Agree with an individual and others the purpose of the assessment

For this assessment criterion, you will be required to demonstrate that the purpose of an assessment has been agreed upon by yourself, the individual being assessed and possibly others (family, advocates, healthcare professionals etc.) at the outset of the assessment.

The purpose of an assessment is the reason for the assessment to take place. It will be broad and wide-ranging (unlike outcomes/goals/objectives, which will be more specific). The Care and Support Statutory Guidance defines the purpose of assessment as:

6.9 The purpose of an assessment is to identify the person’s needs and how these impact on their wellbeing, and the outcomes that the person wishes to achieve in their day-to-day life.

Care & Support Statutory Guidance

Defining the purpose of the assessment at the start is a very important part of the assessment process because it ensures that everyone is working with the same goal in mind, that each party is motivated to contribute and, if things start to veer off at a tangent, the purpose can be referenced to pivot and get things back on track.

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) identifies five kinds of assessment purposes:

1. Protection (of either the service user, carers or others)
2. Meeting needs (using professional judgment)
3. Representation of service user/carers (advocacy)
4. Representation of agency (fulfilling organisational policy and priorities)
5. Proxy (gathering information on behalf of other parties)