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Families First – Progress to Date

The Families First programme in Newcastle has now moved from consultation into the planning and early implementation phase, with clear progress made across vision-setting, workforce engagement, service design, and system enablers.

Vision and Direction

Families First is a partnership‑wide approach to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in Newcastle. It reflects the expectations set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children (2023) by strengthening how agencies work together to identify need early, respond proportionately to risk, and provide coordinated support to children and families.

The vision is for a system where children’s needs are identified as early as possible, help is delivered in a timely and joined‑up way, and families are supported to make sustainable change. A strong focus on relationships, professional curiosity and shared responsibility underpins the Families First approach, ensuring that safeguarding is everyone’s business across the partnership

Consultation and Engagement

In line with the expectations of Working Together (2023), the development of Families First has been informed by consultation and engagement with practitioners and managers across relevant agencies. The formal consultation period concluded on 30 January 2026, with opportunities for staff to share views on service design, safeguarding arrangements and workforce implications.

Ongoing engagement has continued through briefings, drop‑in sessions and feedback mechanisms. Themes emerging from consultation strongly reflected Working Together principles, including the importance of continuity for children and families, early help to prevent escalation, consistent thresholds, and clear multi‑agency safeguarding pathways. Feedback continues to inform transition planning and service development .

Service Model Development

The Families First service model has been designed to strengthen multi‑agency safeguarding arrangements, as required by Working Together (2023). The model includes:

  • A single front door, supporting consistent decision‑making, information‑sharing and triage across agencies..
  • Integrated Family Help Teams, bringing together targeted early help and child in need support to provide a more seamless response to emerging need.
  • Strengthened Child Protection arrangements, with dedicated Child Protection Lead Practitioners working alongside partner agencies to support robust assessment, planning and risk management..
  • A strengthened commitment to family‑led decision‑making, with increased use of Family Group Conferences across practice.

This model supports earlier identification of need, reduces unnecessary handovers, and provides clearer accountability for safeguarding decisions from referral onwards..

Workforce and Leadership Arrangements

Working Together (2023) emphasises the importance of strong leadership, clear accountability and a confident workforce. Families First is supported by the establishment of a Families First Strategic Board, alongside a multi‑agency steering group and themed working groups, ensuring shared ownership and oversight across the partnership.

Recruitment activity is underway across Family Help, safeguarding and leadership roles to ensure the workforce has the capacity and skills required to deliver the new model safely. Engagement activity has supported staff understanding of new roles and responsibilities and reinforced the importance of multi‑agency working and professional challenge in safeguarding practice.

Practice Development and System Enablers

Consistent with Working Together’s focus on high‑quality assessment, analysis and decision‑making, Families First includes a strong programme of practice development. The existing Child & Family Assessment is being redesigned into a Family Help Assessment, supporting a shared approach to understanding children’s needs across early help and child in need work.

Learning and Practice Collectives have been established to bring together practitioners and leaders from across services to co‑produce assessment tools, guidance and practice standards. In addition, Family‑Led Decision Making is being strengthened through training activity, supporting meaningful participation of families while maintaining a clear focus on safeguarding and risk.

System enablers such as the introduction of Magic Notes AI for supervision are supporting improved management oversight, reflective practice and timely recording, contributing to safeguarding assurance and learning.

Branding, Identity and Communication

Clear communication and shared understanding are key expectations within Working Together (2023). Families First will use the Children & Families Newcastle branding to provide a consistent and recognisable identity for families, professionals and partners.

Regular updates are shared with staff and partners, including briefings and frequently asked questions. Feedback continues to be welcomed from practitioners and families, supporting transparency and continuous improvement as the model develops.

Measuring Success

In line with Working Together’s emphasis on outcomes and learning, success for Families First will be measured through a combination of quantitative data and qualitative feedback. This includes:

  • Reduced escalation to child protection and care where needs can be safely met earlier.
  • Improved continuity and stability for children and families.
  • Fewer repeat referrals and improved timeliness of responses.
  • Evidence of strong multi‑agency decision‑making and family involvement.

Learning from data, audits, feedback and safeguarding reviews will inform ongoing development and improvement across the partnership.

Overall Position

Families First has moved from consultation into transition and early implementation planning. Governance arrangements are being established, workforce recruitment and practice development are underway, and engagement with partners remains strong.

At this stage, there are no immediate safeguarding concerns identified. The programme remains focused on implementing change in a safe and phased way, while maintaining effective safeguarding arrangements and meeting the expectations set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children (2023).