St Albans families to benefit from £11.6 million child safeguarding grant

Troubled families in St Albans will benefit from Herts county council’s share of an £11.6 million government grant.

They include one local family where the father regularly used drugs and committed domestic violence.

Rather than split them up, the parents went on a family intervention and domestic abuse perpetrators programme, with joint and individual sessions.

Despite initial reluctance, the mum and dad eventually opened up to one another, improving their communication and their ability to set boundaries.

At the last child protection conference, their children were downgraded to a plan with less intensive supervision.

This is the sort of result which led to the council being included in the Department of Education grant, which will go towards upscaling the council’s family safeguarding model.

Richard Roberts, cabinet member for children’s services, said: “We are delighted that the Department for Education has chosen to scale up our model, and it is an endorsement of the great work we have been doing in Hertfordshire.

“The incredible outcomes we have achieved so far are a testament to our belief in the radical changes we adopted, and our commitment to improving the lives of children and families in Hertfordshire.”

Success which has been reflected in that between January 2015 and November 2016, Hertfordshire has achieved a 49 per cent reduction in the number of children with child protection plans.

England’s chief social worker, Isabel Trowler, has praised the county, saying: “I think Hertfordshire might just be our national treasure.”

Visit www.hertsfamilysafeguarding.co.uk for more information on the family safeguarding project.