Universal services for children and families are the everyday support systems that help all families thrive. These include things like health care, education, and early education and care, and are available to everyone in the community. You’ll find them in familiar places like schools, GP surgeries, and family hubs. These services play a vital role in supporting children’s rights and overall well-being. By promoting good health and development from the start, they help prevent the need for more specialist support later on. They’re inclusive, accessible, and designed to give every child the best possible start in life. This includes locally trusted organisations.

In Stoke-on-Trent, Early Help is available through our Family Hubs. It supports families at the earliest signs of difficulty, helping children reach their full potential and preventing issues from escalating. Accessing Early Help involves an assessment and a tailored support plan.

Early Help is available for children of all ages, including pre-birth, and can address a wide range of needs such as:

• Special educational needs and disabilities
• Parental challenges
• Young carers
• Mental health concerns

This ‘targeted early help’ supports families navigate challenges before they become more serious.

Support for children in need is provided when there’s a risk to a child’s health or development. Local authority social care teams assess needs and work with families to create plans that promote safety and well-being. In some cases, this support helps prevent or reduce the risk of harm.

The vision for Family Help is to unify these services into multi-agency teams, making support more accessible and effective. A new role, the Family Help Lead Practitioner (FHLP), will work directly with families and may come from a variety of professional backgrounds.

MACPTs bring together professionals from social care, police, health, and education to deliver a coordinated response to child protection concerns. These teams aim to:

• Combine expertise in child protection
• Act swiftly in cases of significant harm
• Introduce a new role: Lead Child Protection Practitioner, responsible for statutory decisions and chairing child protection conferences

Professionals will continue working together to safeguard children, but our ambition is to create an expert multi-agency service that ensures swift, decisive protection and support for children and families, both inside and outside the home. We will operate as one team, collaborating virtually and in person.

Together, we will:

• Define clear roles, responsibilities, and practice standards
• Establish accountability across agencies
• Introduce the Lead Child Protection Practitioner role to provide expert advice to Family Help teams and lead statutory child protection assessments and plans, drawing on MACPT expertise and working alongside the Family Help Lead Practitioner

This approach empowers families to take the lead in addressing concerns about a child’s safety or well-being. With proper preparation, resources, and information, families can make informed decisions. During the pre-proceedings stage, an independent coordinator supports the process to ensure it is effective and inclusive.

The Families First Partnership programme aims to deliver:

• Better outcomes through earlier, more effective multi-agency support
• Faster, coordinated responses to emerging needs
• More family-led decision making, co-creating solutions with professionals
• Reduced pressure on child protection teams through early intervention
• Less stigma around accessing support, encouraging families to seek help when needed

In Stoke-on-Trent, we are currently in the co-design phase of implementing the transformation programme.

Training and updates available - to find out more or get involved, email familiesfirst@stoke.gov.uk for more information.

 Additional Resources

• Families First Partnership programme - GOV.UK