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Save ContactPoint: Background and trailblazers
Lord Laming's 2003 report into the death of Victoria Climbié made a number of recommendations and led to the development of the Every Child Matters (ECM) programme. One of the recommendations was that the Government investigate the feasibility of a database that covered all children; and provided basic identifying details and contact details for practitioners and services involved with the child.
In 2004, an independent feasibility study confirmed that a national approach was operationally and technically possible. The ContactPoint concept, previously known by the working title the Information Sharing Index (IS), was developed through extensive consultations and workshops with a wide range of stakeholders throughout the initial design stage.
These consultations helped define a number of basic requirements for ContactPoint which applied across children's services. One of the conclusions that arose from the trailblazer work and consultation was that a national system is essential, because many children access services in different LAs or move between LAs.
Trailblazer project
Nine LAs piloted a range of local index approaches. These pilots had the common element of holding basic information on every child in at least part of their local area.
The trailblazers' experience has demonstrated that this type of tool produces key benefits:
- improved services for children, young people and families
- faster and more effective intervention before problems become serious, because practitioners have a fuller picture of children and young people's needs
- reduction in the unproductive time spent by practitioners trying to find out which other services are involved with a child and trying to contact the right person
- quicker assessments of whether a child is receiving universal services (education, primary health care).
It was also found that training is best established within the wider context of integrated working.
'It has helped me to save time normally spent tracking down who is involved with the same child. This also meant that work wasn't duplicated and most importantly the child and family experienced joined-up support.' Family support worker, trailblazer area.
'Previously families could have had different services knocking on the door on different days, having to answer the same questions over and over, which can be very distressing for them. Now it is so much easier to coordinate services, which is better for everyone, especially the families involved.'
Senior inclusion officer, trailblazer area.
For more information, read the trailblazer case studies and findings.
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Last updated on 26/01/2009
