas of social work practice. The model's integrity depends on its use by skilled practitioners. To avoid the Risk Model being misused or its validity in practice being undermined; it is controlled through JBT Training and Consultancy. They can provide the necessary training and support.
The Risk Model© is copyrighted therefore to ensure its appropriate implementation.
Organisations, consultant or trainers wishing to access or use the materials in any way must seek written permission. The minimum requirement is that organisations are informed of the underpinning principles of the Risk Model, and undertake to implement the model in a way that maintains its integrity.
Organisations who have successfully implemented the Risk Model have made use of some of the implementation services available. They have also invested in the development of internal capacity to ensure the benefits are fully realised by the organisation and that this is also sustainable.
The benefits of using the Risk Model include:
- Social workers and managers report increased clarity and confidence in decision making.
- Social workers report an improvement in their credibility in multi-agency meetings and Court settings.
- Senior Managers report improved consistency and quality of decision making across the organisation.
- Senior Managers were reassured that the risk of significant harm was being routinely and regularly assessed and a progressive approach to managing risk was in place.
- Safeguarding Boards sponsored joint implementation training which has led to other agencies using the tools. This has enhanced assessment (including CAF), improved referrals to Children's Social Care and clarified thresholds across agencies.
- Senior Managers observe the increased public and regulatory credibility of their service.
- Child Protection Conference Chairs commented on the improved quality of risk assessment.
“Our Children's Services uses the risk model as part of a set of assessment tools. It has proved useful in practice for assessments in safeguarding and court work. Social workers and managers have found increased confidence and consistency in decision making. It also provides a standardised tool for recording the evidence base for assessments which presents well to managers and other agencies.”
Head of Safeguarding Support, Liverpool City Council.
“The Risk Model offers us a structured approach to our threshold decisions. It supports front line practice, with social workers reporting greater confidence in decision making using their professional opinion. Embedding this continues to be a challenge. Integrating Risk 1 into other processes, in particular supervision made a huge difference. The model promotes safeguarding for individual children and also reassures me that the risk of significant harm is being managed across the whole service.”
Head of Children Services, Gwynedd Council.
“Safeguarding officers who chair Child Protection Conferences indicate that where this new risk assessment tool is used, the quality of work is good with risks clearly identified.”
Ofsted 2011