aggressive, rude and withdrawn. He was no longer eating and he lost weight. Thus, changes in the
family affected Sam’s emotional and physical development.
Knowledge of the ecological model could help a social worker assess, not just the child, but
parental capacity, child’s developmental needs and family and environmental factors for childcentred
and holistic interventions using the Assessment Framework (DCSF, 2010; Jack and Jack,
2006). Distant environments also influenced child development.