Child Protection Home Visit: Practical Guidance

(You can download the guidance below in a PDF document here.) WHEN THERE IS NO ANSWER WHEN YOU KNOCK: If the family does not answer the door when you knock, listen to/observe any signs of people being present in the If you believe that somebody is…


Parenting styles tool

Parenting style has a significant impact on children’s outcomes and tend to fit under one of four categories: authoritarian, authoritative, indulgent, and neglectful. This tool developed by Cafcass enables parents/carers with the help of a practitioner to consider what parenting style they have and how…


Home Visit Observations of Parent-Child Interactions Questionnaire/Checklist

The toolkit, Parent-Child Interactions: A Home Visitor’s Guide, provides social workers and other practitioners with tips and tools to make the most of the opportunity to observe and influence parent-child interactions. The toolkit includes the following useful tools: Home Visitation Observations of Parent-Child Interactions Template…


Pre-Birth Assessment Tool

This Pre-Birth Assessment Tool is designed to help professionals to carefully consider a range of issues in relation to the mother’s pregnancy and the family’s circumstances and to tease out issues that have potential for having a significant negative impact on the child. The tool draws…


Parenting worksheets (assessment tool)

A useful tool for assessing a parent’s understanding of basic child’s care needs. The worksheets cover the following seven areas: Emotional Development Worksheet Boundaries and Guidance Worksheet Communication Worksheet Play and Stimulation Worksheet Behaviour Worksheet Effects on my child and me Worksheet Stability and Support…


Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS)

Postpartum depression is the most common complication of childbearing. This 10-question self-rating scale has been demonstrated to be an efficient and effective way of identifying patients at risk for “perinatal” depression. While this test was specifically designed for women who are pregnant or have just had…


Ages & Stages Questionnaires ASQ-3 (Child development screening tool)

ASQ-3 is a set of questionnaires about children’s development from 2 to 66 months which can be self-administered by parents/caregivers. Doing this screening provides a quick look at how children are doing in important areas, such as communication, physical ability, social skills, and problem-solving skills….


Impact of Parental Conflict Tool

The tool (developed by Cafcass) contains 10 indicators which can be used in identifying and analysing the emotionally harmful impact of parental conflict on the child.


Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale

This is a 10-item scale, widely used in social-science research, which measures self-esteem by asking service users to reflect on both their current positive and current negative feelings.


The Alcohol Scale

The primary concern of this questionnaire is not the amount of alcohol consumed, but how it impacts on the individual and, more particularly, on their role as a parent. This questionnaire has been found to be effective in detecting individuals with alcohol disorders and those…


The Family Activity Scale

These scales give practitioners an opportunity to explore with carers the environment provided for their children through joint activities and support for independent activities. This includes information about the cultural and ideological environment in which children live, as well as how their carers respond to…


The Recent Life Events Questionnaire

The questionnaire focuses on recent life events (ie. those occurring in the last 12 months) but could be used over a longer time-scale. It is intended to assist in the compilation of a social history. It is expected that the use of the scale will: • result in a…


Adult Wellbeing Scale

This scale looks at how an adult is feeling in terms of depression, anxiety and irritability. The questions are framed in a ‘personal’ fashion (i.e. I feel…, My appetite is…). The scale allows the adult to respond from four possible answers.


The Parenting Daily Hassle Scale

This scale (developed by Crnic and Greenberg, 1990 & Crnic and Booth, 1991) aims to assess the frequency and intensity/impact of 20 potential parenting ‘daily’ hassles experienced by adults caring for children. It has been used in a wide variety of research studies concerned with children and families…


The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire

The questionnaire (developed by Goodman, 1997; Goodman et al, 1998) screens for child emotional and behavioural problems while focusing  on a child’s emotional and behavioural strengths as well as difficulties. It incorporates five scales: pro-social, hyperactivity, emotional problems, conduct (behavioural) problems, and peer problems. The link…


Home Conditions – Assessment Tool

This is a short assessment of the home conditions and their impact on the children who live there.  It considers 20 aspects of home conditions such as odour, cleanliness and home maintenance.  It concludes with a decision about the level of concern, what actions need…


Home Conditions Assessment

Home Conditions Assessment is an 11-item tool which was recommended by the Department of Health in the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families document. It addresses various aspects of the home environment (for example, smell, stated of surfaces in house, floors)….


The Substances And Choices Scale – SACS

The Substances and Choices Scale (SACS) is a brief screening and outcome measurement instrument for assessing and monitoring the use and impact of alcohol and drugs in young people. It is designed to be used by health professionals working with young people that are engaged…


DAST: Drug Abuse Screening Test

The Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST-10) is a 10-item brief screening tool that can be administered by a clinician or self-administered. Each question requires a yes or no response, and the tool can be completed in less than 8 minutes. This tool assesses drug use,…


Alcohol Use Questionnaire

The Alcohol Use Questionnaire recommended by the Department of Health has been found to be effective in detecting adults with alcohol disorders and those with hazardous drinking.


Person Posing A Risk To Children Assessment Framework

This tool is designed to provide a framework for assessing the risk posed by such individuals, who may or may not be convicted. It is intended for use as a framework for discussion with the PPR and other members of the household, (not a form…