The communication requirements of the young people in our care must be assessed and monitored thoroughly. This process starts at the point of referral to explore what individuals needs have in terms of their communication in relation to learning needs. This is information is shared with the home during the referral process and after speaking to professionals. This is followed up by exploring this with the young person themselves. Additional support can then be identified and reflected within their documentation in the home. It is essential that the communication needs of staff is assessed to ensure that there is no confusion within communication. This is identify any learning needs that they may have and then training can be identified to improve this are of their practice. This process begins during the recruitment process and continues throughout their employment in the form of there induction, supervisions and annual appraisals.
The communication with professionals, parents and the young people is paramount to my role and I have to ensure that it is effective and that there are no issues with misinterpretation.
It is vital that the communication with young people by all the staff is sensitive to their level of understanding and that this is meeting their needs. I have to take into consideration their mind-set at the time of this communication, in order to ensure that the communication method that is used is being successful . I have to ensure that the language I am use is clear to ensure that I am not misunderstood or what I am saying is misinterpreted, as this may confuse a young person or appear to be inconsistent with other staff.
I communicate with other professionals using various forms of communication and share information with various agencies on a daily basis. These methods include verbal, either by telephone or in person, via E-mail, fax or by using the postal service These include; Social Workers, Independent Reviewing Officers (IRO), Health Workers, Youth Offending Team (YOT) and Education