Child and Family Feedback

Knowsley Early Help and Children's Social Care (EH & CSC) is committed to learning from the views of children and families in receipt of services.

A number of tools have been developed in order to obtain feedback, in particular from Cared for Children, in order to ensure that plans and services are responsive to their views. Children are asked to complete 'All About Me' documents as part of both Children Looked After (CLA) and PEP review processes. For children in foster care there are feedback forms that give children an opportunity to comment on their experience of being in foster care and forms that enable them to share their views as part of the foster carer review process.

EH & CSC also seeks to learn from complaints and compliments from both children and families in receipt of services. Complaints that escalate to Stage 2 of the Complaints process are reviewed by the EH & CSC Heads of Service, longside the Executive Assistant Director, alongside the Complaints Team  so that any learning can be shared across the services.

Children and families often provide informal feedback in relation to the services they have received. It is important that we continually seek to promote this as their views should inform future developments and be central to case planning. However these positive complements are sent to the Have Your Say team so that good practice is formally recorded and acknowledged. In addition staff Praise channel also shares and celebrates positive feedback across services.

Consultation forms are being developed that can be completed online, however, but hard copies are currently sent to children and families.

Consultation forms are collated by Safeguarding Quality Assurance (SQA) and are be reported on, evaluated, analysed and the findings incorporated into the planning process for Children's Social Care.  Annual surveys are completed and findings analysed and findings included in the Annual IRO Report.

It is intended that the use of surveys should be considered:

• When a specific service has ended;
• When services are continuing but case responsibility is changing from one team to another within Social Care;
• When involvement is closed.

All staff working with children and families should inform them about Satisfaction Surveys prior to ceasing their involvement and encourage them to complete and return the form.

Where English is not the service user's first language, translation of Satisfaction Surveys can be arranged. Similarly adapted versions can, if required be made available to take account of specific disabilities or needs.