Difference we're making

Families First - Performance Data Report

You may be interested to view our Families First Performance Data report for the period January 2023 - December 2023.

The report looks at Families First Assessments that took place within the period and highlights the presenting needs and outcomes broken down by district along with information about other support for families.

Easter ‘’EGGstravaganza’’ at Crossbrook Family Centre

IFST East Herts and Broxbourne came together for their annual Easter ‘’EGGstravaganza’’ at Crossbrook Family Centre on April the 9^th.

"On the 10th of April, the St Albans & Dacorum IFST Team hosted an Easter Funday for the families that we support, looking to provide the children with an entertaining and engaging Spring-themed occasion. Lasting between 11am and 1pm, our wonderful workers helped to run a variety of enthralling activities including an Easter Egg hunt, a sweet tombola, messy play, colouring and crafts, playdough figure creation, lunch building, sporting activities and more. This gave the opportunity for the children to run free and enjoy themselves while also having plenty of sweets to take home at the end of the day. The carers themselves also got stuck in, making the event truly one for families to enjoy together. The turnout was fantastic, and due to how smooth the event ran, it led to a pleasant and enjoyable time for all involved."

Families supported by IFST came along and joined in the fun. Various rooms within the family centre were transformed to ensure the families had lots of fun activities to keep the busy for the 2-hour session. Rooms included –

Arts and Crafts room with face painting, colouring in, messy gluing and sticking activities and a chalk table where children could use their imagination on a large rolls of paper.
Games room with giant connect four, pool table, Lego and tabletop games which included some very intense games of guess who and snakes and ladders!! Other activities included boules and target shooting.
Roleplay room which offered small world toys, playhouse with imaginary food and cutlery, large and small vehicles, and car mats as well as a cozy area for the smaller children to play with puzzles, sensory toys, and activities.
And most importantly ….. the snack and Egg room which had a wide variation of appetizing snacks, drinks and Easer eggs for the children to choose from when they finished their egg hunt.

At the end of the event, all children were given a lucky bag to take home which included, bubbles, bouncy balls, pen, pads and stickers.

Donations of food and chocolate eggs came from our community partners at Tesco Brookfield and Ware as well as Bishops Stortford foodbank.

Katie Smith (Family Intervention worker) shared ‘it was great to see the young people encourage each other in the games room. They were seen to explain the rules to those who were not sure and empower them with praise. There were lots of happy faces and positive conversations which is always nice to see’.

Sue Illott (Senior family intervention worker) shared ‘’ it was a great example of team collaboration and working well together. Everyone pulled together and were naturally mindful of the general diverse needs of the families we support. The adults seemed happy and comfortable to chat to all staff members, even if they were not their allocated workers’.

Feedback from families and children was also positive.

‘’My son absolutely loved the event. He enjoyed playing and enjoyed the freedom of picking what he wanted to do. I also found the event relaxing as my son could go off with his family worker and I did not feel I had to follow him around the whole time’’.

‘’I thought the event was amazing. I liked that the children could do the egg hunt at different times so even families arriving later then the start time could still join in. All of my children had a blast! They enjoyed all the activities and were happy with the goodies they came away with. I could not fault this event, it was brilliant! Thank you to everyone who made it possible’’.

W (child) ‘it was sooo much fun. I liked the big digger that I could ride on and got to play with a new friend. I really liked my chocolate egg, and I was even allowed to take one home for my sister who didn’t come. I was 100/10’

Families First Case Studies

Following on from a programme of Celebrating Excellence in Early Help sessions run in Children’s Services, which aimed to highlight the Families First approach and also included contributions from some of our partners, we are sharing some of the recent case below:

Case Study 1 - Intensive Family Support / Local Borough Council

Scene Setting

The Intensive Family Support team (IFST) began supporting this family of nine in Spring 2021.

As support got underway the third youngest child Tia* was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour and the family are struggling coming to terms with Tia’s diagnosis and her life expectancy of one year. Tia is 11 years old.

On learning of Tia’s prognosis and following discussion with Keech Hospice an Occupational Therapist (OT) appointment was arranged for the family’s home. This assessment identified that the three-bedroom home was not suitable for end-of-life care and was not suitable for adaptation as the access was too narrow and steep for a ramp.

The Family Intervention Worker (FIW) made contact with the local Borough Council’s Aids and Adaptions Team for support.

Scene Setting

This case study provides some insight into the journey of Fran* and her family. Fran is an eight year old girl who worries about her mum, she knows mum is different when she is with her drinking friends. Fran’s Mum has a diagnosis of unstable personality disorder and has previously used drugs and alcohol as coping strategies, she has been in a cycle of poor mental health and whilst their wider family network have been supporting Fran and her mother they sought out some external support via a Families First Assessment.

Scene Setting:

This case study provides some insight into the support provided to Sanz* from one of our Employment Advisers. Our Intensive Family Support Teams include Employment Advisers who provide tailored support in areas such as employability; taking time to understand skills and experiences, any barriers or challenges preventing employment, identification of any training to support employability, preparation of supporting statements and CVs and job search support, including mock interviews.

Our Advisers can also provide guidance on how to navigate the benefits system, including benefit entitlements and claims, as well as how changes in circumstances impact benefits.

They work in parallel with Family Intervention Workers. This case study summarises support given to Sanz, the mother, to support with employability and benefits.

READ MORE

Case Study 4 - Local Schools Partnership

Please share anonymised case studies highlighting how early help and partnership working has provided support to local families with us at familiesfirst.support@hertfordshire.gov.uk. Please ensure you have consent from the family.

Help us promote the Families First Website

Our Families First Website is a great central resource for early help support for families and young people, with links to many services such as mental health support, Services for Young People, SEND Local Offer, parenting courses etc along with a link to the Herts Directory and the Families First professionals area.

We would like to encourage all partner agencies to help us promote the Families First website to parents and carers in Hertfordshire.

Campaign Tools:

Please add the web address to your own website:- https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/microsites/families-first/families-first.aspx

April 2024