About this section

Purpose and scope

1. 3D covers ongoing structured support after the Six-Week Foundation Pathway.
2. The work does not become a new model after six weeks. It continues the same Restitute approach: warm, practical, active, boundaried and recorded.
3. After the first six weeks there should be the beginnings of some emotional stability. The client may still be distressed and new crises may still happen, but support should no longer be only about immediate containment.
4. The next stage is likely to focus on issues that are less urgent than the presenting crisis but still important for the client, the survivor and the wider family.
5. This may include embedding techniques around managing children’s behaviour, looking at healthy behaviours, responding to issues raised by outside agencies, maintaining structure, managing dates and the ongoing task list, and creating normality.
6. This section covers the period after the six-week review and includes ongoing appointment rhythm, practical and emotional support, date management, outside-agency issues, benefits and forms, family functioning, healthy routines, social connection, therapy discussion, peer group support consideration, assessment review points, supervision, safeguarding, boundaries and Lamplight recording.
7. This section does not cover planned closure, bounce-back, re-referral after closure or long-term follow-up. These should sit in a later client pathway section.

Section-specific standards

1. The Client Pathway Standards apply to this section. The standards below are additional requirements specific to ongoing structured support.
2. Ongoing support must stay active and purposeful. It must not drift into vague checking-in, endless emotional processing or unmanaged practical firefighting.
3. The worker and client should keep a clear working list of dates, deadlines, tasks, agency issues, practical problems and changes in risk or family circumstances.
4. Support should help the client become less overwhelmed, more informed, more confident, better connected and more able to manage what is happening.
5. Appointment rhythm should remain planned. Fortnightly support is usually expected after the Six-Week Foundation Pathway unless there is a clear reason for weekly support to continue or restart for a defined period.
6. Any decision to continue weekly support, move back to weekly support, extend a review period, consider closure, progress therapeutic referral-route discussion or referral, or respond to drift must be discussed in supervision when it affects safety, model consistency or support quality.

Functions used in this section

1. Client Pathway Standards set the general rule on functional responsibilities. The functions below are the functions needed to operate 3D.
2. A Delivery Site must assign the support worker, supervision, referral administration/admin, purchasing or practical support administration, safeguarding, independent therapeutic referral route and peer group support referral functions before using this pathway.
3. The support worker function means the person providing ongoing structured support after the Six-Week Foundation Pathway.
4. The supervision function means the person or team responsible for practice oversight, support, challenge, risk discussion, review of drift, independent therapeutic referral-route discussion and peer group support referral discussion.
5. The referral administration/admin function means the person or team responsible for assessment scheduling, pathway data and agreed administrative tasks.
6. The purchasing or practical support administration function means the person or team responsible for sourcing, arranging, purchasing or coordinating agreed items, tools, services or practical support.
7. The safeguarding function means the person or team responsible for safeguarding advice, escalation and oversight where risk or safeguarding affects ongoing structured support.
8. The independent therapeutic referral route function means the person or team responsible for applying the agreed therapy referral route, approval process, consent and onward referral arrangements where the client wants to explore therapy. This function does not assess clinical suitability, choose therapeutic modality, determine treatment need or hold clinical governance for therapeutic provision.
9. The peer group support referral function means the person or team responsible for applying the peer group support referral route, suitability checks, approval process and onward referral arrangements where the client wants to consider peer group support.

3D.1 Starting ongoing structured support after the six-week review

1. 3D begins where the six-week review confirms that support will continue after the foundation period.
2. The six-week review should leave the worker and client clear about the support rhythm, active priorities, assessment position, risk or safeguarding position, boundary issues, professional involvement, practical issues, any therapy request or therapeutic referral-route discussion, and any peer group support request or consideration.
3. Where the client is ready, support will usually move to a fortnightly rhythm.
4. Fortnightly support must still be planned, purposeful and active. It must not become loose contact or occasional checking-in without a clear focus.
5. The worker should agree appointment dates in advance unless access needs, crisis, court pressure or scheduling constraints mean this cannot be done. Appointment dates and any reason for a different arrangement must be recorded in Lamplight.
6. Weekly support may continue or restart for a defined period where risk, safeguarding, court pressure, family instability, crisis or another serious need means fortnightly support is not enough.
7. Where weekly support continues or restarts, the reason, focus and review point must be recorded in Lamplight.
8. If there has not been enough active support to make a fair six-week review decision, the case remains under 3C until the extended foundation review has taken place.
9. If appointments become ad hoc, repeatedly missed or repeatedly cancelled, the worker must discuss the case in supervision and agree a plan.

3D.2 Keeping the working list alive

1. Ongoing support is often about keeping structure around a changing list.
2. New issues may keep appearing. The worker’s role is to help the client sort what is urgent, what is important, what can wait, what needs professional input and what the client can do next.
3. The client and family may use a diary, notebook, task list, planner or other agreed tool where this helps them hold dates, tasks and worries outside their head.
4. The worker may help the client use these tools during support, but the tools are for the client and family. They do not replace Lamplight as the worker’s controlled record.
5. The list may include court dates, police updates, school meetings, social care meetings, child protection deadlines, benefit deadlines, GP appointments, housing issues, therapy appointments, work issues, family events, anniversaries, birthdays, holidays, forms, letters and practical jobs at home.
6. The worker should help the client review what has changed since the last appointment, what has improved, what remains stuck, what has become urgent and what can now be moved down the list.
7. The aim is not to remove every problem from the client’s life. The aim is to help the client feel less overwhelmed and more able to manage what is happening.

3D.3 Moving from urgent pressure to important work

1. During the first six weeks, support may have focused on urgent pressure, emotional containment, risk, immediate practical problems and getting structure in place.
2. After six weeks, the worker should help the client begin to work on important issues that may not have been possible to tackle during the first stage.
3. This may include family routines, children’s behaviour, school engagement, health behaviours, home conditions, work stress, benefits or forms, social connection, confidence, safe relationships, practical independence and rebuilding ordinary life.
4. The worker should not assume that crisis has ended. New urgent issues may still arise. The worker should respond to urgent issues without allowing the whole support pattern to become reactive again.
5. The worker should help the client notice progress, including small changes in confidence, steadiness, communication, boundaries, household functioning, contact with agencies or ability to manage dates and tasks.

3D.4 Children, family functioning and behaviour

1. Ongoing support should continue to work through the lead carer in the family.
2. The worker should help the client think about how the survivor, siblings, other children and wider household are affected by what has happened. Support remains through the lead carer, but it should help make sure other children in the household are not forgotten.
3. This may include children’s behaviour, school attendance, suspensions, missing episodes, self-harm threats, sibling impact, supervised contact, family conflict, sleep, routines, activities, safety and relationships between family members.
4. The worker may help the client embed techniques around children’s behaviour, including calm responses, predictable routines, consistent boundaries, safer communication, preparation for school or contact arrangements, and noticing what helps the child settle.
5. The worker should not take over parenting decisions, interview or assess children, or present themselves as a parenting, clinical or safeguarding expert unless they hold that role and this is part of the agreed delivery arrangement.
6. Where a child’s behaviour, wishes, wellbeing or circumstances create risk, safeguarding concern or a professional threshold issue, the worker must follow safeguarding and supervision requirements and help the lead carer use the right professional route.

3D.5 Healthy behaviours, daily functioning and ordinary routines

1. The worker should notice whether stress, trauma, caring pressure or ongoing agency involvement is affecting daily functioning.
2. This may include sleep, eating, medication, drinking, smoking, substance use, caffeine, exercise, appointments, leaving the house, housework, work, study, parenting routines or personal care.
3. This must not become lifestyle policing.
4. The purpose is to understand what has become harder to manage and whether small practical changes, GP contact, another support route or a different routine may help.
5. The worker may help the client try one manageable change at a time, such as a shopping list, meal plan, sleep note, GP appointment, short walk, household task, rest plan, appointment diary or weekly routine.
6. Where a health behaviour creates immediate risk, safeguarding concern or serious deterioration, the worker must use supervision, safeguarding or urgent support routes.

3D.6 Responding to outside agencies

1. Outside agencies may continue to create new pressure during ongoing support.
2. This may include police, CPS, courts, children’s social care, Early Help, schools, colleges, housing, DWP, occupational health, employers, GP services, mental health services, CAFCASS, solicitors, Family Rights, victim services or immigration and Home Office routes.
3. The worker may help the client understand what an agency is asking for, prepare questions, organise papers, respond to letters, prepare for meetings, ask for updates, follow up missed communication or decide what information the client wants to share.
4. Professional contact must follow consent and information-sharing requirements in the Client Pathway Standards.
5. Where professional contact becomes complex, conflictual, legally sensitive or safeguarding-related, the worker should discuss the next step in supervision before acting.
6. The worker should not allow outside agencies to turn Restitute into a case-management substitute for statutory or professional responsibilities.

3D.7 Benefits, housing, forms and practical systems

1. Benefits, housing, debt, immigration, employment, disability-related costs or caring pressures may remain active issues after the foundation period.
2. Workers should continue to identify benefit, finance and form-related issues where they affect the client’s stability or ability to support the survivor and family.
3. Completing relevant forms with or on behalf of clients is part of the support worker role where the worker is trained and competent to do so.
4. This may include DLA, PIP, Universal Credit, benefit journals, housing forms, evidence gathering, GP letters, school forms, employment paperwork or other relevant forms within the worker’s training and agreed role.
5. Where the worker is unsure, the form is unusually complex, or there is a risk of inaccurate advice, the worker must discuss the next step in supervision before proceeding.
6. Benefit, housing, form and practical-system support must be recorded in Lamplight.

3D.8 Practical support and creating normality

1. Practical support and thoughtful help may continue during ongoing support where this is justified and linked to the client’s circumstances.
2. Practical support should help create safety, stability, ordinary functioning, engagement with recovery or family wellbeing.
3. This may include petrol or essential travel costs, cleaning, garden help, skip hire, books, flowers, activities, household items, support with a practical barrier, or a contribution to something that would make life easier.
4. Practical support should not feel generic, excessive, intrusive or like a reward for distress.
5. Any practical support, item, service or thoughtful help must follow the Grant-making Policy and the agreed approval, purchasing and recording route.
6. The worker should not purchase or arrange material support alone.
7. The action, approval route, cost where relevant, reason and intended outcome must be recorded in Lamplight.

3D.9 Social connection, work, hobbies and confidence

1. Ongoing support should notice whether the client is rebuilding ordinary life or becoming more isolated.
2. This may include hobbies, friendships, volunteering, work, study, support groups, family activities, community activity, faith or cultural connection, safe online groups, exercise or creative activity.
3. The worker should help the client identify safe opportunities for connection and confidence where the client wants this and it fits their circumstances.
4. The worker should not push social activity where it would be unsafe, overwhelming, culturally inappropriate or not wanted by the client.
5. The worker should help the client notice progress in confidence, self-worth, decision-making, family relationships, work, friendships or ability to take uninterrupted time for themselves.

3D.10 Assessments and review points

1. The 12-week and 30-week assessments must be completed, prompted or followed up in line with the assessment schedule.
2. If support remains open after the 30-week assessment, a further assessment should be scheduled every 30 weeks until support ends.
3. Assessment information must be used alongside client discussion, worker judgement and supervision.
4. Workers must not prioritise assessment completion over safe and effective client support. Where an assessment is delayed, the reason must be recorded in Lamplight.
5. The 12-week review should consider what has changed since the six-week review, what is working, what remains unsafe or stuck, what the client wants to be different, whether support rhythm is still right, what practical or agency issues remain active, whether risk has changed, whether the client has requested therapy or peer group support, whether therapeutic referral-route discussion or peer group support consideration is needed, whether the client is becoming more confident, the next safe steps and whether support is still purposeful.
6. The 30-week review should consider longer-term progress, what is working, what remains unsafe or stuck, what the client wants to be different, support rhythm, whether ongoing work remains needed, whether closure planning should begin, whether a later review is needed, the next safe steps, and whether any further safeguarding action, therapeutic referral-route discussion or referral, peer group support consideration, practical support or professional liaison is required.
7. Assessment and review decisions must be recorded in Lamplight.

3D.11 Therapy discussion and peer group support consideration during ongoing support

3D.11.1 When therapy may be discussed

1. Therapy is not a front-door or automatic offer.
2. During ongoing structured support, therapy may be discussed where the client asks about therapy, or where the worker thinks it may be helpful to ask whether the client would like information about the therapy referral route.
3. Assessment scores, review discussions, client presentation and support context may help the worker and supervisor decide whether to raise therapy as an option, but Restitute does not decide clinical suitability or treatment need.
4. Where therapy is discussed, the support worker must explain that Restitute can support access to an agreed independent therapeutic referral route, but that clinical assessment, suitability, therapeutic approach and treatment planning sit with the qualified therapeutic provider.
5. Restitute support workers and Delivery Sites do not assess clinical suitability for therapy, choose therapeutic modality, determine treatment need or hold clinical governance for therapeutic provision.
6. Where the client wants to explore therapy, the support worker must follow the independent therapeutic referral route arrangements set out in 2D.3 and the Delivery Site’s agreed therapy referral route.
7. Therapy must not be promised before client consent, referral route, approval, funding, availability and independent therapeutic assessment have been confirmed.
8. Any referral form or checklist used must support coordination only. It must not be used to score or determine clinical need, suitability or therapeutic modality.

3D.11.2 When peer group support may be considered

1. Peer group support may be considered during ongoing structured support where the client requests it, or where the worker identifies it as potentially helpful and the client wants to consider it.
2. Peer group support should usually be considered only once the client has moved beyond immediate containment and is able to think about connection with others without this being unsafe or overwhelming.
3. Peer group support must not be presented as required, automatic or a substitute for one-to-one Restitute support.
4. Where peer group support may be suitable, the support worker must follow the peer group support referral arrangements set out in 2D.4 and the Delivery Site’s agreed peer group support referral route.
5. Peer group support must not be promised before suitability, consent, referral route, funding and availability have been checked.

3D.11.3 Limits and safeguards

1. Therapy must not be used as a substitute for support work.
2. Therapy must not be offered simply because the client is distressed.
3. Therapy must not be used as a way of moving on clients who are high-contact, boundary-testing or difficult to hold within support.
4. Support work must not duplicate therapy or become informal therapy alongside the therapeutic provider.
5. Therapy must not replace support work where the client still needs practical help, advocacy, family stabilisation, professional liaison or help managing systems.

3D.11.4 Managing support work if therapy or peer group support starts

1. Where therapy starts, support-worker involvement must be reviewed through supervision and with the client.
2. With client consent, and where it is appropriate, information from the therapeutic provider may inform the Restitute support plan.
3. Restitute support may continue, pause, reduce or be reviewed while therapy takes place. The decision should be based on the client’s needs, risk, emotional capacity, Restitute support plan, boundaries, safeguarding position, and whether continuing both forms of support would help or overwhelm the client.
4. Where Restitute support continues while therapy is taking place, it must have a clear practical, family, agency, safeguarding, court or stabilisation focus. It must not duplicate therapy or drift into therapeutic work.
5. Where peer group support starts, one-to-one Restitute support should usually continue unless the support plan, client preference, risk, capacity or step-down plan indicates otherwise.
6. Peer group support must not replace one-to-one Restitute support unless the client is ready for step-down or exit and this has been agreed as part of the support plan.
7. The support worker should help the client understand the difference between one-to-one Restitute support, therapy and peer group support, including what each route can and cannot provide.

3D.11.5 Recording and supervision

1. Any therapy discussion or referral must be recorded in Lamplight, including the client’s view, relevant assessment scores or support context, worker view, supervision view where used, decision made, referral route, consent, approval, funding and availability checks, assessment outcome where known, next action, and any decision about whether one-to-one Restitute support will continue, reduce, pause or restart while therapy takes place.
2. Peer group support consideration must be recorded in Lamplight, including the request or rationale, client view, worker view, suitability decision, referral route, supervision view where required, decision made, next action, and any decision about whether one-to-one Restitute support will continue, reduce, pause or end while peer group support is accessed.

3D.12 Non-engagement, crisis contact and boundaries

1. If a client misses an ongoing support appointment or does not respond during ongoing support, the worker should follow the agreed active-support non-engagement route.
2. The worker must not make repeated uncontrolled contact attempts.
3. Repeated missed appointments, limited contact, no meaningful engagement, high contact outside appointments or repeated crisis contact must be discussed in supervision before closure, extension, return to weekly support or a revised engagement plan.
4. Planned appointments remain where most support work takes place.
5. Crisis contact should be responded to safely, but contact outside appointments must not replace planned support.
6. High levels of contact outside appointments should not be treated as nuisance behaviour. The worker should consider whether the pattern reflects risk, distress, trauma response, loneliness, isolation, practical confusion, unclear boundaries, dependency or a need for a revised communication plan.
7. Significant contact outside appointments, crisis contact, safeguarding concerns and agreed boundary plans must be recorded in Lamplight.
8. Example wording and templates for active-support missed appointments, revised engagement and non-engagement closure are held in Appendix C.

3D.13 Supervision, risk and keeping support purposeful

1. Ongoing support must stay planned, active and purposeful. It must not become loose checking-in, dependency, crisis-only contact or an open-ended emotional support arrangement with no clear focus.
2. The worker should bring the case to supervision where engagement, contact patterns, risk, safeguarding, boundaries or support rhythm are becoming difficult to manage.
3. Supervision should also be used for therapeutic referral-route discussion or referral, peer group support consideration, professional conflict, benefits/forms uncertainty, practical support decisions, worker uncertainty or worker emotional impact.
4. Ongoing support must follow the Client Pathway Standards on planned contact, crisis contact, boundaries, supervision, risk, safeguarding and Lamplight recording.
5. Where contact patterns, crisis contact, changed risk, safeguarding concerns or boundary issues affect ongoing support, the worker must discuss the case in supervision and update Lamplight.
6. Risk may change because of new information, family conflict, safeguarding concerns, criminal justice developments, court dates, housing issues, financial pressure, mental health, substance use, self-harm, attempts to complete suicide, threats, professional decisions, perpetrator activity or changes in the survivor’s circumstances.
7. Closure must not be progressed where safeguarding, risk or vulnerability makes closure unsafe. The case must be discussed in supervision and through safeguarding routes where needed.

3D.14 Lamplight recording and client planning tools

1. Lamplight is the controlled record for ongoing structured support.
2. Diaries, planners, notebooks, lists and other organising tools are client-facing tools for the client and their family.
3. The worker may use these tools to support structure, planning and follow-up with the client, but they do not replace Lamplight.
4. The worker must record key issues, agreed actions, decisions, progress, risk changes, safeguarding concerns, professional contact, practical support, assessment activity, supervision decisions and changes to support rhythm in Lamplight.
5. Achievements and successes should be recorded. These may include small steps as well as major outcomes.
6. Key pathway information must not be held only in emails, messages, paper notes, spreadsheets, informal trackers, client planning tools or worker memory.

3D.15 Appendix references

1. Appendix C contains example wording and templates for some active-support communications that may be relevant during ongoing structured support.
2. Appendix C includes C3C/3D.11 Independent therapeutic referral route discussion, which may be used where therapy is discussed during the Six-Week Foundation Pathway or ongoing structured support.
3. Where existing Appendix C templates are used or adapted during ongoing support, the wording should keep the same purpose and must not change the pathway decision, offer, boundary or timescale being communicated.
4. Any communication must be recorded in Lamplight.
5. 3D should be read alongside the Client Pathway Standards, including the standards on Lamplight, case transfer and handover, lead-carer/child-centred practice, 3C, the Grant-making Policy, local safeguarding procedures, digital safeguarding requirements, supervision arrangements and the Client Pathway Standards and Practice Audit and Spot-Check Pack.

3D.16 What must stay the same and what can change locally

1. The Restitute Model needs to be delivered consistently, even when it is used in different places.
2. Local Delivery Sites may adapt local arrangements where this does not change the model.
3. Local changes must not remove key safeguards, weaken recording requirements, bypass safeguarding, remove supervision, remove assessment review points, or allow support to become unstructured.

3D.17 Audit and spot-check resource

1. The Client Pathway Standards and Practice Audit and Spot-Check Pack includes a 3D checklist for ongoing structured support.
2. The checklist may be used for supervision, Lamplight record review, pilot-site review, quality assurance or learning after a concern, complaint, safeguarding issue or pathway breakdown.
3. The checklist is not completed for every client as a routine administrative task.
4. Any audit findings, gaps and corrective actions should be recorded in the audit pack or local quality record. The client pathway record remains Lamplight.