August 2007 Archives

We’ve been out on the road this week collecting more feedback from pilot authorities and are really pleased with the responses we are getting. The general consensus is that you think Inform is a worth while venture. Phew!

We agree with your comments that this project needs to become a multi-disciplinary service to mirror multi-agency working. Our vision for Inform intends to do just this, however, as the saying goes “we must learn to walk before we can run”. We need to ensure we get it right for you, before we branch out. The great thing about the pilot phase is that it gives us a chance to find out exactly what you want from this service.

This week, we have published the following:

Reference manuals:
• Local safeguarding children’s boards

Legislation:
• Guidance on Carers touching on: Carers (recognition and services) Act 1995; Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000 and Carers (equal opportunities) Act 2004
• Guidance on parts of the Chronically sick Act 1970

Research review:
• Supporting parents with learning disabilities and their children: a review

It is really exciting to see the content grow on the website!

We’re just over half way through the pilot phase now and everyone should have had a chance to use the site successfully!

Remember, it’s never too late to let us know how you feel Inform could be improved.

This week, we have published:
• A guide to attachment disorder, this can be found in the practice section
• A reference manual on supporting victims of domestic violence and their families

and two pieces of legislation:
• UN Conventions on the Rights of the Child
• Criminal Justice and Court Service Act 2000

You may have noticed this week, that we have removed block caps from titles of documents. We think this will improve the presentation of the site and importantly make it more user-friendly for inform users. This is a lengthy process, however, and we have not been able to change all the titles in every document displayed. We are working hard to implement these amends, please bear with us.

Thanks to a suggestion from one of the piloters, we have also added a button on the glossary page which will allow you to submit a new or missing glossary term.

And lastly, we will be announcing the winner of the red left gift experience day shortly.

Thank you to everyone who has submitted their feedback survey, there are still quite a few who still need to fill in their forms, do this before Friday (10th) and you will still be in with a chance to win the red letter day gift experience to the value of £250.

Here are a few comments from piloters in their own words…

"CCInform is an ambitious yet desperately needed initiative."

"I really think the site is fantastic, I can’t believe that it hasn’t been done before. I appreciate that the site is work in progress, but the information contained so far would take hours to find if just doing a general search on the internet."

"In terms of quick access to reference manuals, case law, and practice guides this site is wonderful. I have already found it extremely useful in forming my assessments and evidencing arguments made to courts and other professionals. As more content is being added all the time the site can only improve. I very much hope that my local authority will purchase this… A social worker’s dream, answered!"

We really appreciate all your comments. We know it can be very frustrating when your searches return no matches. We do have more reference manuals on their way but due to our strict policy of not publishing the manuals before they have been peer reviewed, it does mean delays occur. We apologise profusely for this, but hope you understand why we follow this policy.

Two more reference manuals have been published this week:
• Children living away from home
• Domestic violence: Working with partner agencies

Along with two more research reviews on:
• Placement arrangements in adoption
• Female genital cutting

This week, we commissioned an expert in the field, Dr Andrew Durham, to write a reference manual on sexual abuse and four research reviews covering the following key areas:
• Processes of sexual abuse and why children and young people find it hard to tell
• Issues relating to impact of child sexual abuse on female victims, male victims, disabled victims, black victims
• Therapeutic work with children and young people who have been sexually abused
• Females who sexually abuse

We are listening carefully to all the feedback you give us and endeavour to meet your needs.