On this page, you will find the learning arising from the Making a step change for young carers and their families: Putting it into practice project related to the theme of Assessment, including key messages, tools and resources.

Key Briefing

The Children and Families Act 2014 amended the Children Act to make it easier for young carers to get an assessment of their needs and to introduce ‘whole family’ approaches to assessment and support. Local authorities must offer an assessment where it appears that a child is involved in providing care. Here are some examples of assessment tools that could make up a part of an overall whole family approach to assessment. This guidance has been compiled by Carers Trust and The Children’s Society as part of the Making a step change: Putting it into practice programme.

Read our briefing on Identification and Assessment Pathways.

Webinars & Videos

Video: Promoting engagement through age appropriate young carers assessments

Michelle Harper from Surrey Young Carers speaks about their commitment to involving young carers in every aspect of their service, which resulted in the creation of age appropriate young carers assessments.

Video: Whole family working for young carers

Tracey Hamilton from Eastern Ravens Trust in Stockton-on-Tees shares their practice of offering whole family assessments to identify gaps in support.

National Resources

Assessment for young carers and measuring impact and outcomes

This workshop reviews the legislation around assessments and provides practical tools for measuring the impact of the legislation and the outcomes for young carers and their families.

Common Assessment Framework (CAF)

The CAF is a nationally standardised approach to conducting an assessment of the needs of a child or young person and deciding how those needs should be met. The CAF will promote more effective, earlier identification of children’s additional needs and improve multi-agency working. It is intended to provide a simple, non-bureaucratic process for a holistic assessment of a child’s needs, taking account of the individual, family and community.

More information on the CAF can be found in the CAF Simplified Assessment Workstream

 

Outcomes Star

The Outcomes Star™ both measures and supports progress towards self-reliance or other goals on multiple key areas such as health, caring role, relationships, feelings and behaviours, education and learning, etc. Different versions of the Star include the Carers Star, My Star and the Family Star. Each star is used to capture the voice of the young carer and their family, their needs, and their perspective on the changes they are experiencing.

 

My Life Now Wheel

My Life Now is an individual Assessment and Planning Tool for Young Carers. The tools include both an in depth and quick assessment wheel and a framework for setting goals.