One Story and Relationship-Based Practice –
Quick Guide
How does the One Story model of recording fit with
relationship-based practice?
We have introduced relationship-based practice across Children’s Social
Work and have developed our Team Around the Relationship model. We
believe that if social workers feel contained they will be able to build
relationships with families that facilitate change.
We have a whole system approach to relationship-based practice and a vital
part of this is our recording system. This is because it plays a key part in
determining how social workers manage their time and also because it has a
direct impact on how social workers think about, and engage with, families.
The One Story model is a relationship-based assessment and recording
model, which uses the language of relationship-based practice, encourages
analysis, promotes purposeful social work, and reduces the amount of
recording that social workers are expected to complete.
Case Summary Records –
these records replace case
notes. Social workers
complete a summary for
each of their cases at a
frequency agreed with their
manager, usually between
fortnightly and monthly, and
this summary includes
reflection and analysis
Supervision Casework
Records – these records
ensure that supervision
recording includes reflection
and analysis as well as a
rating of the child’s
experience of safe and
stable care, promoting
purposeful social work and
the progression of plans
One Story should not be seen as a new set of forms but instead as a way of
working which supports relationship-based practice. The Strengthening
Families approach promotes relationship-based practice with children who are
subject to child protection or child in need plans and the Me and My World
model does the same for children in care. The Me and My World
documentation for children in care challenges the concern that the needs of
One Story and Relationship-Based Practice –
Quick Guide
these children will not be identified and met and also ensures that life story
work and identity are central to relationship-based practice with children in
care. The Strengthening Families documentation ensures that strengths and
risks are explicitly considered with families and that engagement with families
and meaningful change for families in seen as the first route to permanency
for children.
Principles of relationshipbased assessment
A relationship-based model
of assessment
engagement and co-construction;
Stage 1 - a shared and transparent
understanding of involvement;
inclusive of family narrative and life
story;
Stage 2 - a collaborative
construction of concerns;
based on observation and
knowledge of child development;
Stage 3 - a mutually determined
analysis;
strengths-based, promoting
resilience, as well as analysing risk;
analytical and purposeful, including
interventions and reviews of
progress.
Stage 4 - a collaborative
intervention strategy.
(Wilson et al 2011)
The assessments that are part of these approaches fit in with a wider model
of relationship-based practice.
The guidance underpinning these
assessments provide ideas on how social workers can engage with children
and families and tools which social workers can use as part of relationshipbased practice. For example, social workers might use the Secure Base
Model as part of updating a Me and My World Assessment with a child in
care. Similarly, a social worker might use the Quality of Care Assessment
tool as part of completing a Strengthening Families Assessment for a family
when the children are subject to Child Protection Plans due to neglect.
A key part of the One Story model is that social workers should not need to
duplicate information in different reports and assessment and, therefore, the
Strengthening Families and Me and My World assessments will stand as
reports for child protection conferences and looked-after children reviews as
well as evidence for the court or child permanence reports.