Croydon Partnership Early Help Service

Locality Operating Model

North, Central & South

What is the vision in Croydon?

• Co-located partnership working, including with statutory and

voluntary sectors

• Locality Early Help teams supported by partners putting in

place the right interventions and actively working with

families at an intensive level

• Consent - gained once

• Partnership Locality Panels for complex families

• Families supported by one Child and Family Wellbeing

assessment

• High quality, evidence based interventions

• Working across full age range (0-18)

Family Solution Service - Practice

Lead professional for children and families where there are complex needs, often meeting the Troubled Families criteria –

• Parents and children involved in crime and anti-social behaviour

• Children who have not been attending school regularly

• Children who need help, including those in the early years

• Adults out of work or at risk of financial exclusion and young people at risk of worklessness

• Families affected by domestic violence and abuse

• Parents and children with a range of health problems

Family Solutions Service - Practice

• Support for families for up to 6 months

• Consent based but assertive interventions

• Child and Family Wellbeing Assessment

• Team Around the Child/ Family

• Child/ Young Persons voice throughout the assessment, plan and intervention

• Practice Standards provide the framework, ensure focus and prevent drift, swift contact with families for the best chance of engagement

• Performance data and quality assurance processes are in place.

Family Solutions Service - Step Down

Children’s Social Care - follow the step-down protocol

• Discussion with an Early Help Manager to match the intervention to the family’s plan and agree Early Help intervention

• Ensure consent to work with Early Help

• Completed CSC assessment and plan in place prior to step down

• Warm handover such as joint visit, meeting with the family

Family Solutions Service - Service Requests

If however a Family Key work intervention is considered appropriate as part of the CSC plan social workers can

• Request the service through forms on CRS

• A commissioning discussion with the Early Help Duty Manager must take place prior to the intervention

• Intervention must be indicated and clear on the plan

• Once agreed the Child, Young Person and Family will be allocated for key work support

1

An FGC is a family-led planning meeting in

which the whole family comes together to

make a plan for a vulnerable child. This

‘family plan’ should address problems that

have been identified, usually by professionals

who know the child (like the social worker) or

sometimes by the family themselves. The

child is usually at the meeting (if they are old

enough) and they may have an advocate to

help them have a say.

What is a Family Group Conference (FGC)

1

• Expanded use of FGCs at an earlier stage

in the child’s journey means that more

children and young people are able to

remain living with their birth or extended

families, where it is safe for them to do so.

• Since the Ofsted inspection (2017) the

number children on CP plans has

increased significantly, as well as the

number of cases in PLO and proceedings.

Increased investment in FGC is vital in

addressing this by ensuring that more

families are given the chance to resolve

issues collaboratively.

Why an FGC service in Croydon

1

• FGC as part of the planning for

children in care or leaving care.

• FGC as part of the intervention and

support for children/young people at

risk of CSE, gangs, county lines,

missing (contextual safeguarding).

• FGC in relation to DV concerns.

• FGC as part of S47s and

assessments.

• FGC as part of at risk of NEET.

Croydon FGC Service – future plans

Specialist Services

Guidance, Support & Intervention for cases that feature Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence for Early Help & Children Social Care Families

Guidance, Support & Intervention for cases that feature Substance Misuse for Early Help Families

Domestic Abuse & Sexual Violence themed workshops accessed via ‘Croydon Learning

Bespoke Case Consultations facilitated

Joint work, such as Home Visits, attendance at Child Protection Conferences and Child in Need Meetings

Completion of Section 7/37 Reports for Private Law Proceedings

Awareness raising sessions/workshops in Team and/or Service Meetings

Conduit between relevant agencies, to assist in safety planning for imminent risk

Support for the person directly affected and any family member/carer affected by the use

Bespoke Case Consultations facilitated

Educational advice/guidance where substance misuse is suspected

Brief intervention and relapse prevention

Assistance with assessments and plans, helping to identify imminent and long term risk and vulnerabilities

Joint work, including Home Visits, attendance at Child Protection Conferences and Child in Need Meetings

Specialist Services

Guidance, Support & Intervention for cases that feature Parental Mental Health for

Early Help Families

A suite of evidence-based parenting programmes, ranging from antenatal support to parenting teenagers.

Targeted interventions contributing to a child’s plan or/and assessment.

Supporting positive parent-child relationships and attachment

Setting boundaries and establishing routines

Helping parents understand their child’s development and needs

Bespoke Case Consultations facilitated

Support & Intervention Service for Early Help & Children Social Care Families

Support for adults (16+) whose mental health difficulties impact on their capacity to manage their parenting

responsibilities.

Bespoke Case Consultations facilitated

Practical support to facilitate access to primary and secondary health services

Assistance with assessments, Intervention and Safety Planning

Joint work, such as Home Visits, attendance at Child Protection Conferences and Child in Need Meetings

Exploring barriers to engagement and improving insight, with an aim to destigmatise mental health distress or diagnosis

Parent Infant Partnership

The Parent Infant Partnership (PIP) is a service for parents-to-be

& parents of babies up to 24 months. The Service aim is to

provide help for families within the local community to build

stronger parent-infant bonds and positive relationships.

PIP offer the primary caregiver (usually the mother) a range of

therapeutic interventions and support to develop a secure

attachment within the parent-infant relationship.

PIP work in the home and in a variety of community settings,

such as Children Centres, hospitals and voluntary sector

settings.

Youth Service

Realigned Practice in line with Croydon growing youth population, current youth trends &

the findings of the Adolescence Review 2019:

• CLIP – Community Diversionary programmes from crime or anti social behaviour

• Targeted Youth Support – 1;1 support, CME Self-Esteem & Emotional Health

• Detached & Outreach – Community Hotspots, Mentoring, Programme Delivery

• Engagement & Participation – Young Mayor, Children Looked After & Leaving Care

• Mentoring support – Peer, Leaving Care/LAC, Worker/young person

• Programmes & Specialist Delivery – Schools and Voluntary sector

As part of our commitment to Engage with our most vulnerable young people, the Youth

Engagement Service in collaboration with Bright Spots will be undertaking a Croydon wide

survey based on a national research programme with Children Looked After & Leaving

Care, focusing on hearing their voice, gaining an in-depth understanding of their care

experience and using the findings to shape the medium to long term.

Youth Services

We provide a range of universal and targeted youth opportunities for 8-18 year

olds across Croydon;

• We support the Young Mayor and Deputy, Youth forums and Youth Cabinet

• Deliver schools programmes around; building resilience, good role models,

risks and consequences.

• School holiday projects; particularly summer and Easter

• Termly projects such as sport, art, music and drama

• Outreach & Detached - Locality & Housing Estate based engagement

• Partnership working with the Voluntary sector including joint projects

• Current priorities: Choose your Future campaign, mental health

awareness, crime reduction & employability and life skills

Locality Universal & Additional Support offer

• List of partnership services on our Council website

• Parenting Programmes services (requested through a MARF)

• Youth Engagement Universal community offer

• Access to our Best Start Children Centre - 0-5 provision

• Croydon Local Intervention Programme (CLIP)

• Parent Infant Partnership (PIP) services

• Access & Support from our locality Early Help teams with the ability to use the

locality bases for partnership working

• Universal programmes across the borough offered by the Youth

Engagement Team

• Team Around the School programme

Contact Early Help

• Family Group Conference – Brian Amos – brian.amos@croydon.gov.uk BWH, 4th Floor

• Specialist Services - Jannet Hall - jannet.hall@croydon.gov.uk BWH, 4th Floor

• Family Solutions Services – Debby MacCormack-debby.maccormack@croydon.gov.uk

BWH, 4th Floor

• Youth Services – Emily Collinsbeare – emily.collinsbeare@croydon.gov.uk BWH, 4th

Floor

• Parent Infant Partnership (PIP) – Karen Lacey - karenlacey@croydondropin.org.uk PIP

House, Upper Norwood, SE25