Families First Dates for Your Diary!

Monthly Families First Keeping in Touch Sessions

These sessions are a short informal update on service news, training offers and parenting courses delivered by one of our service managers. Please email familiesfirst.support@hertfordshire.gov..uk if you would like an invitation to join.

• Thursday 3 April, 9am-9.30
• Thursday 15 May, 9am-9.30

Join a Families First Induction day - ideal for new starters

We host Families First online Induction days 4 times per year, where various early help services give a 20 minute whistle-stop tour of their service and are attended by new internal CS staff and external partners. The next dates are:-

• Wednesday 2 April 2025 via Teams
• Wednesday 25 June 2025 via Teams

Please email: familiesfirst.support@hertfordshire.gov.uk if you have any questions on the above or would like an invite sent to you.

Families First quarterly district partnership meetings

In addition, many of you are regular attendees at our partnership meetings, which are a great way of keeping up to date with new services, updates and make connections. You can find out more about the groups here and email familiesfirst.support@hertfordshire.gov.uk if you would like to join.

Families First Share & Learn: Prevent Programme

Learn more about how to spot and report radicalisation in Hertfordshire through Prevent.

We work with some of the most vulnerable people in society. Some of these vulnerable people can be exploited by extremists looking to radicalise individuals into terrorist ideologies. The HCC Prevent Programme Delivery Manager is holding a share and learn session for all staff about the Prevent programme. Prevent is the government initiative in place to tackle the ideological causes of terrorism, intervene early to support people susceptible to radicalisation and enable people who have already engaged in terrorism to disengage and rehabilitate. Please join us:-

Free professionals training - working with families to support healthy lifestyles

I’m writing to offer the Families First / Children’s Services teams some free training to your professional staff working with children and their parents/carers around the following topics:

• Fussy Eating behaviours in children
• Raising the Issue of Obesity with parents and carers

Training is delivered by our Wellbeing Coordinator and/or our Nutritionists and lasts around 90 minutes to allow for discussion and interaction, with groups of professionals in attendance either in person (best) or online. Download the poster here

Please do reach out to me in the first instance with any queries or if you wish to book something in!

We are very keen to help support professionals in their vital role in the communities we serve, and to help you guide and refer families to us.

Introduction to the SEND Local Offer website’ – webinar

The Local Offer website lets parents, young people and professionals know what special educational needs and disabilities services are available in Hertfordshire, and who can access them. There is so much more than that, too.

A friendly face from the Local Offer team will take you through what’s on the website and how you can use it to find the right services and support.

www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/localoffer

(For professionals)  Wednesday 23 April 11am – 12pm  Join the meeting

(For professionals)  Tuesday 29 April 2pm - 3pm Join the meeting

(for professionals AND parent carers)  Tuesday 29 April 8pm - 9pm Register to join this webinar

A quick note: The Local Offer website is different to Short Breaks (SBLO). We won’t be going into detail about SBLO.

HSCP Learning & Development Programme

HSCP provide a wide variety of learning programmes and workshops across Hertfordshire to develop skills for safeguarding children, young people and adults. We use this page to give you some quick links through to the HSCP learning programmes:-

• View the latest training programme here (April 25)
  
  
• The next round of the HSCP Learning Hubs are on the topic of Cultural Competencies. Further details are included here

   You can sign up for this sessions via the website.

• HSAB and HSCP training and resources | Hertfordshire County Council
  
  
• View the HSCP Neglect Hub here:- Neglect Hub | Hertfordshire County Council
  
  
• To understand our thresholds a bit more, view the Continuum of needs (hertfordshire.gov.uk)

  • An information leaflet for families.

  • A one-page briefing to explain the process in Children's Services front door.

  • A flowchart about what happens to your referral.

• These compliment the new Children's Services online referral portal.

• The HSCP, Hertfordshire Community Trust and East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust have developed a guidance document for patients and carers relating to Child Protection Medicals. This can be found on our website, so you can signpost to patients/carers to explain the Child Protection Medical process if required.
  
  
• HSCP Practice Guidance Safeguarding Supervision Standards

Money Advice Unit Training Programme, Spring/Summer 2025

Please find attached the Money Advice Unit Training Programme and booking form for SPRING/SUMMER 2025.

All the courses are free of charge but please note we will only accept bookings from organisations in Hertfordshire. Due to demand, we only allow a maximum of two participants from each organisation per course. 

Our courses are done both online and face to face. Please see programme to see which you would prefer to attend.

If you want to book for more than one person, please complete a separate booking form for each person.

Once you return the completed booking form(s) to us, the attendees will receive a booking confirmation email within 5 working days. Please check your junk folder as sometimes our emails go to the junk folder straight away.

You can also download the January 2025 Herts Adviser

My Baby's Brain training for practitioners

Do you work with young children or their families? There are still places available for My Baby’s Brain Universal training in April:

What? My Baby’s Brain Universal courses introduce the key principals of neuroscience and how they can help parents, children and babies form strong attachments that will encourage healthy development.

Who? These courses are for practitioners who work with children aged 0-3 years old in Hertfordshire.

Where & when? This course will be delivered on Zoom on Wednesday the 2^nd of April at 9.30am-3pm

Book your place here: Registration Link

Email lucy.hudson@hertfordshire.gov.uk if you have any questions.

Email us at ehcommissioning@hertfordshire.gov.uk if you have any questions.

Workforce Shadowing