Glossary - C
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C&F - Children and Families.
C&YP - Children and Young People.
CAB - Citizen’s Advice Bureau.
Cabinet - A way of running Local Authorities based on the Central Government model of cabinet government. Up to 10 Councillors are chosen to take on the day to day running of a Local Authority. They are either appointed by a directly elected mayor or elected by their fellow local politicians.
CAF - Common Assessment Framework.
CAFCASS - Children And Family Court Advisory and Support Services. This brings together the Family Court Welfare Service, the Guardian ad Litem Services and the Children’s Division of the Official Solicitor.
CALDAT - Children and Adolescent Learning Disability Team.
Caldicott Guardian - A designated health or social care professional responsible for ensuring Caldicott Principles (relating to the sharing of personally-identifiable information) are adhered to within an organisation.
Caldicott Principles - Principles governing the sharing of personally-identifiable information.
CAMHS - Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service. A multi-disciplinary team comprising psychiatrists, social workers, community psychiatric nurses, psychologists and therapists. Provide assessment, treatment and care for children and young people with complex mental health problems outside a hospital environment.
Capital expenditure - Spending on building projects and large items of equipment.
Care Management - NHS and Community Care Act 1990 – referring to the management of the care of adults in receipt of a care plan.
Care Order - A court order, provided under the Children Act 1989, that directs that a child be placed in the care of a specific Local Authority, and gives shared parental responsibility to that local authority. It is granted when a court decides that a child is suffering or might suffer significant physical or emotional harm or educational problems as a result of receiving poor care at home. A Care Order stops when an Adoption Order is made or lapses when a young person reaches 18.
Care Pathway - Co-ordination of patient care through healthcare services.
Care Plan - A plan to provide care services to an individual. The plan should follow an assessment and involve service users, carers and their families, as well as all the relevant professionals.
Care Trust - Care Trusts are local bodies responsible for delivering primary healthcare, community health services and social care for older people. Ministers believe Care Trusts will firmly integrate joint working between health and social care. The first trusts (developed from existing Primary Care Trusts) were established in April 2002.
Carer - A person providing care on a regular basis, but not employed by an agency or organisation - most usually a friend or relative.
Case Closed (closed case) - A current case that appears on the Social and Caring Services Department’s records but for which there is no intention for further action unless a referral is made.
Case Current (current case) - A case that requires action to be taken by Social and Caring Services. The initiative required can range from intensive casework and the provision of care to a decision and the administrative steps to close the case.
CAT - Cognitive Ability Test (Produced by the National Foundation for Educational Research).
Catchment Area - A defined geographical area from which a school takes its pupils.
CBEVE - Central Bureau for Educational Visits and Exchanges.
CC - Children’s Centre.
CCIS - Connexions Customer Information System.
CDN - Community Development Network.
CEG - Careers Education Guidance.
CEO - Chief Education Officer.
CEO - Chief Executive Officer.
CET - Continuing Education and Training.
CFWD - Carry Forward.
CGLI - City and Guilds of London Institute.
CHC - Community Health Council. These represent the interests of the local community and provides advice and information on rights in relation to services provided by the health service.
CHI - Commission for Health Improvement. National body set up in April 2000 to support and oversee the quality of governance and clinical services; to investigate failing trusts; produce an annual report of the state of the NHS; and publish NHS 'star rating' performance system. Now called the Healthcare Commission.
CHI - The Support Society for Children of Higher Intelligence.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) - Multi-disciplinary teams made up of a mix of psychiatrists, social workers, community psychiatric nurses, psychologists and therapists. They provide assessment and therapy in community and hospital settings. They have a four tier service:
- Tier 1 Primary Care provided in GP’s, schools, nurseries and other community settings.
- Tier 2 Secondary Care (aiming to provide short term work for emerging issues)
- Tier 3 Multi disciplinary team who provide longer term therapy for complex needs
- Tier 4 Acute care often residential.
Child Protection (CP) - Overarching term used in the identification of children who have suffered, or who are at risk of suffering, significant harm. Protection is arranged via a multi-agency plan drawn up at a child protection case conference.
Child Protection Case Conference - This is a formal, inter-agency meeting (with a social worker, health visitor, nursery worker, teacher, GP and police officer, etc). It follows an inquiry under section 47 of the Children Act, to decide whether a child is at continuing risk of significant harm and should be placed on the Child Protection Register.
Child Protection Plan - A detailed inter-agency plan setting out what must be done to protect a child from further harm, to promote the child’s health and development and, if it is in the best interests of the child, to support the family to promote the child’s welfare. The plan is agreed in outline at the first Child Protection Conference and developed by the key worker, core professionals, and where possible, the child and family.
Child Protection Register (CPR) - A confidential list of every child in a local authority area where professionals have identified a serious concern about abuse or neglect. A case conference can decide whether or not to place a child on the register. It can ensure necessary help is directed to children and families but it does not affect the parent/carer’s legal responsibility towards their child.
Child Protection Review Case Conference - A Review Case Conference is held within six months of a child being placed on the Child Protection Register. The meeting should review the work being done with children and their family, and consider any developments, which may have decreased any risk to the children. The Conference can recommend that the child’s name be removed from the register if it is decided that he or she faces no further serious risk.
Child Protection Unit (CPU) - A police unit that provides 24 hour service aimed at protecting life and preventing crime and has responsibility for investigating crimes against children under the age of 16, particularly those within the family. They can undertake the emergency protection of abused or neglected children and can use the powers of entry and removal where necessary.
Child Psychologist - A person trained in understanding and helping with emotional and behavioural difficulties, taking into account a child’s developmental level and family context.
Child Psychotherapist - A person trained to undertake therapeutic work directly with individual children using all forms of communication.
Childminders - People paid by parents to care for children in their own home for more than 2 hours a day. Childminders are registered and annually inspected by local authority inspectors under the Children Act 1989.
Children Act 1989 - This act gives every child the right to protection from abuse and exploitation and the right to have inquiries made to safeguard their welfare. Its central tenet it that children are best looked after within their family, with both parents playing a full role and without having to resort to legal proceedings. Children should always be consulted about what will happen to them and their family should, where possible, continue to be part of their lives. The Children Act came into force in England and Wales in 1991.
Children and Family Reporter - Social workers appointed by the court to represent the rights and interests of children in divorce proceedings. They work for CAFCASS or may be self-employed and contracted by CAFCASS.
Children’s and Young Persons Unit (CYPU) - A government Department now subsumed in Department for Education and Skills (DfES).
Children in Public Care - Same as 'Children Looked After' or 'Looked After Children' i.e. children and young people for whom the Local Authority has parental responsibility.
Children’s Fund - A central government initiative providing funding to each local authority area to develop preventive services for children in the 5-13 age group.
Children’s Guardians - Social workers appointed by the court to represent the rights and interests of children in cases that involve social services. They are independent of social services, courts and everyone else involved in the case. Children’s Guardians work for CAFCASS or may be self-employed and contracted by CAFCASS. Formerly known as ‘guardians ad item’.
Children’s Trust - Organisations piloted from late 2003 to plan, commission and finance children’s services. Will bring together health, education and social services under the overall control of local authorities.
Choysez - Charity based in Ashington that runs courses in skill development (life skills and basic skills) for disaffected young people.
Chronic - Continuing for a long time.
CIHE - Council for Industry and Higher Education.
CILT - Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research.
CIN - Children in Need. Under S17 of the Children Act 1989 these are children with a disability, or who are unlikely to reach or maintain a satisfactory level of health and development, or whose health and development will be affected if there is no provision of support.
Circular - Policy statement issued by a government department, which does not have the status of law, but which gives guidance on interpretation and implementation of the law.
CIS - Children’s Information Service. Provides parents and carers with advice about child care and early years provision.
Classical conditioning - Learning through experience to associate two things in our environment, a simple association between two stimuli leading to a change in behaviour.
CLA - Children Looked After.
Client - This is can be a child, a young person or parent/guardian/carer.
Client Identifiable Data - Information relating to a living individual, including their image or voice, who can either be identified from that information on its own or from that and other information available to the Data Controller.
Client Relations - Service dealing with complaints from service users about social care. Every Social Services Department is required to have such a service.
Clinical - Referring to the direct health care and nursing of sick people.
CLPE - Centre for Language in Primary Education.
CMHN - Community Mental Health Nurse.
CMHT - Community Mental Health Team.
CNO - Chief Nursing Officer.
Code of Practice for Special Educational Needs - Guidance for schools and LEAs on the assessment and management of special educational needs.
Cognition - The act and process of knowing.
Cognitive - Referring to the understanding, memory, judgment and reasoning.
Cognitive style - The attitudes and behaviours of an individual that determine the way they prefer to learn, also referred to as learning style.
Collaboration - Where two or more governing bodies may arrange for any of their functions to be discharged jointly, by holding joint meetings and/or having joint committees.
Commission for Health Improvement (CHI) - National body set up in April 2000 to support and oversee the quality of governance and clinical services; to investigate falling trusts; produce an annual report of the state of the NHS, and publish NHS “star rating” performance system.
Commissioning - The process by which the needs of the local population are identified, priorities set, then appropriate services are put in place and evaluated.
Community governor - A person appointed as a governor, who lives or works in the community served by the school or, in the opinion of the governing body, a person who is committed to the good government and success of the school.
Community Groups - Local people meeting and working together to support each other or provide services.
Community Mental Health Team - Multi-disciplinary teams made up of a mix of psychiatrists, social workers, community psychiatric nurses, psychologists and therapists. Provide assessment, treatment and care outside hospitals for individuals with severe and enduring mental health problems.
Compact - Agreement, usually between voluntary and community groups and public sector organisations.
Concept - An idea or mental image about an object or event.
Community Safety Unit (CSU) - Police units responsible for investigating both domestic violence and hate crimes that are directed at specific sectors of the community (racism, homophobic crime).
Community School - A state school in England and Wales which is wholly owned and maintained by the LEA.
Community Services - Services based close to people’s homes.
Community Special School - a state school in England and Wales which is wholly owned and maintained by the LEA providing for pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN).
Community Strategy - Plans councils develop for the improvement of the quality of life in a local area.
Community Treatment Orders - Psychiatric patients released into the community who fail to take their medication face compulsory readmission to hospital under proposals unveiled in a government white paper to reform the 1983 Mental Health Act. Patients discharged from hospital would receive a compulsory care and treatment order specifying where they live and a care plan.
Competent Person - Anyone aged 12 years or over deemed to understand their rights under the Data Protection Act 1998, and any consequences arising from the processing of such information.
Complex - Involving more than one significant problem.
Confidential Data - This consists of professionally sensitive data not detailed in the Data Protection Act 1998, but has been identified as being of a personal and sensitive nature.
Connexions - Service that provides a single point of access for all 13-19 year olds to help them prepare for the transition to work and adult life.
Consent - Expression of agreement. For IRT it specifically refers to the agreement to share information.
Consent Form - A signature required confirming that the data subject has given consent to share information with or between specific organisations or individuals. This can be withdrawn or withheld without notice or reason. For those aged under 16 years the appropriate parent/guardian/carer can do so on their behalf. Young People who are competent can consent on there own behalf.
Contact - Arrangements made for parents who are not looking after children to have agreed meetings with them. Formerly known as access.
Contingency fund - Money set aside for unexpected costs.
Coordinated support - System that enables professionals to work together more effectively to support children, young people and their parents.
COP - Code of Practice.
Core curriculum - English, Mathematics and a Science - those subjects which must be studied by all pupils.
Core Funding - The money required for operational, management and day to day costs of a charity.
Corporate Governance - A framework through which organisations are accountable for standards in conduction corporate business, including meeting statutory financial duties.
Corporate Governance Inspection - A ‘whole council’ inspection that aims to tackle problems at the political and managerial centre of a council. The majority of local government Best Value inspections focus on groups of services.
COSR - Court Ordered Secure remand.
Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) - Local umbrella body for voluntary organisations, charities and campaign groups in a particular area.
County Schools - State schools in England and Wales which are wholly owned and maintained by local education authorities.
CP - Child protection.
CPA - Comprehensive Performance Assessment (of a whole Local Authority).
CPD - Continuing Professional Development.
CPI - Child Protection Issue.
CPN - Community Psychiatric Nurse. A nurse with specialised mental health training sometimes also known as Community Mental Health Nurse (CMHN)
CPRE - Council for the Protection or Rural England.
CPS - Crown Prosecution Service.
CQSW - Certificate of Qualification in Social Work (old social work qualification).
CRAC - Careers Research and Advisory Centre.
CRB - Criminal Records Bureau. With effect from April 2002, Protection of Children Act 1999 (POCA)Checks for employees, and referrals have been handled by the ‘disclosure service’ of the Criminal records bureau (CRB).
CRP - Crime Reduction Plan. Multi-agency neighbourhood plan to reduce crime.
CRT - Crime Reduction Team.
CSCI - Commission for Social Care Inspection.
CSM - Children Services Manager.
CSR - Continuous Student Record.
CST - Community Support Team. Does intensive work with families where a child is at risk of becoming looked after.
CTC - CityTechnical College - Independent all ability non-fee-paying schools for pupils aged 11-18. There are 14 CTCs and one CCTA — City College for the Technology of the Arts, in urban areas across England. CTCs teach the national curriculum to pre-16-year-olds with a focus on Science, Mathematics and Technology. They offer a wide range of vocational qualifications and part of their role is to innovate in the development, management and delivery of the curriculum.
CVS - Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) Local umbrella body for voluntary organisations, charities and campaign groups in a particular area.
CYPSP - Children and Young People Strategic Partnership.
The information contained in this glossary has been sourced from various external sites in good faith. Therefore, CYPSP assume no responsibility for any errors, omissions or inaccuracies contained within this glossary.