Agenda item

Briefing Note of the Early Help Operational Lead

The Board received a Briefing Note and presentation from the Early Help Operational Lead.

Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023, described the expectations for multi-agency working to help, protect and promote the welfare of children.  The current expectations were for partners to work together within early help through a collaborative, multi-agency approach to support children and families through shared responsibility, information sharing and continuous improvement.

Early help was a support for children of all ages that improved a family’s resilience and outcomes or reduced the chance of a problem getting worse.  It was a system of support delivered by local authorities and their partners working together, taking collective responsibility to provide the right provision for them.

In Coventry, the Early Help and Prevention system of support was arranged and governed by the Early Help Strategic Partnership, who were responsible for the development, activation and evaluation of the Early Help Strategy.  This was mobilised across the partnership and community of practice through 10 Early Help Outcome Groups, as well as the Family Hub Network and other local community based Early Help and prevention forums.  There were several other strategies and plans across the sector, including an early intervention and prevention focus including the Domestic Abuse Strategy, Housing and Homelessness and the Vanguard Programme.

In ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ guidance, the expectations were described for strategic leaders, senior and middle managers and those delivering direct practice.  For those involved in direct practice, the expectations were to: collaborate, learn, resource, include and mutually challenge.

The process in Coventry involved undertaking an Early Help Assessment, leading to a family plan, supported by a team around the family approach. The role that practitioners across the system were expected to undertake was detailed in the Coventry CSCP Work Force Table.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill was introduced in Parliament in December 2024 and was expected to report in February 2025.  The bill contained reforms to children’s social care and provision relating to education in England.  Key features included: child safety, education tracking, home education safeguards, financial relief for parents and school admissions.  There were also key expectations for safeguarding partners including local authorities, NHS integrated care boards and the police, aiming to create a more integrated and responsive system to protect children from harm.

Coventry, recognised as a trailblazer in the National Family Hub and Start for Life programme, had 8 Family Hub buildings and delivered a comprehensive offer of support in the local communities across Coventry and through a new digital platform.  Notification of an additional years funding for 2025/6 and report of progress and request to accept the grant would be taken to Cabinet and Council in March 2025.

The Family Hub and Start for Life Programme Board currently oversaw the work of each funded workstream, with workstream leads representing the partnership agencies and teams delivering on this programme. The Public Health Consultant responsible for inequalities and children currently attended and supported the board.

There were new elements to the Coventry offer including the establishment of a special support group for families who had spent considerable time in their early parenting on the UHCW neonatal ward.  Other new elements included Bumps Baby & Beyond sessions, specialist workshops for newly arrived families, father focus work and an enhanced offer to families with children with SEND.  Mosaic and The Moat Family Hub were also places where parents could register the birth of their baby.  This offer was being extended to one further Family Hub.

‘Coventry Families’ portal www.coventryfamilies.co.uk, was now live and utilised across the city.  The portal provided accessible support, advice, information and resources to families.

The Chair commended the early help and prevention work, advising the effects of which were immeasurable on families within the city.

Members of the Board, having considered the Briefing Note and Presentation, asked questions and received information from officers on the following:

·  Families with children with SEN needs was a priority.  Each Family Hub had a SEN offer and officers responded as requests were received and had provided links with the SEND Parent Carer Forum, with the sensory library now being hosted within one of the Family Hubs.  The role of Partnership Co-ordinator within the team, was to provide support to these families.

·  Translation services were provided via a partnership approach.  MAMTA was provided at the Foleshill Women’s Training Centre, and supported minority ethnic women after pregnancy.  The Family Hubs offered translation support, lingo links and some staff were bi-lingual.

The Board requested:

·  Details of SEN groups requiring support to be passed to the Partnership Co-ordinator.

·  Details of the book ‘Poor’ by Katriona O’Sullivan

·  Family Hubs video to be shared widely via social media platforms

RESOLVED that the Health and Wellbeing Board:

1)  That all services, agencies and teams familiarise themselves with the Early Help strategy and its commitment to children and families and identify how their service can help meet the commitments to help families achieve positive outcomes

2)  That services, agencies and teams across the partnerships and sectors familiarise themselves with the proposed social care reforms and consider their response to key policy documentation including Stable Homes built on love, and Keeping children safe, helping families thrive, and start to consider the potential implications for transformation that may be required to undertake as part of the integrated care system.

3)  That all interested parties join the Family hub network, download the Coventry families portal app and share with their teams to utilise in practice to navigate families to the right help in Coventry and access beneficial services.

4)  That services understand their responsibilities to contribute to supporting families in need of targeted early help as outlined in the Coventry workforce table and seek any support they need to notice and identify children, initiate early help assessments, participate in team around the family arrangements and act as lead practitioners when appropriate, acting in the best interests of children, young people and their families.

5)  To recognise the impacts to our most vulnerable children and families in our city and use the learning from the Vanguard’s test and learn approach to influence future commissioning for young people in the most complex situations.