Families First Partnership Programme
The DfE is introducing new national reforms to the way we deliver services to children and families.
To avoid confusion, the Families First Partnership Programme is not part of Hertfordshire’s established early help Families First service but a new national reform being led (and named) by the Department for Education.
The Families First Partnership Programme takes a whole-system approach to rebalancing children's social care toward earlier intervention, whilst strengthening multi-agency child protection. The focus is on providing non-stigmatising, community-based, whole family services that "bring together targeted early help, child in need, and multi-agency children protection into a seamless system of help, support and protection”. Locally designed systems will meet the needs of our communities with effective, integrated, and joined-up services across our partnership. New arrangements and services need to be in place in October 2025.
Meeting invitation
Please join the reforms project team at a virtual information and engagement session on:
- Wednesday, 21 May 2025 at 13:30 - 14:30 or 16:15 - 17:15
or
- Thursday, 5 June 2025 at 12:15 - 13:15 or 16:15 - 17:15
They will provide an overview of the national requirements, share details of the response in Hertfordshire, and answer your questions. These sessions are hosted by our Hertfordshire Safeguarding Children's Partnership.
What are the main changes
The Department for Education programme guide sets out what is expected and how services should run. It is a recommended read:
Gov.UK: Families First Partnership programme
The reforms introduce Family Help Teams and Multi Agency Child Protection Teams with partner agencies sitting alongside Children's Services in local teams. There is a strong focus on bringing in the support of the child's family and community network, with Family Network Meetings being offered to all families at the beginning of their journey facilitated by the family's lead practitioner, and Family Group Conferences being offered to all families from pre-proceedings.
Family Help Teams wrap support around the whole family at the earliest opportunity and include expertise from multi-disciplinary practitioners, including social workers. The structure means that families have a consistent relationship with their lead practitioner all the way from targeted early help through to child in need, as they remain supported by the same locality-based team. One assessment template and plan will stay with the family and will adapt as the family needs change. The role of the Family Help Lead Practitioner is introduced, who can be from different disciplines, undertakes direct work with the family and leads a Team Around the Family.
Multi Agency Child Protection Teams focus on where there are child protection concerns, bringing together experts from across agencies to identify significant harm and take decisive action to protect children. Core membership includes highly skilled and experienced child protection social workers, police officers, registered health practitioners, and persons with experience of education. The reforms introduce the role of the Lead Child Protection Practitioner who are responsible for statutory child protection decisions and chairing child protection conferences.
What does this mean for us in Hertfordshire
Our focus is on restructuring the way our services wrap around families, not reducing services. Much of the work that we already do with families will continue, even where this may be organised in a slightly different way.
We have stepped up a multi-agency project delivery team – the Families First Partnership Programme project team. The team includes colleagues from Education & Schools, Health, Police and Social Care.
Co design work and engagement sessions are underway, with project team colleagues reaching out across their organisations to seek views and opinions. Sessions are simultaneously taking place with our children, young people, families and communities. Workstreams are focusing of areas of practice and support structures, and colleagues with expertise will be invited to participate.
The final design and implementation plan must be submitted to the DfE in June 2025. We need to make changes, standing up new teams from July 2025 and moving into the new arrangements and services in October 2025.
Our existing Families First and Family Safeguarding approaches are really important to Hertfordshire and our co-design work will centre on how to bring these two innovative and industry leading approaches together to meet the requirements of the reforms. Family Safeguarding will continue to be our model of practice.
We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and recognise the great partnership working already in place in Hertfordshire through our Families First and Family Safeguarding models. Your dedication and collaboration have been instrumental in supporting our children and families, and we look forward to building on this strong foundation as we move forward with these new reforms.
Keeping you updated
Over the coming months and at key points in the transformation journey, the project team will share emails and information with you and hold further information and engagement events.
The project team can be contacted through this email address: FamiliesFirstPartnershipProgramme@hertfordshire.gov.uk