August 2026 - newsletter - Families First Partnership programme
Welcome to the seventh edition of our newsletter, keeping you updated on the co-design of the Families First children’s social care reforms in Stoke-on-Trent.
What is the Families First Partnership programme?
The Families First Partnership programme is a major government initiative to transform how children and families receive support in England. The main goal is to help more families stay together safely and help children thrive. We will do this by providing early, joined-up, and family-focused support to prevent crises and improve long-term outcomes for children.
We aim to achieve;
- Families getting the right help at the right time from the right person.
- Families only need to tell their story once. A Family Help Lead Practitioner (FHLP) will support them as their needs change and work with them across different levels of support. Some FHLPs are qualified social workers, while others have different professional backgrounds.
- Families receive joined-up support from different professionals through a Team Around the Family approach.
- More families can get support from relatives and trusted people through an expanded Family Group Decision Making service.
- Staff have access to specialist advice and guidance about risk and harm through a Multi-Agency Child Protection Team.
- Families have a better experience of services and support.
- More children and families can stay together safely, and children and young people are supported to be safe both at home and in their communities.
Overview of the new Heads of Service
As part of the Families First approach, the Heads of Service in the Family Help and Front Door teams have been announced. Please see these below.
| Name | Role title and service area |
|---|---|
| Claudious Madembo* | Head of Service – Integrated Front Door, Emergency Duty Team and Multi-agency Child Protection Teams |
| Rachel Dodd | Head of Service – Best Start Family Hubs |
| Bethany Gledhill | Head of Service – Adolescents and Youth Justice Services |
| Emma Brown | Head of Service – Family Help |
| Kezia Mifflin | Head of Service – Family Help |
| Sally Tolhurst | Head of Service – Family Help |
*Agency staff covering vacancies.
We have now finalised the structures and launched most of the new roles.
Families First transformation timeline update
Lots of work has taken place and is continuing to take place throughout the Families First Programme. The information below shows what happened over the previous two months, where we are now and the next steps.
June to July 2026
- Social care consultation concluded, with feedback largely supportive of the proposed Families First model.
- Final programme structures were refined.
- The new Family Help Pilot Team was recruited, and we are now testing and learning from the new Family Help team.
- Communication materials, website updates, animations, newsletters and press activity continued to raise awareness of Families First.
- Partnership arrangements continue to be made. This will allow us to understand how we will work closely and co-locate with our partners, particularly the Police, Health and Education.
Where we are now: August 2026
- The Family Help Pilot is now live, testing new ways of working with families.
- Work continues to prepare for the wider implementation of our Family Help Teams, Multi-Agency Child Protection Team and integrated, co-located partnership arrangements across Stoke-on-Trent.
- We are actively recruiting to new roles.
Next steps: August to December 2026
- Continue learning from the Family Help Pilot.
- Continue workforce recruitment and alignment into the Family Help service to support the full programme rollout.
- Launch the wider Family Help model and expanded Family Group Decision Making offer.
- Complete the implementation of partnership arrangements.
- Progress the Multi-Agency Child Protection Team structure, processes and co-location arrangements.
Families First website
Visit the Families First website for updates and resources.
Please visit the website regularly, as we will add more information as things move forward.
Questions and answers sessions
Questions and answers sessions will continue over the next few months. The upcoming sessions are:
- to
- to
To request a link to join a session, email familiesfirst@stoke.gov.uk.
Thank you for reading this newsletter. If you have any suggestions for future newsletters or communications, email familiesfirst@stoke.gov.uk.