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 8th January 2026, 9am-9.30am

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 18 February 2026 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.

Working Together in Early Help Events

Next round of events will take place in late Spring 2026 - watch this space!

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 (November 25)
  
  
• Take a look at the HSCP Learning Hubs.  You can sign up for sessions via the website.  HSAB and HSCP training and resources | Hertfordshire County Council. You can also view useful resources and 7 minute briefings on this link.
• 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

New Free Young Carers e-learning module

📢 Young Carers Are Everyone’s Business – New e-learning Module Now Live 

To mark Carers Week (9–15th June), Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) has launched a new free, accessible e-learning module to help professionals across Hertfordshire better understand and support young carers. 

👧 Who Are Young Carers? 

A young carer is someone under 18 who helps care for someone with a physical illness, mental health condition, disability, or substance misuse issue. 

❗ Why This Matters 

The Carers Trust estimates that 1 in 5 school-aged children could be young carers. Yet in Hertfordshire: 

• The January 2025 School Census: 
  • Found that 60% of schools reported no known young carers 
  • Identified only 1,483 young carers out of approx. 200,000 pupils 
• The 2021 Census recorded just 2,525 young carers aged 5–17 

These figures show many young carers remain hidden and unsupported. 

💡 About the Module 

This 30-minute course helps staff: 

• Recognise signs a child may be a young carer 
• Understand the impact of caring on their wellbeing 
• Know how to signpost to support in Hertfordshire 

👥 Who Should Complete It? 

This module is for anyone working with children, families, or vulnerable adults—whether in adult care, libraries, youth services, health or education. Young carers are everyone’s business. 

🔗 How to Access 

• HCC colleagues: Complete iLearn module at Course: Young Carers - Everyone's Business! eLearning Module
• External partners: Can access this via the Hertfordshire Children’s Safeguarding Partnership website, free of charge, by registering at eLearning : Young-Carers-e-Learning-Module

Let’s all play our part—complete the e-learning today and help ensure young carers get the support they need to thrive! 

Workforce Shadowing

My Teen Brain – training for practitioners

Strategic Partnerships Commissioning are pleased to announce the next My Teen Brain Online Training courses that are due to be delivered on Friday 5^th December 2025.

This FREE 1-day CPD course, from 10am – 3pm is for Hertfordshire practitioners working with parents of teenagers and/or working with teenagers or young people in Hertfordshire. It provides an opportunity to understand teenage brain development and the adolescent developmental process and consider both risk and resilience. It includes ideas and strategies for professionals working with teenagers and their parents to help them cope with challenging feelings and behaviour and to support young people in an emotionally healthy context. The day brings together the latest understanding from neuroscience and developmental psychology and the principles of The Nurturing Programme from The Centre For Emotional Health.

Please find below the booking link for you to reserve your place on to one of our courses.  This training is a very popular and is beneficial to all practitioners who work with Hertfordshire children and families. 

If you are interested in booking on to the course , please ensure that you ONLY reserve your place if you have the capacity to attend the training on your preferred day and for the entire duration of the session, from 10am – 3pm.

5^th December - My Teen Brain Online Training - Dec | Hertfordshire County Council

If you would like further information about the course or alternative dates, please email CSStrategic.Partnerships@hertfordshire.gov.uk

My Baby’s Brain – training dates available

📢 Do you work with young children and their families? Free My Baby’s Brain Universal Training in December

Support babies’ brain development by understanding how early relationships and everyday interactions shape their future.

🧠 My Baby’s Brain Targeted Training

This free online training is for professionals supporting vulnerable families (e.g. Family Safeguarding, Specialist Services, specialist midwifery) with children aged 0–3.

What You’ll Learn:

• The importance of attachment and how early adversity can lead to developmental trauma
• Introduction to the Five to Thrive model for promoting secure relationships
• The impact of trauma and principles of trauma-informed practice
• Opportunities for reflection on practitioner vulnerability when working with traumatised individuals

📅 Upcoming Dates:

• Thursday 11th of December 2025, 9:30am–3:00pm

💻 Delivered via Zoom by KCA
• Interactive format – camera & mic encouraged
• Materials sent 48 hours before
• Certificate awarded on completion

🔗 Book Your Place: KCA: Reg form: My Baby's Brain Autumn 2025 - Targeted Services Workforce. Any queries, contact CSStrategic.Partnerships@hertfordshire.gov.uk.

 

 

Money Advice Programme - Winter 2025

You can now download and view the Money Advice Unit Training Programme and booking form for WINTER 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.

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.