Cabinet approves Families First Partnership Programme

Article date: 24 April 2025

At its meeting on Wednesday 23 April, Cabinet agreed to accept a £1.28 million grant to fund the first phase of the programme, which will deliver significant changes in Early Help services, in line with new Department for Education (DfE) guidance.

Councillor Nova Charlton, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said:

"I'm delighted that Cabinet has given its backing to the Families First Partnership Programme. This approval allows us to move forward with reforms that will improve how we work with families, intervene earlier, and build stronger, more resilient support networks for children.

"We've already laid strong foundations through our Family Hub programme, and this new investment means we can further enhance our whole-family approach to supporting families in their localities. These changes will help us achieve our vision that every child and young person in St Helens has the best possible start in life."

The Families First Partnership Programme, which launches this month (April 2025), will focus on four key areas of reform:

• Family Help: Early intervention and support delivered by multi-disciplinary teams and led by a dedicated Family Help Lead Practitioners

• Multi-Agency Child Protection: Creating new Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams (MACPTs) to deliver coordinated, decisive safeguarding responses

• Family Networks: Embedding a 'family-first' culture using Family Group Decision-Making across social care

• Multi-Agency Safeguarding Arrangements: Strengthening collaboration between safeguarding partners, particularly the education sector.

The programme aims to create a more responsive, joined-up system that places children and families at the heart of care and decision-making.