Families First partnership programme (FFP)
Family Help is a new way of offering support to families who need more intensive help and support. It brings together different types of help into one service, so families don’t have to keep repeating their story to several workers.
How Families First helps
Families First offers additional help in ways that work best for your family. It aims to:
- give you support before problems become bigger
- make services easier to understand
- help children stay safely with their families where possible
How this benefits you and your family
Families First makes it easier for you to get the right help. You will:
- work with one main worker who coordinates support
- get help from a team that works together
- have fewer appointments with different services
- feel listened to and involved in decisions
If you need ongoing help, a family help team may support you. They will work with you to understand what is going well, what support could help you, and agree next steps.
If professionals are worried about a child’s safety, specialist child protection workers will support your family. They work closely with schools, health services and the police. Where possible, we will support you to involve people you trust, like relatives or close friends.
How we deliver Families First
We want you to feel supported, confident and able to get help early. We:
- involve you in deciding what support works best
- offer support in your local community
- work together so you do not have to repeat your story
- focus on what your family needs, not labels or thresholds
Four areas of focus for Families First
Family help brings services together when you need extra support.
You may get:
- family help services
- support from a team of professionals if your family faces more than one challenge
The focus is on helping early, before problems become more serious.
Child protection is about keeping children safe from harm.
When a child is not safe, professionals:
- make clear decisions
- act quickly
- put children’s safety first
Family networks include people who already know and care about your child, such as:
- grandparents
- other family members
- trusted friends
Where it helps, we encourage you to involve these people early.
Safeguarding partners work together to protect children. This includes:
- the council
- health services
- schools
- the police
These services share information and work together as one team around your family.
How to get help
Support for all parents and families
Support is available through Family Hubs across Walsall, with sessions and activities for you and your children. Family Hubs support families from pregnancy up to 25 years of age. You can get help with:
- Health and wellbeing – baby weighing, midwife appointments, breastfeeding and feeding support
- Early learning – stay and play, storytime, and speech and language support
- Family support – parenting courses, first aid, and support for dads
- Specialist help – mental health support, domestic abuse advice, and SENDIAS services
- Practical help – support with money, housing, benefits, and jobs or CVs
If you need more help
If you feel you need more or different support, or help for a specific issue, you can talk to:
- a member of staff at any family hub in Walsall - (in person or by phone)
- a member of staff at your child’s school
- a family advisor on 0300 555 2866 (option 2)
We'll help you find the right support for your family.
Support for professionals
If you are a professional working with a family who needs support, you can use our online form to request help for families.
Professionals can also use the Multi Agency Referral Form (MARF) to make a referral to Walsall Children's Social Care where there is a safeguarding concern for a child or young person who lives in Walsall.
Walsall Safeguarding Partnership has more information about local arrangements for safeguarding.
