Support children and families through home visiting
Overview
Who is this unit for?
This unit is for those who work without direct supervision to offer support for families in their homes.
What is this unit about?
This unit is about visiting families in their homes to provide support for children or young people and their parents and families.
This unit contains three elements
1. Establish, develop and maintain relationships with families
2. Provide support for families
3. Liaise with colleagues, professionals and agencies to support families
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
Establish, develop and maintain relationships with families
P1 initiate relationships with families by communicating in a respectful and professional manner, using preferred names and titles
P2 make arrangements to visit families at a time that is convenient to them, as agreed with the service
P3 clearly recognise the rights of families and your responsibilities when in their home
P4 negotiate and agree with families what action to take to facilitate understanding when communication difficulties are experienced
P5 demonstrate a non-judgemental attitude that values diversity and recognises cultural, religious and ethnic differences
P6 communicate with families using an open and welcoming approach that is likely to promote trust
P7 discuss confidentiality issues with families in a way which ensures discretion whilst making boundaries, limits and responsibilities clear
P8 discreetly observe interaction between family members and note any issues that may affect your relationship with the family
P9 ensure colleagues are aware of the details and arrangements of the visit
Provide support for families
P10 help families explore their difficulties, identify and express their needs P11 demonstrate empathy and sensitivity when encouraging families to
discuss their family lives
P12 help families explore options and agree the type and level of support they require
P13 clearly identify and agree roles and responsibilities with families
P14 discuss and agree plans for providing support with family members and agree individual goals
P15 help families to access information, and provide support that enhances self-confidence and independence
P16 encourage families to develop personal support networks
P17 provide positive encouragement and recognition of families' efforts P18 adapt and amend plans and agreements in line with families' changing circumstances
Liaise with colleagues, professionals and agencies to support families
P19 report progress with families to colleagues and managers regularly in accordance with agreed policy and practice
P20 inform families and seek their agreement to share information, within the
boundaries of confidentiality and without compromising the well-being of children/young people
P21 ensure that information shared with others is accurate and recorded in line with organisational policy
P22 refer concerns about families to colleagues and other professionals in line with organisational policy and practice
P23 contribute to professional support for families within the boundaries of your role and in agreement with all concerned
P24 contribute to decisions about the continuation or withdrawal of formal support
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
K1 ways in which children and young people benefit through support for their parents and families
K2 how children and young people who themselves act as carers might be identified and supported
K3 how to communicate with families in a professional and respectful manner and why this is important to the development of relationships
K4 the importance of effective communication and where possible and appropriate using people who speak the home language of the family
K5 why it is important to arrange visits to suit families, what action to take if arrangements fail and the likely impact on the development of relationships
K6 why it is important to be clear about roles and responsibilities, boundaries and confidentiality
K7 the legal and organisational responsibilities regarding confidentiality, limits and boundaries and why these are important
K8 the ethical issues relating to home visits, families' rights and your responsibilities in relation to this
K9 why it is important to let colleagues know your visiting arrangements K10 the purpose of visiting individual families and the level and type of
support they are likely to require
K11 how you can encourage families to discuss their problems and concerns with you
K12 why it is important to plan and agree goals with families and how to approach this
K13 the type of information families may need to achieve their goals and likely sources of such information
K14 ways in which you can provide motivation and encouragement to individual family members
K15 the importance of supporting families in ways that enhance their self- confidence and how you would do this
K16 issues which may give cause for concern when home visiting and mechanisms for reporting these
K17 organisational and legal requirements of recording information
K18 why it is important to share with families the information you pass on with regard to home visiting
K19 roles and responsibilities of professionals and other agencies that may be involved in supporting families
K20 how to find out whether parents or other family members have a basic skills need in ways that are sensitive; how to work with them and
signpost to sources of appropriate information
Scope/range
Scope Performance
Scope Knowledge
Values
Behaviours
Skills
Glossary
Families
includes parents (mothers and fathers) and carers and extended and chosen families who contribute significantly to the well-being of individual children and who may or may not have legal responsibility
Parents
those (mothers and fathers) who have formally and legally acknowledged parental responsibility for the continuous care and well-being of the child in question, whether biologically related or not
Links To Other NOS
TDASTL38 Support children with disabilities or special educational needs and their families
TDASTL60 Liaise with parents, carers and families
Origin of this unit
This unit is taken from the National Occupational Standards in Children’s Care, Learning and Development, where it appears as unit CCLD331.
This unit is underpinned by the principles and values for the National Occupational Standards in Children’s Care Learning and Development.