Council implements child services reforms as part of ‘Families First for Children’ pathfinder

Dorset Council has announced a new way of working with children and families, with the aim of reducing the number of children on child protection plans and for more children to be supported to stay with their birth families.

The council was selected last year by the Government to be one of three pathfinder organisations to design “major reforms” to children's services.

Amongst other new changes, the council revealed that children who can’t stay with their birth parents will be supported to stay with other members of their family or kinship carers (people who are already known to them), and children in those arrangements will be “supported to thrive”.

Further, a ‘Family Network Support Package’ - for families who are taking part in family group decision making - will provide financial support for people who are not birth parents and can help in some way.

The council said: “This might be a new sofa bed so grandparents can stay over in the child’s family home while a parent is unwell, or money so an aunt or uncle can pick a child up from school and give them dinner.”

Family Networks will be identified by families themselves and could include extended family members as well as friends or non-family members such as faith group representatives or community volunteers.

Family Hubs are also available for advice and will offer activities and social opportunities for children, parents and carers.

The new way of working has been split into four areas:

• Family Help – teams that are based locally and can help families with tailored support in a wide range of needs.
• Child protection – a dedicated and skilled team that works with family help and other agencies to protect children who are suffering or are likely to suffer significant harm.
• Family networks – making greater use of the network that each family has and aiming to keep more children living at home or with someone they already know.
• Safeguarding partners – making sure that current safeguarding partners are brought along with any changes and that education is included as the fourth safeguarding partner.

Theresa Leavy, executive director for children’s services, said: “We’ve called this our Families First for Children Pathfinder because one of the key principles of our new way of working is that we put children and their families first. They lead on the decision making and tell us, or other support groups in their community, what help they think they need in order to keep their family together.

“We are in the fortunate position of not having to re-design everything. We’ve been using our locality-based way of working for some time now where people can get help from a range of services in their community that is tailored to what they need locally. The work of the pathfinder has enhanced the service that was already there.”

She added: “We know that the vast majority of our families want exactly the same for their children as anyone else – that their children had a better childhood than they did themselves. We are here to try to make sure that happens for all Dorset families and by involving the wider family network early on this will mean families are wrapping around and given the chance to support much earlier.

“Overall we expect this to be a better experience for families who will feel more supported and better able to develop their own plans to keep their children close to them.”

The other two councils chosen to deliver the ‘Families First for Children’ programme were Wolverhampton and Lincolnshire.

Separately, Brighton and Hove, Sunderland, Gateshead, Telford and Wrekin, Staffordshire, Hartlepool and Hammersmith and Fulham were chosen to deliver Family Network pilots, to find better ways to involve wider family members in supporting parents so that children can stay at home with their families.

The programmes are part of the government’s children’s social care implementation strategy, ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’, which responds to recommendations made in the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, led by Josh MacAlister.

Lottie Winson