Achieving good outcomes for children requires all those with responsibility for assessment and the provision of services to work together according to an agreed plan of action. Effective collaboration requires organisations and people to be clear about:
- their roles and responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children (see the Statutory guidance on making arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children under section 11 of the Children Act 2004 (2007) and Chapter 2);
- the purpose of their activity, the decisions required at each stage of the process and the planned outcomes for the child and family members;
- the legislative basis for the work;
- the policies and procedures to be followed, including the way in which information will be shared across professional boundaries and within agencies, and recorded for each child;
- which organisation, team or professional has lead responsibility and the precise roles of everyone else who is involved, including the way in which children and family members will be involved; and
- any timescales set down in regulations or guidance which govern the completion of assessments, making of plans and timing of reviews.
