Glossary
People say that the lack of a common language is one of the key barriers to working effectively. This glossary has been produced for managers and practitioners from different backgrounds working in multi-agency settings to promote and facilitate communication and understanding.
The glossary seeks to do this by:
- explaining core concepts and definitions which are commonly confused or misunderstood by practitioners working in a multi-agency setting
- bringing together and explaining overlap between different words that are used by different agencies to explain similar things
- providing a starting point for you to consider how you use terminology appropriately and where you could reduce use of jargon and acronyms
- indicating where terms are falling out of use and other terms are preferred, together with the reasons for this.
The glossary is not:
- aiming to reduce all differences in vocabulary
- a resource for finding out about specialist services or terms. It focuses on commonly misunderstood terms, particularly among practitioners in multi-agency settings working on early intervention
- a comprehensive glossary including all terms used in children's services or terms that are frequently used in multi-agency settings but which are well understood.
Choose a letter
A
- ACPC [See: Area Child Protection Committee]
- ADHD [See: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder]
- APIR [See: Assessment, planning, implementation, review]
- ASBO [See: Anti-Social Behaviour Order]
- Access
- Accommodated
- Additional needs [See: Children with additional needs]
- Allocated case
- Anti-Social Behaviour Order
- Approved social worker
- Area Child Protection Committee
- Assessment of a child
- Assessment, planning, implementation, review
- Asset
- At risk
- Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
- Audit
- Audit Commission
- Autistic spectrum disorder
B
- BEST [See: Behaviour and Education Support Teams]
- Baseline Assessment Profile [See: Foundation Stage Profile]
- Behaviour and Education Support Teams
- Behavioural, emotional and social difficulty
C
- CAF [See: Common Assessment Framework]
- CAFCASS (Child and Family Court Advisory Service)
- CAMHS [See: Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)]
- CHAI (Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection) [See: Healthcare Commission]
- Care order
- Care plan
- Case closed
- Case conference
- Case current
- Case review
- Change teams
- Child
- Child Safety Order
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
- Child and adolescent psychiatrist
- Child protection
- Child protection conference
- Child protection plan
- Child protection register
- Child protection review conference [See: Child protection conference]
- Child psychotherapist
- Childcare
- Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000
- Children and Young Persons Act 2008
- Children in care
- Children in need
- Children missing education (CME)
- Children with additional needs
- Children with complex needs
- Children's Commissioner
- Children's Fund
- Children's NSF [See: National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services]
- Children's Plan
- Children's Trusts
- Children's centres
- Children's guardian
- Children's workforce
- Choice Protects
- Clinical Psychologist
- Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (CHAI) [See: Healthcare Commission]
- Commission for Social Care Inspection
- Commissioning
- Common Assessment Framework
- Common Core
- Conduct disorder
- Connexions
- Connexions Direct
- Contact
- Core group
- Corporate parenting
- Counselling
D
- Designated senior person for child protection
- Designated teacher
- Developmental delay
- Differentiation
- Director of Children's Services
- Disabled
- Disapplication
- Drug Action Teams
- Duty officer
- Duty to Co-operate
- Dyscalculia
- Dyslexia
- Dyspraxia
E
- EBD (Emotional and behavioural difficulties) [See: Behavioural, emotional and social difficulty]
- EWO [See: Education welfare officer (EWO)]
- Early Years Action
- Early Years Action Plus
- Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships
- Early intervention
- Early years
- Education Action Zones
- Education Supervision Order
- Education otherwise
- Education welfare officer (EWO)
- Educational psychologist
- Elective home education
- Emergency Protection Order
- Emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) [See: Behavioural, emotional and social difficulty]
- Episode
- Episode coordinator
- Equasym [See: Methylphenidate]
- Evidence-based practice
- Excellence in Cities
- Extended schools
F
- FRANK
- Failure to thrive
- Faltering growth [See: Failure to thrive]
- Family and friends care
- Family therapy
- Formulation
- Foundation Stage Profile
- Foundation stage
- Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families
- Fraser competency
G
- Guardian ad Litem [See: Children's guardian]
H
- Health promotion
- Healthcare Commission
- Higher level teaching assistant (HLTA)
- Home-school agreement
- House of Lords Decision Re: S and Re: W [2002] 1 FLR 815
- Hyperactivity [See: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder]
- Hyperkinetic disorder (or Hyperkinesis)
I
- IRO [See: Independent reviewing officer]
- Inclusion
- Independent reviewing officer
- Individual education plan
- Infant
- Initial child protection conference [See: Child protection conference]
- Integrated children's system
- Integration
J
K
- Key Stages
- Kinship care [See: Family and friends care]
L
- LSCB [See: Local Safeguarding Children Board]
- Lead member for children's services
- Lead professional
- Learning Support Units
- Learning and Skills Council
- Learning difficulty
- Learning disability
- Learning support unit
- Local Safeguarding Children Board
- Local authority lead officer for children's services
- Local authority secure children's home [See: Secure accommodation]
- Looked after
M
- MAPPA (Multi agency public protection arrangements)
- Mainstream services
- Methylphenidate
- Middle school
- Moderate learning difficulty
N
- NEET (not in education, employment or training)
- NSF [See: National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services]
- National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services
- National Service Frameworks
- National curriculum levels
- National register of unaccompanied children
- Needs [See: Children with complex needs]
- Needs [See: Children with additional needs]
- Needs [See: Children in need]
- Note in lieu
O
- ONSET
- Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills)
- Oppositional defiant disorder
- Outcomes
- Outcomes framework
P
- PAYP [See: Positive Activities for Young People (PAYP)]
- PCT [See: Primary Care Trust]
- PRU [See: Pupil referral unit]
- Parental responsibility
- Parenting order
- Pastoral support programme
- Pathway plan
- Personal adviser
- Personal education plan
- Placement
- Police protection
- Portage
- Positive Activities for Young People (PAYP)
- Practitioner
- Preventative [See: Preventive]
- Preventive
- Primary Care Trust
- Primary care
- Profound and multiple learning difficulty
- Protocol
- Psychiatrist [See: Child and adolescent psychiatrist]
- Psychologist [See: Educational psychologist]
- Psychologist [See: Clinical Psychologist]
- Psychotherapist [See: Child psychotherapist]
- Pupil referral unit
Q
R
- Register of disabled children
- Residence Order
- Ritalin [See: Methylphenidate]
S
- SCIE [See: Social Care Institute of Excellence (SCIE)]
- SENDA [See: Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001]
- SENDIST [See: Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST)]
- Safeguarding
- School Action
- School Action Plus
- School support staff
- Secondary care
- Section 47 enquiries
- Secure accommodation
- Secure accommodation order
- Secure children's home [See: Secure accommodation]
- Secure training centre [See: Secure accommodation]
- Secure unit
- Severe learning difficulty
- Significant harm
- Social Care Institute of Excellence (SCIE)
- Social exclusion
- Special Educational Needs (SEN) Code of Practice
- Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001
- Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST)
- Special educational needs
- Special educational needs co-ordinator
- Special measures
- Specialist services
- Specific learning difficulty
- Statement of special educational needs
- Statutory assessment
- Statutory review
- Substance misuse
- Supervision
- Supervision order
- Sure Start
- Sure Start Plus
T
- Targeted services
- Teaching assistant
- Team around the child (TAC)
- The third sector
- Tiered service models
- Transition plan
U
- Unaccompanied asylum seeking child
- Unallocated case
- Unique pupil number
- Universal services
- Updated Drug Strategy 2002





