Working Together to Support Children and Families

Families First uses a flexible approach with families, according to their individual needs and it is not a ‘one size fits all’.  We aim to help families within a 6-12 week review cycle in order to make and sustain improvements.

We use a ‘whole family approach’ which involves identifying the things that are impacting on the family environment and using the family’s strengths to build stronger family units.

Families First can help with things like:

• Keeping your family safe and well – your health and wellbeing, stress and depression, managing disabilities, eating and exercise, drinking or drugs.
• Parenting – support with relationships, communication, routines and responding to children's behaviour.
• Education – help for children and young people to access their education and make positive progress.
• Difficult life events – we can provide a level of support and can also bring in more specialist support if needed to help with managing relationship breakdown, bereavement, trauma, loss and abuse.
• Moving towards employment – find out about training, CV and interview preparation, voluntary work experience and preparation for employment.
• Creating new opportunities – helping you and your family to get involved in community activities and networking with others.
• Housing – help with budgeting, benefits, managing your debts, community relationships and, where needed, we will provide help with hygiene and cleanliness.
• Antisocial behaviour and crime – we can support families to explore ways to reduce antisocial behaviour and offending, and we can bring in specialist support if needed.

If you would like to request support from Families First Targeted Support on behalf of a family, you will need to make a referral by completing the Request for Support form, which can be accessed HERE.  

To contact the Families First team in your locality, please use the contact details below:

There are 16 Children and Family Centres located in Gloucestershire. Families can also get support in their communities and homes without having to travel to these centres.

Children and Family centres can provide a range of support including:

• Targeted family support through a request for service
• Solihull Parenting Programmes
• Triple P Parenting Programmes
• Incredible Years Parenting Programme
• Freedom Programme
• You, Me and Mum Programme
• Five to Thrive
• Mental Health First Aid
• Development Checks – run by Health Visitors
• Anti-natal and post-natal groups
• BEST start groups
• Baby Hubs
• Play and Community Support Groups

If you would like to request support from a Children and Family centre on behalf of a family, you will need to make a referral by completing the Request for Support form, which can be accessed HERE.  

The Education and Inclusion Specialist Support Team (EISSS) provide a wide range advice, guidance and support including attendance, children missing education, support for pupils with SEND and elective home education.

Detailed information regarding the service can be found on Schoolsnet and can be accessed by clicking HERE.

Advisory Teaching Service (ATS)

The ATS work closed with schools and early years settings to identify pupils who are likely to experience difficulties due to their social and emotional needs.

Further information can be found online by clicking HERE.

Educational Psychology Service (EPS)

Further information can be found online by clicking HERE.

Education and Inclusion Specialist Support Service

Locality Leads have both a strategic and operational role managing and overseeing each locality ensuring that appropriate members of the team are picking up tasks to support schools, families and other agencies. Each lead also has responsibility for key areas which cover Elective Home Education, Attendance and Children in Entertainment & Employment. They also have oversight of additional key areas where the Inclusion Team work alongside organisations such as youth justice, restorative practice, trailblazers. In addition to these aspects they lead and support on locality and county wide inclusion projects, for example, Team Around the School.

The primary focus of our Outcome Coordinator (OC)  role is to facilitate access to an education which is appropriate to a child’s holistic needs, especially those who need additional support , ensuring that schools and other professionals work together so children attend school, make progress and have their individual needs met. The Outcome Coordinators will co-ordinate the support and signposting to other agencies, and will support schools in both following the graduated approach and fulfilling their responsibilities.

The Inclusion Officers (IOs) primary focus is to work with families, schools and other partner organisations to ensure that, through the support school provides, children are able to access an education which is appropriate to their needs, and any issues which prevent individual children from accessing this are addressed. Whilst a range of statutory duties must be met within this role, the main aim is to promote a child-centred approach within this framework to broker and help schools broker support required to meet individual need.

A Family Group Conference (FGC) brings together family and friends to make decisions and plans for the care, protection and support of a child/young person in your family.

The FGC is an opportunity for you and your wider family and close friends to talk about concerns within the family and decide how to deal with them in a way that makes sense to you.

How is the FGC arranged?

An independent co-ordinator will visit you at home and explain how the Family Group Conference process is organised. If you decide to go ahead the co-ordinator will work with you to plan the meeting and decide who to invite.

The co-ordinator will then visit all the family and friends that you have identified and discuss the meeting with them.

The co-ordinator will then arrange an advocate for the child or young person. This is someone who will work with the child or young person before the Family Group Conference to help them put across their views and wishes. The advocate will come to the meeting to support them to express their views and make all the necessary preparations for the meeting.

To access a Family Group Conference a lead professional will need to complete a referral which will need to be sent to the FGC Team.

Further information, including the referral form, can be found by clicking here.

Children's Audiology

Following a 2017 Public Consultation and evidence of effectiveness it was decided that from October 2018 the current hearing screening programme for state school children in Reception (aged 4-5 years) would be replaced with a focus on making sure parents and professionals can access support when they have a concern by implementing a new pathway for earlier detection and support.

This pathway has been developed to ensure that where there are concerns about a child's hearing, a referral can be made to Audiology for their hearing to be tested.  Requests for a referral to Audiology can be made by health professionals and professionals from early years settings, schools or children's social care.

Further information, including the referral form, can be found by clicking HERE.

Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)

A specialist emotional wellbeing and mental health service for all children and young people (up to 18 years of age) who are registered with a GP in Gloucestershire. 

Tel: 01452 894272 (Practitioner Advice Line)

Tel: 01242 634050 (Evergreen House, Cheltenham)

Tel: 01452 894300 (Acorn House, Gloucester)

Tel: 01453 563200 (Park House, Stroud)

Website: Please click  HERE

Health Visiting Service

The Health Visiting Service is a workforce of specialist community public health nurses who provide expert advice, support and interventions to families with children in the first years of life.

Telephone Numbers by District:

Cheltenham

Cotswolds

Forest of Dean

Gloucester

Stroud

Tewkesbury

Website: Please click HERE

Maternity Services

Midwives care for pregnant women and their babies throughout antenatal care, during labour and birth, and for up to 28 days after the baby has been born.

Community midwives are accessed via the GP and can be contacted as follows:

In addition, the Midwife Advice Line can be contacted on 0300 422 5541

Website: Please click HERE

Occupational Therapy

The Children's Occupational Therapy (OT) service is an integrated countywide specialist service working at health, social services and educational sites across Gloucestershire.  It aims to address the needs of children/young people who have difficulties managing their activities of daily living and developing functional skills such as bathing, showering, toileting, dressing and eating.

Tel: 0300 421 6988

Website: Please click HERE

Physiotherapy

Children's Physiotherapy is a health care profession concerned with human function and movement and maximising children's physical potential.  It uses physical approaches to promote, maintain and restore physical and social wellbeing, taking into account variations in health status.

Tel: 0300 421 6980

Website: Please click HERE

School Nursing Service

The School Nursing Service work with children and young people aged from 5 to 19 years in the community, whether they attend school or not.

Contact details by District:

Website: Please click HERE

Speech & Language Therapy

Children's Speech & Lanuguage Therapy (SALT) provides assessment, advice and treatment for children and young people with speech, language, communication, feeding and swallowing difficulties.

Tel: 0300 421 8937

Email: SLTchild@ghc.nhs.uk

Website: Please click HERE

Herefordshire

Email: earlyhelp@herefordshire.gcsx.gov.uk

Telephone: 01432 260261

Website:  Please click HERE

Monmouthshire

Email: earlyhelppanel@monmouthshire.gov.uk

Telephone: 01633 644152

Website:  Please click HERE

Oxfordshire

North Email: LCSS.North@oxfordshire.gov.uk

North Telephone: 0345 2412703

Central Email: LCSS.Central@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Central Telephone: 0345 2412705

South Email: LCSS.South@oxfordshire.gov.uk

South Telephone: 0345 2412608

Website:  Please click HERE

South Gloucestershire

Email: safehsupport@southglos.gov.uk

Telephone: 01454 866000

Website:  Please click HERE

Worcestershire

Email: earlyhelppartnership@worcestershire.gov.uk

Telephone: 01905 765765

Website:  Please click HERE

Triple P suggests simple routines and small changes that can make a big difference to a family. It helps families understand the way they work and uses the things they already say, think, feel and do in new ways to: 

• Create a stable, supportive and harmonious family.
• Encourage behaviour families like.
• Deal positively, consistently and decisively with problem behaviour.
• Build positive relationships with their children.
• Plan ahead to avoid or manage potentially difficult situations.
• Deal with teenagers emotional behaviour.
• Take care of themself as a parent.

While Triple P is almost always successful in improving child behaviour problems, more than half its emphasis is on developing positive attitudes, skills and behaviour. This helps prevent problems arising and develops family relationships that encourage children to realise their full potential. Triple P has been developed and scientifically proven over 30 years.

Further information, including details of available courses can be found online by clicking HERE.

The Youth Support Team speak up for young people in Gloucestershire, advise, and support them.  Their passionate and committed staff members are on the side of young people and their families.

They work with all kinds of young people, no matter what their background.

They aim to offer quick, responsive and effective intervention to vulnerable young people. They work with them and their families to identify the best support for them within their own communities.

They’re realistic, giving young people an idea of what’s possible, but challenging them too: they don’t have all the answers.

To find out more about what the Youth Support Team can offer, visit their website by clicking HERE.  Alternatively, please email info.glos@prospects.co.uk or telephone your nearest office using the details below: