For a signed video of content on this page, please visit our BSL landing page.

Getting it right for every child (known as GIRFEC) is the national approach intended to make sure that all the people who support your child work together seamlessly to give you and your child the right help at the right time.

What does GIRFEC mean for me and my child?

Whenever your child needs help or support, GIRFEC aims to make sure that both you and your child:

• feel confident about the help being given
• understand what is happening and why
• are able to express their views and wishes
• are appropriately involved in discussions and decisions that affect you
• can rely on appropriate help being available as soon as possible
• experience a fair and co-ordinated response from staff.

Important elements of GIRFEC are:

• The approach helps services provide high quality support to all children and young people (aged 0-18) and their families including a clear point of contact (named person) available for all children and parents should they need it.
• If at any time your child needs support from people in different professions and organisations (for example health and social work) as well as school staff, someone called a lead professional will be appointed to ensure that all the people supporting your child work well together.

GIRFEC is about wellbeing

GIRFEC focuses on eight areas of wellbeing that are important for your child to grow and develop to reach their full potential. These are:

• Safe
• Healthy
• Achieving
• Nurtured
• Active
• Respected
• Responsible

Staff use the wellbeing wheel to assess your child's wellbeing across all eight areas, and to identify what's good in a child's life and whether there are any areas where support is needed.

Staff also use the 'My World Triangle' to understand a child or young person as a whole and to get a better picture of their needs.
You can also view text versions of the information contained in the wellbeing wheel and My World triangle.

Related links