The Families First Partnership (FFP) programme is a government project in England. Its aim is to change how children's social care works with children and families when they need help and support. Services should be easy to access, and in a way that makes families feel valued and respected. The programme also expects families to be supported by professionals from different backgrounds, not only social workers.
To make this happen, children's social care is making changes in four key areas:
- Better teamwork between services: Local councils, schools, doctors, police and others will work more closely together to keep children safe.
- Joined-up family help services: Families with more complicated needs will get support from teams made up of different professionals. This involves improving the way different services work together to offer support to children and families with multiple or complex needs. This will avoid families being passed between services as often and help maintain consistent relationships with families.
- Introducing expert-led teams: These teams will bring together experts from different services to step in quickly when significant harm is identified. They’re called Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams (MACPTs) and will also provide additional support to parents and guardians.
- Family group decision making: Families will be at the centre of decision making.
