Highland Chronology Template

Sep 2, 2026

This document introduces the Highland Chronology Template, an essential tool for practitioners working with adults, designed to support practice in various ways. It is intended for use in Highland as a supplementary social work recording tool, applicable to all social work practice, not exclusively Adult Support and Protection (ASP). Practitioners are advised to adhere to local, up-to-date guidance available on the ASP webpage for professionals and national guidance from IRISS. Chronologies are vital for capturing significant life events, understanding the adult's lived experience, identifying the sources of actual and potential harm, and determining protective factors to guide intervention strategies. The template specifies that a chronology's format should include purpose, authorship, date of completion, the nature and sequence of events, outcomes or impact on the adult, sources of information, and responses to events. It also outlines nine characteristics of good chronologies: usefulness in assessment and practice, distinctness from assessment itself, functioning as a working tool that promotes engagement, accuracy based on good case recording, sufficiency without replacing file recording, flexibility to accommodate increased risk, regular review and analysis for relevance, adaptability to different applications (e.g., current work vs. historical events), and recognition of varying demands for single-agency and multi-agency approaches.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatDOCX

Pages2

Reading Time1 min

AccessFree to download

Highland Chronology Template

Introduction to Chronologies

Guidance and Resources

Purpose of Chronologies

Format of a Chronology

Characteristics of Good Chronologies

FAQs

What is the primary purpose of the Highland Chronology Template?

The Highland Chronology Template is designed to capture significant events in an adult's life, consider their lived experience, understand harm, and identify protective factors to guide intervention strategies.

Where can practitioners find guidance on using the Highland Chronology Template?

Practitioners should use the template in line with local, up-to-date guidance on the ASP webpage for professionals and national guidance published by IRISS.

What are the nine characteristics of good chronologies mentioned in the document?

The nine characteristics include being a useful assessment tool, not an assessment itself, promoting engagement, being accurate and detailed, flexible, regularly reviewed, and adaptable to different applications and agency contexts.

Sep 2, 2026

Upload by Ethan Miller