CAFS form tomorrow...can anyone explain it to me??

[CardyMow]

Got the appointment with the school tomorrow to fill in the cafs form or DD (11.10yo, Y7). Until 2 weeks ago, I'd never heard of it. Can anyone tell me what sort of things will be on the form and what sort of questions they ask, and what sort of answers they're looking for??!! I'm getting all nervous as this is basically the closest I've ever got to anyone helping me with DD's asd. HELP!!

Please? I have chewed all my nails off...

common assessment framework
It's to support your family to cope with dd's asd. You need to think about what support your family need and ask for that. Don't let them tell you what you need.

Ok, in all honesty they can feel a little nosey. They will try and get as much info as possible to get a full picture of yours and DDs life. Things like family history, education, health, relationships and strengths and difficulties. These are NOT child protection forms and is no way suggesting you can manage, but they gather all info and then together you make a plan of action and remember its what YOU think you need NOT what they think. It comes with possible funding attached too, so is always helpful

Good luck and hope this info is helpful

Cheers. So if I pointed out how she's not coping well (at all) with MS secondary, and I am not coping too well with her meltdowns now as she's being violent towards my DS1 and me (and my doors/walls/furniture) and I need some extra support (and a flipping 'formal' dx) then they're not going to go all SS (social services) on my arse? Just I had probs with SS when DD was younger, which is part of the reason it's taken me so long to ask for help. (I was 16yo when DD was born, and was still on the 'at risk' register, so I had a lot of SS involvement when she was little, and have tried to stay away from them ever since...)

unless there is any concerns about your DD being at risk, then no, not a reason for SS to be involved unless they offer you a disabled children team sw, but not likely in my experience.
Its up to you how much you let them know, its your assessment

OK. Just really need a formal dx, so I've got something to brandish at the LEA when I reapply for a statement. They have ignored my previous applications due to combo of no formal dx & lack of backing from primary SenCo. Thank heavens for Secondary SenCo being normal sensible able to accept DD's needs are greater than SA+ can provide....

wellnot sure CAF will help you get a formal dx tbh, can you not go back to people who gave a informal one?

Are there any potential downsides of having the CAF done?

not that i can think of

will secondary SENCO push for a referral to CAMHS for you?

Apparently that's what the cafs form was to help with. They've referred DD to the school medical officer, and even HoY admits that Jade is 'having severe difficulties' in coping with MS secondary. Didn't seem too bad, a bit more in depth than I realised (not as bad as filling in a DLA form for myself though). Took longer than I thought too, took around an hour and a half. SenCo said someone will get intouch with me within the next two weeks. Progress?? We shall see....

sounds promising then

Lisa's already given you the gist. We filled one in for DS2, last year, to get him his place on the 2 year old scheme at the nursery and it really is mostly a huge information gathering exercise about your child's needs and how the family fits together and what external help would be beneficial. In our case, we tailored it to how DS2 would benefit from the early nursery place, since that was the focus of the meeting. We may be doing one for DS1, in the not too distant future, but in his case, it would be to argue for services and resources we can't ask for through his annual review, since he's having serious difficulty with school (year 1) at the moment.

I just find it a crying shame that due to the previous SenCo taking offence to me personally (long story to do with a mid-year sen transfer and all DD's help being taken away = complaint to LEA by me ) that 5 years of DD's education where she could have been getting the full amount of support that she needed has disappeared, and DD basically has 5 years of education to do 10 years worth of work in....