Please register here to use the Sheffield Alcohol Screening Tool http://www.alcoholscreeningsheffield.co.uk/content/user-registration
Once registered this online screening tool enables professionals to:
- quickly screen for problematic alcohol use using a validated tool
- engage clients with the easy to use and highly visual format
- with client consent, refer appropriately to Sheffield alcohol services immediately after screening – Likewise Sheffield 01143087000
- print or email personalised brief advice to clients using the information from their screening results
- copy results of the screening, and brief details of the intervention directly into client’s records
The Sheffield Child Exploitation Screening Tool does not replace existing multi-agency safeguarding arrangements that are in place in Sheffield. If you have safeguarding and child protection concerns about a child’s welfare then you should contact the Sheffield Safeguarding Hub, tel. 0114 2734855 to discuss.
The screening tool is designed to be used by all professionals working with children and their parents or carers. A child is defined as a person who is under 18 years of age.
This tool will help you to make an initial judgement regarding the risk of child exploitation. It is neither a specialist assessment or referral form. The tool will help practitioners to focus on the specific child exploitation (CE) evidence, indicators, existing safety and vulnerabilities, and determine whether further investigations are needed by Children’s Social Care or referral to another prevention and early intervention service.
When you are considering a referral to the Sheffield Safeguarding Hub (Children's Social Care) or sharing your concerns with the child’s allocated social worker, this screening tool should form the basis of those discussions and your professional analysis.
Practitioners need to exercise their professional judgement when using this tool because factors such as the child’s age, additional vulnerabilities, their history, may mean that the child is more vulnerable to child exploitation. Professional judgement also includes concerns that you can evidence as well as concerns based ‘gut feeling’. It is important that you differentiate between the two and provide explanation and rationale. It is important to include the child’s strengths and existing safety so that this can be considered.
Your observations of behaviours and any significant changes are important as children will often deny or be unaware that they are being exploited.
The Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse have created an interactive online resource to guide professionals through how they can protect and support children and their families when there are concerns of sexual abuse.
The Response Pathway sets out how to respond to concerns of child sexual abuse at key points: from first concerns and early help safeguarding through to child protection and criminal justice responses. Throughout, it focuses on meeting the needs of children and their families.
It is designed to support professionals in identifying and responding to child sexual abuse, and empower them to learn more about the role they, and their colleagues, can play to best protect and support children.
Endorsed by Sheffield Children Safeguarding Partnership for use by all professionals, the Child Sexual Abuse Response Pathway doesn’t just tell professionals what to do, it helps them understand how to do it.
A new Early Help Assessment form launched in December 2023. It replaces FCAF, Early Help Part 1 and many other assessment and referral forms. It is designed to include the voice of the child whilst avoiding families needing to have multiple assessments. The form supports whole family assessment to identify the right help for families and it is the assessment being used across children's services, adults' services and other agencies working with families throughout the city.
You can find more details on this page Early Help Assessment.
The Hackett Continuum of Children's Sexual Behaviour is the approved screening tool in Sheffield to understand, assess and respond appropriately to harmful sexual behaviour by children and young people. When practitioners are concerned that a child may be exhibiting problematic or harmful sexual behaviour this tool will help to classify the behaviour and then determine the next course of action.
You can find more information and guidance here: sex-and-harmful-sexual-behaviour-by-children
Sheffield has committed to address the harm of neglect by using the Graded Care Profile 2 from the NSPCC. Graded Care Profile 2 is an evidence-based tool that aids practitioners in measuring the quality of care provided to a child by their carer(s).
Practitioners can only use the tool once they have attended and passed a 1-day training course. Check eligibility and book here. If you have already attended the training then check your emails from SCSP training where you will find the links to the Graded Care Profile 2 tools.
You can find more information on neglect here: types-of-abuse
This guidance describes the levels of service available to children and families, according to their needs and any concerns. It applies to a broad range of children and families from those who need a small amount of additional support, to children in need of protection. The guidance supports clarification of what the concern is, what level of service is required, and what to do next.
All the details and the guidance itself are on this page: Threshold of Need Guidance
If you’re a professional working with someone you think may be a young carer in Sheffield, the Young Carers Needs Assessment is a multi-agency tool which any professional can use with a young person.
It is a ‘guided conversation’ designed to:
- involve the young carer in identifying their own needs and potential solutions
- reduce the caring responsibilities placed on the young carer and negative impacts of their caring
- inform your work with the young carer to achieve this
- clarify whether there are Early Support or Targeted Support needs (see Thresholds of Needs Guidance) and whether you need to signpost or refer to additional support agencies or not.
This assessment should be kept by you to inform your own work, but be shared with other agencies to draw in additional support where relevant. NB: always ensure the young person is informed if the assessment is being shared.
The assessment form and further details about statutory duties toward young carers can be found here Young carer assessment | Sheffield City Council