Agenda item

This report provides an overview of the Families First Partnership (FFP) programme, the Government’s national reform programme for children’s social care, and sets out the proposed approach to local implementation.

FFP underpins delivery of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, the Government’s Plan for Change, and aligns with the NHS 10 Year reform agenda, providing a single delivery framework at place level. The programme aims to reduce crisis driven statutory intervention through earlier preventative measures, safely reduce the number of children entering care, and improve outcomes for children and families through family centred practice and stronger partnership working.

The report outlines the local governance and programme management arrangements, including the establishment of a Strategic FFP Board and a multi?disciplinary transformation team, alongside arrangements for partner engagement, workforce development and learning from national pathfinders. It sets out the Council’s priority delivery workstreams, including early help pathway development, front door reform, a Family Help pilot, planning for multi?agency child protection arrangements, and options appraisal for Family Group Decision Making.

The Director of Children’s Social Care presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'A' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

This report provided an overview of the Families First Partnership (FFP) programme, the Government’s national reform programme for children’s social care, and set out the proposed approach to local implementation.

FFP underpinned delivery of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and the Government’s Plan for Change and aligned with the NHS 10?Year reform agenda, providing a single delivery framework at place level. The programme aimed to reduce crisis?driven statutory intervention through earlier preventative measures, safely reduce the number of children entering care, and improve outcomes for children and families through family?centred practice and stronger partnership working.

The report outlined the local governance and programme management arrangements, including the establishment of a Strategic FFP Board and a multi?disciplinary transformation team, alongside arrangements for partner engagement, workforce development, and learning from national pathfinders. It set out the Council’s priority delivery workstreams, including early help pathway development, front door reform, a Family Help pilot, planning for multi?agency child protection arrangements, and options appraisal for Family Group Decision Making.

The Committee discussed the update, including:

• In response to a query raised regarding alternatively qualified practitioners, the Committee was advised that this referred to practitioners with relevant professional qualifications or experience other than social work, who would work alongside qualified social workers within early help and family help pathways. It was clarified that the title “social worker” remained a legally protected term.
• The Committee was advised that success and impact would be measured through the Early Help Strategic Partnership, using a combination of existing data, new measures, and outcomes linked to the Best Start in Life programme and Family Hubs.
• In response to a query raised regarding public health involvement, the Committee was advised that public health was already a key partner in early help and prevention, with grant funding supporting this work, and that outcome measures would continue to be developed jointly.
• In response to a query raised regarding how the move away from criteria?based thresholds would operate in practice, the Committee was advised that a shared threshold would remain, but that the emphasis would shift towards needs?led conversations rather than families being redirected between services because they did not meet specific criteria.
• The Committee was advised that, to achieve greater consistency across the system, work was underway to update the existing PAN Dorset threshold model to reflect a BCP?wide approach.
• In response to a query raised regarding how data sharing would operate across partners, the Committee was advised that statutory data?sharing arrangements were already in place, but further work was required to strengthen shared data and performance measures as more partners were brought into the front?door arrangements.
• In response to a query raised regarding timescales, the Committee was advised that 2025/26 focused on implementation planning, with delivery expected to commence from April 2026.

RESOLVED that the update be noted, and that an update on the Families First Partnership Programme and the development of multi?agency child protection teams be brought back to the Committee in November 2026, or by January 2027 at the latest.