Barnardo's
Write case notes to young people
Tell the story once
Only ask the user to tell you their story once, then refer back to it in the future.
Further description
Being asked to repeat a story can be distressing for young people
It can feel like they are not being listened to and can retraumatise, particularly as moving through referral and assessment. There are exceptions where retelling a story may be therapeutic or necessary, but this should be for a specific reason, not because the service is not well joined up.
Make sure you’ve got it right
Provide a brief recap of the story to the user, so they can check that the provider or service has it right. Ask users if they want to add or change anything.
Offer the person control
Ask for consent for the information to be shared with others, including other agencies.
Make it clear who will have access to the information
Tell users in clear language who will be able to see their information for what purpose.
Examples
Share your patterns
We’re constantly on the look out for new patterns. If you have a service/product which you think could be used as a new pattern, we’d love to hear about it.
