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.

ext dates:-

• Thursday 8 October 2026, 9am-9.30am

Join a Families First Induction day - ideal for new starters

We host Families First online Induction days 3 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 14 Oct 26 am & Thursday 22 Oct 26 pm

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

We recently held a round of Spring 2026 Working Together in Early Help events which are always a great workforce development and networking opportunity. All events were well attended across the county. Please watch this space for our Autumn dates.

Workforce Shadowing

My Teen Brain Online Training

Strategic Partnerships Commissioning are pleased to announce the next My Teen Brain Online Training courses that are due to be delivered on:

• Wednesday 7^th October

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 Program from The Centre For Emotional Health.

 Please find the booking link below for you to reserve your place on one of our Autumn term 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.

Wednesday 7^th October - My Teen Brain Online Training - 7 October | Hertfordshire County Council

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

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:-

• Take a look at the HSCP Learning Hubs.  You can sign up for sessions via the website. You can also view useful resources and 7 minute briefings on this link.
• View the HSCP Neglect Hub here:- Neglect Hub | Hertfordshire County Council

• Hertfordshire’s Continuum of Need:

  The Continuum of Need is a threshold document that supports everyone working with Hertfordshire’s children, young people and families, to identify the “Level of Need” and the service responses that can be expected. It sets out how we can work together, by placing the child, young person and family at the centre, sharing information, and working with families to help them to find solutions early to prevent their difficulties escalating.

  Children's Services Continuum of Need 2025-26

  
  

  • 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.

The Difference Between Domestic Abuse and Parental Conflict

Hertfordshire County Council has joined colleagues from across the East Midlands and East of England to provide a shared learning opportunity for professionals working with children and families.

Identifying the difference between parental conflict and domestic abuse can be complex, but getting it right is essential to ensuring families receive the most appropriate support. These free virtual sessions will help build your confidence in recognising the signs, understanding coercive control, and responding appropriately in practice.

You'll also have the opportunity to learn alongside professionals from across the region, share experiences and hear about approaches being used in different local authorities and services.

To find out more and book your free place, please see the attached flyer.

Gambling-Related Harm: Training Opportunities

Hertfordshire Public Health is working in partnership with Breakeven to offer free gambling awareness training for professionals who support children, young people, adults, and families across Hertfordshire.

Recent NICE guidance (NG248) recommends that professionals routinely ask about gambling, even when there are no obvious signs of gambling-related harm. Gambling should be considered alongside other health and wellbeing topics, such as smoking, alcohol use, and substance misuse, as part of holistic conversations about risk, wellbeing, and support needs.

For Families First practitioners, this training is particularly relevant as gambling-related harm can have a significant impact on family life. Gambling issues may contribute to financial difficulties, relationship breakdown, stress, poor mental health, and challenges for children and young people. Often these harms remain hidden, meaning families may not access support unless practitioners feel confident raising the subject.

Using national prevalence estimates, it is suggested that:

• Around 38,000 people in Hertfordshire experience harms from their own gambling.
• Approximately 78,000 people in Hertfordshire are negatively affected by someone else's gambling.

This means many of the children, young people, parents, and carers accessing support services may be affected by gambling-related harm, either directly or indirectly, without it ever being identified or disclosed.

The training will help staff to:

• Understand different forms of gambling and how gambling-related harm develops.
• Recognise risk factors and early warning signs.
• Confidently and sensitively start conversations about gambling.
• Understand the impact gambling can have on individuals, families, relationships, mental health, and wellbeing.
• Know where and how to signpost people for appropriate support.
• Meet best practice recommendations from NICE.

We also recommend watching this short five-minute video to hear the experiences of people affected by gambling-related harm:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5b_cl0GwaY

 

Training Options

1.5-hour "Bet You Can Help Now!" (MS Teams)

• 24 November 2026, 10:00am–11:30am
• 3 February 2027, 10:00am–11:30am

Level 2 Gambling Awareness Training (In Person)

• 13 October 2026, 10:00am–4:00pm
• Welwyn Garden City Library

For further information and to book, please visit: Public Health Training | Hertfordshire County Council

 

Feedback from previous attendees has been extremely positive, highlighting how the training improved their understanding of the wide range of gambling activities, how gambling-related harm can develop, and the importance of routinely asking people whether they or someone close to them may be affected.

The training is suitable for frontline practitioners, managers, and strategic leads.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch: Lucy Fish – lucy.fish@hertfordshire.gov.uk

For more information about local support services, visit: Gambling | Hertfordshire County Council

CYP Mental Health eLearning

Please complete Intro to CYP Mental Health eLearning and other free training for professionals

Hertfordshire’s Introduction to Children and Young People’s Mental Health eLearning completed by 2000+ professionals!

Several years ago, as part of Hertfordshire’s CYPMHS system transformation programme, colleagues from health, Public Health, social care and voluntary services worked in partnership to create the content for an introductory eLearning module about children and young people’s mental health.

Since launching three years ago, it has been completed by around 2000 colleagues, and it is mandatory for all staff in Hertfordshire County Council’s Children’s Services.

Updated version available (updated May 2026)

Having recently been reviewed. an updated version is now available for ALL professionals working with Hertfordshire's children and young people: 

• Hertfordshire County Council staff
• Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust staff
• Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust staff (via NHS Learning Hub)
• NHS Primary Care staff, Education staff and staff working at Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations.

The module takes about an hour to complete and aims to help colleagues working with Hertfordshire’s children and young people with understanding.

Links to the free eLearning modules

To complete the modules, please follow the appropriate links in the training section at the Herts Hub here.

Read the full information here

Money Advice Programme - Autumn 2026

You can now download and view the Money Advice Unit Training Programme and booking form for AUTUMN 2026.

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.

 

Healthy Homes for Healthier Lives Training

The Public Health team at Hertfordshire County Council, in partnership with district and borough council Environmental Health and Housing departments, have developed a free training session to support professionals working with individuals whose health may be affected by poor-quality housing.

This session aims to increase participants’ knowledge, understanding, and awareness of what makes a home healthy and why this is essential for both physical and mental wellbeing.

There are currently four sessions available to book:

• Tuesday 6thOctober, 2.00pm to 3.30pm
• Wednesday 4thNovember, 10.00am to 11.30am
• Tuesday 8thDecember, 3.00pm to 4.30pm

Please share this opportunity with your colleagues and networks. Anyone interested can book a place via the Public Health Training webpage

Supporting people with insecure immigration status or no recourse to public funds

What services in Hertfordshire need to know

We are organising a series of webinars for mainstream services who are supporting asylum seekers, refugees, people with insecure immigration status or who have no recourse to public funds (NRPF).

What do services need to consider when working with someone who arrived as a refugee or asylum seeker, through a visa scheme, or who currently has insecure immigration or No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) status?

This webinar will run through what all Hertfordshire based services need to know. It will cover:

• Why status matters and what you need to check to ensure people get the right support
• What people may or may not be entitled to receive and where to find out more
• What specific issues certain people may present with
• What cultural considerations should be considered
• Tips for your service that might help
• What additional support is available for these groups, regardless of status

 

To ensure that this is accessible to as many people as possible, 2 more dates are available.  To secure your place, please book using the following links

12.30pm – 1.30pm, Wednesday 21st Oct: Webinar - Supporting people with insecure immigration status or no recourse to public funds – what services in Hertfordshire need to know

12.30pm – 1.30pm, Wednesday 16th Dec: Webinar - Supporting people with insecure immigration status or no recourse to public funds – what services in Hertfordshire need to know

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)  Monday 28 September at 2pm – 3pm Introduction to the Local Offer | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams

(For professionals AND parent carers)  Wednesday 30 September 8pm – 8.45pm Introduction to the Local Offer | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams

(For professionals)  Thursday 8 October 11am – 12pm Introduction to the Local Offer | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams

 

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