What is team work?

What is team work? Introductions What is a team work? Team work can be defined as when actions of individuals are brought together for the purpose of a common goal. Each person in a team puts his efforts to achieve the objectives of large group. Teams make efforts to achieve the success but not necessarily the success is achieved every time. Within a team every member plays a role to achieve the teams objectives. These roles add new and important dimensions to interactions of team members. Bruce Tuckmans team development theory provides a way to tackle the tasks of making a team through the completion of the project. On the part of the team every member played an important role to achieve the success at the end of semester. Our planning (or worrying about) whats happening next gives us little opportunity or inclination to examine what has just passed (Wallace, 2005). Writing from the angle of teacher student and team member relationships, it was appropriate to look then above quote. I believe that many students in a team hesitate to step further for their next action during the proceeding of project. I need to be reflective in my action for the future performance in a team. Groups of employees who have at least some collective tasks and where the team members are authorised to regulate mutually the execution of these collective tasks (Delarue, 2003). Group work is defined by a common task requiring interdependent work and successive or integrative action (Hacker, 1998). Belbin (1981) developed a model on team roles which was extended in Belbins (1993) publication. On the basis of the Belbins model the team performance can be observed when a winning or losing task is set for the team. Each member with assigned role balances the team role in a group and strong representation of all roles is predicted with high performance. I have experienced the same the role of every member in my team. Belbin makes a difference between two terms team role and functional role. It is necessary for a team to keep the optimum balance both in functional roles and team roles. On the other hands the Tuckmans theory describes the four stages of small group development as forming, storming, norming and performing. However a fifth stage of adjourning was added which involves the completion of tasks, termination of roles and dissolution of groups. Belbins theory is helpful to identify the different types of the teams; the characteristics define the work of the four categories. This model explains that during the team developments conflicts and interpersonal issues are found there and team development is dependent on the quality communication and relationship maturity with better performance. In traditional setting this model is useful for many practitioners and team leaders. According to this model all members work at the same place and are engaged in predefined work. This model works at the micro level of teams when new tasks are introduced and people involved have worked together not for long time. Belbin (1981) saying that not a single individual may have all the qualities to accomplish the total corporate role is totally right. An individual in a team is assigned his role of his choice and is avoided to perform the roles which are not in his abilities. Belbin also formulated the concept of roles in a team and their contribution of characteristic personalities and abilities in a team. The success of a team is the result of combination of team roles in it. The roles identified by the Belbin are lesser or greater extent shape the individual roles in a team. I am agreed with these nine roles explained by Belbin; all the nine roles are not necessary to achieve the success. I think that five roles are sufficient to achieve the success as some roles are doubled up for example a specialist role can be performed by a Plants role included in nine roles of Belbin. A project in beginning needs the ideas, concept and contacts so the roles of Plants and Resource are more valued at that oc casion. When the project is completed the roles of implementers and completer have their own place in a team. The Belbin theory allows every role to play a secondary role in a team. The secondary role possesses the second higher skills in results. In this way a role can perform more than one function to become a secondary role player in a team. In this work I want to reflect the situation taken place during the last semester to develop and utilize my personal skills needed to maintain the relationships with other team members. Gibbs (1988) Reflective cycle is used to reflect in an effective way. I am using this model because it is a recognized framework for my reflection. Gibbs (1988) contains six stages to complete the cycle which improves my personal skills continuously and learning for the best practices in future. As Gibbs cycle moves forward the first stage describes the situation where the team members work together, next stage looks the feelings of members about the work and third stage involves the analysis of the feelings of team members. The fourth stage is the analysis to make the sense of experience, 5th stage includes the outcome of team work and the final stage involves the action plan for the situation if it arose again. This kind of reflection generated the practice knowledge which assisted me to work with m y team members and adapt the new situation during the work. The team work generated a sense of satisfaction and developed professional practices. My team work encouraged me to learn from the mistakes and behavior and looked at the perspectives of other members in team. It was important for me to build the team member relationship with other team fellows. I established a mutual understanding and trust with other team members. Bound (1996) has stated that reflection is prompted by its positive states. He gives examples of a completion of a task which was thought impossible previously. I think that I have showed this sort of reflection during my last semester. Team work faces many challenges as the Watson (1995) says that teamwork is not a smooth path individualistic behavior, competitive, personality imbalances and cultural, philosophical, gender differences are all risks. I have seen these negative aspects of teamwork provided me learning opportunities when I was asked to do a differ ently next time. There existed the cultural and language differences among the team members. Therefore many learning activities were organized as a group but the challenges of language and cultural differences resisted producing the expected results. Students in a group varied due to academic levels and many of them were unable to embrace the other cultures. Language differences also impacted our teamwork due to language handling conflicts. The positive points of teamwork are enormous as being a team member I have shared the resources, success glory and burden failure. We have talked on various topics relevant to our project during the last session. I have respected my team members, their ideas and feelings. At the start of the project,t team members agreed upon the team objectives and enabled us to make consensus on the aims, and minimized distraction from other issues. An agenda was prepared before every meeting and circulated to every member of the team during the session. It inc luded the venue, time and duration of the meeting and discussed the supporting materials at the meeting. It was impossible to solve the problems lonely. I inter-acted my team members which was vital for the team success. Our team leader addressed the team dynamics and created a culture of the creativity. I was a big part of my team to remove the barriers to generate the new ideas and encouraged all members and also supported them. Conclusions In this reflective paper the pros and cons of a team member are discussed with perspectives of Belbin and Gibbs theories. One very positive spin-off from this reflective essay is that now I am able to get further insights into processes and deliberations of each team. Overall it has been very learning experience for me and I have welcomed every my team members with different cultures and languages. A comparison of Belbins theory and Tuckmans theory is part of this paper. Belbins model is based upon the team roles while Tuckmans model tells us about team development process. Gibbs Reflective cycle is a role model to work within team and is described with its stages to improve my personal skills for the future work in a team. To keep the team more effective I must provide more opportunities and challenges and help my team members to plan their careers based on the projected organizational needs. By creating an organizational environment, openness and energies I can expect to attract th e vital team members which are major part of the keys to my future. Teamwork allows me to be involved and participate in equal ways, sharing equal ideas. This helps to broaden my thinking to achieve the best outcomes.(Griffith Graduate, 2003). Psycho-Spiritual: Nature of Imagination and Dreams Psycho-Spiritual: Nature of Imagination and Dreams PSYCHO-SPIRITUAL THERAPY: DREAMS THE IMAGINATION with dreams and the imagination? Consider the nature of the imagination and dreams,   and illustrate with examples from clinical literature. ‘The dream is a little hidden door in the innermost and most secret  recesses of the psyche, opening into that cosmic night which was  psyche long before there was any ego-consciousness, and which  will remain psyche no matter how far our ego-consciousness may  extend †¦ in dreams we put on the likeness of that more universal,  truer, more eternal man dwelling in the darkness of primordial  night. †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Carl Jung, 1964) These words represent Carl Jung’s famous definition of the nature and significance of the dream. Other definitions possible: for instance, if one is a materialist, then he understands dreams to be little more than the secretions of chemicals from glands in the brain and so simply a collection of worthless memory fragments. But leaving these prejudices aside, this essay is concerned with the psycho-spiritual interpretation of dreams, and here Jung’s definition supplies us with an excellent starting-point for understanding. For Jung and other psychotherapists, the dream is a gate and a passage, a ‘hidden door’, into the personal and collective unconscious, which is the basic substrata of our psychic life. Freud spoke similarly of the dream as ‘the royal road to the unconscious’ (Freud, 1999). The collective unconscious is inhabited by the archetypes – for instance, archetypes of the mother, wise old man, child, and trickster – which are‘†¦ irrepresentable, unconscious, pre-existent forms that seem to be part of the inherited structure of the psyche and can therefore manifest themselves spontaneously anywhere, anytime’ (Jung, 1974). In other words, the archetypes are pre-existent typical situations, stored in the collective unconscious, that have occurred innumerable times in man’s history and which appear to modern man in symbolic form in his dreams. These symbols are full of knowledge and restorative power for patients and therapists alik e. Dreams are messages and compensating agents that give the dreamer advice about how to balance or re-adjust his thoughts, emotions, and attitudes to life. Moreover, they contain a numinous aspect that can transform the spiritual life of the dreamer. By consulting and heeding the advice of our dreams and our imaginations therapists and patients can learn profound and vital knowledge about themselves and about the causes and possible methods of treatment for psychological distress (Hillman, 1980). Scientists and psychologists identify four basic states of consciousness: the state of waking consciousness, the state of dream consciousness, the state of deep sleep consciousness and the state of awakened consciousness (See: Allen, 1995). Two further dream states are also identified. Lucid Dreaming is where the dreamer is aware that he is dreaming and actively controls the images in the dream. Lucid dreaming can be of two types: ‘low’ state or ‘high’ state. ‘Low’ state lucid dreaming allows the dreamer to manipulate the images in the dream for his own amusement, pleasure, entertainment and so on. ‘High’ state lucid dreaming also allows the dreamer to be aware of the images and symbols of the dream, but this freedom is used by the dreamer to request spiritual help, advice or guidance. Non-Lucid Dreaming is the state where the dreamer is unaware that he is dreaming. Non-lucid dreaming may also be divided into ‘low’ and ‘high’ states. ‘Low’ state non-lucid dreams arise from the personal unconscious and so are personally conditioned, being composed of fragments of memories from that day or proceeding days or of anxiety, panic, excitement or other emotional states. ‘High’ state non-lucid dreams arise from the collective unconscious and are heavily laden and impregnated with images and symbols of religious, mythological or archetypal character. The images and symbols in these dreams are impersonal: that is, they are drawn from the collective fund of images that are stored in the collective unconscious; they appear to the dreamer however in a particular symbolic form that is meaningful for their psychic situation (Leuner, 1969). Let us look then at a clinical example of dream therapy taken from Jung’s Memories, Dreams, Reflections. In the chapter ‘Psychiatric Activities’ (Jung, 1973) Jung tells of an eighteen year old catatonic patient who had been sexually abused by her family as a teenager and who was now mute and schizophrenic. This girl had particularly strange dreams. She describes how she lived on the moon and was a member of a community who were forced to live underground because they were terrorised by a beautiful vampire who killed their women and children. The girl decides one day to save the moon people by killing the vampire; she takes a sacrificial knife and awaits the vampire on a tower. But when the vampire swoops upon her he is so exquisitely beautiful that she is enchanted by him and can no longer kill him. Jung tells how after these dream confessions the patient began to speak again. The girl explained that by this confession of her secret ‘moon’ life Jung a s her doctor had prevented her from leaving the ugly and painful Earth that she detested and escaping to the moon which was for her full of meaning. Though the patient returned into her catatonic state for several months after this analysis, eventually Jung was able, by explaining the symbols in these dreams, to lead the girl back to sanity. Jung explains the dreams like this. The patient having suffered so much abuse in real life compensates for her tragedy by escaping to the moon where everything is beautiful; she is in Jung’s phrase ‘humiliated in the eyes of the world, but elevated in the realm of fantasy’ (Jung, 1973). The patient transforms the incest she suffered in real life, into a mythical and spiritual experience in the realm of fantasy; she is assailed by a beautiful and mythical creature (the vampire) who is the complete opposite of the father who abused her in real life. By explaining these images to the patient, and by telling her that these images meant that she had to return to Earth to confront her difficulties there, the girl was after a short while fully recovered and able to lead an entirely normal life. This is one example of how the interpretation and explanation of symbols and images in a dream can bring about profound psychological healing for patients. The curious student will find many other such examples in Memories, Dreams, Reflections as well as in James Hillman (1980) and Martha Crampton (1979). * * * * * * Our imagination is the centre of all human creative activity and is intimately connected to our dreams and to the world of the unconscious. Imagination defined strictly in a philosophical or dictionary sense means ‘the mental faculty of forming images of external objects not present to the senses’ (OED). That is, we use our imaginations to form pictures or images of events or scenes that are idealistic or fantastic. And it is dreams and their symbols and motifs – such as the mandala (circle), Nazi swastika, phallus, quaternity (square) – that supply the basic materials for our imaginations. This is why throughout history great artists from Beethoven and Wagner, to Shakespeare and Coleridge have produced some their finest work when their imaginations have been inspired by images that they have seen in their dreams. Technically the imagination is one of five basic levels of mental faculty; the others include: the abstract mind, intuition, the concrete mind and thinking. So too, imagination is the deepest lying level of mental faculty: it sub-ducts beneath consciousness to enter into the deepest levels of the unconscious: the collective unconscious, and its inhabitants, the archetypes. The imagination is thus effectively a bridge between consciousness and the unconscious. When we use our imagination we dwell upon images that we have seen in our unconscious in the form of dreams and we re-arrange this material in forms that are fantastic or creative. We imagine how we would like the world to be. Applied to clinical therapy, the use of imaginative techniques can engender profound improvements in the state of minds of patients. Carl Jung advocated a technique called ‘active imagination’, where whilst in a waking state a patient focuses intensely upon images that appeared in recent dream s and so tries to enhance the features of such images and symbols and so contemplate their significance. By this concentration upon dream images, the patient is able to discover and then integrate the symbols that are being produced by his unconscious. This integration named ‘individuation’ (Jung, 1973) – produces for the patient a state of psychic and spiritual equilibrium: that is, the unconscious and conscious halves of his personality are balanced against each other. * * * * * * In the final analysis, it must be said, that from a psycho-therapeutic viewpoint, dreams and imagination are of the utmost importance for clinical psychology. Dreams are a door to a vast and immense reservoir of age-old images and wisdom which when revealed to a patient in archetypal and symbolic form can transform his psychological attitudes and guide him out of psychic distress. The imagination is vital too as the bridge to this world of the unconscious, forming a link between this world and that. BIBLIOGRAPHY Crampton, M. (1984). Dialogic Imaginable Integration. Institute of Psychosynthesis. Crampton, M. (1979). ‘The Use of Mental Imagery in Psychosynthesis’, Psychosynthesis  Research Foundation. Freud, S. (1999 Ed.). The Interpretation of Dreams. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Hobson, A. (1995). ‘Working With Dreams’ from Sleep, Scientific American Library. Hillman, J. (1980). Dreams and the Underworld. Harper and Row, New York. Jung, C. G. (1973). Memories, Dreams, Reflections. Pantheon Books, London. Jung, C. G. (1964). Civilization in Transition. Bollingen, Princeton. Jung, C.G. (1959). The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious. Bollingen, Princeton. Jung, C.G. (1960). The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche. Bollingen, Princeton. Leuner, H. (1969). ‘Guided Affected Imagery’. American Journal of Psychotherapy. Vol.23,  No.1. The Oxford English Dictionary. (1989). Oxford University Press, Oxford. Spanish Communist Party, 1936 | Poster Analysis Spanish Communist Party, 1936 | Poster Analysis Poster: Central Committee of the Spanish Communist Party, 1936 I. State what the document is The document is a political rallying call inspired by the proclamation of the Central Committee of the Spanish Communist Party (PCE). It was part of a broader recruitment initiative by the Communist Party to enlist soldiers to fight in the Spanish Civil War, which officially commenced on 17 July 1936. Unlike their fascist opponents who could rely upon funding, weapons and personnel from Germany, Italy and Portugal, the Communist Party had little choice but to recruit fighters from the civilian population of Spain and, afterwards, of any democratic European countries that wished to curb the spread of right wing extremism across the continent. Documents such as this were placed in town halls and meeting venues throughout Spain to encourage all opponents of fascism to continue with the ‘national revolution’ regardless of whether these opponents were communist or not. As a result, socialists, anarchists, liberals, republicans and nationalists from the Basque and Catalan regions of Spain were targeted to join the Communist Party in order to increase the number of fighters that the Left had at its disposal. In the event, the forces that eventually made up the defenders of the Spanish Republic (the ‘Loyalists’) were similar in composition to the Popular Front coalition government that collapsed in February 1936, largely due to an inability to achieve a lasting political consensus. II. Place the document in its historical context As a primary source document of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), the poster should be seen within the historical context of the rapid descent into World War Two as the fighting in Spain afforded the German military machine the opportunity to test out their blitzkrieg offensive with devastating effects on Spanish towns such as Guernica. This war, like the wider world conflict that would follow in September 1939, was also a war that was fought along ideological lines between, on the one side, fascists and, on the other, a combination of socialist and democratic forces. This was an important break from the past and, in particular, the First World War, which was fought over imperial ambition rather than two opposing visions of political ideology. The historical context was therefore influenced by the ongoing struggle between the political Left and Right with the Spanish Communist Party holding the key to the hopes of the international socialist movement that had been starved of any kin d of tangible success since the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. III. Explain and comment upon specific important points, references or allusions in the text The most prominent symbolic feature of the document is the hammer and sickle which dominates the background of the textual content of the poster. Although most famous for its association with the Soviet Union, the hammer and sickle was, and remains, a trans‑national symbol of communism that exists far beyond the borders of Russia. Communist China, for instance, also adopted the hammer and sickle as did the Spanish Communist Party where the twin elements of the hammer and the sickle were seen to represent the tools of the industrial proletariat and the agrarian peasantry respectively. This would have been one of the major attractions of the poster to potential recruits from these two important economic sectors; indeed, the document must have met with some degree of success as the faction loyal to the Spanish Republic drew many soldiers from industrial regions such as Asturias and Catalonia as well as agricultural regions such as Andalucà ­a and Galicia. However, whereas the imagery evokes a strong association with communism and the USSR, the text itself is more intent upon reducing the divide that existed between the various socio ­-political sectors of the Loyalists. The document takes care to appeal to â€Å"all those dreamers or those who are irresponsible, who want to forcibly impose their own province or people experiments of ‘socialism’ or’ libertarian communism’ or of another kind† in order to â€Å"make them understand that all those experiments will crumble to the ground like imaginary castles if the war is not won.† This passage is a clear indication of the gravity of the threat facing the Spanish Republic as ideological zealots such as communists have historically sought to distance themselves from any political movement that does not practice pure Marxist doctrine. IV. Comment upon the reliability of the document as a historical source Clearly the document cannot be relied upon as an unbiased primary historical source. Any form of blatant advertisement for a political ideology cannot be considered to be a reliable source because it can only ever provide the views of one side of the conflict. History and historical evaluation is all about analysing the evidence from all sides of the argument; never from one side alone. The reasons for this are obvious. The document in question cannot, for instance, offer the historian anything approaching an impartial description of the opposing fascist enemy due to the aforementioned ideological nature of the struggle. Thus, the document uses words such as â€Å"monstrous†, â€Å"tormenter† and â€Å"criminal†, which negatively alter the reader’s opinion of Franco’s fascist army, regardless of what we now know about the Generalissimo’s military regime. The fascists are likewise termed as the â€Å"invading troops† despite the Spanish Communist Part’s overt drive to recruit soldiers of its own from abroad. The usefulness of the document therefore resides in the insight that it provides with regards to the application of propaganda methods in a war context. The poster shows how rudimentary the PCE recruitment techniques were at the start of the war yet also how effective this propaganda campaign must have been for the largely illiterate peasantry who would have been drawn into the symbolic pretext of the poster every bit as much as the aggressive use of words within the text. Ultimately, the document is reliable in so far as it paints an accurate portrait of the turbulent condition of Spain in the late summer of 1936 – before the country slipped into forty years of economic depravity and authoritarian rule. V. Summarise the document’s relevance and value to the student of the history of twentieth century Europe There is little doubt that the document is very relevant to the student of twentieth century European history. The poster provides key information about one of the bloodiest civilian wars in recorded history with up to a million casualties on both sides by the official cessation of the conflict on 1 April 1939. The document is especially relevant in the contemporary twenty first century era as the poster provides a prism through which the student can view the ideological nature of the Second World War. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 this kind of conflict is never likely to happen again. The Spanish Communist Party’s recruitment poster is consequently an artefact as much as a primary source historical document. Its value is also without question, in spite of the unquestioned bias at the heart of the document. When we think of the lack of first hand, written evidence available for a large portion of, for example, medieval European history, it would be foolish to devalue any primary source document that can help to shed light on the past. By applying analytical historical knowledge to the document, the student can see beyond the propagandist element of the poster. In fact, even this is useful because, through its attempts to paint the ‘revolution’ in a favourable light, the poster shows how non‑democratic, despotic regimes are able to maintain power over a population for a protracted period of time. Can Agencies Collaborate with Children and Families? Can Agencies Collaborate with Children and Families? Collaboration between agencies working together with children and their families will never work. Discuss. Multi-agency working is not a new development for years its importance has been recognised for professionals from inter-agencies to collaborate, even as early as the mid nineteenth centaury health and social workers, worked in partnership to help reduce poverty in England. (Cheminais 2009; 1) Many changes have occurred over the years, which have stressed the importance of collaboration between agencies working together who are closely involved in the services working with children and families. (Waller 2009; 152) However, in spite of the beneficial outcome collaborative working has achieved for patients, clients and for the professionals themselves. (Leathard et al 2003; 131) Many children are still ‘being failed by the absence of collaboration between agencies to meet their needs; and this was epitomised by the circumstances surrounding the death of Victoria Climbià ©. Wilson et al (2008; 519) This essay will discuss the collaboration between agencies looking at legislation and policies that the government has put into place to drive multi-agency working, the essay will also cover the benefits of Multi-agency working as well as the challenges and barriers between professionals working in health, social services and education. Furthermore, the essay will focus on private, independent and voluntary sectors discussing multi-agency working between them. Throughout the essay a placement of a medical centre (see Appendix) will be referred to where a Health Visitor (here after HV) will be discussed as to whether collaboration in childrens services is beneficial to children and families or if as literature suggests is failing. Throughout this essay a variety of terminology will be used, according to Lumsden in Waller (2009; 156) ‘In practice, the terms partnership, collaboration, interagency work and working together are often used interchangeably and different professionals can have different interpretations of what they mean. In this essay the following definitions will be used all to refer to agencies and professionals working together with families and children, these are defined below: ‘Collaboration‘ Interdisciplinary process of problem solving, shared responsibility for decision making and the ability to carry out a plan of care while working towards a common goal. (Mckay et al. 2008; 110) ‘Multi-agency working More than one agency working with a young person, with a family on a project (but not necessarily jointly). It may be concurrent sometimes as a result of joint planning or it may be sequential. (Lloyd et al. 2001) ‘Partnership Working ‘A collaborative professional working relationship with other in both the professional and para-professional world of all agencies who work jointly to deliver services to local children and families. (Gasper 2010; 24) ‘Interagency working ‘This involves two or more agencies working together in a formal and planned way, but each agency will maintain its own identity as it works alongside other agencies. (Fitzgerald 2007) When referring to the above terms the agencies that will be addressed within the subject of collaboration will be social care, health care, and education. The above services are a fundamental role for both children and families, who may need the help of these agencies, helping families and children to have a positive outlook. For many years the government have released legislation and policies to highlight the importance of agencies collaboratively working together, to help children and families, especially safeguarding children. More recent legislation has imposed agencies such as health, social care and education working jointly together. As frost proposes ‘the concept of joint working in safeguarding children and family support services is central to the governments approach, which acknowledges the inter-relatedness of family needs in the fields of health, social services, law enforcement, child welfare, housing and education, and aims to make the delivery of services more efficient and effective. Frost et al. (2007; 185) However as much of the literature suggests there are many restrictions between agencies working together. The Implementation of the Children Act 1989 highlighted the importance of collaboration between agencies, ‘the act clearly confirmed that multi-agency approaches were seen as the most effective way of protecting children from abuse. Fitzgerald (2008; 35) The Act (1989) defines in section 47 how agencies from ‘any local authority; any local education authority; any local housing authority; any health authority; and any person authorised by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this section has the right to join together and protect the child from harm by providing and sharing information. Childrens Act 1989 HM Government (Section 47; 11) Cheminais (2009) concurs with Fitzgerald (2008) stating ‘The Children Act 1989 established the statutory requirement for inter-agency collaboration and joint working in relation to children and young people, requiring professionals to ‘work better together. Cheminais (2009;1) The government have produced many legislative documents on collaboration between agencies ‘working together. The Working Together to Safeguard Children document (DfES 2006) was first published in 1999, but a more recent adaptation was produced in 2006, which shows how agencies and practitioners should be working together to promote and safeguard the wellbeing of children. The more recent version of the paper reflects the new developments which have happened through policies, legislation and practice. (Wilson 2006; 4) The paper was formed for anyone who works with children and families, it expresses how agencies and professionals should be working together to meet the legal requests of both the Childrens Acts 1989 and 2004. (Barker 2007; 4) ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children describes comprehensively how agencies should work together and gives guidance on investigations and conduct of case conferences. Brammer (2006; 249) The guidance in the document sets out a nation al policy to help safeguard children which are based on the green paper ‘Every Child Matters outcomes. ‘Be Healthy; Stay Safe; Enjoy and Achieve; Make a Positive Contribution and Achieve Economic Well-being Every Child Matters (2003:1) ‘In achieving these outcomes working together stresses the importance of an integrated multi-professional approach by all organisations and agencies to the assessment, planning, intervention and review processes for all vulnerable children. Barker (2007;5) The Working Together to Safeguard Children (2006) document underpins many important government legislations from the Childrens Act 1989, Childrens Act 2004 and the Green Paper Every Child Matters (DfES 2004) In 2003, the Laming Report was made public and brought 108 recommendations for changes to childrens services at a national and local level, and within and between the different agencies and professionals. The Laming report led to the Green paper ‘Every Child Matters which set out five main outcomes for children to achieve there wellbeing, the legislation was aimed at children from birth to nineteen years. It was the tragic death of Victoria Climbe in 2000 which was one of the main contributions to the Green Paper Every Child Matters (DfES 2003) ‘The legacy of Victoria Climbie is that her death provided both the government and professionals with the permission to refocus on the importance of working together, thus integrated services are at the heart of the government initiative Every Child Matters, and the Children Act 2004 provides the legal framework to facilitate the programme of change, Lumsden et al. in Waller (2009; 153)Victorias death was a result of horrifying abu se which was caused by her great aunt and her boyfriend. However Victoria was seen by many agencies ‘during her time in the UK Victoria was seen for health and welfare reasons, by a wide range of representatives from different social services departments, health services and hospitals as well as the police, but all failed to intervene appropriately to protect her. Barker (2009; 9) Every Child Matters tried to build on existing plans put together by the government to strengthen preventative services, social exclusion and tackle poverty for children and families by focusing on four key themes; ‘Supporting parents and carers; Early Intervention and effective protection; Accountability and integration of services; and Workforce reforms. (Baldock et al (2007; p70) In 2004 Every Child Matters ‘Change for children was launched alongside the Childrens Act 2004, ‘providing the legislative spine for the wider strategy improving childrens lives. Tunstill (2007; 26) ‘The United Kingdom have witnessed 30 years of fatal child abuse inquiries or serious case reviews. Reader et al. (2004; 96) ‘During that time there have been about 40 public inquiries overall and between 50 and 90 local case reviews under part 8 of the ‘working together guidance each year. Reader et al (2004; 96; Department of Health 1999) These terrible consequences of past inquires have influenced the services provided to children and families through changes to policies and in practice, however public inquiries have also seen similarities. It is over 30 years since the publication report was released looking into the inquiry of the death of seven year old Maria Colwell who tragically died from abuse of her step-father. This tragic death caused shock in society and there was ‘utter determination that such tragedies like this would never happen again Lonne (2008;18) However despite the governments backing of policies and produced reports there have still tra gically been other victims. The inquiries of Victoria Climbe and Maria Colwell have identified a number of common themes; as Parton (2004; 82) describes ‘considerable confusion and a failure to communicate key information, so that as a consequence both children fell through the elaborate welfare net. ‘Nevertheless failures of agencies to co-ordinate their efforts continued to be seen as a significant contributing factor in the death of children through abuse. Maynard (2004; 182) When yet another tragedy occurred in 2007 the death of ‘Baby Peter or ‘Baby P, who suffered abuse from his mothers boyfriend a very similar case review to Victoria Climbe. ‘Canning et al (2010; 70) states ‘both childrens names will be a constant reminder to professionals of the shortfalls and failings that can occur in relation to the protection of the welfare of children. Therefore working collaboratively continues to be a child protection theme, both in terms of government guidance and in primary legislation. Maynard (2004; 182) As we have seen the consequences which can occur when mistakes are made in multi-agency collaboration, are often disastrous. Therefore preventative methods needed to be put into place, as part of the ‘governments strategy for more integrated childrens services in 2003 the development of the ‘Common Assessment Framework (CAF) and lead professional (LP) was established. Brandon et al (2006; 397) The CAF aims to ‘deliver frontline services that are integrated and are focused around the needs of children and young people. (ECM 2009) The Framework ‘helps practitioners from a variety of agencies (health, education, social services, youth offending ect) to access childrens services earlier and more effectively, develop a common understanding of those needs and agree a process for working together to meet them. Hall et al (2009; 81) Through developing the use of CAF different agencies can use the same assessment for families and children without overlapping or having multiple assessments for the child. An important role in CAF is the Lead Professional which is an ‘important part of the strategy, the Lead Professional is a single point of contact for children, young people and their families. Hall et al. (2009; 82) The Common Assessment Framework aims to: ‘Reduce the number of assessments for children with additional needs to reduce stress on the chid and family Ensure that services delivered by multi-agencies to the same child/ family are appropriately coordinate to reduce overlap and gaps in service provision To ensure professionals are aware other agencies are involved to share information about any concerns about a child. (Baldock 2009; 84) However there are also limitations to using the ‘Common Assessment Framework, as it is a new form of assessment it will mean more of a workload for professionals and Lead professionals therefore it may hinder collaboration and children may slip through the net as professionals may be too busy filling in paper work, to visit the family and child. (Fitzgerald 2007; 63) Other limitations include agencies not working together, as Brandon (2006; 405) states ‘some areas identified problems in getting particular agencies and sectors to sign up for these multi-agency processes. Another restriction is implementing it into the workforce, and getting all agencies involved in using CAF as soon as possible. Every Child Matters (2009; Online) states ‘AllLocal Authorityareaswere expected to implement the CAF, along with the lead professional role and information sharing, between April 2006 and March 2008. However when in placement setting in 2009 with a local Health Visitor they w ere still in the process of putting CAF into practice, (see Appendix) therefore we cannot yet prove that it is going to be successful, to help agencies work jointly together. However as a result of the CAF not being implemented throughout agencies there were gaps, and children still slipped through the net as a result, Gasper (2010; 126) states, ‘All agencies responded in unison following Lord Lamings report into the death of Victoria Climbe and there was a surge in the momentum to work more closely together across agencies and professions. The common assessment framework has been the outcome, but even that has not prevented continuing tragedies such as the case of ‘Baby P in 2007. To help meet the governments strategy of multi-agency collaboration, alongside the Every Child Matter agenda, the Common Core of Skills and Knowledge was introduced. (HM Government 2006) As part of the skills there are six areas of expertise that all practitioners including volunteers across disciplinary background will be expected to put in to practice when working with children and families: ‘Effective communication and engagement Child and young person development Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child Supporting transitions Multi-agency working Sharing information Fitzgerald (2007; 125) ‘Inter-agency and multi-agency work is an essential feature of all training in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Working together to safeguard children (DfES 2006; 94) As part of the Multi-agency strategy Local Safeguarding Childrens Boards (LSCBs) have been established to replace Area Child Protection Committees. ‘LSCBs were established through the children Act 2004 there main remit is to develop policies and procedures for ‘Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in the area of the authority. Fitzgerald (2007; 62) LSCBs ‘put in place legislative arrangements for implementing the proposals in the 2003 Green Paper ‘Every Child Matters placing working together on a statutory footing for both the statutory and voluntary agencies and the community. Robotham et al. (2005; 177) Through producing strategies like CAF and LSCBs the government are working towards closer integration between services, where all agencies understand and w ork from the same documents then this should help agencies as they both share the same understanding. Agencies working collaboratively together from private, independent voluntary sectors shall now be discussed, in relation to multi-agency working. When out on placement an issue that occurred in one particular family was domestic violence, (see appendix) the HV collaborated with multiple agencies from different sectors to help keep the welfare of the mother and child safe. The Health Visitor helped the mother to get in contact with a voluntary agency WAVES (womens centre against domestic violent events), the mother was able to contact them through using the Childrens Centre which is a statutory sector and was also given advice about counselling which is private sector. This involved the use of multi-agency working which for this particular case was a successful collaboration between agencies involved. Through the HV being in contact with the childrens centre, the voluntary and private run group, it assured that the needs of the children and family in this case were being met. Working Together to Safeguard Children (DfES 2006;94) document states; ‘Training and development for inter-agency and multi-agency wok should be targeted at the following practitioner groups from voluntary, statutory and independent agencies, for those who are in regular contact with children and young people. Multi agency working should include services provided by use of Private, independent and voluntary sectors (Maynard 2004; 189) for overall colla boration between different agencies, and the strategies in place to work together. The effectiveness of agencies working collaboratively together will now be discussed. There are many benefits for multi-agency collaborative working in social care, health care, and education settings. However ‘There appears to be limited positive evidence on outcomes from integrated working with much of the current work focusing on the process of integrated working and perception from professionals about the impact of such services. Brown et al (2006; 16) One positive aspect is it ‘leads to enhanced and improved outcomes for children and young people, through a range of joined-up services advice and support being readily available and easily accessible. Cheminais (2009; 26) When observing the collaboration of agencies within the placement setting, it was clear that there was good partnerships between the agencies, this especially was shown between the health visitor and the local Childrens centre (see appendix) as part of the drive for greater collaboration Sure Start Ce ntres were also brought in to enhance multi-agency working by providing many professionals in the same centre, therefore all families have access. Another positive outcome to agencies collaboratively working together is improved cost efficiency, when all services work together they have to use less individual resources. (Johnson et al 2003) Another positive outcome to multi agency working is when services work together they share information therefore this makes it less stressful for families, but also helps agencies to not overlap, as Fitzgerald et al (2008; 28) States; ‘The main strands of childrens services -education, health and social services have in the past developed separately within differently established services. This separate development ultimately led to a fragmented pattern of services for children, with gaps and overlap in service provision and a work force divided by different professional cultures, different remits and goals and ultimately different views of children and childhood. Therefore when agencies to work together collaboratively great successes came become of this for both children and families, however there are also many barriers to different agencies working together. Although there is much legislation, policies and documents on how to have successful collaborative agencies working together, there are also many barriers that can occur when these different agencies come together. One of many problems which has been highlighted in case reviews of working together is lack of communication and information sharing between agencies and professionals. Gasper (2010; 126) describes what can happen if agencies fail to communicate effectively; ‘More than one tragedy has been shown to be the direct result of failures of professionals to communicate and to take responsibility for seeing through concerns raised by one or more person or agency. As this has been the main issue in the Laming reports, the government produced an ‘Information sharing Index or ‘Contact point to help overcome this barrier for professionals. ‘The purpose of contact point is for professionals involved with a child and family to be aware of other agencies and profe ssionals who are also working with them. Buldock (2009; 88) When in the placement setting the HV (see appendix) was in contact with many other agencies, about particular children and families. Even though contact point was only just being set up in the setting, through using contact point the HV is able to establish if the child has a CAF, agencies involved with the families, and contact details of the agencies this makes the process of information sharing much more simple and accessible to practitioners. This is aimed at aiding rapid and effective inter-professional co-operation and ensuring better information sharing than previously. Buldock (2009; 88) Another barrier in the challenges of multi-agency working is funding, ‘concerns in relation to sustainability, for example conflicts over funding within and between agencies; a general lack of funding for multi-agency training and development work and to cover accommodation and on-costs for services delivery. Cheminais (2009; 27) Sloper (2004; 578) discusses how funding can be a barrier to collaboration between agencies, through having different and short-term budgets. ‘Financial uncertainties, short term funding and lack of joint and equitable budget between partners are barriers, it is often suggested that coordinated working will produce cost savings by cutting down duplication of assessment and provision and providing a more appropriate and timely service to meet needs. ‘Many studies stress that time is the essence in setting up projects and developing relationships and it is difficult to maximize collaborative advantage when funding is short term. Gannon-Leary (2006; 669) However, Hudson (2002) argues that when agencies work together through sharing funding it can help to have a positive effect on collaboration between agencies. ‘Formal sharing of financial resources appears to have a number of benefits, promoting collaboration and cutting down on duplication Hudson et al (2002) in Sloper (2004; 578) Another important barrier, which often occurs in agencies working together, is the cultural issues, roles, and responsibilities. ‘The management of different professional and multi-agency service cultures, for example, staff recruitment and retention, disparities in status, pay, conditions of service working hours and working conditions. Cheminais (2009; 27) This can all make it very difficult for professionals from different agencies to work together, although when out on placement this did not occur other professional may feel they are more important in status and power than other professionals from different agencies. Foley (2008; 109) states ‘On the one hand, they want to be seen as being professional in terms of their specialised knowledge about children and their skills, on the other hand, its obvious that elitism and professional language can act as a powerful barrier. When working together the language barrier and the use of jargon between different agencies can o ften cause conflict. Fitzgerald (2007; 55) states ‘terminology attitudes to information sharing and professional principle can cause tension between agencies and poor integration of service delivery. Sloper (2004; 578) states how overcoming the barrier to working together can be very difficult between professionals who may not work together, ‘Findings on the barriers to multi-agency collaboration indicate the difficulties to be overcome. There is now some evidence that shared learning and inter-agency/ inter-professional training especially as part of continuing professional education, is one way of promoting better multi-agency collaboration. Sloper (2004; 578) However if this barrier is over come then the services provided to children and families should be a positive experience; where agencies are using the same focus and goals to deliver services. ‘All childrens services are working towards achieving the five outcomes of Every Child Matters, therefore developing a common vision at operational level and strategic level is of utmost importance. Canning et al. (2010; 70) This showing that in order for successful collaboration between agencies on of the key themes is training and updating knowledge. The government are recognising the importance for further training for the professionals, who will be working with the future children, and have designed the Early Years Professional Status; ‘the government wishes to have EYPs in all childrens centres by 2010. CWDC (2006). In Conclusion it has shown that there are many positives to collaborative working between agencies, and we have witnessed in first hand experience (see appendix) with the Riley Family. It has shown that agencies are able to collaborate with each other to provide services to help children and families, however it has also revealed the consequences which can happen if agencies are not prepared to work together to safeguard children, in cases such as ‘Baby P. Therefore with current legislation, and policies like Every Child Matters, Working Together to Safeguard Children, CAF, Contact Point, and Common Core Skills, agencies are guided into collaboratively working together and overcoming the barriers, to provide successful services to children and families.