The sixth and final issue of the Strengthening Families learning journal is here. This will be the final publication focused on the learning garnered from the Strengthening Families, Protecting Children (SFPC) programme.
SFPC is a five-year Department for Education programme to support local authorities to improve their work with families and safely reduce the number of children entering care by implementing successful sector-designed innovations.
The Strengthening Families learning journal shares learning from the programme, focusing on the changes to systems and practice taking place in local authorities across England, where teams are adopting three innovations in children’s social care: Hertfordshire’s Family Safeguarding; Leeds’ Family Valued and North Yorkshire’s No Wrong Door.
Who is the journal for?
The Strengthening Families Journal is intended for people working in, and in partnership with, children’s social care. Directors and service managers and frontline practitioners, along with partners from education, health, housing, police and adult services, will all find articles relevant to their work. In fact, anyone interested in the role innovation has to play in improving children’s lives will find something of interest.
About the sixth issue
The final issue of the Strengthening Families Journal is suitably themed around ‘Sustaining Change for Children and Families’. This journal edition puts a focus on understanding how the positive changes achieved by local authorities participating in the SFPC programme are maintained within and beyond the five year programme.
In this issue, we hear from a range of different stakeholders including innovators, adoptors, Children’s Social Care leaders and the children and families impacted by the work themselves. Bringing together all these different perspectives, this issue touches on topics of value-led work, culture change in children’s social care and different approaches to sustaining these positive changes. This issue provides vital insight into the incredible work that has been achieved over the last five years alongside learning that highlights how we can ensure that these benefits are maintained for many more years to come.
The sixth issue Includes:
Reflections on five years of the SFPC programme from the Department for Education and programme support partners
Learnings from leaders in Hertfordshire, Leeds and North Yorkshire on the conditions required for long lasting impact
Lessons from No Wrong Door adopters, Rochdale, on their journey of opening ‘Our Place’ in 2020 to achieving an Outstanding Ofsted judgement in 2023
Insights into the award-winning results that Family Valued adopters in Coventry were able to achieve with their reunification project
The benefits of values led work by Wandsworth Council, adopters of Family Safeguarding
A range of ‘Stories of Success’ from workers and families about their experiences resulting from SFPC innovations
Recognition of the benefits of peer-to-peer learning in sustaining change for children and families
An introduction to the project evaluation, led by Foundations, which will be conducted over the next two years