Multi-agency working

The text below is taken from the Common Core of Skills and Knowledge for the Children's Workforce. You can also download a PDF version of the document.

Multi-agency working is about different services, agencies and teams of professionals and other staff working together to provide the services that fully meet the needs of children, young people and their parents or carers.

To work successfully on a multi-agency basis you need to be clear about your own role and aware of the roles of other professionals, you need to be confident about your own standards and targets and respectful of those that apply to other services, actively seeking and respecting the knowledge and input others can make to delivering best outcomes for children and young people. These behaviours should apply across the public, private and voluntary sectors.

Skills

Communication and teamwork

• Communicate effectively with other practitioners and professionals by listening and ensuring that you are being listened to.
• Appreciate that others may not have the same understanding of professional terms and may interpret abbreviations such as acronyms differently.
• Provide timely, appropriate, succinct information to enable other practitioners to deliver their support to the child or young person, parent or carer.
• Record, summarise, share and feed back information, using IT skills where necessary to do so.
• Work in a team context, forging and sustaining relationships across agencies and respecting the contribution of others working with children, young people and families.
• Share experience through formal and informal exchanges and work with adults who are parents/carers.

Assertiveness

• Be proactive, initiate necessary action and be able and prepared to put forward your own judgements.
• Have the confidence to challenge situations by looking beyond your immediate role and asking considered questions.
• Present facts and judgements objectively.
• Identify possible sources of support within your own working environment.
• Judge when you should provide the support yourself and when you should refer the situation to another practitioner or professional.

Knowledge

Your role and remit

• Know your main job and responsibilities within your working environment.
• Know the value and expertise you bring to a team and that brought by your colleagues.

Know how to make queries

• Know your role within different group situations and how you contribute to the overall group process, understanding the value of sharing how you approach your role with other professionals.
• Develop your skills and knowledge with training from experts, to minimise the need for referral to specialist services, enabling continuity for the family, child or young person while enhancing your own skills and knowledge.
• Have a general knowledge and understanding of the range of organisations and individuals working with children, young people and those caring for them, and be aware of the roles and responsibilities of other professionals.

Procedures and working methods

• Know what to do in given cases, e.g. for referrals or raising concerns.
• Know what the triggers are for reporting incidents or unexpected behaviour.
• Know how to work within your own and other organisational values, beliefs and cultures.
• Know what to do when there is an insufficient response from other organisations or agencies, while maintaining a focus on what is in the child or young person's best interests.
• Understand the way that partner services operate their procedures, objectives, role and relationships in order to be able to work effectively alongside them.
• Know about the Common Assessment Framework for Children and Young People (CAF) and, where appropriate, how to use it.

The law policies and procedures

• Know about the existence of key laws relating to children and young people and where to obtain further information.
• Know about employers' safeguarding and health and safety policies and procedures, and how they apply in the wider working environment.