Assessment Patrick Ayre Department of Applied Social Studies University of Bedfordshire Park Square,...

Assessment

Patrick Ayre

Department of Applied Social Studies

University of Bedfordshire

Park Square, Luton

email: pga@patrickayre.co.uk

web: http://patrickayre.co.uk

Our image of assessment

A ssessm ent

The reality of assessment?

A ssessm ent

Assessments

Assessment work is complex and emotionally demanding

Collation and analysis of large bodies of information from multiple sources

Continuous series of mini-decisions about what to collect, how to collect

Each mini-decision has an impact on the assessment

The chain of reasoning

Facts

Analysis/summary

Conclusions and recommendations

The facts

‘It is the task of practitioners to share, sift, search for and weigh the significance of their information’ (Morrison 2009)

The facts

Family composition (attach a genogram)

Background history (family and individual)

Recent events

The facts

Tell the story chronologically without too much editorialising

Facts sufficient support your argument and also to refute counter arguments

First hand evidence is best but give source of any information

Make sure that you have put information as fully and accurately as possible (Checklist: Who, what, when, where, how)

Seeking strong evidence

Information may be: Ambiguous Missing Assumption-led

But can become ‘firm-ground’ if further enquiries are made or it is explored further

Bias and Balance

Include information favourable to ‘the other side’ as well as that favourable to yours

It is your job to make judgements but: – avoid empty evaluative words like

inappropriate, worrying, inadequate – Give evidence for descriptive words like

cold, dirty and untidy Beware the danger of facts

Bias and Balance

Born in 1942, he was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment at the age of 25. After 5 unsuccessful fights, he gave up his attempt to make a career in boxing in 1981 and has since had no other regular employment

Lies, damned lies and killer breadResearch on bread indicates that More than 98 percent of convicted felons are bread users. Half of all children who grow up in bread-consuming

households score below average on standardized tests. More than 90 percent of violent crimes are committed within

24 hours of eating bread. Primitive tribal societies that have no bread exhibit a low

incidence of cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, and osteoporosis.

In the 18th century, when much more bread was eaten, the average life expectancy was less than 50 years; infant mortality rates were unacceptably high; many women died in childbirth; and diseases such as typhoid, yellow fever, and influenza were common.

Incomplete or out of date

Can you trust a snapshot?

Information handling Picking out the important from a mass of

data Interpretation Decoyed by another problem False certainty; undue faith in a ‘known fact’ Discarding information which does not fit First impressions/assumptions Too trusting/insufficiently critical Distinguishing fact/opinion

Department of Health (1991) Child abuse: A study of inquiry reports, 1980-

1989, HMSO

Fact or opinion?1. There are inadequate play and stimulation

opportunities available. 2. The bruise and swelling are consistent with hitting his

head on the door. 3. This is the first incident of abuse to the child. 4. The flat is unsuitable for bringing up a young child. 5. Mrs Green is good at keeping her flat tidy. 6. Experienced professionals are better at dealing with

child protection issues.7. Children who were abused usually become abusers. 8. The child said his dad hit him. 9. I saw Peter playing with his toys when I last visited. 10. Mrs Green does not display appropriate parenting skills

when relating to her son

Assessment Pitfalls

When faced with an aggressive or frightening family, professionals are reluctant to discuss fears for their own safety and ask for help

Attention is focused on the most visible or pressing problems and other warning signs are not appreciated

Parents’ behaviour, whether co-operative or uncooperative, is often misinterpreted

Not enough weight to information from family friends and neighbours

Not enough attention is paid to what children say, how they look and how they behave

In Cleaver, H, Wattam, C and Cawson, P Assessing Risk in Child Protection, NSPCC, 1998

Child centred assessment

The purpose of assessment is to understand what it is like to be that child or young person (and what it will be like in the future if nothing changes)

Assessment pitfalls

Rule of optimism

Start again syndrome

Natural love

Cultural relativism

Too much

not enough

Analysis

Studies (and SCRs) highlight problems in the quality and level of analysis

Assessments too static and descriptive, resulting in an accumulation of facts that are not analysed in a way that offers an explanation of the situation (Brandon 2008)

But what is analysis?You have gathered lots of information but now what?

All you need to do is ask yourself my favourite question:

“So what?”

You have collected all this data, but what does this mean, for the young person, for the family and for the authority?

Analytic thinking

‘a conscious and controlled process using formal reasoning and explicit data and rules to deliberate and compute a conclusion’ (Munro, 2007)

‘Analysis should be seen as acting like a good secretary keeping a check on the products of intuition, checking them for known biases, developing explanatory theories and testing them rigorously’ (Thiele, 2006)

Intuition and Analysis

Intuitive thinking – unconscious process that allows the integrations of a large amount of information to produce a judgement in an effortless way

Gut feelings: ‘take advantage of the evolved capacity of the brain and are based on rules of thumb that enable us to act fast and with astonishing accuracy’ (Gigerenza, 2007)

Intuition versus Analysis

It is the combination of intuitive and analytic modes that produces the kind of evidence-based practice by which social work knowledge establishes its relevance, expertise and authority

Morrison 2009

Assessment and analysis Suspected injuries and unconfirmed bruises over

limbs - not explained. Previous history of abuse by older sibling - off Child

Protection Register Single mother and new boyfriend Concern by school staff about negligence in hygiene,

clothing and school attendance Growth at the third centile - no medical reason Uncle visiting - ex-convict Mother was abused as a child Financial problems - on social security

Assessment and analysis

“He is a young boy who is confused about his current situation. Until the child care planning meeting confirms the long-term future plans for him he will effectively remain in limbo. This is affecting his ability to feel secure. He is noticeably anxious at school on Mondays prior to contact at home and he therefore learns very little on that day. By Wednesday of each week he calms down again”

Conclusions and recommendations Summarise the main issues and the conclusions

to be drawn from them. (The facts do not necessarily speak for themselves; it is your job to speak for them.)

Define objectives as well as actions Draw conclusions from the facts and

recommendations from the conclusions Explain how you arrived at your conclusions

(Have you demonstrated the factual/theoretical basis for each?)

Consider and discuss alternative possibilities

Conclusions and recommendations In drawing conclusions be aware of the

extent and limitations of your own expertise. Conclusions may be supported by research

(Don’t go outside expertise; be careful with new or controversial theories; be aware of counter arguments)

Your recommendation should usually be specific (not either/or)

Remember: conclusions may be attacked in only two ways– founded on incorrect information– based on incorrect principles of social work

Conclusions and recommendations

Problems:

Unsupported assertions or judgements

Inability or unwillingness to analyse and draw conclusions

Failure to answer the key question: ‘So what?’

Reaching a decision ‘Often a decision is made first and the thinking

done later’ (Thiele, 2006) As humans, we resort to simplifications, short

cuts and quick fixes! We reframe, interpret selectively and reinterpret. We deny, discount and minimise We exaggerate information especially if vivid,

unusual, recent or emotionally laden and We avoid, forget and lose information

Good Assessments Are clear about the purpose, legal status and

potential outcomes Are based on a clear theoretical framework Are clear about context and value base Are collaborative and promote accessibility for

service users Are based on multiple sources of information Value the expertise and understanding service

users bring to their situation Are clear about missing information

Good Assessments

Identify themes and patterns about needs, risks, protective factors and strengths

Generate and test different ways of understanding the situation

Give meaning to themes, using knowledge based on experience/research

Lead to an evidence-based conclusion Use supervision to assist reflection, hypotheses and

objectivity Are able to record and explain outcomes Are reviewed, updated & amended in light of new

information

Spotting the bad ones:Organisational Clues Mythology exists about the family – ‘this

family is/always/behaves like Negative stereotypes about other agencies

exist so their information is discounted Sudden changes about view of risk not

explained Sudden changes of plan not rationally

explained

Worker clues Gut feelings says something is wrong

Worker does not ask difficult questions

Analysis does not account for facts/history

Proposed plan does not address issues raised in assessment

Practitioner is working much harder than the parents to explain significant concerns

The child’s story is missing

Inter-Agency Clues

Agencies have conflicting views of the family/risk

Agencies have strong views but offer ambiguous/limited evidence

Some agencies unwilling to share information

Pressure to agree suppresses permission to question / inter-agency acclimatisation

Family Clues

Parental intentions not supported by actions

Parental optimism involves denial of difficulties

Children's accounts conflict with parents’

Parents’ ‘talk’ about their child is contradictory/lacks coherence

Co-operation is only on the parents’ terms

Focus on parental ability to carry out tasks rather than understanding how history, development and current environment shapes parenting (3Ns)

Failure to give sufficient weight to relevant case history

Facts recorded faithfully but not always critically appraised

Learning from Past Experience Major themes from Serious Case Reviews:

Learning from Past Experience Major themes from Serious Case Reviews:

Importance of comprehensive family assessments, especially male figures

Formal assessment of risk

Failure to make use of diversity information

Understanding ‘chronic abuse’ and the need to accumulate evidence

Learning from Past Experience Major themes from Serious Case Reviews:

Importance of comprehensive family assessments, especially male figures

Formal assessment of risk

Assessment in context of diversity

Understanding ‘chronic abuse’ and the need to accumulate evidence

Risk assessment The dangers involved (that is the feared outcomes);

The hazards and strengths of the situation (that is the factors making it more or less likely that the dangers will realised);

The probability of a dangerous outcome in this case (bearing in mind the strengths and hazards);

The further information required to enable this to be judged accurately; and

The methods by which the likelihood of the feared outcomes could be diminished or removed.

Learning from Past Experience Major themes from Serious Case Reviews:

Importance of comprehensive family assessments, especially male figures

Formal assessment of risk

Assessment in context of diversity

Understanding ‘chronic abuse’ and the need to accumulate evidence

Diversity and assessment

Favourite question again: So what? You have collected all this diversity information but what does it mean for:

– The way I understand this child and family

– The way they understand me

– The way we will work together

Understanding what we see We need to know not just what people do,

but why they do it. What is its significance? what does it mean?

Understand it in its historical and cultural context, how people see the world, the family, childhood, authority

Understanding why someone does something doesn’t make it right

Assessment and diversityThe difference dilemma: Because you do something differently, that doesn’t make you wrong, but it doesn’t make you right either. Equally, doing something like everyone else doesn’t always make you right.

To see ourselves as others see us

To see ourselves as others see us

Ongoing work

We need to manage:

Barriers to effective access

– Physical, linguistic, cultural

Barriers to effective engagement

– Perceptions, attitudes, expectations, starting point, objectives

Learning from Past Experience Major themes from Serious Case Reviews:

Importance of comprehensive family assessments, especially male figures

Formal assessment of risk

Assessment in context of diversity

Understanding ‘chronic abuse’ and the need to accumulate evidence

Assessment of long term abuse

Judging the quality of care is an essential component of any assessment but how well do we do it?

Judgements subjective and prone to bias

Intangible: Difficult to capture and compare

High threshold for recognition

Neglect is a pattern not an event

Assessment of long term abuse

Judging the quality of care is an essential component of any assessment but how well do we do it?

Judgements subjective and prone to bias

Intangible: Difficult to capture and compare

High threshold for recognition

Neglect is a pattern not an event

Pattern of neglect seen in caseloads: uncommon

The pattern of neglect: typical

Intervention Intervention

The pattern of neglect: uncommon

'G ood enough' level

Intervention Intervention

The pattern of neglect: uncommon

'G ood enough' level

Intervention Intervention

The pattern of neglect: common

Intervention Intervention

'G ood enough' level

Intervention ceases

The pattern of neglect: common

Cumulativeness

T h r es h o ld f o rin te r v en tio n

SEXUAL

ABUSE

PHYSICAL

ABUSE N

EGLECT

NEGLECT

NEGLECT

Failure of cumulativeness

T h r es h o ld f o rin te r v en tio n

SEXUAL

ABUSE

PHYSICAL

ABUSE

NEGLECT

NEGLECT

NEGLECT

NEGLECT

What’s the problem?

Chronic abuse and the principle of cumulativenessFiles very long and badly structured

Patterns missed and ‘chronic abuse’ overlooked

The problem of proportionality

Acclimatisation