Families First Partnership Information.pdf
What is the Families First Partnership?
In November 2024, the government published Keeping children safe helping families thrive, followed by the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill which is now going through parliament. This policy statement and Bill set out the government’s approach to rebalancing the children’s social care system towards:
- Earlier intervention through family help and strengthened multi-agency child protection, enhancing the role of education as the fourth safeguarding partner
- Support for children to live with kinship carers or in fostering families
- Fixing the broken care market.
A transformation programme is now starting with the aim of co-designing a new model called Families First Partnership, by April 2026. A series of workstreams will invite multi-agency practitioners from social work and family hubs, police, health, education, and the community and voluntary sector, to work together to co-design the new local model to promote the wellbeing of children and keep them safe from harm.
The Families first partnership programme guide describes in more detail the national programme’s vision and objectives and provides information to support all safeguarding partners with the implementation of the reforms.
The Community Care Inform article on childrens social care reforms provides a helpful summary and the wider context.