Families First for Children Programme

Pathway to Support

Families First Partnership summit sets out plans to strengthen support

Families First Partnership Programme Updates

Telford and Wrekin Safeguarding Partnership is working with the local authority, education, police and the health sector to deliver the Families First Partnership Programme (FFPP) – a national Department for Education reform programme focused on shifting children’s services from reactive intervention to proactive, relational and family‑led support.

The partnership summit held on 15th April 2026 explored how services across the Borough will deliver the programme by building on the strengths of existing provision, working more closely together, reducing duplication and ensuring children are supported to remain within their families wherever it is safe to do so. For families, this means earlier access to the right help, improved information‑sharing between services and stronger, more consistent relationships with practitioners.

The programme is supported by £1.4 million in government funding, which will be used collectively across the partnership in Telford and Wrekin. The funding is supporting new and strengthened approaches to family help, including practical, relationship‑based support around parenting, school attendance, emotional wellbeing and family pressures. It is also enabling the expansion of Family Group Decision Making (FGDM) and preparation for new multi‑agency child protection arrangements that bring key partners together to improve decision‑making.

Right Help at the Right Time - Pathway to Support Document

A Single Assessment pilot is underway across education (including schools) and social care, with consultation taking place to inform launch across health. Learning from the pilot will shape next steps. This shall aim to create more fluid system to a range of needs and harms, from targeted early help to multi-agency child protection. One assessment shall support families in not needing to repeat their story to multiple professionals.

The Pathway to Support document was launched on 9^th May 2026 and can be found in the tab above "Pathway to Support"

Circles of Support (FGDM)

Circles of Support should be offered early in a child’s journey, especially at key transition points, to prevent escalation. Families should will be supported to work alongside professionals, with plans that adapt over time. There are mandatory points where a Circle of Support must be offered.

As part of the expansion of FGDM, a dedicated email address has been launched for consultation and support:
[email protected].
Work is ongoing to develop a clear referral pathway to support consistent use across agencies.

Family Group Conferencing (FGC)

National evidence highlights the effectiveness of Family Group Conferencing in helping children remain safely within their families. Locally, there will be opportunities for partners to explore this evidence and understand how it will inform future practice in Telford and Wrekin. Find more information here: Family group conferencing: Following the evidence can keep children with their families – Foundations

Co‑production and Lived Experience

The partnership continues to value co‑production with the Dandelion Group, kinship carers and young people, including the Voices of the Child apprentices. Their lived experience plays a crucial role in shaping practice development and strengthening safeguarding arrangements across the system.

Together, these developments reflect a shared commitment to one seamless, family‑led system of support for children and families across Telford and Wrekin.

Families First Introduction

The Families First Partnership (FFP) Programme is a UK government guidance aimed at reforming children’s social care by creating a more joined-up, family-focused system of support.

The FFP Programme helps local safeguarding partners (like social care, health, and police) work together to deliver early, targeted support to families through:

Family Help services
Multi-agency child protection
Family Group Decision Making

Its goal is to ensure families get the right help at the right time, keeping children safe and improving long-term outcomes.

National reviews have driven a commitment to reform, with Families First acting as the delivery programme to embed these changes locally. It aims to create a more responsive, relational, and preventative system—one that reflects the values of Telford & Wrekin’s Family First Approach.

The Government has published guidance about how the Families First Programme should be taken forward by Local Authorities including some minimum expectations.

Key Expectations

Required:

Establish multi-disciplinary Family Help teams, merging family support workers and social workers.
Introduce the new multi-agency Family Help Lead Practitioner (FHLP) role and publish a shared practice framework.
Publish a refreshed threshold document.

Recommended:

Introduce a single assessment and workflow.
Co-locate professionals from different services (e.g., health, education, youth services) to provide holistic support.
Extend proportionate access to case management systems for all partners working with families, particularly those who will take the lead practitioner role

Required:

Create the new Lead Child Protection Practitioner (LCPP) role.
MACPT’s include Police, Health, Education professionals.
Provide information, advice and support to parents and carers in child protection.

Recommended:

Use shared decision-making tools and joint supervision to improve consistency.
Co-locate MACPTs where possible to enhance collaboration.
Develop local protocols for escalation and de-escalation between Family Help and MACPT.

Recommended:

Train practitioners in restorative and relational approaches to facilitate FLDM.
Develop local FLDM coordinators or facilitators to ensure consistency and quality.
Use FLDM to support kinship care planning and reduce the need for care proceedings.

Required:

Safeguarding partners to ensure that education and child care settings are relevant agencies by default, ensuring their views are represented at strategic and operational levels in safeguarding arrangements.

N.B Additional expectation from Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill may include: to make provision to use the Single Unique Identifier.

To support the successful delivery of the Families First Partnership (FFP) Programme, we have established a delivery structure:

A dedicated Project Team comprising leads for data, programme management, practice lead, and finance. This team is responsible for overseeing the coordination, monitoring, and operational delivery of the programme.
A Multi-Agency Strategic Board, bringing together leads and key partners from each of the four workstreams.
Workstream groups will focus on the specific strands.
A project plan is monitored by the project group with oversight from the Strategic Board, and governance groups.
A tiered approach to codesign with families including a co-production group, utilising existing groups and voice forums and seeking wider and under represented voice through a range of engagement methods such as surveys and 1-1 conversations.

This structure supports clear accountability, cross-agency collaboration, and a focused approach to delivering meaningful and sustainable change for children and families.

The guidance is clear that 2025-2026 should be focused on transformation and developing local plans. The Department for Education (DfE) have emphasised that there is flexibility in terms of how and when local authorities implement the guidance, and that they are not expecting a one size fits all model to be implemented on a certain date.

Over the next six months the project team will be working closely with professionals, partner agencies and families to codesign our future offer through a range of engagement events with a regular updates to keep everyone informed of progress.

As part of our ongoing work within the Families First Partnership Programme, we are focusing on several key priorities to ensure successful implementation and long-term impact within Telford & Wrekin. We are identifying recruitment needs early, recognising that getting the right staff in place can be a lengthy process. We’re also working to secure strong multi-agency and elected member support by actively engaging with our partners. Dedicated project management is in place to drive progress, and we’re involving the third sector as a vital resource in delivering support. Staff engagement is a priority; we’re committed to open dialogue, reassurance, and clear communication throughout the change process. Through events, workshops, briefings, and co-production, we’re ensuring that staff and partners are informed and involved. Above all, we’re developing a clear, structured plan; while making sure we retain and build on what already works well.