Setting the Scene: the context and problem you are solving

We all want the very best for children in Brent, enabling them to thrive academically, socially and emotionally. As technology becomes an increasingly central part of young people’s lives, both research and local experience suggest that unrestricted access to smartphones and social media can have a detrimental impact on mental health, sleep, concentration and overall wellbeing. Schools and families are also increasingly concerned about children’s exposure to risks such as cyberbullying, harmful online content and inappropriate use of technology during the school day.

Against this backdrop, school leaders across Brent recognised that individual school policies alone were not enough to address these growing challenges. Variations in expectations between schools, uncertainty among parents and carers, and increasing pressure on staff to manage smartphone use alongside educational and safeguarding responsibilities highlighted the need for a more joined-up approach.

In response, school leaders came together to establish a shared borough-wide commitment: the PHONE Pledge. The pledge was designed to provide a clear and collective framework for promoting healthy digital habits, protecting children’s wellbeing and supporting families to navigate the challenges of an increasingly digital world. It sets out a shared responsibility between schools, families and the local authority, ensuring expectations are consistent, clear and easy to understand.

The PHONE Pledge is built around five key commitments:

• Protecting children’s safety and wellbeing.
• Helping families and staff through clear guidance and support.
• Observing and reviewing approaches to ensure they are fair and effective.
• Nurturing pupils’ digital literacy and responsible online behaviour.
• Educating the wider school community through the sharing of effective practice across the borough.

Many schools in Brent had already introduced measures to limit smartphone use during the school day. However, the pledge formalised and strengthened this approach through collective action and shared commitment. It also encourages families to consider delaying access to smartphones for non-educational use until children are older, reinforcing consistent messages between home and school.

The introduction of the PHONE Pledge represents a united and proactive response to a shared challenge. It demonstrates how borough-wide collaboration can help protect childhood, support learning, and promote healthier and safer use of technology for children and young people across Brent.

How: what you did and how it was delivered to meet the identified need

The response to concerns about children’s smartphone use in Brent was developed through a structured combination of strategic leadership, evidence gathering and collaborative system working.

The work began within the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) network, where mobile phone use emerged as a growing safeguarding and wellbeing concern. To build a clearer understanding of practice across the borough, the DSL network designed and distributed a survey on mobile phone use in schools. The findings highlighted significant variation in approaches, increasing pressures on staff, and uncertainty among parents and carers, reinforcing the need for a coordinated, borough-wide response.

In response to this evidence, a dedicated steering group was established to develop a shared approach to smartphone use in schools. The group was facilitated by a School Effectiveness Lead Professional (SELP) and included headteachers from across Brent, ensuring representation from different phases and local clusters. To inform the work and avoid duplication, the facilitating SELP held initial discussions with neighbouring local authorities, including Harrow, Barnet and Westminster, to understand their approaches and draw on emerging regional learning.

The steering group met through a series of online sessions, during which the purpose, scope and focus of the work were discussed, tested and refined over time. Shared online documents enabled collaborative drafting, allowing all members to contribute asynchronously, comment on emerging ideas and build collective ownership of the developing pledge.

Steering group members also acted as links to their respective school clusters, sharing early drafts of the pledge with colleagues and bringing feedback into steering group discussions. This ensured the final approach was grounded in operational reality, reflected the diversity of school contexts, and secured broad professional buy-in.

Once agreement had been reached, the SELP facilitator led on translating the shared principles into practical delivery mechanisms. This included:

• Developing template letters for schools inviting them to sign up to the PHONE Pledge.
• Creating a simple online form to enable quick and accessible sign-up.
• Drafting template letters for parents and carers to ensure clear, consistent communication once participating schools had been confirmed.

To support visibility and consistency, the SELP also worked closely with the communications team, who developed a dedicated PHONE Pledge poster for schools. This helped embed the pledge within school communities and reinforced shared expectations around healthy and safe smartphone use.

Through this approach, the initiative progressed from identifying a need, to co-designing a solution, to providing practical tools that enabled schools to adopt a consistent, borough-wide response. The combination of cross-authority learning, professional collaboration and clear operational support has ensured that the PHONE Pledge is both strategically robust and practical to implement.

Impact: evidence of the difference it has made to children and families

As this is a new and emerging initiative, it is too early to evidence measurable long-term impact on children and families. However, early indicators suggest that the PHONE Pledge is already beginning to make a positive difference at both system and school community level.

Early qualitative impact can be seen through strong engagement from schools across the borough. A growing number of schools have voluntarily signed up to the pledge, demonstrating a clear appetite for a shared borough-wide approach and confidence in the principles that underpin it. Feedback from headteachers suggests that the pledge has helped to legitimise and strengthen existing school policies on smartphone use, giving leaders greater confidence to act collectively rather than in isolation.

Schools have reported that the borough-wide commitment has created a stronger platform for conversations with parents and carers, helping to reinforce consistent expectations between home and school. Having a shared approach has also reduced concerns about individual schools adopting more restrictive policies independently, as families can see that the approach is part of a wider commitment to children’s wellbeing and safety.

The initiative has also strengthened professional dialogue across the education sector. Schools are increasingly sharing practice, discussing common challenges and exploring solutions together, contributing to a more collaborative culture around digital wellbeing and online safety.

Although it is too soon to measure long-term outcomes, the early signs are encouraging. The PHONE Pledge has successfully established a shared vision, increased engagement across schools, and created momentum for collective action. These foundations provide a strong basis for future evaluation of the impact on children’s wellbeing, behaviour, learning and healthy technology use.

Next Steps: what you are doing next to develop or expand this practice

As an emerging borough-wide initiative, the next phase of the PHONE Pledge will focus on embedding, strengthening and evaluating the approach, while continuing to build shared ownership across schools and families.

A key priority is to increase participation and consistency across Brent. This will involve continued promotion of the pledge through existing professional networks, targeted engagement with schools that have not yet signed up, and regular review of communications to ensure messages to parents and carers remain clear, consistent and focused on wellbeing and safeguarding.

To support visibility and sustainability, work will begin on developing a recognisable PHONE Pledge logo. This will enable participating schools to display their involvement on websites, letterheads and communications, clearly signalling their commitment to the borough-wide approach.

The initiative will also be strengthened through the development of a shared resource bank for schools. This will bring together practical materials to support implementation of the pledge, including:

• Example school policies
• Template communications for parents and carers
• Assembly materials
• Curriculum resources
• Staff guidance
• Signposting to external support and information

The resource bank will be shaped by contributions from schools and emerging best practice, encouraging peer learning and reducing duplication of effort across the borough.

Evaluation and continuous improvement will form a further strand of development. Follow-up engagement through the DSL network and headteacher forums will be used to gather qualitative feedback on how the pledge is being implemented, the conversations it is enabling with families, and any early changes schools are observing in pupil behaviour, wellbeing and engagement.

As the initiative develops, there will also be opportunities to strengthen pupil voice and parental engagement, ensuring future developments are informed by the lived experiences of children, young people and families. Ongoing dialogue with neighbouring local authorities will continue to support shared learning, collaboration and the potential for greater regional alignment.

Through these next steps, Brent aims to ensure that the PHONE Pledge becomes a sustainable, evidence-informed and widely supported approach that helps children and young people develop healthier, safer and more balanced relationships with technology.

Evolve: advice you would give to others seeking to replicate your model

For those seeking to replicate this model in their own local context, several important lessons have emerged from the development of the PHONE Pledge.

Start with shared evidence and professional concern

Using an established professional network, such as Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs), to identify concerns and gather baseline information helped create a shared understanding of the issue and generated momentum for action. Beginning with evidence rather than pre-determined solutions supported constructive, balanced discussion and helped avoid polarised debate.

Invest time in co-design and consensus building

Bringing together headteachers from different phases and educational contexts, and allowing time for the purpose, scope and focus of the work to evolve, was critical. The iterative nature of the discussions meant the final approach felt credible, realistic and collectively owned, rather than imposed. In hindsight, allocating even more structured time to early-stage discussions may have accelerated agreement later in the process.

Use skilled and neutral facilitation

Having a School Effectiveness Lead Professional act as an independent facilitator helped maintain trust, navigate differing perspectives and keep the work progressing. This role was particularly valuable in translating professional dialogue into practical outputs, such as shared principles, guidance and communication materials.

Learn from others early

Early conversations with neighbouring local authorities provided reassurance, reduced duplication and helped place the work within a broader regional context. Reflecting on the process, embedding this cross-authority learning even earlier could have further strengthened confidence, alignment and collaboration.

Keep the approach values-led and supportive

Framing the initiative around wellbeing, safeguarding and partnership, rather than compliance or enforcement, was essential in securing engagement. Avoiding language associated with inspection, judgement or accountability helped schools feel comfortable participating voluntarily and contributed to a positive culture of collaboration.

Support implementation with practical and visible tools

Providing straightforward resources, such as template letters, a simple sign-up process, shared documentation and a recognisable pledge logo, reduced the burden on schools and supported consistency across the borough. Visible participation also helped reinforce collective ownership and provided clarity for families.

Build collective ownership

Creating opportunities for schools to contribute to the development of the pledge helped ensure that the final approach reflected local realities and needs. This shared ownership has been a key factor in securing engagement and sustaining momentum.

Overall, the key learning is that system-wide change on sensitive and complex issues requires pace with permission: moving forward with purpose and ambition while allowing sufficient time for trust, dialogue and shared ownership to develop. Achieving this balance has been central to the early success of the PHONE Pledge and would be a core recommendation for any area seeking to implement a similar approach.

Setting the Scene: the context and problem you are solving

Historically, services for children and families were organised across different teams and thresholds, which could result in fragmented experiences and delays in getting the right support. Families often encountered multiple professionals, repeated assessments and changes in worker as their circumstances evolved. Practitioners similarly reported challenges in providing consistent, joined up responses within this system.

Camden identified the need to test a new way of working at a small scale, focused on place, relationships and integration, to generate practical learning before wider implementation. The East of the borough was selected as the prototype area to trial this approach.

How: what you did and how it was delivered to meet the identified need

The Camden East Prototype Team began operating in September 2025, covering Gospel Oak, Haverstock, Kentish Town North and South, and Camden Square.

The team is built around several shared principles:

• An integrated Family Help model, bringing together Early Help and Child in Need practice and removing step up and step down processes. This enables families to receive the right level of support immediately and prevents disruption caused by service transitions.
• Locality based, multi disciplinary teams made up of social workers, family workers, youth workers and domestic abuse specialists, allowing emerging risks to be addressed early without referrals or delays.
• Shorter, family friendly assessments, written directly to children and families, so families only have to tell their story once and can understand concerns and plans from the outset.
• Co location in community settings, including family hubs and local buildings, supporting timely engagement and stronger connections with families and local partners.
• Family led decision making at an early stage, including offering families trusted people at initial contact and supporting Family Meetings during the Family Help assessment phase.
• Early safeguarding input through Lead Child Protection Practitioners, who meet families ahead of conferences and hold discussions in community settings, improving understanding and engagement before risks escalate.

This approach ensures early help, targeted support and safeguarding responses sit within one continuous, preventative model.

Impact: evidence of the difference it has made to children and families

Early learning from the prototype indicates that this model is positively impacting children and families through earlier intervention and reduced escalation:

• Stronger local connections between practitioners and partners, enabling quicker problem solving. For example, a Family Help Lead Practitioner attended a local housing meeting to seek advice for a family, resolving an issue far more quickly than would previously have been possible.
• Improved efficiency and responsiveness, supported by locality working. One practitioner shared that being based locally enabled them to visit several families within a short walking distance in a single day, reducing travel time and increasing opportunities for meaningful direct work.
• More joined up support for families, with specialist expertise available within the team. In one case involving adolescent exploitation concerns, a youth worker worked alongside a social worker from the outset, removing the need for referrals or case transfers and ensuring a coordinated response.
• Improved family engagement, particularly in safeguarding processes. Lead Child Protection Practitioners are meeting families ahead of conferences, helping them understand what to expect and increasing their confidence to attend and contribute.
• There has been a consistent downward trend across the entire practice system in both Section 47 investigations and the number of children subject to child protection plans.

Families have also responded positively to the Family Help approach, with one reflecting that the name and tone of the service made engaging with support feel less intimidating.

Next Steps: what you are doing next to develop or expand this practice

The East Prototype Team continues to operate within a structured learning and evaluation framework. Over the coming months, Camden will be:

• Gathering structured parent and partner feedback to strengthen understanding of impact.
• Refining training and induction to prioritise hands on, practice based learning.
• Strengthening reflective spaces for practitioners to embed preventative practice.
• Scaling the Family Help model borough wide as part of Phase Two: Implementation.
• Further developing linked adolescent and domestic abuse specialist services to ensure early, targeted intervention continues to be available where it is most effective.

This phased approach ensures that future service changes are grounded in real world practice and learning.

Evolve: advice you would give to others seeking to replicate your model

For organisations looking to strengthen early intervention, Camden’s key learning is that system redesign must focus on practice, not just structure.

In particular:

• Remove artificial thresholds and service boundaries that delay early help.
• Invest in locality based teams to improve responsiveness and relationships.
• Simplify assessments so families can engage from the start.
• Make multi disciplinary expertise available early, without referral barriers.
• Embed family led decision making before concerns escalate.

Early intervention is most effective when families experience support as timely, respectful and genuinely helpful — and when practitioners are enabled to act early, confidently and collaboratively.

Setting the Scene: the context and problem you are solving

Through this pilot, we are seeing real progress in delivering earlier, more proportionate, and family-led support.

This spotlight highlights what is new, what is working, and how integrated practice is making a meaningful difference for families in Southall demonstrating a system that is moving from fragmented responses to one that is coordinated, relational, and built around family strengths.

Southall was identified as a key locality for piloting the Families First Partnership because of its high levels of demand, socio-economic complexity, and diverse community. This made it an important place to test whether a more responsive, culturally aware, and relationship-based model could improve the way families receive support. The core problem the pilot set out to address was the tendency for families to experience fragmented services, delayed responses, repeated handovers, and escalation into higher levels of statutory intervention when earlier, coordinated support may have been more effective. Ealing’s wider ambition is to reduce unnecessary escalation, strengthen early intervention, and improve outcomes for children while managing system demand more effectively. The Southall pilot therefore provided an opportunity not only to redesign frontline practice in one locality, but also to generate learning that could inform wider system change across the borough.

How: what you did and how it was delivered to meet the identified need

The pilot was delivered through a more joined-up model across the Integrated Front Door, the Multi-Agency Child Protection Team, and Family Help. The Integrated Front Door has enabled earlier and more effective intervention by working closely with universal services and partners so that concerns are identified and responded to promptly. Through strong information sharing and collaboration, decisions are made more quickly and are better tailored to the needs of each family. A key feature of the model is that practitioners work with families rather than doing things to them. Families are asked what support would help, and they are involved in planning from the outset. The Front Door is also able to complete short, focused assessments at an early stage, allowing support to be put in place before issues escalate. This early assessment function has helped prevent some families moving unnecessarily into higher tiers of intervention.

Alongside this, the Multi-Agency Child Protection Team has played a vital role in coordinated safeguarding decision-making. Working closely with the Integrated Front Door and Family Help, the team has supported a more joined-up system in which risk is understood collectively, delay is reduced, and children receive the right level of intervention at the right time. The Family Help team has been central to shifting the overall approach from reactive intervention to earlier, relationship-led support. By becoming involved with families sooner, the model reduces unnecessary changes of worker and enables practitioners to build stronger relationships, improve engagement, and support more lasting change. Their whole-family approach means needs are addressed holistically while still managing higher levels of risk where required. The team continues to work closely with partners such as police and health services to ensure coordinated responses. Across all teams, the Brighter Futures model has remained central, embedding strengths-based and relational practice. Family-led decision-making has been actively promoted through Family Group Conferences and Family Network Meetings so that family voices remain central and wider networks can be identified as part of sustainable planning for children.

Impact: evidence of the difference it has made to children and families

The impact of the Southall pilot is reflected strongly in the experiences of both families and practitioners.

Families report feeling listened to, respected, and more involved in decision-making, with clearer understanding of expectations and support plans. There is evidence of improved relationships within the family, with support being delivered in a way that feels collaborative rather than directive.

Practitioners highlight an increased ability to build meaningful, trusting relationships with families, alongside greater professional satisfaction and confidence in delivering preventative, strengths-based support. The shift towards earlier engagement is enabling more purposeful and sustainable intervention.

This is captured in practice feedback:

“Families are engaging earlier and more openly, which is enabling us to make sustainable changes rather than reacting to crisis.”

Case Study: Building Trust, Inspiring Change

“You have inspired me… thank you for all you have done for me and my family.”

A parent supported through the FFP Southall pilot described the powerful impact of consistent, relationship-based support on her and her children.

By taking time to listen and build trust, the practitioner helped the family feel valued, understood, and able to engage more positively. This not only addressed immediate needs but also created a lasting sense of confidence and motivation.

The parent spoke about being inspired by the experience, developing new aspirations, and recognising meaningful positive change within her family.

This case demonstrates how early, strengths-based intervention can: Build trust and engagement, enable sustainable change, inspire confidence and future aspirations.

Next Steps: what you are doing next to develop or expand this practice

Building on these early outcomes, the next phase of the work is focused on deepening and expanding the model. This includes exploring how the Families First Partnership approach could be extended to other localities, while carefully assessing the resource implications of wider rollout so that delivery remains sustainable and effective. A key priority is to continue strengthening integrated practice and maintaining a shared vision for early intervention and safeguarding across partners. There is also ongoing work to refine tracking systems and performance measures so that impact can be evidenced more robustly and used to drive continuous improvement. Regular review points are helping the service monitor progress, address emerging issues, and adapt the model where necessary. At the same time, the Brighter Futures practice model will continue to be embedded across services to promote consistency, strengthen relational practice, and ensure high-quality family-centred support. As the model develops, there are also plans to involve additional agencies in the Multi-Agency Child Protection Team, further strengthening joint decision-making.

Evolve: advice you would give to others seeking to replicate your model

For others looking to replicate this model, the strongest advice is to start with shared values and a clear understanding of purpose. The Southall pilot shows that integrated practice works best when partners are aligned around early help, relational practice, and keeping families safely together wherever possible. It is important to invest time in building a consistent shared understanding across agencies, especially around thresholds, roles, expectations, and how risk will be discussed. Services should also ensure that families are engaged as active partners from the outset, rather than passive recipients of support, and that practitioners are equipped to work in strengths-based and culturally responsive ways.

Another key lesson is the importance of robust performance and impact tracking: if the intention is to change systems, there must be mechanisms in place to evidence what is improving, where challenges remain, and what needs to adapt. Finally, workforce capacity matters. Relationship-based work depends on stability, the right skills, and the ability to intervene early enough to make a difference. Southall’s experience suggests that when those conditions are in place, services can create a more connected, responsive, and effective safeguarding system that improves outcomes for children and families.

Additional information:

The Families First Partnership pilot is demonstrating strong early progress, with evidence of more effective early intervention, improved multi-agency working, and better experiences for families. There has been a notable reduction in escalation to statutory services, including a 72.8% decrease in Initial Child Protection Conferences, alongside greater continuity of workers, with most families supported by the same practitioner throughout their journey.

Daily multi-agency discussions are enabling more timely, confident decision-making and reducing duplication, while integrated working at the Front Door and within Family Help is improving coordination and ensuring families receive the right support earlier.

Family-led approaches, particularly Family Group Decision Making, are strengthening engagement, enabling families to develop their own solutions, and contributing to improved outcomes such as increased safety, better emotional wellbeing, and stronger family relationships. Overall, emerging outcomes indicate a shift towards more relational, holistic and needs-led practice, with families experiencing fewer delays, less repetition, and more joined-up support.

Setting the Scene: the context and problem you are solving

For many mothers, the removal of a child through care proceedings is one of the most traumatic experiences they will ever face. Yet, once proceedings end, support often ends too. This leaves women at their most vulnerable point, without guidance, without trust in services, and at significant risk of repeating cycles of care proceedings. Too frequently, this results in:

• Recurrent removals of children
• Increased emotional trauma
• Poor long-term outcomes for both mothers and children

Traditional services often intervene too late or are bound by thresholds.

New Beginnings was created to respond earlier, at the point where intervention can prevent recurrence, rebuild lives, and change futures.

How: what you did and how it was delivered to meet the identified need

New Beginnings is an embedded early intervention service within Children’s Social Care, working with mothers at key risk points:

• After child removal or care proceedings
• During pregnancy where there is risk of recurrence
• At case closure (CP/CIN), preventing re-escalation
• During transitions such as reunification or leaving care

Impact: evidence of the difference it has made to children and families

New Beginnings delivers both deep engagement and transformational outcomes.

Sustained Engagement

• 95% of women remain engaged for 12 months or longer
• Including those who have previously disengaged from all services

This high level of engagement is critical to achieving meaningful, sustained change.

Direct Impact for Children

• 3 children returned home from long-term foster care
• 1 reunification achieved despite an adoption plan
• 3 children prevented from entering care
• 5 babies safely remained with their mothers

These outcomes demonstrate successful early intervention at pivotal moments, ensuring children can safely remain within their families wherever possible.

Impact for Families

• Increased parental confidence and resilience
• Improved emotional wellbeing and stability
• Stronger parenting capacity and safer home environments
• Reduced likelihood of repeat care proceedings

System Impact

• Shift in professional perceptions of risk and possibility
• Improved assessment approaches and earlier intervention planning
• Stronger multi-agency collaboration and early help integration

As one mother shared:

“She believed in me before I believed in myself.”

And from a professional:

“This intervention genuinely changed the direction of her family’s life… the impact is outstanding.”

Next Steps: what you are doing next to develop or expand this practice

New Beginnings is currently a small but highly impactful service:

• 2 caseworkers supporting 12 mothers annually
• Caseload capped at 6 per practitioner to maintain quality and depth

Due to its proven success, the service is now looking to:

• Expand capacity to reach more families earlier
• Strengthen upstream early help pathways
• Increase accessibility through self-referral and community outreach
• Reintroduce and develop group-based interventions as readiness grows

Scaling the model will allow more families to benefit from early, relational support before crisis escalates.

Evolve: advice you would give to others seeking to replicate your model

New Beginnings offers key learning for services aiming to strengthen early intervention:

Prioritise Relationships Over Processes

Meaningful change happens through trust, consistency, and persistence, not short-term interventions.

Remove Barriers to Access

Rigid thresholds prevent early help. Flexible entry points ensure those most in need are not excluded.

Embed Within the System

Working inside Children’s Social Care enables earlier identification, stronger partnerships, and real influence over outcomes.

Focus on Critical Moments

Intervening at key transition points, post-proceedings, pregnancy, case closure can prevent escalation before it occurs.

Keep Caseloads Manageable

Depth of work matters. Small caseloads enable the sustained engagement required for long-term change.

Value Lived Experience

Co-production strengthens services and ensures they remain responsive, relevant, and effective.

Case study

When Mother A first came into contact with our service, she was a mother carrying the weight of significant trauma. Two of her children had previously been removed from her care, one at birth and another at the age of seven. These experiences had understandably left her feeling deeply mistrustful of professionals. She described feeling betrayed by services, disengaged from support, and made it clear that she did not believe anyone could help her. Interactions were often challenging, and she kept professionals firmly at arm’s length.

Despite this, our team remained committed to offering a consistent, patient, and relationship based approach. The early stages of intervention required persistence and sensitivity. Building rapport with her was not a quick process; it demanded time, reliability, and a trauma informed understanding of why she found professional involvement so difficult.

Over the following three years, this steady presence began to make a difference. Mother A slowly allowed herself to trust again. She began to accept support, first in small ways and then more openly. The turning point came during her next pregnancy. A social worker involved in the case reflected that without our service’s early engagement, professionals would not have been able to “get through the door.” Our involvement created the bridge needed for social care to work constructively with Mother A at a crucial moment.

With this foundation in place, Mother A engaged positively with professionals for the first time in many years. She attended appointments, listened to advice, and demonstrated a clear commitment to change. As a result of her hard work, and the coordinated, relationship led support around her, she was able to keep her baby daughter in her care. This was a significant milestone and a testament to her resilience.

Today, Mother A continues to build on this progress. She has maintained the care of her daughter and is preparing for the return of her four year old son. She has moved into a suitable three bedroom home and remains engaged with the professionals supporting her. Importantly, she has expressed genuine appreciation for the service, acknowledging the role it played in helping her rebuild trust and stability.

Mother A’s journey demonstrates the profound impact of consistent, relational, and non judgmental support. Her story shows that when parents are met with patience, persistence, and belief in their capacity to change, they can overcome past experiences, re establish trust in services, and create safe, nurturing environments for their children.

Setting the Scene: the context and problem you are solving

Royal Greenwich identified a growing number of children experiencing persistent school absence linked to poor emotional wellbeing, placing them at increased risk of exclusion, exploitation, and long term adverse outcomes. National evidence shows that as mental health deteriorates, authorised absence increases, with absence itself further worsening wellbeing (DfE, 2025). Locally, there was a gap in sustained, school based early intervention able to address these challenges before escalation to statutory services.

Wellbeing in Schools Hubs (WiSH) was developed to respond to this need. The service provides early, preventative support for children and families at the point difficulties first emerge, rather than waiting until thresholds are met. By addressing the root causes of non attendance early, WiSH aims to improve emotional wellbeing, strengthen engagement with education, and reduce risks associated with exclusion and exploitation.

WiSH reflects Royal Greenwich’s commitment to early help and prevention. By delivering support within schools, the service removes barriers to access, builds trust quickly, and ensures timely, relational intervention in a familiar and supportive environment.

How: what you did and how it was delivered to meet the identified need

WiSH operates across nine secondary schools in the borough, each hosting a hub embedded
within the school setting. Schools volunteered to participate following engagement with
headteachers, ensuring strong partnership and shared ownership. A multidisciplinary team of
25 staff was recruited, including Practice Leads, Practitioners, Family Support Workers,
Practice Coordinators, and Systemic Practitioners, enabling holistic support for children and
families.
The service is grounded in Royal Greenwich’s Practice Framework, placing the child at the
centre and guided by the principles of mattering, balancing, reflecting, and doing. Learning
from SafeCORE and PAUSE informed the design of the model.

Support is delivered through three structured stages:

• Relationship Building – establishing trust, understanding strengths and needs, and agreeing
  goals.
• Being Alongside – delivering practical and emotional support using systemic and
  compassionate approaches.
• Cheering On – gradually reducing support while sustaining progress.
  Delivering early intervention directly within schools enables quicker identification of need,
  reduces stigma, and supports lasting change.

Impact: evidence of the difference it has made to children and families

An independent pilot feasibility study of WiSH found early, indicative evidence of improved emotional wellbeing among children experiencing severe or persistent absence, alongside emerging positive trends in school attendance. The evaluation highlighted the value of sustained, relational early intervention delivered in school environments.

Parents reported high levels of trust and engagement with practitioners, describing feeling supported and able to be open about challenges. Families identified improved emotional regulation, communication, confidence, and reduced parental stress, particularly where practitioners liaised directly with schools. One parent commented, “We built that rapport from the outset… we were never ashamed to be vulnerable.”

Quantitative feedback reinforces these findings. Of 112 completed Experience of Service Questionnaires, 105 parents stated it was “certainly true” that the help they received was good. Together, these outcomes demonstrate WiSH’s effectiveness in improving wellbeing, strengthening engagement with education, and preventing escalation to higher level services.

Next Steps: what you are doing next to develop or expand this practice

Learning from the secondary cohort has reinforced the importance of intervening even earlier. From June 2026, WiSH will begin working with 25 persistently absent Year 6 pupils, supporting children and families through the transition to secondary school. Early relationship building with families and primary schools, continued engagement over the summer, and sustained support into Year 7 aim to secure a positive start to secondary education.

To extend impact beyond direct intervention, Compassionate Mind Training is being rolled out to 21 schools across the borough. This supports schools to adopt a more holistic, trauma informed approach to attendance and wellbeing, embedding preventative practice at a system level.

Service development continues through Quality Case Conversations, strengthening reflective practice, assessment quality, goal setting, and management oversight. These steps support consistency, sustainability, and the potential for wider replication.

Evolve: advice you would give to others seeking to replicate your model

Three factors are critical for successfully replicating the WiSH model.

Recruitment: Appoint staff with strong relational skills and shared values. A multidisciplinary workforce drawn from children’s services, education, counselling, and the voluntary sector enriched practice and learning.

Induction and culture: A structured induction and ongoing training programme established shared expectations, consistent practice standards, and a compassionate, reflective culture essential for early intervention work.

Relationships first: Prioritising relationships with children, families, and schools is fundamental. Maintaining a shared ethos that “the problem is the problem, not the person” supports effective partnership working, even in complex situations.

Embedding these principles creates the conditions for sustainable, preventative impact and meaningful outcomes for children and families.

Setting the Scene: the context and problem you are solving

Hammersmith & Fulham’s Early Intervention Strategy highlights the importance of providing support early to improve outcomes for children and young people. National evidence shows that young carers face significant disadvantage, with lower educational attainment and higher levels of emotional distress than their peers.

Locally, engagement with young carers and families identified inconsistent identification, fragmented pathways, and limited access to timely support. This evidence created a clear mandate to redesign and strengthen the borough’s young carers offer, making it more visible, accessible and responsive to need.

How: what you did and how it was delivered to meet the identified need

Hammersmith & Fulham relaunched its Young Carers Service with a commitment to early identification, accessible pathways, and a coproduced offer shaped by young carers themselves. The service now supports 150 young carers across the borough and has established a more joined up approach grounded in holistic assessment.

Every young carer receives both a Young Carers Assessment and a Children and Family Assessment from a qualified practitioner. This dual assessment ensures that individual needs and wider family circumstances are understood together, enabling earlier identification of pressures, risks and support requirements.

Support is delivered through a tiered model. The universal offer provides regular groups, after school sessions, learning activities, enrichment opportunities and holiday programmes, giving young carers safe spaces to relax, socialise and take meaningful breaks from their caring role. For those requiring additional help, the enhanced offer includes an allocated practitioner who works closely with families on shared goals, provides targeted support and holds safeguarding oversight.

Impact: evidence of the difference it has made to children and families

A small and consistent team has been key to the service’s success, enabling strong, trusting relationships with young carers and their families. This relational stability has driven higher levels of engagement and continuity.

The redesigned offer has increased the visibility of young carers across the borough and provided a clear early intervention pathway that supports children before needs escalate. Young carers now have regular opportunities to take breaks, connect with peers and access experiences, such as residentials, community events and enrichment activities, that they would not have had access to. Families report improved stability and functioning as a result of earlier assessment and targeted work, and practitioners have seen a reduction in avoidable safeguarding concerns due to timely support. Overall, the service has raised the profile of young carers locally and celebrated them as valued contributors to their families and communities.

Young carers consistently describe the service as a space where they can have fun, try new things and feel part of a community. Families share that the support has enriched their children’s lives, helping them build friendships, confidence and wider experiences. The service places strong emphasis on recognising young carers’ contributions and ensuring they feel valued and supported, not overlooked.

Quotes from young carers:

“I’m finding them really fun and active and I do think it’s beneficial to me because most of the time I just stay home and do nothing I feel like it’s making me more sociable. What I like about them is that it gives me so many opportunities and I’ve went places I would have never went to in my free time, I’d love to see more fun and new adventurous activities’

“The young carers has been very beneficial for me! It has benefitted me in ways that help me divert my attention away from the stress of schoolwork. The thing I like most about being apart of the young carers is the people- being able to meet other people my age and connect them in ways that help me learn more about things people can struggle with. Furthermore, I enjoy the broad range of activities we’re given and being able to pursue hobbies outside school with people who are interested in the same thing”.

“I really like spending time with the group since it gives the opportunity to make new friends with similar backgrounds so you understand each other but don’t always need that to be the conversation where people may pity you’“

“The activities give time for bonding with each other not just people around the same age bracket’“

Next Steps: what you are doing next to develop or expand this practice

The service has built strong working relationships with local partners including Formula E, L’Oréal, Fulham Reach Boat Club, WEST Youth Zone, local football clubs, schools and school nurses and community groups. These partnerships have expanded the range of opportunities available and helped the service deliver high quality experiences despite a modest budget. Further stakeholder events are planned to increase the partnerships and investment into the model and offer.

Coproduction is embedded throughout, with young carers shaping outings, activities and service development decisions. Regular co-production events allow for feedback to develop the service further based on need.

Evolve: advice you would give to others seeking to replicate your model

Prioritise early identification and clear referral pathways. Many young carers remain hidden, so building strong links with schools, health services, and community partners is essential to ensure children are identified and supported before pressures escalate.

Be bold in engaging partners to invest time and resources into the project. Collaborating with local organisations, businesses, and community groups expands opportunities and enhances the offer without requiring significant additional resource.

Setting the Scene: the context and problem you are solving

Hammersmith & Fulham Youth Justice Service (YJS) is one of four London boroughs selected by the Home Office to pilot an enhanced prevention and diversion model. Central to this approach is the establishment of the Young Futures Partnership Panel (YFPP), a multi agency forum designed to safeguard children and young people aged 10–18, and care leavers up to the age of 25, who may be vulnerable to exploitation, violence, or involvement in offending behaviour.

How: what you did and how it was delivered to meet the identified need

Building on the strong foundations and consistently positive outcomes of the Turnaround Panel, the YFPP expands the borough’s capacity to respond earlier and more effectively through increased reach, frequency, and scope of intervention. The model is firmly grounded in early help principles, Child First practice, and a commitment to diversion away from statutory youth justice processes. Bringing together partners from youth justice, children’s services, policing, education, health, community safety, leaving care and substance misuse, the panel meets regularly to share intelligence, assess need holistically, and agree clear, proportionate intervention plans before statutory thresholds are met.

The YFPP enables earlier, coordinated intervention for children, young people and young adults coming to the attention of the police or other professionals, incorporating the Ministry of Justice expanded eligibility criteria for the Turnaround Programme.

Impact: evidence of the difference it has made to children and families

The YFPP has driven a step change in early intervention practice across Hammersmith & Fulham, moving from reactive responses to planned, preventative and relationship-based support. Children discussed at the panel now benefit from joined-up interventions that tackle root causes, including:

• School disengagement and risk of exclusion
• Family stress and instability
• Emotional and mental health needs
• Exposure to harmful peer networks

A standout impact is the panel’s role in delivering the Turnaround Programme, ensuring support is both targeted and effective. As of 31 March 2025, 44 interventions had been successfully completed:

• 17 young people are currently engaged in active interventions
• Only 7 of 44 cases resulted in a court outcome (sentence or caution) within 12 months of closure

This demonstrates strong diversion outcomes, with the majority of young people successfully supported away from the formal justice system. The panel has also strengthened the system’s ability to act early and decisively. Between April and December 2025 (Year 4 of Turnaround), 21 young people were assessed through YFPP and 20 progressed to intervention.

This high conversion rate reflects both increasing need and growing confidence from partners in the panel as a trusted and effective pathway for early help. Practitioners report that the YFPP has improved information sharing, reduced duplication, clarified lead responsibility and strengthened professional relationships across agencies. Most importantly, it has created a shared culture of collective responsibility for prevention, resulting in better outcomes for children and reduced demand on statutory youth justice services.

Next Steps: what you are doing next to develop or expand this practice

The success of the panel is already evident in the outcomes that have been achieved in the early stages of this project. The Home Office will evaluate the pilot and it is likely that due to the positive outcomes there will be further investment and replication across London and beyond.

Evolve: advice you would give to others seeking to replicate your model

• Establish consistent and meaningful partner engagement from the outset. The success of the YFPP is driven by regular attendance, trusted relationships, and a shared commitment across agencies to prevent escalation. Investing time early to align partners around common goals and ways of working is critical.

• Focus on culture as much as structure. Embedding a prevention-focused, Child First ethos across all partners supports a shift away from reactive responses towards earlier, relationship-based support that addresses root causes.

Setting the Scene: the context and problem you are solving

Families of young children with emerging autism in Hillingdon face prolonged waits—often up to two years—between their initial and final assessment meetings through the Child Development Centre (CDC). This extended waiting period represents missed opportunity, as it could otherwise be used to actively support child development and build parental understanding, particularly given the critical importance of the home learning environment in the early years. Feedback from parents and system partners identified a clear and persistent gap: families were navigating uncertainty, heightened anxiety and delayed intervention at a crucial developmental stage, often without clear information about what to do next.

Although access to child development support through Family Hubs and Children’s Centres was already well embedded, access to parent programmes was fragmented, with some parents repeating similar content across different courses, while others missed out entirely due to limited capacity and inflexible delivery models. Waiting Well was developed in response to this urgent need, providing a coherent, family‑centred, evidence‑based pathway of support during the diagnostic waiting period—rather than after difficulties have escalated—strengthening parental confidence, improving early relationships and reducing distress for children and families.

How: what you did and how it was delivered to meet the identified need

We secured funding from the Integrated Care Board (ICB) to develop Waiting Well as a whole‑pathway response, bringing together Family Hubs, Children’s Centres, the Child Development Centre (CDC), CITS, Health Visiting, the SEND Advisory Service, parent groups and voluntary sector partners into a coordinated offer. This work redesigned previously fragmented provision into a single, clear and accessible pathway for families.

Feedback from parents highlighted that, following initial CDC appointments, they were often given large amounts of paper information that was difficult to absorb—particularly for families with English as an additional language—and quickly became outdated. In response, we designed a simple postcard with a QR code linking families directly to an online resource hub. The website breaks information into clear sections for ages 0–19, can be translated into multiple languages, and can be easily updated to ensure families always have accurate, relevant information.

We also developed a new monthly What Do I Do Now? workshop, delivered both face‑to‑face during the day and online in the evenings to enable access for working parents. Co‑developed with SEND colleagues, the workshop supports parents by clearly explaining the local autism/SEND pathway, outlining support available without waiting for diagnosis, sharing practical strategies that can be used at home immediately, validating parents’ experiences, and signposting to Family Hubs, Children’s Centres and wider community support. Parent feedback consistently highlights the workshop as clear, empathetic and reassuring, with dedicated time to respond to individual questions, making it a cornerstone of the Waiting Well offer.

Further specialist workshops were developed in response to parent feedback, all available through hybrid delivery. These include SEND Sleep, co-delivered with health visiting and SEND Toileting workshops, developed with Health Visiting and SEND colleagues, and SEND Toothbrushing sessions developed with the Oral Health Promotion Lead. Content and delivery were shaped by the Family Hub Parent Group to ensure relevance, accessibility and impact.

Given the time‑limited nature of the funding, we prioritised workforce development to ensure sustainability. Practitioners were trained in EarlyBird, ELKLAN and SEND Sleep approaches, strengthening system‑wide capability and expanding support for families. Early Bird was also delivered with SEND colleagues and a practitioner from the Portage team. We also delivered the ‘What Do I Do Now?’ workshop to practitioners across the different sectors (schools, health, education and community) to be better able to support families in their own settings.

As a result, accredited EarlyBird provision increased significantly. Between April 2025 and March 2026, delivery expanded from approx 4 courses per year to 10 courses annually (5 face‑to‑face and 5 virtual), improving access, equity and continuity of support. A creche facility was provided to families wishing to access the course face to face to enable participation of families with young children.

A centralised booking and communication system was introduced alongside proactive outreach through CDC, Family Hubs and Children’s Centres to ensure families were supported early and consistently.

Impact: evidence of the difference it has made to children and families

The impact of Waiting Well has been significant, even within its first year of expansion.

Between April 2025 and March 2026:

65 families completed, representing an 86% completion rate from those who started the course, with 100% of parents completing the course reported increased understanding of the diagnostic pathway and improved confidence in supporting their child.

60 families also accessed one of the new ‘one-off workshops’ (What do I do Now, SEND‐Sleep, toileting, toothbrusing and demand for these is growing, as word of mouth is spreading.

Qualitative feedback demonstrates strong outcomes for parental wellbeing, confidence and family functioning. Parents described EarlyBird as “life‑changing,” highlighting improved routines, stronger relationships with their child and reduced anxiety. Feedback from SEND Sleep, Toileting and What Do I Do Now? workshops reinforced the value of timely, validating support.

A detailed EarlyBird family case study illustrates increased resilience, reduced isolation and wider system impact, including schools actively requesting new SEND workshops following parental advocacy.

Next Steps: what you are doing next to develop or expand this practice

The next phase of Waiting Well will focus on developing clearer information pathways through our webpages with input from the Parent Carer Forum and QR‑coded information shared directly by CDC at key points in the diagnostic journey.

Evolve: advice you would give to others seeking to replicate your model

Key learning from Waiting Well highlights the importance of intervening early, before diagnosis, and resisting fragmented or duplicated provision. Start with parent voice—co‑production ensures the offer responds to real need rather than professional assumptions.

Invest in workforce capability alongside delivery, as sustainability comes from skills embedded across the system. Hybrid delivery models are essential to reach working families and reduce inequity.

Finally, align health, early years, SEND and voluntary sector partners around a shared pathway with clear ownership and communication.

Additional information

A few quotes from parents:

Early Bird

I had good understanding of Autism and its challenges prior to the Earlybird course however attending the course has taken my understanding to new levels and i have learnt new ways to help and support my child.

An invaluable course to learn about autism and how to support my child.

Good course material, very informative, course leaders excellent understanding of the topics and explanation. Lots of good discussions/participation within the group.

Thank you for all the help and support you’ve given me over the 6 weeks course it has really helped me in understanding autism and how to understand my son.

SEND Toileting Workshop

Very informative class, especially for us with children who need extra support! Thank you.

Very thankful for workshops like these, we’ve attempted multiple times to toilet train and it’s support like this that helps.

SEND Sleep Workshop

This has been very informative.

Thank you for the info, really appreciate it.

What Do I Do Now Workshop

Becky & Carly were very educated, presentation was fantastic.

I found the session very validating in the struggles we’re having and time was taken to support us all with our individual needs.

Setting the Scene: the context and problem you are solving

Following the co-production of the Ordinarily Available Provision (OAP) and a divisional restructure, which established a skilled and cohesive team of Early Years Standards and Inclusion Advisers, a critical issue was identified. Funding for children with emerging or additional SEND in Early Years settings was inconsistent and reactive. Historically, providers accessed funding retrospectively, delaying early intervention and limiting proactive planning.

Local data reinforced urgency. SEND registers fluctuated between 464 and 530 children annually, with over 460 accessing SEND Inclusion Funding each year. Developmental data showed ASQ-3 outcomes averaging 61% against an 80% target, while Good Level of Development was 67.6% overall, dropping to 54.4% for disadvantaged children. Additionally, 83% of need related to communication and interaction. This created a disconnect between emerging need and timely support, affecting outcomes and school readiness. In response, the authority redesigned the system to enable earlier identification, equitable access, and consistent inclusive practice, aligned with the Best Start in Life strategy.

How: what you did and how it was delivered to meet the identified need

To address this, a universal notional SEND funding model was introduced, aligned with OAP principles. Funding of over £430,000 in 2025/26 was allocated upfront to all providers based on pupil numbers, reaching approximately 5,803 children. This removed delays linked to applications and enabled early support. Advisers led design and delivery, supported by training for over 110 practitioners, a helpline, and locality clusters. To embed practice, 68 SEND register visits were completed in Spring 2026, focusing on OAP application, reviewing funded children, observing inclusion, and assessing impact.

A co-produced needs matrix defined provision from universal to complex need, supporting consistent identification. Training, case discussions, and moderation strengthened confidence. High-needs funding was redesigned using presentation-based processes, enabling leaders to articulate need, provision, and impact. Templates, exemplars, and coaching ensured consistency, while panels promoted dialogue, reflection, and shared learning.

Impact: evidence of the difference it has made to children and families

The impact has been significant. Settings report greater confidence identifying need earlier, supported by immediate funding. This has enabled timely interventions, improved engagement, and reduced escalation. Since September 2025, 310 children have been supported across 86 providers. Universal funding has reached 5,803 children, embedding inclusive practice at scale. Reduced timetables decreased from 12 to 2, demonstrating improved inclusion.

Workforce impact is strong. 78% found processes easier, 77% reported positive experiences, and 66% valued panels as learning opportunities. The model improved practitioner ability to evidence need and impact, resulting in better applications and consistent decisions. Families benefited from earlier support, stronger relationships, and increased trust. Administrative burden reduced, enabling faster responses.

Next Steps: what you are doing next to develop or expand this practice

Next, the focus is sustaining and refining the model. The needs matrix will be updated using feedback and emerging trends, alongside stronger moderation. The presentation approach will extend to transition planning and multi-agency work. Improved data systems will strengthen evaluation, particularly for school readiness and reduced statutory demand. Resources, exemplars, and case studies will support scalability.

Key learning highlights the importance of co-production. Engaging practitioners ensures relevance, ownership, and sustainability. Clear communication and ongoing support are essential for change. Workforce development is critical, particularly building confidence to identify, plan, and evaluate provision. Processes should prioritise dialogue over compliance. Earlier engagement and stronger data systems would have strengthened impact measurement. Aligning funding, practice, and accountability creates conditions for sustained improvement.

Evolve: advice you would give to others seeking to replicate your model

Addressing inequities is central to the model. Universal funding ensures baseline support for all providers, reducing barriers linked to retrospective systems. Data showed disparities, including lower outcomes for disadvantaged children and high communication need. The model prioritises early identification and intervention, supporting those most affected by inequity. Consistency is strengthened through the needs matrix and moderated panels, ensuring fair decisions. Targeted visits provided additional support in higher-need communities. Workforce development improved recognition of need, including where cultural or language differences exist. This has created a more equitable, inclusive, and responsive system overall.

The approach also strengthened partnership working between the local authority and providers, ensuring shared accountability for outcomes. Leaders report greater clarity in expectations, enabling consistent practice across settings. This consistency is particularly important in supporting children with complex needs, where variation in provision can lead to unequal experiences. By embedding a shared framework, the system now promotes coherence and collective responsibility.

Furthermore, the model has supported earlier engagement with families, enabling practitioners to have more confident and informed conversations about need. This has helped to reduce stigma and improve parental understanding of SEND, particularly in communities where awareness may previously have been limited. As a result, families are more actively involved in decision-making and planning.

The integration of funding, professional development, and quality assurance has been critical to success. Rather than viewing funding as a standalone solution, the model positions it within a broader system of support. This ensures that resources are used effectively and aligned with evidence-based practice, maximising impact for children.

Ongoing monitoring will continue to focus on long-term outcomes, including improved developmental measures and narrowing attainment gaps. The ambition is to create a sustainable system that not only responds to need but actively prevents escalation through high-quality universal provision.

Setting the Scene: the context and problem you are solving

Nationally, there has been an increase in children who are electively home educated and the reasons for parents/carers making this choice have become more complex in some cases. This is also reflected in the Borough with a sharp increase in numbers over the last three years. Other contextual issues around severe absence from school and complexities regarding children with additional needs has brough tot the forefront a group of pupils who would benefit from early intervention from a range of services.

The Borough identified a need for a forum to maintain multi-agency oversight of children and young people who are, or may become, electively home educated (EHE) and for those who are considered most vulnerable, including those with additional needs, overlapping needs, severe school absence and children and young people who are not currently placed in education settings to ensure that they are monitored effectively and consistently.

How: what you did and how it was delivered to meet the identified need

Service Leads from Social Care, Safeguarding in Education, Special Educational Needs and Education Inclusion and Participation agreed the Terms of Reference for the Group which were required to fulfil its purpose.

The terms include:

• Ensuring that appropriate early help, universal services and statutory safeguarding support were in place for vulnerable children discussed
• That this was a forum for children notified as becoming EHE or for those flagged for non-attendance to educational settings
• That relevant information was shared between professionals to agree actions and seek safeguarding assurance about children
• To ensure a holistic and collaborative approach is in place for the child’s well-being and education progress.

The Principal Advisor for Safeguarding in Education chairs the group, that meets monthly, and representatives from the Front Door and across Early help and protection, EHE, CME, Health, SEND and Education can present cases to the group and all professionals are involved in decision making.

Schools can refer cases to the group and feedback on discussions and actions are promptly shared with colleagues. A tracker is used to record all children discussed, agency contributions and actions taken. These records are reviewed regularly to ensure ongoing monitoring of cases.

A newly appointed Education Liaison Social Worker, who is part of the Front Door team, plays a vital role in the group. They also lead on the monthly liaison meeting with school Designated Safeguarding Leads during which cases are discussed and advice is provided as part of the early intervention offer.

Impact: evidence of the difference it has made to children and families

The Vulnerable Children in Education Group (VCEG) is part of the development of the liaison approach from the Front Door which has had a clear impact on referrals from Education settings to Children’s Social Care, with contact from education settings projected to reduce by 25.4% compared to last year. VCEG, re established in April 2025, brings safeguarding partners together monthly to identify and track vulnerable children, particularly those out of school or at risk of missing education, so that concerns can be identified and addressed earlier. This has given schools and settings greater access to advice and shared decision making, meaning issues are more often resolved at an Early Help level rather than progressing to Children’s Social Care referral. This has led to decisions being made more consistently in line with safeguarding thresholds and a reduction in unnecessary demand on Children’s Social Care.

There has also been an increase in case referrals to VCEG, demonstrating its usefulness within the safeguarding system.

As a result of collaboration between agencies, awareness and increased knowledge of specific areas of safeguarding has developed. For example, training sessions linked to the potential safeguarding risks for children who are EHE have taken place for the school nurse service and for GPs in the Borough. This will ensure that they are alert and vigilant to this group of children.

Having colleagues from Health in the group is having a significant impact; they are often able to provide safeguarding assurance about when a child has last been seen by a health practitioner and are also able to take an action forward in their area.

Next Steps: what you are doing next to develop or expand this practice

The next steps are to review this model to ensure that it is aligned with the implementation of the Multi-Agency Child Protection Team as part of the Families First Reforms and to ensure that it considers the changes being introduced in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act April 2026.

Evolve: advice you would give to others seeking to replicate your model

Keep the membership of the group tight, however, build capacity into the model and include administration support to manage the referrals and the tracker to monitor progress. Regularly revisit the Terms of Reference to ensure that all members are clear of the purpose of the group and of the shared responsibility in decision making. Members of the group should hold each other to account on actions taken and decisions being made.

Setting the Scene: the context and problem you are solving

There is a growing body of research into the increasing numbers of recurrent care experienced mothers who are deemed to be in a cycle of pregnancy and child removal, resulting in significant trauma and loss for the families impacted. Research by independent recurrent care organisation, Pause outlined that one in four birth mothers who go through care proceedings, are at risk of returning for subsequent proceedings within ten years. This increases to one in three if the mother is herself a care leaver (Pause, Never More Than Once, 2023). The risk of second care proceedings was highest for young (<25) mothers, living in the most deprived neighbourhoods and with a child already placed for adoption. First time mothers involved in care proceedings are 7x more likely to die within 10 years of birth than other mothers. 66.4% of deaths were related to preventable causes; drugs, alcohol, suicide, homicide or injury (UCL & Nuffield Foundation, 2024).

Within Hounslow between 2020-2025, there were 79 children removed and secured permanency away from birth parents through Care Orders, adoption or Special Guardianship Order. Of these, 24% of birth mothers were involved in care proceedings prior. The majority of cases presented with repeat patterns of parental capacity difficulties. It is also important to note that in this group, 24% of mothers were also ‘looked after’ by Hounslow as a child . Five of these mothers had more than three care proceedings across their adulthood. In terms of financial implications, across the same period, the cost of adoptive placements and SGO allowance is £9.5 million.

Both the national and local picture highlights the significant need for these parents to be adequately supported with their individual complex needs, including the grief and loss following separation from their children. The GROW project was set up in the London Borough of Hounslow in January 2025 in response to addressing these issues. GROW has been built upon evidence-based guidance and research, in particular, research completed by on Recurrent Care Services by Lancaster University (2019). The format of working has been modelled on the well-established running service of charitable company Pause, which has (Evaluation of Pause, DoE, 2020) shown proven positive outcomes for women and in reduction of infant care entry for local authorities. Other organisations that have also influenced the development of GROW have been Hammersmith’s established Action for Change service, Salford’s early help strategy, Strengthening Families service and For Baby’s Sake charity.

How: what you did and how it was delivered to meet the identified need

The GROW project is a locally designed programme based on our understanding of our client need and has been designed, keeping in mind the service user feedback of a need for post-removal support following separation from their children.

Our GROW acronym (Grief Recovery Opportunities Wellbeing), was created taking into account the disenfranchised grief experienced by this client group and need for specialist support to help with recovery. We want our birth parents to feel empowered to have better opportunities via training/education/job prospects which in turn will seek to reduce loneliness and vulnerability. Wellbeing is integral to the birth parents’ journey and supports a nurture their relationship with their birth child via contact therefore GROW works alongside our health and external colleagues to provide specialist intervention which seeks to improve wellbeing and help clients to feel part of a community. The project is aimed at supporting parents who have had one child or more removed from their care with the aim that this does not reoccur. The work with the parent/s is expected to reduce the number of children being separated from their birth families by offering intensive, focused intervention to help parent/s to achieve stability, improved wellbeing and better relationships. The project continues to evolve based on client feedback which is gained through both individual and group work on a regular basis.

GROW works with parents, in Hounslow, that are 17yrs and over in the post-child removal stage, once a final care plan is decided. The focus is on infant removal within the last five years, with a child under five. The 18-month intervention involves an 8–12-week engagement phase, working with the parent to build trust and identify with them what support needs they would like to focus upon. Followed by a 12-month period working towards 1-1 focused goals, practical help, therapeutic support, assistance with managing contact with their children. The final ‘moving on stage’ (4 months) focuses on supporting the parent to transition to independence and identifying any follow-on support.

The GROW team consists of a full-time Advanced Clinical Social Work Practitioner and a part-time parenting practitioner, as part of a wider multidisciplinary specialist team. Clinical supervision is provided by a Systemic Family Psychotherapist and Grow will offer ad hoc psychological therapy as needed.

Integral to the development of GROW has been partnership working with our multi-disciplinary partners, such as perinatal mental health, adult social care teams, adult community mental health teams, sexual health service, housing etc. We have worked to build strong partnerships with services so that the parents we are supporting have a more holistic, streamlined offer of support. There has been effort to raise awareness across key stakeholders, such as the London Judiciary and Senior Lawyers. Various visits to services / teams have taken place to raise awareness about GROW.

The terms include:

Impact: evidence of the difference it has made to children and families

Since the start of the project there has been 26 referrals received from both internal and external professionals. Of those, 22 were accepted and of these 15 continue to work with GROW at various stages of the programme.

The trauma-informed and relationship-based way of working has included providing flexibility, perseverance and importantly a long engagement phase which has proved crucial to establishing a trusting foundation in which to continue the work. Parents have engaged in varying ways and dependent on their own individual needs; some mainly via mobile/video/text contact, others by weekly office sessions, home visits or in the community (cafes) and some a mix of both.

The method of working has been heavily influenced by systemic practices, tools and resources of which are used with parents frequently, in particular, narrative theory, helping a parent to explore and make sense of their own history and journey through childhood and into adulthood/parenthood.

We are at the early stages of being able to see benefits of the project, however we are already seeing positive changes. Only 1 of the 15 women involved with GROW has become pregnant so far, with women being supported and empowered to discuss and access their options around sexual health advice and contraception.

Achievements made through intervention so far has included, supporting parents to access sexual health advice and contraception, 4 of the women are on some form of contraception allowing space for recovery. An integral part of the work has been therapeutic reflective work with parents focusing on loss and adversity, emotional regulation, making sense of the reasons for child removal, thinking about future or current relationships with their children. Intervention has been providing around managing and maintaining contact between parents and children whether through special guardianship or adoption arrangements.

The period post placement order to adoption order, has required careful and sensitively paced work with the parent, including completing life story work, supporting parents to meetings between birth and adoptive parents. GROW seeks to help parents develop their skills and highlight their strengths i.e. through supporting into further education. Practical help around stabilising their housing situation post-child removal has been an integral part of the work, alongside budgeting advice.

One particular success story has been supporting an extremely vulnerable woman (with mild learning disability and mental health difficulties), who was made homeless following the removal of their child due to no longer being deemed ‘high priority’, to be housed in private accommodation which has provided her with long-needed stability. This involved much advocacy and challenge on behalf of the parent, to navigate housing systems.

We were also able to support a very vulnerable, mentally unwell 19-year-old care experienced birth father (not eligible for Leaving care services) to access supported living accommodation via linking him with services to facilitate this, i.e. adult mental social care health team. This has created a much more stable environment for him to access support, it has also benefited his partner, who is also known to GROW, helping to reduce community risks for them both.

Another example of successful case work has been supporting a 29-year-old birth mother with learning difficulties, to access further education, a childcare course through Hounslow’s Learn Hounslow education programme. This has been a positive step for her self-esteem and confidence and is enhancing her future career choices.

Examples of direct feedback from parents about their experiences of GROW are as follows:

“I feel like I have learned to trust people “, “I like how she listens to me and also understands me”, “I’m not as nervous as I used to be. Now I appreciate everything calmly. Thanks to you I don’t care about the drama they don’t bother me as much”.

Next Steps: what you are doing next to develop or expand this practice

From January 2026, GROW began to offer a monthly women’s group, a shared space for women to connect focused upon peer support. This has been a well-attended group so far with five women attending. Central to the group’s design and monthly focus, is the women we are supporting, we are continually seeking their views as to how they would like their group to run so that it is a meaningful space for them. So far, we have focused on building relationships, mindfulness activities, self-care, crafts. We plan to focus on topics such as managing feelings, coping with grief, sexual health, budgeting, navigating contact with their children. Our decision to keep the group for women only was based on their multiple experiences of domestic abuse. We hope with time, there may be enough men to run a similar group. There has been positive feedback about the group so far from mothers and engagement remains consistent.

GROW has also recently commissioned the ‘Hope Boxes’ from the Giving Hope Project which is a trauma-informed intervention for mothers who have been separated by their babies at birth. The HOPE boxes have been designed to support the mother and baby’s connection whilst care proceedings or ongoing assessments are being undertaken. The HOPE Boxes are co-produced with mothers with lived experience, to offer support to mothers and their babies on their journey across the child protection and family justice system. They include carefully selected items to promote bonding such as blankets, milestones book, photographs, teddy, written letter from mothers who experienced removal etc. This approach has been jointly focused with our local maternity service.

Next steps for GROW would involve widening the capacity of GROW, with another member of the team so that more parents could be adequately supported. There is also scope to follow in the footsteps of other recurrent services and include a prebirth offer of support. GROW could support recurrent parents in pre-birth and during proceedings. There is potential to start to engage with parents at the early stages of pregnancy, allowing for a longer period for potential change, identifying past challenges and working intensively with the parent to try and address these, advocating during the child protection process, care proceedings and helping parents to engage with services being offered. The aim is that whilst GROW sits within Children’s Service, the support on offer is still separate to the safeguarding social work teams, allowing the role to remain semi-independent, thus hoping to foster effective working with parents, whilst still remaining cognisant of the protection of the child. Another target for GROW is to reach more fathers who are impacted by difficulties surrounding child removal. This is an area we would like to develop for the year ahead, through linking with local agencies to try and spread awareness.

Evolve: advice you would give to others seeking to replicate your model

We have sought feedback from our multidisciplinary partners in terms of their opinion of the impact of GROW, examples as follows:

“Very good intensive 1:1 work, supporting clients after many services have closed following the resolution of crisis intervention or court proceedings providing the necessary, but often missed, floating support” (Independent Domestic Violence Advocate).

“Working jointly with GROW has a positive impact on the residents I support. Anna brings valuable insight from their previous involvement in cases under children’s services, alongside a strong understanding of trauma and its impact on behaviour. Through our joint work, we are able to complete more robust risk assessments and provide more coordinated, person-centred support that promotes residents’ overall wellbeing following the removal of their children”. (Adult social care).

“In my view, GROW has provided a valuable safe space for birth parents, mostly mothers, to process the impact on them of having had their child/children removed from their care and the reasons for this”. (Adoption social worker).

Establishing key partners (both internal and external) commitment and awareness is essential to the success of the project and to create a shared understanding of the experiences of these parents, which can often go hidden/unidentified. The importance of a long and creative engagement phase is key to establish trust and build relationships with parents who are often trauma impacted. Research in Practice have an excellent guide that has been extremely helpful in designing the project –

https://www.researchinpractice.org.uk/media/yebpnzrc/rip_recurrent_care_project_resource_pack_apr19_web.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Setting the Scene: the context and problem you are solving

Young Dragons is a pilot programme commissioned by Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster’s Bi-borough Children’s Services to improve school engagement for children and young people at risk of exclusion. Partner schools identified pupils aged 9–16 experiencing emotional and behavioural difficulties, low confidence, and challenges sustaining positive peer and adult relationships. Factors that can lead to poor attendance, classroom disruption, suspensions and, ultimately, permanent exclusion. We set out to:

(1) provide an accessible, non-stigmatising early intervention that strengthens social and emotional skills in a school setting.

(2) test a sustainable delivery model that schools could embed and continue over time.

How: what you did and how it was delivered to meet the identified need

We developed a Dungeons & Dragons inspired programme delivered through collaborative tabletop role-playing games in school, framed as “creative storytelling” or “leadership games” to reduce stigma and encourage take-up. Small groups met weekly for one-hour sessions over 12 weeks. A trained facilitator from ‘Mythic Minds’, (an external specialist provider based in London, which uses table top playing games as educational and therapeutic tools for children and young people); created a safe, inclusive space and used structured reflection to link in-game decisions to real-life skills (communication, turn-taking, problem-solving, emotional regulation). Sessions were embedded within the school day to remove barriers to access, and facilitators co-created characters, settings and challenges with pupils, tailoring storylines to relevant themes such as bullying, friendship and managing conflict, and ensuring accessibility for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and/or those who have experienced trauma.

We delivered Young Dragons across ten state schools (a mix of primary and secondary). Phase 1 (April–July 2025) tested delivery by an external specialist provider (Mythic Minds). Phase 2 (September–December 2025) added a sustainability option via a ‘train the trainer’ model: Mythic Minds provided ‘storyteller’ training for school staff, enabling them to run sessions independently using standard materials and embed the approach within inclusion and pastoral systems.

Impact: evidence of the difference it has made to children and families

The pilot was evaluated during the programme delivery period by a research team at Imperial College using a mixed methods approach. Quantitative data was collected via bespoke, age-appropriate surveys which were completed by the children before and after the intervention, capturing indicators of emotional and social functioning. In addition, interviews were conducted with staff, programme leads and a parent, supported by a Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL)-informed coding framework to explore social and emotional learning competencies.

The impact of the Young Dragons pilot has been positive and measurable. The qualitative accounts and case studies gathered from interviews with teachers described significant impact for individual children and their families. Teachers observed greater classroom participation, improved behaviour, and renewed confidence among children. Children demonstrated improvements in anger control, behavioural regulation, turn-taking, teamwork, and peer connection. The collaborative environment of the games sessions encouraged cooperation and a sense of belonging. Children felt safe to express themselves and became more confident in the classroom.

The independent evaluation by Imperial College London found strong engagement and psychological safety for many participants, with visible gains in self-management, teamwork, and peer connection. Teachers linked positive behavioural changes directly to the programme’s mechanisms. For example, a Year 7 pupil with a history of persistent absence and social withdrawal became a regular attendee, developed friendships, and began participating in classroom discussions for the first time. Teachers attributed this turnaround to the confidence and sense of belonging fostered by the Young Dragons sessions.

Next Steps: what you are doing next to develop or expand this practice

Next, we are refining delivery materials based on feedback from schools and the Imperial evaluation, strengthening the staff-training pathway, and testing how the model works for different cohorts (for example, pupils with emotionally based school avoidance and neurodiverse pupils). We will build longer-term follow-up into future phases to understand sustained impact on attendance, behaviour and inclusion outcomes, and explore expansion to additional schools through a blended model (provider-led delivery plus trained school staff).

Evolve: advice you would give to others seeking to replicate your model

The Young Dragons pilot can be scaled up and is easily replicated. The pilot was considered feasible and welcomed by staff, even in high-need, resource-constrained schools. The Role Playing Games (RPG) sessions can be delivered by external providers or by trained school staff with standard RPG materials. The delivery model is flexible, and sessions can be adapted for after-school clubs, enrichment activities, or targeted interventions for specific cohorts such as children with emotionally based school avoidance or neurodiverse pupils. Other councils can adopt the Young Dragons model by working with experienced providers, involving schools in co-design, and establishing strong evaluation from the start. The Young Dragons pilot is a strong example of innovation in new and emerging practice. It has delivered demonstrable improvements in engagement and wellbeing for some of the most vulnerable children in our communities. Its creative, evidence-based approach combines therapeutic, educational, and creative methodologies. The model is scalable, cost effective, and supported by evaluation and testimonials from children and professionals.

Additional information:

An article on Young Dragons with some words from Sarah Newman, Executive Director of Bi-borough Children Services:

Young Dragons programme shows promise in supporting emotional wellbeing and inclusion in London schools | Imperial News | Imperial College London

Also check out our Libraries Instagram post:

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/DXZbBVdDBoZ/

Dragonmeet 2026 was held at Kensington Town Hall on Saturday, 18 April, in partnership with Roleplay Haven. The event offered a full day of activities, including Dungeons and Dragons sessions, figurine painting tailored to board games, popular tabletop games, and a curated selection of discounted collectibles. The programme provided diverse opportunities for engagement and enjoyment for all attendees.

Setting the Scene: the context and problem you are solving

Children with disabilities and their families can experience fragmented support, with multiple entry points, repeated assessments and separate pathways across social care, short breaks, early help and inclusion. For families already managing caring responsibilities, health needs and education pressures, this complexity adds burden, requiring them to repeat their story when they most need clarity and consistency.

Across Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster, support was previously delivered through separate teams, including Disabled Children’s Teams and the Short Breaks Service. Although each service added value, families could still experience the system as disjointed, moving between teams and navigating different thresholds and processes.

There were also wider challenges in ensuring children and young people with disabilities could access mainstream activities, build friendships, develop independence and experience belonging, rather than relying only on specialist provision.

Through an extensive review involving families, partners and our workforce, we developed an evidence-informed vision for change. The themes emerging locally strongly reflected the national direction of travel later articulated in Stable Homes, Built on Love. Rather than waiting for reform to become statutory, we redesigned our Children with Disabilities provision in line with the ambitions of social care reform, ensuring the service was responsive to current need and ready for the future.

The Bi-Borough Children with Disabilities Family Help Service (CWDFH) was developed to address these issues by bringing social care, short breaks, family help and inclusion into one integrated, preventative model for children and young people aged 0–25. Its aim is to make support easier to access, more consistent and joined up, so children with disabilities can thrive within their families and communities.

How: what you did and how it was delivered to meet the identified need

The CWDFH Service brings together Disabled Children’s Social Care and the Bi-Borough Short Breaks Service into one integrated, multidisciplinary model. This reduces the need for families to navigate separate parts of the system themselves and supports a more coordinated, whole-family response.

The service includes Family Help Practitioners, Social Workers, Systemic Clinicians, Occupational Therapists, a Designated Social Care Officer, Inclusion Practitioners, Family Navigators and specialist Children with Disabilities centres. Together, they provide support across a continuum of need, from early advice and prevention to statutory intervention where required.

One assessment, one story: A single assessment approach reduces duplication and keeps the focus on the child’s lived experience and the realities of family life.

Continuity through a named practitioner: Each family has a consistent Family Help Practitioner who builds trust and maintains a coherent plan. Where needs increase or safeguarding concerns emerge, practitioners work closely with Social Workers to ensure smooth transitions and joined-up support.

Team Around the Family: The model brings professionals together to deliver timely, tailored support, including short breaks, homecare, personal budgets, parenting support, preparation for adulthood and community-based interventions that build independence and confidence.

Inclusion as a core function: A dedicated Inclusion Team works with schools, health partners, youth services and community providers to remove barriers and increase access to mainstream and community opportunities.

A clear, fair front door: Access is underpinned by eligibility criteria aligned with the Equality Act 2010, focusing on children with substantial and long-term disabilities or complex health needs. Where children do not meet the threshold, Family Navigators provide advice, visits where appropriate, and active signposting to SEND services, Early Help, Family Hubs and the Local Offer.

Impact: evidence of the difference it has made to children and families

The impact of the CWDFH Service is seen in the shift families experience: less system navigation, more relationship-based support, clearer planning and a stronger focus on inclusion and everyday outcomes. Families describe the service as more joined-up, with fewer handoffs and greater confidence that someone is holding the whole picture.

What families are telling us (anonymised feedback):

“From the first visit, the practitioner was professional, kind and understanding. They built a relationship with our child, worked around our routines and kept us informed. We now have a tailored package of support and feel much more settled as a family.”

What this looks like in practice:

One family approached the service during a period of disruption, following a sudden change in parental availability and reduced informal support. Previously, they may have had to navigate separate pathways, repeating their story while waiting for support.

Under the Family Help model, a named practitioner completed a holistic assessment, built a relationship with the child and coordinated support across services. Clear communication meant decisions translated quickly into practical help.

The result was not just a package of care, but a family feeling more settled, empowered and confident, with support that fitted their lives rather than the system.

Early impact themes:

• Stronger relationships, with families highlighting consistency, empathy and trust
• Smoother transitions between early help, short breaks and statutory support
• Greater focus on inclusion, independence and coordination across partners

Why this matters:

In a context of increasing demand and complexity, the model reduces duplication, strengthens decision-making and keeps inclusion and lived experience at the centre.

Next Steps: what you are doing next to develop or expand this practice

The service continues to embed its integrated model with a focus on inclusion, outcomes and sustainability.

Key priorities include:

• Deepen the inclusion offer so more children and young people can access mainstream and community opportunities.
• Strengthen workforce confidence through training that supports consistent, relational practice.
• Improve data and performance monitoring to evidence impact and inform improvement.

Evolve: advice you would give to others seeking to replicate your model

This model offers practical learning for other local authorities seeking to improve outcomes for children with disabilities and reduce inequality.

• Design around the family, not the system. A coordinated model improves experience and reduces fragmentation
• Continuity is an intervention. A consistent practitioner builds trust and strengthens engagement
• Make inclusion core. Dedicated inclusion capacity enables wider system change
• Work in partnership. Collaboration across agencies supports earlier, more effective intervention

Overall, the CWDFH Service shows how an integrated, preventative and inclusion-led approach can create a more coherent system, improve family experience and help children and young people with disabilities thrive.

Setting the Scene: the context and problem you are solving

The Confident Communicators Programme is an innovative, multi-agency intervention designed to address a critical gap in support for Reception and Year 1 children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) at SEN Support level. At the point of school entry, increasing numbers of children were presenting with unmet SLCN, yet access to timely specialist intervention was often dependent on securing an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). This created a reactive system in which needs escalated before support was put in place. Confident Communicators shifts this model upstream by delivering early, targeted, and co-designed interventions that improve outcomes for children, builds workforce capability, and reduces demand for statutory provision.

Demand for statutory SLCN support locally has risen significantly, with requests for EHC needs assessments peaking in the early primary years. Schools reported limited confidence in identifying and supporting SLCN, alongside inconsistent practice across settings and delayed access to therapeutic input without an EHCP. This combination led to avoidable escalation of need, poorer outcomes for children, and increasing pressure on high-cost statutory services.

The system required a fundamentally different approach, one that intervened earlier, integrated education and health expertise, and strengthened sustainable capacity within schools.

How: what you did and how it was delivered to meet the identified need

Confident Communicators is an innovative, co-designed model that brings together local authority advisory teachers, NHS speech and language therapists, and school staff to deliver holistic, child-centred support. It focuses on Reception and Year 1 children at risk of escalation, providing early, targeted intervention that combines direct therapeutic input with workforce development. Education and health professionals jointly assess each child and design bespoke intervention packages tailored to their individual needs. A key adult within the school, typically a teaching assistant, is trained and coached to deliver these interventions, ensuring that expertise is embedded within the school rather than remaining external.

The programme extends beyond the classroom through an integrated family support offer, including a home visit that enables parents to reinforce communication strategies in everyday contexts. Termly multi-agency reviews involving families ensure progress is consistently monitored and that decisions about continuation, discharge, or escalation are evidence-based and timely. Importantly, this is not a stand-alone service but a model that combines targeted support for individual children with system-wide capacity building, ensuring that impact is sustained and scaled.

The programme was developed through a six-month co-production process involving families and practitioners. This ensured that the model reflects lived experience, fits within school and home routines, and prioritises the child’s inclusion and wellbeing alongside measurable SLCN outcomes.

Impact: evidence of the difference it has made to children and families

Early evidence demonstrates significant impact at both the individual and system level. Children participating in the programme have shown significant measurable improvements in speech, language and communication using NHS Therapeutic Outcome Measures (TOMs). Of the 63 children supported to date, 22% have been successfully discharged, requiring no further intervention to meet their communication milestones, while only 7% have progressed to an EHCP referral. These outcomes are particularly notable given that children can receive up to six terms of support and the first full cohort has not yet completed the programme (due to conclude in Autumn 26).

The programme is also delivering strong outcomes for the workforce and wider system. Practitioner confidence in identifying and supporting SLCN has increased significantly, rising from an average of 6 out of 10 to 9 out of 10. School staff report greater consistency in practice, improved use of communication strategies in everyday teaching, and a stronger sense of confidence in meeting children’s needs. Feedback highlights the value of multi‐agency collaboration in driving these improvements. One practitioner noted that the programme “up-skilled me no end” and should be available in every school.

Taken together, these outcomes demonstrate a clear triple impact of improved outcomes for children, increased workforce capability, and reduced demand for statutory intervention. An independent evaluation by Speech and Language UK is currently underway to further validate and strengthen the evidence base.

Next Steps: what you are doing next to develop or expand this practice

The programme has been designed with sustainability and scalability at its core. By embedding skills and knowledge within school staff through ongoing training and coaching, the model reduces reliance on external specialists over time. The use of shared tools, consistent outcome measures, and clear step-up and step-down pathways ensures that the approach is both replicable and adaptable.

Future priorities include completing the independent evaluation to refine the model further, expanding workforce development through training all schools in the SLCN progression toolkit, and strengthening early identification pathways across education and health services. Another next step includes using data from the programme to better target 0-5 commissioned SCLN services. The programme will also explore expansion to wider year groups to extend its preventative impact based on school feedback. These developments will support the transition from a targeted intervention model to a whole-system approach.

Evolve: advice you would give to others seeking to replicate your model

To replicate our Confident Communicators model, we’d start by agreeing a shared definition of the challenge locally, including what ‘SEN Support without an EHCP’ looks like and how success will be measured for children and for the wider system. Co-design the approach with the children, families and professionals who know and live with these challenges so that interventions fit with existing school and home routines and are more likely to be adopted consistently. Build workforce development into the core offer through training, coaching and reflective practice, so strategies become part of day-to-day classroom practice rather than an add on. Combine targeted and universal approaches, pairing intensive support for high-need children with whole-school improvements to prevent escalation. Establish a clear ‘step‐down/step-up’ pathway, making it straightforward to discharge children who no longer need specialist support and to escalate those who do, using consistent evidence. Finally, plan evaluation from the outset, with baseline and follow-up measures and simple throughput tracking.

Setting the Scene: the context and problem you are solving

Increased demand for Targeted Early Help input resulted in families being placed on a waiting list for a period of time. At the same time, NFA rates for referrals into the TEHS were too high; a lot of time was being spent by referrers making referrals which didn’t meet threshold and TEHS was also spending a lot of time processing these inappropriate referrals at the front door. We needed to find an alternative approach for these families which enabled their needs to be met.

Partners across the Helping Early System were already working well together, in terms of relational work and knowing each other’s services, however there was a need to improve information sharing and break down some barriers that existed.

How: what you did and how it was delivered to meet the identified need

In 2024 we set up a pilot Helping Early System panel ensuring we included all partners across the Helping Early System (HES). We ran the pilot project for 6 months focused on one locality area within Sutton to make sure we were always learning and refining our approach.

The following wider aims for the EHSP pilot were set and agreed on by the partnership:

• Develop ways of working to support better integration and information sharing across the Sutton early help system.
• Support a culture shift amongst professionals; Early Help is understood as support not just delivered by TEHS but by all those partners in the Helping Early Network.
• Support Early Help professionals to develop greater knowledge of the range of support available for families, CSC thresholds, referral decision making, etc and have greater confidence to support families.
• Promote whole family working and shared understandings of outcomes/needs of families across the early help system (Supporting Families outcomes framework)
• Reduce the likelihood of families ‘falling through the gap’ because they don’t meet a referral criteria/threshold.
• Families are encouraged to access support through a locality-based hub model-community-based working.
• Shift the association some families have that early help/TEHS is linked to safeguarding/child protection services- so as to encourage families to access help as and when they need it.
• Develop early help practice in Sutton, so our early help system is more in line with national guidance/ expectations (e.g. Supporting Families self assessment, Family Hubs, etc).
• Test the benefits of using a shorter assessment tool and brief intervention with families requiring whole family support.
• Build a clearer link between the Team Around the School developments, with Family Hubs, to address issues such as school attendance, etc.

Following the evaluation some changes were made to the Panel. The panel initially met every fortnight, however this changed due to time pressures and now meets every three weeks in person at varied locations in the borough. The scope of the panel was also increased and now takes referrals from across the whole borough.

Impact: evidence of the difference it has made to children and families

Following the initial 6 month pilot, an evaluation was completed. The evaluation noted the following successes:

• Engagement and commitment from all partners to attend every panel;
• Willingness from all partners to consistently share relevant information;
• Commitment from all partners to return to panel with updates after 4 weeks of agreeing to lead a piece of work;
• Strengthening of professional relationships across the Early Help System;
• Holding the panel in person has led to improved confidence in partners and relational work across the partnership;
• Positive feedback and engagement from families accepting support from EHSP;
• Schools/lead professionals attended panels to provide additional information to case discussions; and
• Positive outcomes achieved for families accepting support from EHSP.

All families consent to being discussed at Panel and all families are invited to attend panel and share their story. This has proved very successful and families have shared they have found this empowering,yet initially daunting. Ensuring we provide a warm and welcoming environment allows families to feel safe in sharing their story once to a range of professionals.

The panel allows for information sharing, problem solving and a multi-agency response for families in a timely manner. Cases are reviewed at the following panel to ensure outcomes have been achieved. All families have an action plan which is uploaded and case noted to Mosaic.

In a recent case that came in around housing disputes it was noted the family had been underpaid on their benefits which in turn led to a large back payment, something which would have not been flagged had they not been discussed and information shared.

Next Steps: what you are doing next to develop or expand this practice

The intention is to continue the Early Help System Panel with the upcoming Families First changes, to ensure that the relationship between the wider early help system and Family Help continues to be supported. Due to changes in Sutton Children’s Services organisational structure, we will no longer have a distinct/separate TEHS, but rather workers will be spread across 4 Family Help teams. Hence there are some process changes that will need to be factored in to ensure that we are still able to identify families that need to be discussed at panel and ensure there is the resource to enable the continued operation of the panel.

Evolve: advice you would give to others seeking to replicate your model

Having successful buy-in from partner agencies and a commitment to attending the panel in person every 3 weeks has been key to ensuring a reliable and timely delivery of resources across the Helping Early System. This in turn has allowed families to access the appropriate support services.

In order to get buy-in, ensure there is strategic partnership commitment to the panel- that should support good multi agency attendance at the Panel. There is also a need to communicate the value of the panel to all partners- ensure that partners understand how they can benefit from attendance and making referrals.

Setting the Scene: the context and problem you are solving

The primary years (ages 5–11) are a critical time to identify and respond to emerging needs such as difficulties with social communication, emotional regulation, anxiety, attention and concentration. When recognised early, these needs can be addressed through timely, preventative support that significantly improves outcomes.

In Sutton, schools and families identified a growing number of children who were beginning to struggle with inclusion, engagement and wellbeing, but who did not meet thresholds for statutory services. These challenges were particularly noticeable at key transition points, especially the move to secondary school.

Paving the Way (PTW) was developed to meet this need, providing specialist early identification and intervention so children and families receive early, holistic support rooted in Early Help principles, helping children build confidence, resilience and positive educational pathways.

How: what you did and how it was delivered to meet the identified need

Paving the Way is delivered within Cognus’ Inclusion Service, in partnership with schools, families and professionals across the London Borough of Sutton.

The service provides flexible, tailored early help, with children allocated to one or more interventions, delivered by a Behavioural Specialist PTW caseworker, based on the child’s needs.

Early Identification and pathways:

A full developmental history assessment is completed with parents and school, alongside an observation.

PTW also utilises screenings and presents written reports, summarising neurodevelopmental difficulties (autism/ADHD) which support informed referrals to the Cognus Autism Pathway or CAMHS, while maintaining early intervention support throughout.

Targeted Support for Children:

Paving the Way ‘Warriors’ (Years 4–6)

A six‑week after‑school group offering a safe, supportive space for children to:

• Develop friendships
• Build self‑esteem and confidence
• Improve attention, communication and peer relationships

Groups are carefully matched and tailored to each cohort, promoting inclusion and emotional safety.

Paving the Way Mini Warriors (Years 1–3)

• An afternoon group supporting younger children to:
• Understand and identify emotions
• Develop emotional regulation and early social skills
• Engage through fun, interactive activities

This provision also enables practitioners to gain valuable insight into children’s personalities, challenges and potential neurodivergence, informing observation reports and next steps.

One‑to‑One child interventions:

Where needed, children access individualised sessions in a structured, nurturing environment. Sessions are tailored to individual goals and use play‑based, creative and structured activities to develop emotional regulation, confidence and coping strategies.

Family Support Group:

This is co‑run with Limes College (the LA’s SEMH PRU). This eight‑week programme runs each term and is open to PTW parents and all Sutton parents with primary‑aged children. It provides a safe space to:

• Build parental confidence
• Share experiences and strategies
• Learn about child development and emotional wellbeing

Family Workshops:

Holiday workshops for the whole family focus on key themes such as:

• Friendships
• Emotions and regulation
• Transitions and “back to school”
• Sensory needs

These provide valuable support and activities to children and families in the school holidays, when their normal schedule and routine are disrupted.

Home Visits:

Delivered where needed to support engagement, observe children in a familiar environment, and provide practical support to parents around managing behaviours and emotions.

Impact: evidence of the difference it has made to children and families

The impact of Paving the Way is evidenced through strong qualitative feedback from schools, parents and children, demonstrating improved emotional wellbeing, inclusion and confidence.

Schools:

Schools report improved capacity to meet emerging needs, reduced escalation, and stronger partnership working.

“Very thorough consultation work which is immensely supportive to the parents and also provides additional strategies to the teaching staff.”

“Outstanding service that is expertly managed, very knowledgeable, and offers excellent advice for schools and parents.”

“Families felt they were heard, and where 1:1 support was needed it was offered which really helped the child.”

Parents and Carers:

Families consistently report increased confidence, clarity, and reassurance—key outcomes of effective early help.

“The support my son has received has made a very positive difference to him… he has learned tools to help him cope.”

“Great advice. I feel hope that we are heading in the right direction.”

Children and Young People:

Children report improvements in emotional regulation, anxiety management, and peer relationships, demonstrating the direct impact of early intervention.

“I feel more confident to talk to people.”

“I have learnt to control my emotions.”

“I made new friends, and the group helped me with my feelings.”

“I don’t bottle up my feelings anymore.”

Meeting more need, more swiftly:

Paving the Way receive 20-25 new requests each month and utilise a triage service to meet the needs of as many children as possible through both the 1:1 and group intervention offers. Through increasing the groups on offer, the waitlist has reduced from 6 months to 3 months.

Reducing exclusions and suspensions:

Most recently, groups of ‘Transition Warriors’ were piloted within years 4–7; targeting support at children identified as being at high risk of exclusion through key secondary transition years. Of the 10-12 children supported in each round of Warriors, none have been excluded or received suspensions in the last two years.

Developing skills, behaviour, friendships and confidence:

PTW utilises ‘Outcomes Star’ to track progress and impact in a range of areas. Recent data highlighted that 94% of pupils make progress as a result of the ‘Transitions Warriors’ Intervention. 56% of pupils have made progress in the area of school and learning, 47% have made progress in managing routine; connected to this, 39% of children have made progress with attention and organisation. These are all skills that support a successful transition and the ability to cope with the expectations and requirement of secondary school and readiness to learn. 59% of children have improved self-esteem and connected to this the ability to make and maintain friendships (which is critical in supporting children to feel a sense of belonging). 42% of children have made progress in how they behave.  

Providing evidence for neurodevelopmental referrals:

Around 65% of children who participate in Warriors groups are successfully referred for further assessment through CAMHS or Clinical Psychology pathways.

PTW’s ability to provide evidence-based referrals to Clinical Psychology is a significant advantage for a service facing exceptionally high demand.

‘It is well documented that the waiting times for assessments for young people locally and nationally are considerably long. The consequence of this can also include deterioration of mental health. The PTW team helps reduce this possibility and wait times for young people within Sutton by referring directly to the Clinical Psychology service rather than referring to CAHMS, who would in turn refer to Clinical Psychology. With the team’s expertise and experience, the information provided helps expedite the assessments and care of the young people within Sutton‘.

(Dr Anneline Flood, Nov 2025)

Next Steps: what you are doing next to develop or expand this practice

Paving the Way will continue to:

• Strengthen early identification through schools and Early Help pathways
• Expand group offer capacity to meet increasing demand
• Further embed transition support for Year 6 pupils
• Develop enhanced data capture to evidence long‑term outcomes
• Share learning across services within Sutton

We are also looking at support that can be provided to parents in the home, focussing on regulation, including work supporting siblings.

The programme will continue evolving in response to community need while remaining firmly rooted in preventative, relational early help.

Evolve: advice you would give to others seeking to replicate your model

Advice for others looking to replicate this model:

• Act early – intervene before needs escalate
• Work relationally – trust with families drives impact
• Support the whole system – child, family and school together
• Be flexible – tailor support to need, not threshold
• Value children’s voices – they are the strongest evidence of success

Paving the Way demonstrates how specialist early intervention, embedded within Early Help and education systems, can significantly improve outcomes for children and families.

Summary

Through early identification, tailored intervention and strong partnership working, Cognus’ Paving the Way delivers measurable, meaningful impact and exemplifies best practice in early intervention across London.

Setting the Scene: the context and problem you are solving

Young people across the borough are increasingly exposed to risks linked to criminal exploitation, peer pressure, and youth violence, including weapon carrying. Traditional interventions often rely on discussion-based approaches, which can struggle to fully engage young people or reflect the real-time pressures they experience.

There was a clear need for a more immersive and impactful intervention that could help young people understand risk, recognise exploitation, and build confidence in decision-making. This was particularly relevant for those in Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), SEN settings, and those known to youth justice or social care services, who may be more vulnerable to exploitation.

We decided that the VR programme was able to bridge this gap, offering a safe but realistic environment where young people can explore consequences without real-world harm.

How: what you did and how it was delivered to meet the identified need

Using Critical Incident Funding obtained from the London VRU, following a youth homicide in the borough, we procured a virtual reality intervention from Virtual Decisions. The intervention uses VR headsets to guide young people through two interactive scenarios:

Criminal exploitation scenario: young people follow a storyline where they are approached by a known individual linked to criminality and are asked to hold a bag with unknown contents. They experience peer pressure and make decisions that influence the outcome, including scenarios involving theft and debt bondage.

Weapon carrying scenario: young people navigate situations involving pressure or intimidation to carry a weapon, exploring different outcomes such as avoidance, escalation, stop and search, or arrest.

The programme requires young people to make decisions throughout the scenario, which directly impact the narrative and consequences they experience.

Delivery of the programme has been flexible and embedded across multiple settings, including:

• Primary and secondary schools

• PRUs and SEN provisions

• Youth justice service

• Adolescent safeguarding work

• Social work direct work sessions

Delivered as a preventative measure in schools, this proactive approach enables early identification of risk and the delivery of timely, trauma-informed interventions before concerns escalate into statutory involvement. A key strand of the programme focuses on transition periods, particularly for children moving from primary to secondary education. Through a wrap-around approach during these critical transition points, the partnership has been able to identify emerging emotional, social, and behavioural vulnerabilities that may otherwise go unnoticed. This work supports a deeper understanding of children’s lived experiences and the wider contextual factors influencing their behaviour.

As well as completing sessions with over 500 children and young people across the borough, we have also trained professionals, including social workers, youth justice workers and practitioners within our “Safe Spaces” project, to use the VR tool as part of their direct work or as an education piece to help them understand the pressures faced by young people in the community. Sessions are always followed by facilitated discussions to reflect on choices, peer influence, exploitation tactics, and protective strategies.

Impact: evidence of the difference it has made to children and families

The programme has been delivered to approximately 500 young people aged 9–21 across a range of settings.

Key impacts include:

• High levels of engagement across all age groups, including those traditionally harder to engage.

• Improved understanding of exploitation, peer pressure, and consequences of decision-making.

• Increased ability among young people to identify risky situations and coercive behaviours.

Positive feedback from professionals, particularly regarding the tool’s effectiveness in supporting meaningful conversations.

Feedback forms have been completed by children and young people – highlighting greater understanding on both the topics, and where to seek support moving forwards.

Delivery within education settings, particularly with young people identified as vulnerable, has supported the identification of those requiring additional intervention. This has enabled onward referrals, informed reassessment of Contextual Risk Screening, and supported practitioners in planning targeted direct work.

The programme has also been used within the YouthLink hospital project, engaging young people during hospital admissions. This has facilitated meaningful discussions around community safety, including risks linked to criminal and sexual exploitation, and supported the development of robust, personalised safety planning.

Practitioners report that the immersive nature of VR helps young people better relate to scenarios, leading to deeper reflection compared to standard interventions.

The programme has also strengthened practitioner confidence in discussing complex topics such as exploitation and weapon carrying, particularly through its use in training and workforce development.

Next Steps: what you are doing next to develop or expand this practice

Funding has not yet been secured to extend the current licence for the programme beyond the end of May 2026, however if we were able to secure further funding, the aim would be to:

Increase delivery across more schools and community settings

Embed the intervention further within early help, prevention pathways and youth justice.

Continued use within workforce training to widen practitioner use

Exploring additional scenarios / programmes to reflect emerging risks and local trends (i.e vaping, identity, gangs)

We would also look to strengthen our evaluation methods to capture longer-term outcomes and behavioural change.

Evolve: advice you would give to others seeking to replicate your model

• Invest in facilitation, not just technology: the VR experience is most impactful when paired with skilled discussion and reflection.

• Adapt to your audience: the flexibility of the scenarios allows them to be effective across a wide age range and needs, but delivery style should be tailored.

• Train your workforce early: building practitioner confidence ensures the tool is used consistently and effectively.

• Start with clear safeguarding links: align the programme with existing exploitation and violence reduction strategies from the outset.

• Earlier formal evaluation and data collection would have strengthened the evidence base further.

Setting the Scene: the context and problem you are solving

Our work begins when a referral is made requesting groupwork intervention, followed by a consultation with the referrer to understand the concerns affecting the young people they are considering for the programme. Through this consultation, I gather detailed information about the issues emerging within the individuals picked to participate in the group. Using this insight, I design a bespoke groupwork programme tailored to the specific risks and needs identified. Previous programmes have addressed concerns such as consent, sharing indecent images, healthy relationships, behavioural changes, conflict, harmful sexual behaviours, substance misuse, peer influence, and friendship dynamics. This approach ensures that the intervention is directly responsive to the contextual challenges young people are experiencing.

How: what you did and how it was delivered to meet the identified need

We deliver interventions through either targeted or universal group sessions, depending on the level of need identified. Targeted groups involve a small number of selected participants identified by the referring provision, allowing for focused work on specific concerns. Universal sessions, by contrast, are delivered as one off themed workshops to whole year groups, tutor groups, or wider user groups.

For the targeted programme, relevant to the earlier ‘setting the scene’ example, I design a bespoken series of sessions based on the concerns raised during consultation. The programme incorporates structured educational activities, discussion based learning, and a range of materials tailored to the cognitive abilities and developmental needs of the young people involved. This ensures that the content is accessible, engaging, and directly responsive to the issues identified, enabling participants to explore themes such as consent, relationships, behaviour, conflict, peer influence, and other contextual challenges in a safe and supported environment.

Impact: evidence of the difference it has made to children and families

Over the past 12 months, I have delivered groupwork interventions across primary and secondary schools, further education settings, apprenticeship organisations, and community provisions. Between April 2025 and December 2025, a total of 435 young people engaged in these sessions, demonstrating strong uptake and sustained demand for preventative, educational groupwork.

Feedback from both young people and families consistently evidences the positive impact of the intervention. Participants report increased confidence, improved understanding of relationships and consent, and greater self awareness. Staff and parents highlight the value of the safe, small group environment in enabling young people to speak openly and reflect on their experiences.

Examples include:

“Overall, learning about everything and specifying our values felt great – Thank you” – young person from apprenticeship program

“She is really enjoying the group… the small group of nice girls makes her feel safe to speak.”- Parent of participant at local secondary school

“Talking about relationships made me reflect on the relationships I’ve been in; both physical and other!”- young people from apprenticeship program

This feedback demonstrates that the programme not only increases knowledge but also supports emotional safety, reflection, and healthier decision making benefits that extend to families and the wider school or community environment.

Setting the Scene: the context and problem you are solving

Why is this needed?- “A family justice system that removes the fourth, fifth, or sixth child from families without addressing the underlying reasons for removal is a failing system.” – the late Nicholas Crichton (District Judge)

What we learned from the research

• 1 in 4 mothers in England return to care proceedings with a new child within 7 years.
• 1 in 8 fathers return to proceedings within 5 years.
• Repeat proceedings are most common among infants under 12 months, especially newborns.

Parental Profiles

Often young mothers: first child <20

4+ children

White British/UK nationals.

High exposure to Adverse Childhood Experiences (4+ ACES).

Many are care-experienced themselves, with multiple placement moves and unresolved trauma, some report feeling prejudiced due to being care leavers

Common risk factors: substance misuse, mental health difficulties, domestic abuse, failed contraception, early or hasty relationships.

Impact of Child Removal

Post-removal, parents often experience declines in routine, self-care, and functioning

Grief, identity disruption, and social isolation.

Parents may engage in substance use, make impulsive decisions, and have rapid subsequent pregnancies as a response to loss or in hope of change

Maintaining parental identity and hope is a key motivator for recovery.

Sutton recognises that some parents experience repeated involvement in care proceedings, often linked to unresolved trauma, loss, and lived experiences.

STEP will offer an intensive, trauma-informed, and relationship-led response to support parents after proceedings have concluded — to help them rebuild stability, process grief, and nurture hope for the future

This programme is offered to both mothers and fathers.

How: what you did and how it was delivered to meet the identified need

Provide intensive, supportive outreach through a dedicated STEP practitioner, building trust and consistency.

Support parents to regain stability in housing, finances, and wellbeing.

Help parents maintain positive and safe interaction with their children (where appropriate).

Encourage reflection and a pause from parenting to process grief and rebuild emotional resilience

Facilitate access to therapeutic, health, and community support.

Promote meaningful progress, renewed hope, and confidence in daily life, helping parents feel understood, supported, and more in control of the choices they make for themselves and their families.

How it works

A Safe Place to Start Again

Parents are met with trust, consistency, and non-judgemental support.

A STEP practitioner walks alongside the parent, noticing the small wins and being there through the hard moments.

Being a Parent, Their Way

Even after proceedings, their identity as a parent matters.

Support helps them stay connected, reflect on their experiences, and rebuild confidence in their parenting role.

Stability for Everyday Life

Provide support and guidance to help the parent attend and engage with appointments and services related to housing, finances, welfare, and health, reducing stress and helping build a foundation for positive change.

Focus on what matters most right now, so they can start feeling more in control.

Hope in Their Hands

Parents set their own goals, make choices, and access support in ways that work for them.

Build skills, break old cycles, and create a future that feels possible and hopeful

The process

Referral and screening – Engagement phase- Assessment and Mapping- Intervention planning-Direct support- Review and transition

Phase 1- Intensive Support STEP IN (0-3 mths)

Relationship-building, addressing immediate needs: housing/income, joint assessment & goal-setting- parent meets with STEP Practitioner 2-3x per week

Phase 2: Therapeutic support & Rebuilding STEP ON (3-15 mths)

Multi-agency plan developed, direct work e.g 1:1 counselling, EMDR, Trauma counselling, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Couples or high-conflict support (where appropriate), Psychoeducation (e.g., PACE model, therapeutic parenting approaches, DBT skills). Weekly with therapist (review every 6 weeks).

Phase 3: Consolidation & Transition STEP FORWARD (12-18 mths)

Step-down support, linking to peer and community networks Sustained contact.

Fortnightly reducing to monthly as appropriate.

Impact: evidence of the difference it has made to children and families

Client had 2 children, during proceedings process client became pregnant with a 3rd child which was a hidden pregnancy, all 3 children were removed. Client was pregnant with 4th child and a pre STEP pilot was offered. Client and her partner received bespoke support including Incredible Years informed parenting support with client and partner, CBT and subsequent trauma counselling with client, CBT and Dad’s group with partner, which supported her and her partner to be closed to CSC. When client became pregnant with her 5th child CSC did not need to be involved.

Clients feedback

This has helped me grow as a person- ‘..If I am honest with social services – I can be honest with myself.

I used to rely on other people such as my mum for everything- I didn’t have confidence but this has changed.

Therapy was never an option for me- but I requested more therapy session as I saw this was helping me.

Before I would not want to engage. I accepted the help that I needed – I don’t see you (social services) as a threat no more.

I know the safety and protection of child’s name is important.

When I was down in December – I spoke about it with the social worker and went to the GP for medication. Something I would of not done before.

Next Steps: what you are doing next to develop or expand this practice

Following the successful pilot. STEP was created and has been offered to clients who have had children removed to adoption. Given that Sutton is a relatively small borough there are on average a maximum of 2-3 adoptions per year that meet STEP criteria and we are awaiting client uptake.

I met with LB of Croydon to discuss our approach as they requested guidance and support for setting up their own programme.

Evolve: advice you would give to others seeking to replicate your model

Know your limitations and what it is that you are able to offer.

The Sutton offer is unique due to having an in house Therapeutic Hub which enables access to a wider range of services than other boroughs.

Partnership relationships are key and taking the time to invest in these relationships is a fundamental part of ongoing success.