Families First News

Front page - Welcome

Welcome

Dear Partners,

We hope you are all keeping well and have had a good summer.

We are pleased to bring you yet another bumper edition of Families First News. We have included information on many of the parenting courses that are running this autumn, from BeeZee Bodies healthy lifestyles, Family Lives course, Supporting Links, SPACE and Families in Focus, so be sure to take a look and promote to the families you work with.

We also have a link to an advice and guidance booklet on Prevent and countering extremism in young people. Although aimed at parents and carers, it is also an interesting read for professionals, so please download a copy.

You can also find out more about the extremely important Herts Young Homeless yearly Sleepout event which shines a spotlight on youth homelessness. This event takes place yearly and you can find out how you can get involved. 

Please also register to attend our next Working Together in Early Help events which are taking place across the county this Autumn. These events are such a good opportunity to meet up and network with other local professionals and at the same time learn from new services across Hertfordshire.

Please encourage your teams to sign up to receive their own copy and do let us have your comments and suggestions for what you would like included in future editions by emailing familiesfirst.support@hertfordshire.gov.uk.

Thank you for reading,

Kind regards 
The Development Team

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The latest news

Get Involved with the Herts Young Homeless Sleepover

The Sleepout shines a spotlight on homelessness in our local community, as well as raising vital funds for the five local charities involved.

For 25 years, Herts Young Homeless (hyh) has been proud to prevent youth homelessness, supporting over 26,000 young people. Sadly, our work is not yet done. We have seen increases in demand for our services as life continues to present new challenges for young people - our Advice Line has seen a 50% increase in calls over the last year. 

We have an ambitious target to raise £35,000, to help fund our vital services to ensure we can continue to support young people in Hertfordshire who are facing homelessness this winter.

As a close partner and friend of hyh, we would love to have your support. Whether that's rounding up a group of your friends, family or colleagues to take part, donating to our 'Sponsor A Sleeper' page, or helping us advertise the event, we would be grateful for any support you can offer

Find Out More

Prevent and Countering Extremism in Young People

Radicalisation and recruitment of young people to extremist causes is an increasing concern. Any child could be vulnerable to extremist narratives, although there are factors which can make some children more vulnerable than others.

The below text and booklet will help professionals support parents and carers learn more about Prevent.

As a parent, you need to be aware that individuals and groups with extremist views use the internet and social media to spread their ideologies. Children spend a lot of time online, and this has made them more susceptible to extremism, whether from Islamists or the far right.

Extremist groups tap into young people’s insecurities. They often claim to offer answers and promise a sense of identity that vulnerable young people often seek. These feelings of insecurity can become more heightened when a child is feeling:

  • Marginalised from society
  • Trapped between two cultures
  • Excluded from the mainstream

As part of their recruitment strategy, extremist groups also work to undermine the authority of parents. This can be particularly attractive to vulnerable children who don’t have parental guidance, or who come from unstable homes. Extremist groups also use very sophisticated methods to trigger feelings of anger, injustice and shame that a child might feel towards a parent, but it’s important to remember that any child can be affected by extremism. You can play a vital role by providing emotional support that acts as an alternative to the extremist narratives that your child might feel comfortable believing.

It’s not easy to talk to your child about the dangers of extremism, but as with issues such as sex and drugs, it’s necessary. Give your child a safe space where they can talk about difficult subjects. The more you talk, the more confident your child will become in challenging extremist narratives.

Parents can download a very useful Advice and Guidance for Parents and Carers here. This guidance explains the importance and relevance of Prevent, Channel and Counter-Extremism efforts to parents and carers of young people. 

News from the Intensive Family Support Teams

IFST Watford and Three Rivers news

Summer fete

Watford and Three Rivers IFST held their annual summer fete on Thursday 17 August; this year’s chosen charity was the Peace Hospice raising a total of £656.43.  There was a fantastic turnout on the day with families and the local community attending.  We would like to thank the Police, Fire Service, Services for Young People, Ascend, Three Rivers Council and Home-Start amongst others for their support on the day.

Summer holiday activities

We continue to work with the Three Rivers Play Rangers who ran the ‘Hive’ activity programme for our children and families at Leavesden Country Park on Wednesdays during the summer holidays which the children thoroughly enjoyed.

The Team ran additional activity sessions during the holidays for children and their families, including an ‘Under the Sea’ craft morning and lunch, Wacky Races, and a Splash Day, which were all well attended and lots of fun was had by children, parents and staff!

Partners

Watford and Three Rivers continue to liaise with local partners for food donations, this has been popular with families and the local community, particularly with supporting them with the current financial situation.

IFST St Albans & Dacorum news

On the 18th of August, the St Albans & Dacorum Intensive Family Support Team (IFST) hosted a Summer Fete, appealing both to disadvantaged families and the local community, and combining with local businesses and services, we provided the families with a fun-filled, activity- driven event. Lasting from 11 until 3:00pm, the event involved a variety of activities including messy play with sand, glitter tattoos, sand jars, pebble painting, tombola, cake stand, a BBQ, guess the name of the bear/ guess the number of sweets in the jar and a Bric-A-Brac shop made for an action-filled and enjoyable experience. Coupled with this were stalls from our wonderful partners who took the time out their busy days to be there for the families, each bringing their own flair in process. We had the famous smoothie bike from Beezeebodies, activities and information from IAmCherished, Services for Young People and MIND, police gear and information from the local Police services and a real-life fire engine from the fire service to top it all off. In addition, we had some amazing donations from Jarman Park’s Tescos for the tombola as well as a mountain of food (burgers, pizzas, and vegetarian burgers) for the BBQ from TJs Late Shop to make the day that much more special. Despite the questionable weather, St Albans & Dacorum IFST Team made the most of what they had to work with, with families engaging well with all the activities and visibly having fun. Everyone was full of smiles and combined with a good turnout, it made the day even more enjoyable and resulted with the time going like a blur.

IFST East Herts and Broxbourne news

In August the East Herts & Broxbourne IFST hosted Football events at Grundy Park, and some really fun paddle boarding and raft building at the Lea Valley White Water Centre in Waltham Cross. Below are a few photos from a great day.

DHSC Suicide Prevention VCSE Grant Fund for 2023/24 and 2024/25

The Department of Health and Social Care have launched the national £10m funding for VCFSE to promote suicide prevention.  I am attaching the form to complete if interested  in seeking our advice on your potential idea/application.

Please read the notes on the attached carefully and please look at the guidance below before completing and sending back to us.  We are sorry that the deadline is 1st October for submission of your bid to DHSC, which may not be much time and something we have no control over.  We will try to support you as best we can with advice, information and linkage to  our priorities.   

Announcement and How to apply

DHSC has launched a £10m Suicide Prevention VCSE Grant Fund for 2023/24 and 2024/25, to support suicide prevention activities delivered in England by non-profit organisations.

The application period has opened Friday 25th August and remains open until 11:59pm on 1st October. Applications must be made online via the Find a Grant portal Suicide Prevention Grant Fund 2023-2025 - GOV-UK Find a grant (find-government-grants.service.gov.uk) unless exceptional circumstances apply.

Guidance can be found using the link above, providing further details of the objectives of the fund, the eligibility criteria, the objectives, dates, how to apply and other supporting information. DHSC will also be holding ‘Meet the Funder’ webinars for potential applicants to answer any questions. To sign up, please contact the team at SuicidePreventionGrant@dhsc.gov.uk

Free Healthy Lifestyle Courses for Families

The BeeZee Bodies September dates and venues have now been confirmed. Courses are being held free for families across Hertfordshire and you can view the timetable and promote to the families you work with.

You can also view details of the BYouth programme (13-17 years), as well as our Henry programme (0-5 years).

Parenting Courses from SPACE

Looking to increase your understanding of Autism, ADHD or other neurodiverse conditions? Our What is Neurodiversity, Understanding Autism, Understanding ADHD, Understanding Dual Diagnosis and Tourettes workshops are brilliant places to start.

For those of you who have already attended an ‘Understanding Autism’ workshop and would like to explore autism in a bit more depth come along to Autism Plus: Co-occurring conditions and Cognitive Theories.

Our Autistic Girls and ADHD in Girls and Women workshops will help you understand the particular challenges which girls face, including masking, and will help you support them.

We have workshops on PDA, ODD and ADHD You can book onto our always popular Sensory workshop and attend a workshop on Anger and Conflict.

Our Understanding Behaviour as Communication - A therapeutic Approach  looks at what lies beneath behaviour and introduces possible strategies to use to help de-escalate situations.

Our Navigating the SEND World workshop helps you unpick the jargon, understand your rights, apply for the right benefits, find out about services and support across health, education and social care and feel confident about what to do next and so much more!  We have also launched a Navigating the SEND World - Post 16 to help begin to prepare those of you with young people in their teens.

Supporting our children and young people with emotional regulation is always a priority. In our Understanding and Supporting Emotional Regulation workshop you will learn about arousal levels and anxiety and develop more of an understanding about our own emotional regulation as well as take away practical strategies and approaches to support regulation.

We are running workshops that cover the whole EHCP Process from New Application, what happens in the period from Submission to Finalisation and Annual Reviews.

Our Understanding Specific Literacy Difficulties workshop will provide you with more information about specific literacy difficulties including Dyslexia, unpick the profile of strengths and equip you with strategies and approaches for areas where support is likely to be needed.

We are also running our popular Anxiety and SEND and our Understanding Executive Functioning workshops and have a brand new workshop on Access Arrangements.

 

Book now for our free Autumn Workshops and Courses. No diagnosis is necessary.

The majority of these workshops are funded by Hertfordshire County Council’s Targeted Parenting Fund.

Parenting Courses from Supporting Links

Once again, Supporting Links are offering some of their Parenting Support Groups countywide and ONLINE for the AUTUMN TERM of 2023.  

 

This is what some parents said who have just completed our summer programmes:

 

"You helped me and my family more than you could ever know.Thank you from the bottom of my heart"
 
"Fantastic course with hands-on, practical strategies. Non judgemental and very caring and supportive"
 
"I didn't think I would learn anything but I am glad I did this. Sometimes you need to hear things from outside your immediate circle. I have learnt so much and the presenters were lovely, very knowledgeable and made it fun"

 

We are pleased to bring you the details of 10 online courses starting in September and November, as well as 2 Face to Face groups.

  

Each course runs over 6 weekly sessions and is offered FREE of charge to parents thanks to funding from Herts County Council: 

  

Parents of Children with Additional Needs (2 online / 1 St Albans course) 

Parents of Children 0 –12 yrs (2 online / 1 Stevenage courses) 

Parents of Children 0 - 19 yrs dealing with Ange(1 online)

Parents of Pre Teens & Teens (3 online courses) 

Courses for Dads(2 online courses)  

  

Further information on course content and suitability, along with details on dates and times, and how to refer a family to us, can be found here:-

INFORMATION ON COURSES

Please contact bookings@supportinglinks.co.uk  or call us on 07512 709556. 

for booking information and individual course posters.

BOOKINGS FOR THESE COURSES ARE OPEN :-Referral form

 

If you have any queries or need further information do call our booking line on 07512 709556

Parenting Courses from Family Lives

Family Lives are delivering 4 parenting groups and 2 workshops, funded by Hertfordshire County Council, in the Autumn term for targeted parents/carers who live in Hertfordshire or who have a child attending a Hertfordshire school.

All our programmes provide support, information and resources to parents/carers and adult family members so they can help their child reach their full potential as well as access to the wraparound support provided by our helpline, live chat and website.

Bringing Up Confident ADHD/ASD Children (6 weeks) Online group

Tuesday 12 September to 17 October, 7.00pm – 9.00pm Via MS Teams

If your child has ADHD/ASD, or you think they might, join our online 6-week group where you will receive support from other parents and gain a comprehensive understanding of ADHD/ASD and learn strategies to improve life at home and at school.

Sessions will cover :

  • ADHD/ ASD - a whole-family issue
  • Understanding your child’s behaviour
  • Helping your child manage their feelings and outbursts
  • Balancing support of siblings
  • Learning about structure and routines
  • Supporting your child at school

Less Shouting, More Cooperation (6 weeks) Online group

Thursday 5 October to 16 November, 7.00pm – 9.00pm Via MS Teams

Do you feel you are constantly nagging or shouting at your child to get what you need? Are you tired of losing your cool and want a calmer house?  Join our free online 6- week group to learn how you can change the way you communicate with your child, respond better and feel more in control

The sessions will cover:-

  • Exploring what helpful discipline is
  • Recognising the triggers and responding more effectively
  • Learning new parenting tools to challenge children’s behaviour
  • How to negotiate and implement effective boundaries and family agreements
  • How to hold boundaries and gain co-operation

Sorting Out Family Arguments (6 weeks) Online group

Wednesday 8 November to 13 December, 9.30am – 11.30am Via MS Teams

Do you feel everything ends in an argument and you are constantly trying to keep the peace? Join our free online 6-week group to help improve family communication, reduce the reactions which lead to arguments and create a culture of teamwork in your family.

Sessions will cover :

  • How parents and children can be affected by conflict
  • Strategies in handling and resolving conflict and anger
  • Parents’ role when there is sibling rivalry and jealousy, fostering cooperation rather than competition
  • Effective communication, implementing boundaries and how to negotiate

Dads Together (6 weeks) Face to Face group

Tuesday 7 November to 12 December, 7.30pm – 9.30pm

Canary Club, Fishponds Road, Hitchin, SG5 1NU

As a dad do you feel you are constantly nagging or shouting at your child to get what you need? Are you tired of losing your cool and want a calmer house?  Join our free online 6- week group to learn how you can change the way you communicate with your child, respond better and feel more in control

The sessions will cover:-

  • Exploring what helpful discipline is
  • Recognising the triggers and responding more effectively
  • Learning new parenting tools to challenge children’s behaviour
  • How to negotiate and implement effective boundaries and family agreements
  • How to hold boundaries and gain co-operation

Anxiety around ADHD Online Workshop

Tuesday 7 November, 9.30am – 11.30am

This 2- hour workshop is for parents and carers who suspect or have received a recent diagnosis that their child has ADHD. The workshop helps parents/carers understand what ADHD is, why it makes sense for a child to be anxious if they have ADHD, strategies to help support you and your child, plus signposting to other support that is available.

Reducing Conflict Online Workshop

Thursday 7 December, 9.30am – 11.30am

Conflicts are regular occurrence within families. It’s often a normal part of everyday life. However, conflict that is frequent, intense, and poorly resolved, has a significant negative impact on children’s mental health and long-term life chances. This 2-hour workshop explores different types of conflict between couples and families. Provides support in understanding the causes and impact of parental and family conflict on children and gives practical steps and strategies that parents can take to help improve their family relationships.

We accept referrals from professionals as well as self-referrals.  Please click here referral form for our online referral form

Download the leaflet here

You can also email services@familylives.org.uk or call us on 0204 522 8700 or 0204 522 8701 for more information. 

 

Parenting Courses from Families in Focus

Families and Focus CIC are delighted to be able to offer free courses for parents of children under 11 years old, living in Hertfordshire for another 3 years.

Families in Focus evidence based courses – email bookings@familiesinfocus.co.uk

Handling anger in your family children aged 4-11 years - Thursday mornings 9.30am to 11.30am - September 14,21,28 & October 5,12,19  - limited spaces available

Handling anger of children with ASD or ADHD children aged 4-11 years - Monday lunch & learn 9.30am to 11.30am  October 30 November 6,13,20,27 & December 4

Handling anger of children with ASD or ADHD children aged 4-11 years - Tuesday mornings 9.30am to 11.30am - October 31 November 7,14,21,28 & December 5

Handling anger in your family children aged 4-11 years Tuesday evenings 6.30pm to 8.30pm - October 31 November 7,14,21,28 & December 5

Handling anger in your family children aged 4-11 years Thursday mornings 9.30am to 11.30am - November 2,9,16,23,30 & December 7

For all Hertfordshire parents and carers of children aged 0-5

Public Health has developed a short survey to help understand the support that families need from Public Health Nursing, and to gain insights into families’ experiences with the service.  It would be very much appreciated if you could please help by sharing the below with families you work with? Deadline is 25 Sept - apologies for the tight deadline.

For all Hertfordshire parents and carers of children aged 0-5:

If you live in Hertfordshire and have a child or children aged 0-5, please complete this short survey to help us to ensure that Public Health Nursing Services meet the needs of Hertfordshire families:

Complete the Survey 

The closing date for responses is 25th September 2023.

The Hertfordshire Public Health Nursing service, which includes Health Visiting and School Nursing, is dedicated to providing valuable services to families, children, and young people. The Public Health team have developed a short survey to gain insights into families’ experiences with the current Hertfordshire Public Health Nursing Service and to better understand the support needed by families, children, and young people in Hertfordshire.

Your feedback is crucial in evaluating the effectiveness of the current Hertfordshire Public Health Nursing Contract. This contract has been delivered by Hertfordshire Community Trust under a 5-year contract which began in October 2019.

The results of this anonymous survey will inform the next contract, which will commence in 2024. Thank you so much for your help.

News from Services for Young People

There’s still time to have your say on our future priorities

Services for Young People’s public consultation is open until 9 October 2023.

To support the developing priorities of HCC Children’s Services, and in response to budget challenges, we are looking at ways to redesign some of the services we offer to young people.

We want to hear from parents/carers, young people, professionals and other stakeholders about what they think our priorities should be. There is now a survey especially for young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

If you haven’t already done so, please have your say by completing one of the surveys here:

Services for Young People projects restart for the autumn term from 11 September 2023

SfYP projects enable young people in all districts of Hertfordshire to develop their personal and social skills and increase their confidence, self-esteem and resilience. Young people can get involved in exciting activities and discussions, learn new skills and get support from our Youth Workers on any concerns they may have.

Full details of the 2023 autumn term projects for young people are now online.

New ‘Practical Partners’ project will enhance support for care leavers

Practical Partners, a collaboration between Services for Young People and GoVolHerts, will offer a new form of support for care leavers during their transition to independence.

From September 2023, young people in care and care leavers aged 16 to 25 in Hertfordshire, will be offered one-to-one support and guidance from volunteer mentors. The project aims to equip them with important life skills, paving the way for a successful future.

Would you be interested in volunteering to provide practical support to a young person?

Find out more and complete the expression of interest form here:

  • Practical Partners 

More news from SfYP

 

Learning & development

HSCP Learning & Development Programme

1

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:-

7 Minute Briefings

  • HSCP have put together a 7 minute briefing to support professionals to understand what parental consent is. It has been kept short and on one page, using language that is accessible to all professionals.
  • Also a 7 Minute Briefing on the Bruising Policy .  This briefing can also be found on our website –Resources/Year of Learning.

  • 7 minute briefing on Medical Neglect from HSCP.

Working Together in Early Help - New Dates

We are hosting our next round of Early Help learning events in October and November.

These events are open to internal staff and professionals from partner agencies working with children, young people, parents and families.

There will be a series of presentations from four key partners about the services they provide and how to make referrals to ensure families are being directed to the most appropriate help.

  • Early Help Commissioning Team
  • Supporting Families Practice Team
  • Community Outreach Service
  • Herts and West Essex ICB CYP social prescribers

This is a great opportunity for new and existing team members to learn more about Early Help services across Hertfordshire and to network with other professionals.

The dates for the sessions and links to Eventbrite to book your place are below:-

East Herts, Broxbourne, Welwyn & Hatfield
Monday 16th October, 9.45am-12.30pm
Nigel Copping Community Centre, Stanstead Abbotts

Book here >>>

Watford, Three Rivers & Hertsmere
Friday 20th October, 9.45am – 12.30pm
Three Rivers District Council Offices, Rickmansworth

Book here >>>

North Herts & Stevenage
Monday 30th October, 9.45am – 12.30pm
Icknield Centre, Letchworth

Book here >>>

St Albans & Dacorum
Thursday 9th November, 9.45am – 12.30pm
South Hill Centre, Hemel Hempstead

Book here >>>

 

Outcome Star Practice Sessions

Does your service use Outcomes Star? If so you may be interested to hear that our Supporting Families Development team are organising quarterly Outcome Star Practice Sessions which will be a chance to ask questions, get system tips, share ways of working and address any concerns you may have.

We would like to open these free sessions out to partners who currently use Outcomes Star to attend as well. The dates are below and if you would like to attend please email familiesfirst.support@hertfordshire.gov.uk to secure your place.

Thursday 19th October, 11am-12pm, via Microsoft Teams

Monday 8th January, 2pm-3pm, via Microsoft Teams

 

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.

Dates for the next set of webinars for professionals and parents about the Local Offer website, to help introduce people to the support offer for SEND in Hertfordshire. This will help professionals in their role as a signposter, and help families to learn about what’s available in Hertfordshire themselves.

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

Please add these dates to your calendars and share with your contacts:-

(For professionals) Tuesday 26 September at 2pm - Click here to join the meeting

(For professionals) Thursday 28 September at 11am - Click here to join the meeting

(For professionals AND parent carers)  Thursday 28 September at 8pm - Click here to join the meeting


 

My Baby's Brain courses for professionals

You can now book onto our redesigned ‘My Baby’s Brain’ full day courses for professionals working with young children and parents:

My Baby’s Brain introduces practitioners, who work with children aged 0-3 years old, to the key principals of neuroscience and how they can help parents, children and babies form strong attachments that will encourage healthy development.

My Baby’s brain has been redesigned and will now be delivered virtually over one day. We are also offering Deep Dive Webinars to delve into topics such as shame even further! The following trainings are available:

  1. My Baby’s Brain Universal (Strand A) – 1-day virtual training for practitioners delivering universal support to children and families in the early years e.g., Health Visitors, Midwives & Family Centre workers.
  • Wednesday the 27th of September 2023 at 9.30am-3pm
  • Tuesday the 24th of October 2023 at 9.30am-3pm
  • Thursday the 18th of January 2024 at 9.30am-3pm
  • Monday the 5th of February 2024 at 9.30am-3pm

Link to book your place: Strand A Registration Link

  1. My Baby’s Brain Universal (strand B) – 1-day virtual training for practitioners delivering targeted services to children and families e.g., Family Safeguarding and Specialist Services, Family Centre practitioners & specialist midwives.
  • Thursday the 28th of September 2023 at 9.30am-3pm
  • Wednesday the 25th of October 2023 at 9.30am-3pm
  • Tuesday the 23rd of January 2024 at 9.30am-3pm
  • Monday the 12th of February 2024 at 9.30am-3pm

Link to book your place: Strand B Registration Link

  1. My Baby’s Brain Deep Dive Webinar: ‘Beyond shame: developing a positive sense of identity’ - for practitioners who work with children aged 0-3 years old and their families that have already completed My Baby’s Brain training (strand A or B).
  • Tuesday 14th November 2023 at 11am-12.30pm
  • Wednesday the 6th of March 2024 at 11am-12.30pm *Please note, content of this Deep Dive session is to be confirmed.

How to book your place: Those who have previously completed My Baby’s Brain training or are booked to complete strand A or B training will be sent a link via email to book a place on this training.

 

You can find further information and check out Frequently Asked Questions at My Baby's Brain - for Professionsals (hertfordshire.gov.uk) or email us at ehcommissioning@hertfordshire.gov.uk

 

FREE My Teen Brain - online training

The Early Help Commissioning Team are pleased to announce the upcoming FREE  My Teen Brain Online Training course for Hertfordshire practitioners.  This 1-day CPD course is for those working with parents of teenagers and/or working with teenagers 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 Family Links The Centre For Emotional Health.

It you are interested in attending one of the dates later in the year, please email EHcommissioning@hertfordshire.gov.uk

 

10th October 23

10am – 3pm

8th November 23

10am – 3pm

6th December 23

10am – 3pm

23rd January 24

10am – 3pm

29th February 24

10am – 3pm

19th March 24

10am – 3pm

 

 

Money Advice Unit Training Programme, Autumn & Winter 2023

The Money Advice Unit Training Programme and booking form for AUTUMN & WINTER 2023.

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.

 

View the latest edition of Herts Adviser.

Workforce Shadowing

The vision for Families First training and development is to create a skilled, confident and resilient multi-agency workforce that supports whole family working.

Workforce shadowing provides a great opportunity to find out more about other services, what they do and how they might be able to support you in your work. It also enhances communication across agencies and helps strengthen and develop professional relationships, building local networks.

If you would like to organise a workforce shadowing placement for either yourself or a team member please complete the form on this page stating the service you would like to shadow and the preferred district and we will match you to a shadowing opportunity. 

The following services have offered to host shadowing opportunities in either in person or virtually:-

  • Citizens Advice (Broxbourne/St Albans/North Herts)
  • Childcare provision
  • CGL
  • Domestic Abuse Support
  • Families First Panels Team
  • Family Support Service, Family Centre
  • Herts Mind Network
  • Herts Sports Partnership 
  • MIND in Mid Herts
  • ASB Team, District Council, Three Rivers
  • Housing Support, District Council
  • Intensive Family Support Team (IFST)
  • Local School Partnerships
  • Police
  • Public Health Nursing
  • Schools Early Years Provsion 
  • Specialist Adolescent Services Hertfordshire (SASH)
  • Services for Young People
  • Supporting Families Practice Team

Additionally, if you would like to add your service to the above list, again please email us with your contact details, service and district.

Familesfirst.support@hertfordshire.gov.uk 

Please take a look at the page, bookmark and share with teams, where appropriate.

Workforce development (hertfordshire.gov.uk)

Suicide Prevention Training

The Suicide Prevention Network involves more than 20 organisations. Our vision is to make Hertfordshire a county where no-one ever gets to a point where they feel suicide is their only option.

Suicide Prevention Training Courses (suicidepreventionherts.org.uk)

Suicide Bereavement support

New upcoming dates for fully funded CDP suicide bereavement training, delivered by Harmless.

Those attending will benefit from the following learning outcomes:

  • The magnitude of suicide bereavement
  • Suicide loss as a unique form of complex bereavement
  • ‘Complicated grief’, trauma, and other individual responses to suicide
  • The wider impact of bereavement on those exposed to or affected by suicide
  • The stigma and shame associated with suicide and bereavement
  • Bereavement by suicide as a unique risk factor for suicide
  • Responding to those bereaved by suicide, and how we can help to support them
  • Key UK strategic guidance and research on best practice in shaping services to incorporate suicide bereavement support
  • Postvention: what is means and why it matters
  • A local service perspective: CHUMS work supporting those affected

Click here for more information, dates and booking details 

Difference we're making

Families First - Performance Data Report

You may be interested to view our Families First Performance Data report for the period July 2022 - June 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.

 

The Families First Pledge

In Hertfordshire we have a shared vision that strong partnership working is a key component to our early help system. Our Early Help Strategy sets out the Pledge which explains Families First partners’ commitment to families and how we will work with them.

You can view or download a copy of our Families First Pledges here and use for discussion in your team meetings or display in your office etc.

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.

READ MORE


Case Study 2 - Families First Assessment

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.

READ MORE


Case Study 3 - Employment Adviser/IFST

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.

Local area news

Local news

Updates from the local districts

Please use this page to promote any local events or webinars. Please send an email with the subject: FF News - Local News page with a link to your event and short description to familiesfirst.support@hertfordshire.gov.uk


East Herts & Broxbourne

  • Services for Young People (SfYP) youth work projects enable young people to develop their personal and social skills and increase their confidence, self-esteem and resilience. Get details of SfYP projects and information, advice and support services in your area here:

SfYP East Herts Team projects

SfYP Broxbourne Team projects

St Albans & Dacorum

  • Services for Young People (SfYP) youth work projects enable young people to develop their personal and social skills and increase their confidence, self-esteem and resilience. Get details of SfYP projects and information, advice and support services in your area here:

SfYP St Albans Team projects

SfYP Dacorum Team projects

Services for Young People : Young People’s Hub - view the drop-in sessions here

  • Intensive Family Support Team (IFST) St Albans & Dacorum invite you to a networking event 10:30am-13:00pm on the 28th September. More info here

North Herts & Stevenage

  • Services for Young People (SfYP) youth work projects enable young people to develop their personal and social skills and increase their confidence, self-esteem and resilience. Get details of SfYP projects and information, advice and support services in your area here:
  •  LGBTQ plus group (View poster) – If you are part of the LGBTQ plus community in Hertfordshire and would like support with your #Wellbeing or are looking to connect with others, you can join our LGBTQ plus peer support group last Tuesday of every month 4-6pm in Stevenage.  Email admin@mindinmidherts.org.uk for more information.
  • A new Community Hub in Stevenage Old Town is now open every Wednesday from 2pm to 4pm. The aim of the hub is to support anyone who is approaching the end of their life (within 12 months) and those caring for them – the time before someone dies is a difficult one – many people don’t want to acknowledge what’s happening and that can be so hard for those around them. Find our more here www.annerobsontrust.org.uk
  • A Youth Showcase Event will take place in the very heart of Hitchin, at Market Place (the town square) on Saturday 30th September 2023. It will be a celebration of all things Youth in Hitchin and the surrounding area.


Watford & Three Rivers

  • Services for Young People (SfYP) youth work projects enable young people to develop their personal and social skills and increase their confidence, self-esteem and resilience. Get details of SfYP projects and information, advice and support services in your area here:

  • Sensory Tennis - free sensory tennis sessions with Get Set 4 Tennis. Suitable for adults with complex disabilities and sensory impairments Sensory Tennis

Welwyn Hatfield & Hertsmere

  • Services for Young People (SfYP) youth work projects enable young people to develop their personal and social skills and increase their confidence, self-esteem and resilience. Get details of SfYP projects and information, advice and support services in your area here:

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