Renfrewshire Council

Renfrewshire's GIRFEC policy is intended to ensure that children, young people and their families receive the help they need when they need it. 

As children and young people progress on their journey through life, some may have temporary difficulties, some may live with challenges and some may experience more complex issues. Sometimes they - and their families - are going to need help and support.

The GIRFEC approach ensures that when we provide support, it is based on the level of need for each child.

The GIRFEC approach ensures that anyone providing that support puts the child or young person - and their family - at the centre.

GIRFEC is not only important for everyone who works with children and young people - it is also important for many people who work with adults who look after children. 

Practitioners need to work together to support families, and where appropriate, take early action at the first signs of any difficulty - rather than only getting involved when a situation has already reached crisis point. 

This means working across organisational boundaries; putting children and their families at the heart of decision making and giving all our children and young people the best possible start in life.

In Renfrewshire, we will:

• Promote the well-being of individual children and young people based on: understanding how children and young people develop in their families and communities and addressing their needs at the earliest possible time.
• Keep children and young people safe: emotional and physical safety is fundamental and is wider than child protection.
• Put the child at the centre: children and young people should have their views listened to and they should be involved in decisions which affect them.
• Take a whole child approach: recognising that what is going on in one part of a child or young person's life can affect many other areas of his or her life
• Build on strengths and promote resilience: using a child or young person's existing networks and support where possible
• Promote opportunities and value diversity: children and young people should feel valued in all circumstances and practitioners should create opportunities to celebrate diversity
• Provide additional help which is appropriate, proportionate and timely: providing help as early as possible considering short and long-term needs
• Work in partnership with families: supporting wherever possible those who know the child or young person well, know what they need, what works well for them and what may not be helpful
• Support informed choice: supporting children, young people and families in understanding what help is possible and what their choices are
• Respect confidentiality in sharing information: seeking agreement to share information that is relevant and proportionate while safeguarding children and young people's right to confidentiality
• Promote the same values across all working relationships: recognising respect, patience, honesty, reliability, resilience and integrity are qualities valued by children, young people, their families and colleagues
• Make the most of bringing together each worker's expertise: respecting the contribution of others and co-operating with them, recognising that sharing responsibility does not mean acting beyond a worker's competence or responsibilities
• Co-ordinate help: recognising that children, young people and their families need practitioners to work together, when appropriate, to promote the best possible help
• Build a competent workforce to promote children and young people's wellbeing: committed to contributing individual learning and development and improvement of inter-professional practice.