ContactPoint

What is ContactPoint?

ContactPoint will be the quick way to find out who else is working with the same child or young person, making it easier to deliver more coordinated support. This basic online directory will be available to authorised practitioners who need it to do their jobs. It is a key part of the Every Child Matters programme to improve outcomes for children. ContactPoint will be a simple tool, allowing practitioners to see who else is involved with a particular child and provide contact details so that they can, where appropriate, share relevant information about children who need services or about whose welfare they are concerned.

What information will be held on ContactPoint?

ContactPoint will only contain the following basic information:

• Name, address, gender, date of birth and an identifying number of all children in England (up to their 18th birthday);
• Name and contact details for: parents or carers, educational setting (for example school), primary medical practitioner (for example GP practice); and other services.

There will also be the facility to indicate if a practitioner is a lead professional for a child and/or if he/she has completed an assessment under the Common Assessment Framework (the assessment itself will not be held on ContactPoint). The information that can be held on ContactPoint is set out in law - Section 12 of the Children Act 2004 and the supporting Regulations specify what information can be held on ContactPoint.

Why do we need ContactPoint? What benefits will there be?

Providing a quick way for practitioners to find out who else is working with the same child will provide key benefits such as:

• Improved service experience for children, young people and families through more coordinated service delivery, more timely response to their needs and reduced number of unnecessary repeat assessments and referrals;
• Faster and more effective intervention before problems become serious because practitioners can build a fuller picture of children and young people’s needs;
• Less unproductive time spent by practitioners trying to find out which other services are involved with a child and then trying to contact the right person. This is conservatively estimated to be worth five million practitioner hours a year. This means that practitioners can spend more time working directly with children and young people
• As ContactPoint will be national, it will also benefit children and young people who access services in different local authority areas or move between areas.

Why will ContactPoint cover all children in England?

• It is estimated that at any one time 3-4 million children and young people have needs for additional targeted and specialist services. It is not possible to predict accurately in advance which children will have such needs, or which children will never have them;
• Any child or young person could require the support of additional services at any time in their childhood. It would not help to have to establish a ContactPoint record for the child after deciding they might need additional help. The advantage of ContactPoint is being able to facilitate discussion as soon as a first sign of need is noticed; and
• All children have a right to the universal services of education and primary health care – ContactPoint will show whether or not they are receiving those services and will help trigger as necessary local action to ensure they do receive them. No assessment or case information will be included on ContactPoint.

More information:

Government ContactPoint factsheet(pdf, 35KB)

Government's Every Child Matters website: http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/deliveringservices/contactpoint/about/