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, families can get Early Help through our Family Hubs. Early Help is there to support you at the first signs of difficulty, before problems grow bigger. It helps children and young people feel safe, supported and able to reach their full potential.

Early Help is available for children of all ages, including during pregnancy, and can support families with a wide range of needs, including:

• Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
• Parenting or family challenges
• Support for young carers
• Emotional wellbeing and mental health concerns

Early Help is about working with families early, offering the right support at the right time, so challenges can be managed before they become more serious.

Family Help brings services together so families can get the right support more easily, in one joined‑up way. By working as multi‑agency teams, we can make support clearer, simpler and more effective for children and families.

Families will work with a Family Help Lead Practitioner (FHLP), who will get to know them and help coordinate the support they need. Practitioners come from a range of professional backgrounds. Children and families who need extra support will be helped by our Family Help teams, based in Family Hubs and working closely with partner organisations to provide the right help at the right time.

MACPTs bring together professionals from children’s services, 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

This approach helps families feel confident to take the lead in deciding who can support them and how best to work through any challenges. With the right information, guidance and preparation, families are supported to make choices that feel right for them.

Family Group Decision Making means:

• Taking part is your choice, and your agreement is checked at every stage
• Families lead the decisions and help shape the plan
• Children and young people are at the centre and are involved in ways that are right for them
• Information is shared clearly and openly to help everyone plan together
• It works alongside safeguarding services and does not replace them

This approach is about working with families, listening to what matters to them, and building on their strengths to find the best way forward.

The Families First Partnership is about making it easier for families to get the right support, at the right time. It focuses on helping families early, working together to find solutions that work for them.

The programme aims to:

• Give families better support sooner, by services working closely together
• Respond quickly and smoothly when families start to need extra help
• Put families at the heart of decisions, working alongside professionals to plan what works best
• Help prevent problems from becoming more serious by offering support early
• Make asking for help feel normal and stigma‑free, so families feel comfortable reaching out

Most importantly, families will know where to go for help and feel heard, supported and listened to.