The difference analytical report writing makes in giving a picture of a child’s situation that leaps off the page is huge. As opposed to a narrative, chronological approach, the focus throughout is on your analysis of the facts of the case, meaning you quickly get to the heart of issues affecting the child. And it arguably helps your recommendations hold more weight with the court.
Seen as best practice at Cafcass, our London private law team delivered a series of workshops on section seven analytical report writing for local authority social workers, to an overwhelmingly positive response. Here, Cafcass’ Linda Kim-Newby and Alice Smith, who ran the workshops, share guidance from the sessions to help you get started in reframing your approach.
Begin your writing at the case planning stage
At first, it may take longer to write an analytical report, but with each report you will improve. Beginning the writing process at the case planning stage, where we think about the key issues at hand, helps to focus your report. Go through the welfare checklist, think about a hypothesis and consider possible exit strategies. Case plans should be seen as a working document, not completed at the start and then used to close off a case at conclusion.
Avoid repetition to make a point – it is the analysis of the facts of the case that will strengthen your recommendations
It is not uncommon to read court reports with page after page of “he said, she said”, only bringing in analysis at the conclusion. But you can write concise, succinct reports by avoiding repetition. It is easy to think that re-emphasising a particular issue gives the air of significance, but repeating yourself can actually detract from it. Instead, aim to weave analysis into the facts of the case. For example, when describing the serious nature of a domestic violence offence, we can incorporate our use of evidence based tools to assess what it means to the child in terms of safe and beneficial contact with the parent.
Ask yourself “what does this mean for the child?” throughout the writing process
We should ask ourselves the question “so what?” at the end of each paragraph we write. How is it relevant to assessing the key issues of the application, and what is the impact on the welfare of the child? The child or young person should be at the centre of a report. Social work practitioners will sometimes feel that the more we see children, the more we can write about them with confidence and produce a more analytical report.
However, at Cafcass we have some very well written reports by our family court advisers who have seen the child only once. Through a good assessment of their views, vulnerabilities, resilience, development, attachment and other relevant issues practitioners are able to bring the child alive on the page throughout the report. It is your professional analysis that should carry the report.
Research should be used to support assessment, not the other way round
The use of tools is usually more effective than citing research in making safe recommendations for children, as they are based on the application of research. By doing so, we can feel assured that our risk analysis is robust. In our view, the confidence with which we make our assessments and recommendations is based on our understanding of the child’s needs, and our knowledge of the key issues of the case.
Cafcass will be discussing further learning and development opportunities with staff and external stakeholders. If you are interested in finding out more please email enquiries to Linda Kim-Newby.
Content on this page is produced and controlled by Cafcass, sponsor of the Guardian Social Care Network children’s services hub.
