Standard 6: Holistic assessment

We will:

• focus on children’s safety and needs
• include children, their family and all other important people
• think about the safety of children, no matter where they live
• find and invite extended family and community members to be involved
• talk to and work with families in a way that meets their needs
• spend time with children at their home and in other places, alone and while they are with their siblings, parents or carers
• respect children and their families as the experts in their life
• think of and respect each person’s identity and experiences – including their culture, gender, sexuality, disability, and family history
• use professional tools, knowledge and skills to understand how children have, or could be, harmed and to build safety
• think through all information carefully, and all the possibilities about what has happened and why
• make timely decisions based on evidence
• make sure that any decision to stop working with a family is in the best interests of the child, is well planned and all people involved with the family are included