About this section

Purpose and scope

1. 3E covers the end of active Restitute support.
2. It controls planned closure, parked cases, unplanned closure, non-engagement closure during active support, client-requested closure, bounce-back contact and re-referral after closure.
3. Closure should be planned, safe, clear and recorded. It should not feel sudden, punitive or like the client has been dropped because they are less urgent.
4. Ending support well is part of the Restitute Model. The client should understand why support is ending, what has changed, what remains available to them, what they can do if things worsen, and how to return to Restitute if they need to.
5. This section does not cover entry to service, allocation, first appointment, the Six-Week Foundation Pathway or ongoing structured support. These are covered in 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D.
6. This section does not cover long-term follow-up, research participation, volunteering, lived-experience consultation, fundraising, campaigning or other contribution after support has ended. Those are covered in 3F.

Section-specific standards

1. The Client Pathway Standards apply to this section. The standards below are additional requirements for closure, parked cases, bounce-back and re-referral.
2. Closure must be based on support need, progress, safety, client readiness, risk, safeguarding, assessment position and whether active Restitute support remains purposeful.
3. Closure must not be used to manage difficult contact, high contact, worker pressure, capacity pressure or unresolved risk without supervision.
4. Closure must not be progressed where safeguarding, risk or vulnerability makes closure unsafe.
5. The client should be involved in closure planning wherever possible.
6. A case should not remain open indefinitely because closure feels emotionally difficult for the worker or client.
7. A case should not be closed simply because the worker is absent, leaving, unavailable or unable to continue. Where continuity is disrupted, the case should follow the Client Pathway Standards on case transfer, worker absence and handover. Closure should only proceed where it is the right pathway decision for the client.
8. A parked case must have a defined reason, future event or review point. Parking must not become an indefinite open case with no active support plan.
9. Bounce-back contact must be limited, purposeful and recorded. It must not become unplanned reopening by default.
10. Re-referral must be available where the person needs a new period of support and meets the criteria, but previous involvement with Restitute must not be used as a substitute for a fresh risk and suitability check.

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 3E.
2. A Delivery Site must assign the support worker, supervision, referral administration/admin, safeguarding, assessment, independent therapeutic referral route and peer group support referral functions before using this pathway.
3. The support worker function means the person providing direct support to the client before closure.
4. The supervision function means the person or team responsible for practice oversight, closure discussion, risk review, safeguarding discussion, non-engagement decisions, parked-case decisions, independent therapeutic referral-route decisions affecting closure or support rhythm, peer group support referral decisions affecting closure or support rhythm, bounce-back decisions and re-referral decisions.
5. The referral administration/admin function means the person or team responsible for updating pathway status, supporting assessment scheduling, recording closure dates and maintaining agreed administrative records.
6. The safeguarding function means the person or team responsible for safeguarding advice, escalation and oversight where risk or safeguarding affects closure, parking, bounce-back or re-referral.
7. The assessment function means the person or team responsible for prompting, completing, checking or recording exit assessments at closure.
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 therapy affects closure, parking, support rhythm, bounce-back or re-referral. 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 peer group support is being considered as part of step-down, closure, bounce-back or re-referral.

3E.1 When planned closure can be considered

1. Planned closure can be considered where active Restitute support has achieved its current purpose or is no longer the right form of support.
2. Closure may be considered where the client has become more stable, more informed, more confident, better connected, better able to manage key tasks or better supported by other appropriate routes.
3. Closure may also be considered where the main work has been completed, the client no longer needs active Restitute support, another service has taken over the relevant work, or the client wants support to end.
4. Closure should not depend on every problem being resolved.
5. Many clients will still be living with the impact of abuse, criminal justice processes, family strain, grief, anger, practical pressure or uncertainty when support ends.
6. The closure question is whether active Restitute support remains needed and purposeful, not whether life is now free from difficulty.
7. The worker should begin discussing closure before the final appointment wherever possible.
8. Closure should not be introduced for the first time in the final appointment unless the client has requested an immediate ending or there is another clear reason.

3E.2 Pre-closure checks

1. Before planned closure, the worker must review whether there are any active risks, safeguarding concerns, urgent practical issues, professional processes, assessment requirements, outstanding actions or support needs that affect closure.
2. The worker should first check closure readiness with the client. This should include whether the client understands that active support is ending, whether they agree that closure is the right next step, and what worries or unfinished issues they still want to discuss.
3. The worker must then check safety. This should include whether risk has changed, whether there are safeguarding concerns, whether the Lamplight risk assessment needs updating, and whether closure would be unsafe because of risk, safeguarding or vulnerability.
4. The worker should check whether any practical, professional or external support issues remain active. This may include court, police, social care, school, housing, benefits, forms, therapy, peer group support, health, family pressure or other professional involvement.
5. The worker should check whether any final action is needed before closure. This may include a professional update with consent, an onward referral, crisis or urgent support information, a final practical task, or confirmation of how the client can contact Restitute again if needed.
6. The worker should check the exit assessment position and record whether the assessment has been completed, declined, delayed or is not safe or possible to complete at that point.
7. Where risk, safeguarding, vulnerability, professional conflict, high contact, non-engagement, dependency, worker uncertainty or disagreement about closure is present, closure must be discussed in supervision before the case is closed.
8. The supervision decision and any closure condition must be recorded in Lamplight.

3E.3 Closure discussion with the client

1. The closure discussion should be clear, kind and practical.
2. The worker should explain why closure is being considered and what has changed since support started.
3. The worker should help the client notice progress, including small changes in stability, confidence, family functioning, agency contact, decision-making, boundaries, routines or ability to manage dates and tasks.
4. The worker should not overstate progress or imply that the client should now be fixed.
5. The worker should ask the client what still worries them, what they feel more able to manage, what they might need next and what they would do if things became difficult again.
6. The worker should check whether the client has contact details for any ongoing professionals or services.
7. The worker should explain the difference between active Restitute support ending, a parked case, brief bounce-back contact after closure, and making a new referral if a new period of support is needed.
8. The worker should explain that future contact for long-term assessments, additional research activity or in-person activities is optional and depends on the client’s separate ‘contact after exit’ consent. This is covered in 3F.
9. The worker should avoid making open-ended promises that Restitute cannot keep.
10. The worker should not imply that the same worker will always be available after closure.
11. If the client disagrees with closure, the worker must explain how the decision can be reviewed and how the client can raise a complaint or concern.

3E.4 Exit assessment and closure evidence

1. An exit assessment should be completed when active support ends.
2. The exit assessment should include the required wellbeing, carer confidence and health measures.
3. The finance assessment is completed once only and must not be repeated at exit.
4. The worker should explain that the assessment helps Restitute understand what has changed during support and improve the service.
5. Assessment completion must not be prioritised over safe closure.
6. Where the exit assessment is delayed, declined or not possible, the reason must be recorded in Lamplight.
7. The exit assessment should be understood alongside client discussion, worker judgement, risk position, safeguarding position, practical progress and supervision where used.
8. Any feedback received at closure must be recorded and routed appropriately. Complaints or concerns must follow the agreed complaints or safeguarding route; positive feedback should be shared with the worker and Delivery Site where appropriate.
9. Worsening or stuck scores at exit do not automatically mean support should stay open. The worker must consider whether ongoing Restitute support is still the right response, whether another route is needed, or whether closure remains appropriate with clear signposting and recorded rationale.

3E.5 Planned closure actions

1. Where planned closure is agreed, the worker must record the closure decision in Lamplight.
2. The closure record should include reason for closure, client view, worker view, supervision input where used, risk position, safeguarding position, exit assessment position, outstanding actions, onward routes or services, crisis or urgent support routes shared, bounce-back or re-referral information given, and ‘contact after exit’ consent for long-term assessments, additional research activity and in-person activities under 3F.
3. The worker should send a closure message where written confirmation would help the client understand the position. Example wording for planned closure is held in Appendix C as C3E. Existing non-engagement closure wording should only be used where closure is due to non-engagement.
4. The closure message should be clear and warm, without creating an expectation of ongoing informal support.
5. Where a professional referrer or agreed external system needs to be updated, this should only happen with consent or another lawful information-sharing basis.
6. Any professional update must be recorded in Lamplight.

3E.6 Parked cases where a known future event means support may be needed again

1. A case may be parked where the client is ready to end regular support, but there is a known future event where it is likely that brief support will be needed again.
2. This may include a trial, sentencing hearing, family court hearing, child protection review, school transition, anniversary, planned perpetrator release date, appeal process, major professional meeting or another identified event linked to the reason for support.
3. Parking must be used for a defined reason and review point. It must not become an indefinite open case with no active support plan.
4. The worker and client should agree why the case is being parked rather than closed, what future event or date is being held in mind, when Restitute will make contact again, what the client should do if something becomes urgent before then, and what support may be offered when the future event approaches.
5. The case should not receive regular support while parked unless the support rhythm is formally restarted.
6. If the client needs active support again before the planned review point, the worker should discuss the case in supervision and decide whether to restart support, continue parking, move to closure, or treat the issue as bounce-back or re-referral.
7. The reason for parking, future date, planned contact point, client understanding, risk position, safeguarding position and any supervision decision must be recorded in Lamplight.
8. A parked case must still be reviewed if risk, safeguarding or vulnerability changes.

3E.7 Therapy, peer group support, paused support and closure decisions

1. Where a therapy referral has been made, therapy is underway, or therapy is about to start, closure must not be assumed simply because therapy is in place.
2. Some clients may pause support-worker appointments during therapy and return to Restitute support afterwards.
3. Some clients may continue Restitute support alongside therapy where there is an ongoing practical, family, agency, safeguarding, court or stabilisation need.
4. The support-worker role must be reviewed before closure if therapy is active, paused, ending or about to start.
5. Restitute support must not duplicate therapy or become informal therapy alongside the therapeutic provider.
6. Therapy must not replace Restitute support where the client still needs practical help, advocacy, family stabilisation, professional liaison or help managing systems.
7. Where Restitute support pauses during therapy, the worker and client should agree whether the case remains open, what contact will happen during therapy, when support work will be reviewed or restarted, and what the client should do if risk, safeguarding or urgent practical issues arise.
8. Any decision to pause, continue, restart, reduce or close Restitute support while therapy is being accessed must be discussed in supervision and recorded in Lamplight.
9. Where peer group support is being considered as part of step-down or closure, the worker must follow the agreed peer group support referral route.
10. Peer group support may be considered where the client wants ongoing safe connection with others who understand similar experiences, and where the worker considers that this may support step-down or exit.
11. Peer group support must not be presented as required, automatic or a substitute for one-to-one Restitute support.
12. 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 closure or support plan.
13. The worker must consider suitability, emotional readiness, safeguarding, confidentiality, online safety, group safety, risk of overwhelm, consent, availability and whether the client understands that peer group support is separate from one-to-one Restitute support.
14. Any decision to pause, continue, restart, reduce or close support while peer group support is being considered or accessed must be discussed in supervision and recorded in Lamplight.
15. The record must show the client view, worker view, supervision view where required, referral route, agreed contact or review plan, and next action.

3E.8 Unplanned closure and non-engagement during active support

1. Unplanned closure may be considered where the client does not respond, repeatedly misses appointments, disengages from support, asks to stop, moves out of contact, or support cannot safely or usefully continue.
2. Non-engagement must not be assumed after one missed appointment.
3. The worker must follow the agreed active-support non-engagement route before closing the case.
4. The worker must not make repeated uncontrolled contact attempts.
5. Repeated missed appointments, limited contact or no meaningful engagement must be discussed in supervision before closure unless the client has clearly stated they want support to end and there is no safeguarding, risk or vulnerability reason to keep the case open.
6. Before closing for non-engagement, the worker and supervisor should consider whether the pattern reflects risk, safeguarding, trauma response, fear, shame or overwhelm, digital exclusion, language or accessibility barriers, domestic abuse or coercion, mental health deterioration, housing instability, worker/client mismatch, unclear boundaries or practical barriers to attendance.
7. Closure must not be progressed where safeguarding, risk or vulnerability makes closure unsafe.
8. Where closure for non-engagement is agreed, the client should receive a final message explaining that support is being closed for now and that they may contact Restitute again or re-refer in future if they need support.
9. The closure decision, contact attempts, supervision decision, risk/safeguarding consideration and final message must be recorded in Lamplight.

3E.9 Client-requested closure

1. A client may ask to end support at any point.
2. The worker should respect the client’s decision unless there is a safeguarding, risk or vulnerability reason that requires further action.
3. The worker should ask whether there is anything Restitute should understand about the reason for ending.
4. The worker should check whether the client has any immediate concerns, outstanding risks, safeguarding issues or urgent practical matters before closure.
5. The worker should explain how the client can contact Restitute again or make a new referral if they need support in future.
6. Where the client agrees, the exit assessment should be offered.
7. If the client does not want an exit assessment, this should be recorded without pressure.
8. Client-requested closure, any risk/safeguarding consideration, exit assessment position and final information given must be recorded in Lamplight.

3E.10 Bounce-back after closure

1. Bounce-back means brief, limited contact after closure where a former client needs a small amount of help, reassurance or direction because something has flared up.
2. Bounce-back is not automatic reopening.
3. Bounce-back should be used only where the issue can be handled through brief contact and does not require a new period of structured support.
4. Bounce-back may include clarifying a previous plan, reminding the client of a route already discussed, helping the client identify who to contact, responding to a short update about a known process, checking whether a new referral is needed, or giving brief grounding or reassurance within the agreed role.
5. Bounce-back should not become repeated support, crisis management, ongoing casework, therapy, professional advocacy or a way of keeping the case half-open.
6. If bounce-back contact shows that the client needs structured support again, the worker should consider re-referral or reopening through the agreed route.
7. If bounce-back contact raises safeguarding, risk or urgent safety concerns, the worker must follow safeguarding, crisis or escalation routes.
8. Bounce-back contact must be recorded in Lamplight where a record remains available or through the agreed post-closure recording route.
9. The record should show the contact date, reason for contact, action taken, whether further support is needed, any risk or safeguarding issue, and whether re-referral or escalation is required.

3E.11 Re-referral after closure

1. A former client may re-refer to Restitute after closure.
2. Re-referral should be treated as a new pathway decision, not as an automatic continuation of the old case.
3. The referral administration or onboarding function must check whether the person still meets Restitute’s criteria and whether the reason for referral fits the model.
4. Previous involvement with Restitute may inform understanding, but it must not replace current assessment of need, risk, safeguarding, consent, eligibility or priority.
5. Where the person re-refers soon after closure, the referral administration or supervision function should consider whether the previous closure decision was safe, whether support ended too early, whether bounce-back would be sufficient, or whether a new period of support is needed.
6. Where significant time has passed since closure, the person should usually move through the normal 3A route unless there is a clear operational reason to use previous information.
7. Current contact details, safe-contact arrangements, consent, risk, safeguarding, professional involvement and assessment information must be checked again.
8. The finance assessment must not be repeated if it has already been completed. If it was not completed previously, it should be completed as required by the current pathway.
9. The re-referral decision and rationale must be recorded in Lamplight.

3E.12 Boundary with 3F

1. 3E ends once active support has closed, a case has been parked, bounce-back has been completed, or a re-referral decision has been made.
2. Long-term follow-up, outcome evidence, research participation, client voice, lived-experience consultation, volunteering, fundraising, speaking, campaigning and other contribution after support has ended are covered in 3F.
3. At closure, the worker must record the client’s ‘contact after exit’ consent for long-term assessments, additional research activity and in-person activities. Any later contact must follow 3F.
4. No client should feel that long-term follow-up, research participation, volunteering, fundraising or other contribution is expected because they received support.

3E.13 Appendix references

1. Appendix C contains example wording for planned closure at C3E.2.
2. Existing Appendix C non-engagement closure wording should only be used where closure is due to non-engagement.
3. If Appendix C is updated later, additional 3E templates may be created for parked-case review, bounce-back acknowledgement and re-referral route where these are needed.
4. Any communication affecting pathway status, risk, safeguarding, assessment, consent, closure, parking, bounce-back or re-referral must be recorded in Lamplight.

3E.14 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, allow unstructured drift, or use closure, parking, bounce-back or re-referral to manage capacity pressure.

3E.15 Audit and spot-check resource

1. The Client Pathway Standards and Practice Audit and Spot-Check Pack should include 3E checks.
2. 3E audit checks should cover closure rationale, risk and safeguarding, exit assessments, ‘contact after exit’ consent, parked-case decisions, therapeutic and peer-support referral decisions, non-engagement closure, bounce-back, re-referral, and any complaint or concern raised at closure.
3. Audit checks are not completed for every client. They may be used in supervision, Lamplight record review, pilot-site review, quality assurance or learning after a concern, complaint, safeguarding issue or pathway breakdown.