Welcome to the Suffolk Family Support Practice Network
website.
This site is a new and developing resource
for anyone involved in working directly with children or their
families to improve outcomes.
It is created by and for practitioners in
Suffolk to promote best practice through:
- sharing a wide range of information for practice
- providing a focus for all Family Support activity – including
national and local developments and events
- supporting networks and enabling teams to share practice tips
and resources
Please note that this webpage is not for passing on
information about an individual child or young person.
To make a referral for a children's social care service
contact:
Customer First: Telephone: 08456 023 023
Postal Address: PO Box 771, Needham Market, Ipswich, IP6 8WB
Email:
Customer.First@socserv.suffolkcc.gov.uk
Minicom: 01449 727120 Fax: 01449 723127
For urgent situations which arise out of office hours and which
cannot wait until the next working day telephone 01473
299669
On this page you will find information about:
- *What's New* on this site
- Using and contributing to this website
- Family Support Networks in Suffolk
- Events and activities to promote best practice in Suffolk,the
Eastern region and nationally
- How Family Support is organised in Suffolk
*What's New*
The Suffolk Parenting Strategy will be launched at the 2008
Family Support Conference on July 1st 2008 at Ufford Park
Conference Centre near Woodbridge. This conference is aimed
at practitioners in a range of agencies and representatives of
people directly responsible for implementing the Parenting
Strategy. A full report of the Conference will be available on this
site after July 1st.
"Parenting sons" a booklet aimed at parents of boys
5-11yrs from Working with Men a nationally renowned
organisation. Copies can be downloaded from the
Working with Men
website
New from CAPT ( Child Accident Prevention Trust ) are
picture based booklets about home safety for young children:
"I'm only a baby but... and Now I can crawl I can...
. Useful for any parents and especially those
whose first language is not english. £30 for packs of 20.
Order from the
Child Accident Prevention
Trust
"Think Smart" cards for 8-14 year olds still available from
the Who Cares
Trust
Using and contributing to this website
Each page of this website provides and
shares information, resources, tools and tips to promote
effective practice about an aspect of supporting
families. The topics are always visible on the left hand
side.
Contributions come from you as practitioners and
we positively welcome your suggestions about which resources
or tools you have found effective and would like to share with
others via this site. Some teams have contributed their "Top 5 "
resources and are willing to be contacted to discuss how they have
used them in practice. These are indicated by Top5
and the team contact details next to the resource.
To share a resource or to publicise an event:
email the
details to
familysupport@cyp.suffolkcc.gov.uk . If you are suggesting
a resource, include a sentence or two about how you have used it
and why you have found it helpful. Indicate if it is
a Team Top5 resource and, if so, give the team contact
details. Individuals will not be identified on the
site.
To receive an email alert when there is new information on
this site also contact
familysupport@cyp.suffolkcc.gov.uk
with your name,job title and email address.
Use this email too to give us your comments or queries about
the site or information or events you find on
it.
We aim to respond as soon as possible but please note that this
email is not for emergencies or for queries about individuals or
particular services. These should be sent directly to the
professionals or the services involved. Urgent referrals for a
new service should be made to Customer First
on 08456 023 023
How to identify the resources on these
pages
SL
Books or articles marked SL are available in
Suffolk
Libraries
GPG
Information marked GPG is an agreed policy,
procedure or practice guidance used in Suffolk children’s social
care and is also available in the
Good
Practice Guide
Top5
Teams throughout Suffolk have contributed their “Top 5” resources
and are willing to share with other practitioners, their experience
of using them. “Top 5” resources are marked Top5
with the comments and the contact details of the team(s) which made
the suggestion and can be contacted to discuss using them in
practice
The site is managed by a representative and multi-agency
Family Support Network Management group
The Family Support Practice Network in Suffolk
The 2007 Conference "Family Support for every child"
launched the idea of Family Support Networks in Suffolk. There is
currently ( June 08 ) a consultation document regarding the
countywide approach to developing and
supporting Networks. For further information contact
familysupport@cyp.suffolkcc.gov.uk
"Guidance for Local Networks" to support the development and
success of local Networks in Suffolk is also being developed.
There is a small amount of funding to support local Network events.
Download further
information and application form here (PDF, 31Kb)
Events
"What’s on" in Suffolk?
The Launch of the Suffolk Parenting Strategy will be on July 1st
2008. See What's New above.
Children In Need: policy, principles and guidance was
launched in Suffolk in April 2008 with briefings in each Area. The
policy sets out the multi-agency framework for working
with children In Need for best outcomes. The full policy, an
At a Glance Guide and a presentation to share the framework with
your teams is available on
the
Family Support page of the Good Practice Guide.
Information from Community Clusters in
Suffolk
Learning Events from
Research in Practice and
Making Research Count. Contact
goodpracticeguide@suffolkcc.gov.uk
for further details of the programme in Suffolk
"What’s on" in the region?
Regional events are run by the following organisations
and publicised on their
websites: Parenting
UK and the
Fatherhood
Institute ( previously Fathers Direct
)
"What's on" nationally?
For further information email
familysupport@cyp.suffolkcc.gov.uk
How Family Support is organised in Suffolk
Suffolk, in line with national policy, takes a multi-agency and
inclusive approach to supporting vulnerable children and their
families. The aim is to gain the best outcomes through a range of
services which meet both universal and specialised needs of
families.
The services in Suffolk are being integrated and developed in
line with the initiatives given in
Every Child Matters
– Change for Children. They work to achieve the best outcomes
for children and link to the
Outcomes Framework.
Family Support for vulnerable children in Suffolk was reviewed
in 2006. Here is a summary of the report and recommendations
for future services.
Family Support services are centred around 18 Community
Clusters.
Professionals are encouraged to identify difficulties as early
as possible though the Common Assessment Framework
The actions needed are agreed at the CAF Panels which are held
in each cluster.
Children’s Centres provide a range of early community and
preventative services as well as additional or targeted support for
vulnerable families.
It is Suffolk policy to integrate Children's Centres with
Family Centres which have provided specialised support for the most
vulnerable children and their families.
Children's Centres also provide a safe and child friendly
environment which other professionals working with children and
their families can use.
Extended Schools also provide a range of
services
Young people over 12 years and their families are supported
through the Youth
and Connexions service and Adolescent Outreach teams.
Suffolk Families Information Service gives
information about childcare to parents and people providing the
care
Suffolk’s policies and procedures are in the Good
Practice Guide
The priorities for Suffolk are in the Children and
Young People’s Plan
Books for practitioners about providing Family Support
services
SL Book: Improving Children’s Services Networks
Lessons from Family Centres, by Jane Tunstill, Jane
Aldgate and Marilyn Hughes, 2006 Published by Jessica
Kingsley
SL Book: The Family Support handbook
By Ann Wheal with Gerry Emson, Published by Russell
House