Guide to developing social work care plans

Abstract

Making plans is a critical activity for child and family social workers. All
children in need, especially those in need of protection, must have a care plan. The same applies to children in care and many young people eligible for leaving care services too. Many disabled children, but not all, will have an Education, Health and Care Plan, particularly if the child’s needs cannot be met via mainstream education or ‘local offer’ services. So common is the need to produce plans that for most social workers, writing a plan must feel like a routine part of the job. Once they are written, most care plans will be reviewed at variou s formal and informal meetings - during supervision, at core group meetings and child protection conferences and as part of looked after reviews. The idea behind this ‘plan and review’ approach is to make sure that everyone understands what tasks need to be completed, by when and whether sufficient progress is being made towards the overall objectives of the plan.

Full text

Guide to developing social work care plans
1. Introduction
2. Official guidance and some research findings: a very brief overview
3. SMART planning
4. Applying SMART planning to social work
5. An alternative approach to planning (POWER)
6. Case examples
7. Continued Professional Development
Introduction
Making plans is a critical activity for child and family social workers. All
children in need, especially those in need of protection, must have a care plan.
The same applies to children in care and many young people eligible for leaving
care services too. Many disabled children, but not all, will have an Education,
Health and Care Plan, particularly if the child’s needs cannot be met via
mainstream education or ‘local offer’ services. So common is the need to produce
plans that for most social workers, writing a plan must feel like a routine part of
the job. Once they are written, most care plans will be reviewed at various formal
and informal meetings - during supervision, at core group meetings and child
protection conferences and as part of looked after reviews. The idea behind this
‘plan and review’ approach is to make sure that everyone understands what
tasks need to be completed, by when and whether sufficient progress is being
made towards the overall objectives of the plan.
In addition to this rather technical approach to helping and supporting
people, there are other, more important principles to consider. Perhaps most
important of all is the principle that plans should be developed with children and
families, in collaboration - or even better by children and families themselves
(e.g. via a Family Group Conference). This approach is enshrined in law when it
comes to adult services, with the opening paragraphs of the Care Act 2014
referring to “the importance of…the assumption that the individual is best-placed
to judge [their own] well-being” and that “the individual [should participate] as
fully as possible in decisions” made about them. Although not possessed of the

same status as an Act of Parliament, the government’s knowledge and skills
statement for child and family social work also refers to the need for “active
participation” and “positive engagement of the child and family” when developing
and reviewing plans. A genuinely collaborative approach to care planning would
start not with what professionals want to achieve but with an understanding of
what children and families want for themselves and what steps they are able and
prepared to take in order to achieve their goals. The obvious barrier to genuine
collaboration in children’s services is risk, with some social workers perhaps
worried that attempting to collaborate with parents makes it harder to perceive
clearly the level of risk to the child or that parents may engage in ‘disguised
compliance’. Understandably, social workers want to ensure they are clear with
parents about what is expected of them and concerned that it may seem unfair if
the plan does not set out in detail what things the parent (or child) needs to do in
order to satisfy professionals that the risk of significant harm is being reduced.
Navigating these competing principles and demands is not easy.
Nevertheless, it is important to remember when developing any care plan that a
great deal of the evidence we have about how people change points to one
important conclusion – people are much more likely to meet goals they set for
themselves than they are to meet goals imposed upon them by other people. In
other words, self-determination is the foundation for meaningful and sustained
change and this is important not in spite of working with risk but because of it.
Nothing in this guide is intended to undermine or obscure this key principle.
Official guidance and some research findings: a very brief overview
The government’s Knowledge and Skills Statement for child and family
social work identifies analysis, decision-making, planning and review as one of
seven key areas in which practitioners need to demonstrate their expertise.
The Knowledge and Skills Statement for child and family social work
“The child and family social worker will know and be able to…demonstrate
effective are planning for children, including those in public care, by
applying knowledge of a child’s wide ranging needs, including health and
education, to the planning cycle, ensuring active participation and positive
engagement of the child and family.”

The statutory guidance for the Children Act 1989 also refers to the
importance of care planning, saying that “assessing the needs of children and
deciding how best to meet those needs is a fundamental part of social work” (p.
11). In Working Together to Safeguard Children (2015), the importance of
developing plans to ensure that children’s needs are met features prominently
throughout. Reference is made to the need for a single plan, that the plan should
set out the services that will be provided, that the plan should always be
considered from the child’s perspective and that it should contain clear and
measurable outcomes for the child and expectations for the parents. Working
Together also says that “Wherever the outcome of the assessment is continued
local authority children’s social care involvement, the social worker and their
manager should agree a plan of action…and discuss this with the child and their
family.” (p.25, paragraph 53). The wording here is unfortunate because it implies
that the plan is to be written by professionals and only ‘discussed’ with the
family, rather than co-produced by professionals and the family together or even
produced by the family themselves. Such an approach would seem almost tailor
made to ensure that parents and children feel excluded from the planning
process. Buckley, Carr and Whelan (2011) interviewed parents about their
experiences of the child protection process. Many reported feeling humiliated
and intimidated. One parent said “you are involved with the process but you have
no control over the outcome” (p. 104). They also found a significant number of
parents were unfamiliar with the concept of a care plan, although they did
understand the need to complete certain actions in order to avoid “ominous
consequences, namely, [the] loss of their children” (p. 105). Similar findings have
been made with regards to care planning for children in need (Dumbrill, 2006).
Such findings may be difficult for practitioners to hear and it is tempting
to believe that these experiences are unrelated to our own individual practice or
perhaps that they are relatively unimportant (compared to the experiences of
children). Nevertheless, it is important to consider whether parents who
experience child protection services in this way are more or less likely to work
positively with professionals and what this might mean for the safety and well-
being of the child. More positively, Dale (2004) found that 50 per cent of families
said they experienced a positive outcome as a result of child protection

interventions, whilst 22 per cent said they experienced a negative outcome and
28 per cent neither a positive nor negative outcome. One of the key factors for
families who reported a positive outcome was the provision of a clear plan and,
even more importantly, that the support outlined in the plan was actually
provided.
Thus, whilst there may be little doubt that many of the plans produced by
social workers are effective in achieving their aims, many unfortunately are not.
In various fields, the principles of SMART planning (Figure 1) have proved
helpful in developing more effective plans and this guide will help you think
about how this approach might be applied for social work.
Before outlining the principles of SMART planning and how they might apply to
social work with children and families, it is important to say that simply re-
writing a plan on the basis of these principles is unlikely to make much of a
difference (although it might be a good start). The key is to incorporate these
principles into your thinking, discussions and co-productions with families so
that, as a natural result of the process, better care plans are produced.
SMART Planning
The concept of SMART planning originated in the field of management studies
(Doran, 1981). Doran noted that “despite all the literature and seminars dealing
with effective objective setting and writing, the fact is that most managers still
don’t know what objectives are and how they can be written” (p. 35). Doran
distinguished between ‘goals’ and ‘objectives’, arguing that the former are
continuous and longer-term whilst the latter are generally short-term and
practical but must show evidence of a credible link to the achievement of the
SMART care plans are:
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Timely
Figure 1

longer-term goals. This suggests that whilst the overall goal for a care plan might
be ‘to help the family function without violent behaviour’, the objectives needed to
achieve this should be practical and measurable in order to be effective. Doran
also cautioned that setting objectives on their own, without linking them to a
longer-term goal, can lead to a simple list of tasks without a clear idea of what
they are meant to achieve.
However, Doran also argued that the development of objectives is the
most crucial part of good planning, more so than setting longer-term goals.
Doran believed that, for many, “the process of writing objectives is a major source
of anxiety” and that the clear setting of objectives “can be a difficult task
[requiring] scarce time” (p. 35). The key question is - “How do you write
meaningful objectives” (p. 36)? And one answer is to use SMART planning.
SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely.
Meyer (2003) describes these as follows:
Specific – In order to be specific, an objective must spell out what is expected,
why, who should be involved, where it should happen and what the
requirements and constraints might be. An example of a non-specific objective
might be “Mr. and Mrs. Smith to ensure Johnny attends school regularly.” This
objective lacks specificity because it does not define what ‘regularly’ means and
it leaves it unclear as to what the constraints might be for Mr. and Mrs. Smith in
ensuring this happens. A more specific goal might be “Mr. and Mrs. Smith to take
Johnny to school every day, arriving by 8.55am – if Johnny is unable to attend
school or is running late, Mr. or Mrs. Smith to contact the school office by 8.45am
on the day of the absence / lateness and inform school staff of the reason. Regular
attendance is important to ensure Johnny can catch up with the work he has missed
so far this year.” Setting out the objective in a more specific way makes the
expectation clearer, as well as recognizing that for any parent there may be times
when it is difficult to get to school on time or when the child might have a
genuine need to be absent. It also includes a brief explanation as to why the
objective is needed.
Measurable – Without measurable objectives, it is difficult to assess whether

sufficient progress has been made. A measurable objective should make it
relatively easy to answer questions such as “how much?”, “how many?” and “how
will we know if it is achieved?”. It is not possible to measure whether Mr. and Mrs.
Smith have taken Johnny to school ‘regularly’ unless we define what ‘regularly’
means. However, with a more specific example – “Mr. and Mrs. Smith to take
Johnny to school every day, arriving by 8.55am” – we can measure:
- How many times has Johnny arrived at school on time?
- How many times has Johnny been late for school?
- How many times has Johnny been absent from school for the whole day?
We can then make the objective even more measurable by defining an acceptable
minimum level of attendance. For most children, this would be around 95%. We
can then define over what time period the measurement should take place. For
example, “During the next half term, Mr. and Mrs. Smith to ensure Johnny attends
school regularly, arriving by 8.55am and achieving a minimum of 95%
attendance.”
Attainable – Objectives must be attainable. Unattainable objectives should not
be included on care plans. This means that when setting objectives, parents,
children and professionals need to think “how can this be achieved?” If Johnny’s
current school attendance were around 25%, it may be unhelpful to set an
attendance target of 95% immediately, at least not without setting interim
targets along the way to achieving the higher figure. However, if Johnny’s
attendance were currently around 80%, then setting an immediate target of 95%
may well be attainable.
Relevant – The objectives of a care plan must be relevant to the overall goals.
There should be a clear and reasonable link between achieving the objectives of
the plan and achieving one or more of the goals. This does not mean that if the
objectives are achieved and the goals are not met, that the plan was wrong from
the outset but there should be at least a reasonable expectation that meeting the
objectives will help meet the goals. For example, if the concerns about Johnny

relate to neglect and the impact of neglect on his school attendance, then an
objective related to this school attendance would seem relevant. However, if the
concerns related domestic violence, then whilst school attendance may still be an
important element of the child’s well-being, it does not relate as clearly to the
cessation of domestic violence as it might to educational neglect.
Timely – Finally, objectives should include a sense of timeliness. Open-ended
objectives may lead to a sense of drift. Setting a date by when the objective
should be completed makes it easier to review it at a meaningful point in time, to
avoid drift but also to avoid any impression that the parents are expected to
achieve every objective on the care plan before the next meeting in 6 weeks’
time.
An alternative approach to planning (POWER)
Developing a SMART care plans is clearly not a panacea and will not by
itself make your plans helpful for families or effective in protecting children.
Beyond these practicalities, there may also be some conceptual difficulties in
implementing SMART care plans in child and family social work. SMART care
plans may inadvertently shape our thinking in some unhelpful ways, making us
more technical and less relational, even to the extent that we act as if the only
thing people need in order to change is a set of Specific, Measurable, Achievable,
Realistic and Timely objectives. This is manifestly not the case. An approach
known as POWER offers a different model for developing better plans. POWER,
which stands for Positive, Own role, What specifically, Evidence and
Relationship, may fit better with social work values than SMART and is based not
on the articulation of a series of objectives but on the outcomes to be achieved.
POWER - An alternative model to
SMARTer care plans.
Positive
Own role
What specifically?
Evidence
Relationship

Positive - The outcomes of the plan should be stated positively, as something to
be achieved rather than something to be avoided. This fits well with strength-
based approaches to social work. For example, rather than saying “Mr. and Mrs.
Smith not to be angry towards Johnny when he misbehaves”, a more positive
restatement could be “Mr. and Mrs. Smith to remain calm and sensitive to Johnny’s
needs, helping him to improve his behaviour.”
Own Role – Feeling more in control of what happens to us is one indicator of
resilience. Similarly, objectives which emphasize the ability of the family, the
parents or the child to control – or at least to influence - the outcome may
increase the likelihood of the outcome being achieved. For example, rather than
saying “The social worker will talk to Mr. and Mrs. Smith about how to manage
Johnny’s behaviour more effectively”, an objective which focused more explicitly
on the role of the parents could be “Mr. and Mrs. Smith want to learn new ways of
managing Johnny’s behaviour more effectively and will consider what options are
available to them before the next core group.”
What specifically – Each objective needs to be based upon an understanding of
the starting point and the actions needed to achieve the outcome, as well as any
resources required to do so. For example, rather than saying “The parent needs to
ensure there are no more times when s/he shouts at the children”, the ‘what
specifically’ form could be “At the moment, the parents shout at the children most
days of the week. The aim for the next month is to ensure there are at least some
days when they do not shout at all. To help achieve this, the parents have said they
want to start attending a parenting group at the local children’s centre.”
Evidence – Understanding whether progress is being made towards the
outcome requires some form of evidence. What might the family experience if
they reached the outcome? If the outcome related to Johnny’s behaviour, how
might things look, sound or feel differently if things got better? Visual evidence
might be the existence of a tidier home (because Johnny no longer threw things
and made a mess when he felt angry). Oral evidence might include less raised

voices or Johnny telling his teacher that his parents were no longer threatening
to lock him in his room. Kinesthetic evidence (feelings and emotions) might be
increased sensations of calmness and well-being.
Relationship – Meeting outcomes should help improve relationships, between
people and their environment, between people or between different ‘parts’ of an
individual’s own psyche. For example, exploring any difficult feelings in relation
to an outcome might reveal some ambivalence or a lack of confidence. Meeting
outcomes might help people get on better with each other or it might help people
feel more integrated or supported within their wider environment. Keeping a
focus on these types of relationships can help ensure that our care plans do not
become too technical-rational, forgetting that the care plan is only ever a written
expression of the attempt to help children, parents and families, it is not itself the
provision of help.
Applying SMART or POWER planning to social work
As noted above, simply re-writing care plans is probably not a very useful
application of the SMART (or POWER) principles. Developing care plans from the
outset that are based on the family’s goals and then thinking through with the
family what objectives are likely to help achieve those goals is much more likely
to make a difference. You can then ask questions of the family to guide their
thinking around the objectives, to ensure they are SMART (or POWERful). For
the purposes of this guide, the following exercises are based on re-writing
objectives – however, it is important not to forget that in practice, this is not how
these principles should be applied

Exercise One:
Which of these are goals and which are objectives?
- Luis to attend regularly and make good progress at school (goal).
- Mr. Farhi to attend Alcoholics Anonymous once a week on Tuesday
morning from 10am to 12 (midday), starting this week. If Mr. Smith is
unable to attend, inform the social worker before the session being
missed. Mr. Smith has said he finds Alcoholics Anonymous helpful and
attending regularly helps him to cope more easily without drinking
(objective).
- Mr. Farhi to abstain from alcohol and cannabis (goal).
- Mrs. Petrov to identify a local parenting group she wants to attend and to
let the social worker know the details of the group by the end of the
month. Mrs. Petrov has said she hopes attending a group will help
increase her confidence in managing Johnny’s behaviour at home
(objective).
- Mrs. Petrov to feel more confident in her parenting of Johnny (goal).
- Aftab to develop his self-confidence and self-esteem (goal).
- Aftab to attend a specialist play scheme for children with autism during
summer and Easter holidays (objectives).
Exercise Two
Consider the following objectives:
- How could they be made SMARTer?
- How could they be made more POWERful?
Sarah needs to stop missing so much school.
How might this objective be made SMARTer?
Sarah to attend school for a minimum of 4 days per week between the May half
term and summer holidays. Achieving this level of regular attendance should
help Sarah feel more a part of the school and build her confidence.

How might this objective be made more POWERful?
Sarah to attend school regularly, to feel more a part of the school and more
confident she can achieve academically. To help achieve this, Sarah to attend for
a minimum of 4 days per week between the May half term and summer holidays.
Meeting this outcome will help Sarah feel that she has at least one close friend at
school and feel calm on the journey to school most days.
Sarah’s parents to improve their engagement with Sarah’s social worker by
increasing their attendance at meetings.
How might this objective be made SMARTER?
Sarah’s parents to attend 4 meetings with Sarah’s social worker within the next
12 weeks from today’s date (If these meetings were already arranged, the dates
and times could be included in the objective). Meeting more often with the social
worker should help improve the relationship and engagement between the
social worker and Sarah’s parents.
How might this objective be made more POWERful?
Sarah’s parents to feel they have a positive working relationship with the social
worker. Sarah’s parents to decide what kind of working relationship they want
with the social worker and propose by the end of this week a schedule of home
visits and meetings for the next 12 weeks. Making sure these visits and meetings
go ahead as planned will show that this schedule is working. An improved
working relationship between Sarah’s parents and the social worker is the
ultimate aim.
Example 3: Sarah’s mother to attend alcohol support groups
How might this objective be made SMARTer?
Sarah’s mother to attend weekly alcohol support groups for the next 12 weeks
(once a week on Thursday afternoon, 2pm-3.30pm). If Sarah’s mother cannot
attend, to inform Sarah’s social worker and the support group key worker by the

start of the missed group or before.
How might this objective be made more POWERful?
Sarah’s mother wants to stop drinking alcohol and to parent Sarah in a different
way, helping her to feel happier and less anxious. Sarah’s mother has decided she
wants to attend weekly alcohol support groups (every Thursday 2pm – 3.30pm).
Attending these sessions will help Sarah’s mother understand more about her
relationship with alcohol and what support she has available to her. Within the
next 2 months, Sarah’s mother wants to decide if she can continue using
community services or whether to apply for a residential detox programme.
Exercise Three:
Consider the following hypothetical referral (Wilkins and Boahen, 2013, p. 13).
What kind of initial care plan might you develop in response and how would you
ensure that the care plan was as SMART as possible? How might a POWERful
care plan look different? What kinds of goals and objectives do you think Daisy,
her mother and her mother’s partner might want to include? What goals and
objectives would you and other professionals want to include?
Daisy is a 4-year-old girl, living with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend. Daisy
attends a local nursery and they have reported that she often appears grubby, her
behaviour is withdrawn and she does not speak very much. Daisy finds it hard to
make friends and often spends time alone or with adults during her nursery
sessions. Daisy has recently been diagnosed with autism. Daisy’s mother is a
recovering alcoholic and her mother’s boyfriend has a criminal record for
vandalism. Daisy and family live in a one-bedroom flat and Daisy has to sleep on
the sofa in the front room. The flat is quite dirty and there are not many toys for
her to play with. Daisy does not have any other family in the local area. Her
mother’s boyfriend does not work but does not seem to help much with Daisy
either.
References
Dale, P. (2004) ‘Like a fish in a bowl’: parents’ perceptions of child protection

services. Child Abuse Review, 13(2), pp. 137 – 157.
Day, T. and Tosey, P. (2011) Beyond SMART? A new framework for goal setting.
Available at: https://core.ac.uk/download/files/108/9426096.pdf
Doran, G. (1981) There's a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management's goals and
objectives. Management Review, 70(1), pp. 35 – 36.
Wilkins, D. and Boahen, G. (2013) Critical Analysis Skills for Social Workers. Open
University Press, Berkshire.