Item 7 - Whole Family Wellbeing Fund
West Dunbartonshire Council · 18 May 2023
Back to Community Planning West Dunbartonshire Management Board — 18 May 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Report by the Chief Education Officer Management Group: 18th May 2023 ___________________________________________________________________ Subject: 1. Purpose 1.1 The purpose of this report is to: • Inform members of the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund and; • Update on plans to deliver whole family supports. 2. Recommendations 2.1 Community Planning Partnership (CPP) West Dunbartonshire is asked to: • note progress and strategic direction of plans. 3. Background 3.1 Scottish Government (SG) have established the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund (WFWF) over the lifetime of this parliament (2022-2026) (App1. National Principles of Holistic Whole Family Support). They have committed £500 million to support Community Planning Partnerships to: • support the whole system transformational change required to reduce the need for crisis intervention and; • shift investment towards prevention and early intervention. 3.2 It is their ambition that by 2030 at least 5% of all community-based health and social care spend will be on preventative whole family support measures. 3.3 Funding in financial year 2022-2023 is focused on: • supporting capacity building at local and national level; • supporting the scaling up of existing transformational practice in line with holistic whole family support principles and; • demonstrating positive impact for families. 3.4 The fund is split into three elements: £32 million to support Children’s Services Planning Partnerships, £6 million to enable direct support to CPP’s from a national improvement team and the third element supporting new, SG led national policy delivery that will help transform how families are supported(decisions on this element are still pending). Page 1 of 4
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3.5 It is expected that when WFWF ceases at the end of 2025-2026, local investment will have realigned to support the new systems and services it has enabled. (App.2 Whole Family Wellbeing Funding) 4. Main Issues 4.1 WDC has established a multi-agency steering group to develop a strategic approach to delivering Whole Family Wellbeing changes and improvements. Key staff have been identified who will progress workstreams. Plans and updates are and will continue to be reflected in the Integrated Children’s Services Plan. 4.2 Our vision of family support is one which is clearly accessible and readily available to all and any family who needs it. We aim to ensure families are able to access the help they need, where and when they need it for as long as it is needed. In this way, we will shift towards a West Dunbartonshire where more of our children know and experience care, compassion and love, as opposed to a ‘care system’. This will enable us to fulfil the right of children to be raised safely in their own families; where those families skills and capacities have been developed and strengthened, leaving them better equipped to support their children. 4.3 Our strategy guides partners in jointly developing systems to provide holistic support which addresses the needs of children and adults in a family at the time of need rather than at times of crisis. In turn, it is anticipated this will help families to flourish, reduce the chances of family breakdown, and of children entering the care system. It takes account of The Promise Scotland and clearly highlights the importance of un-stigmatised access to effective universal and intensive family support with early intervention and prevention at its core. 4.4 We recognise the need to ensure the voice of our children, young people and families is crucial to ensuring we develop our systems in a way they recognise reflects their needs and views. We aim to develop pathways to support where the experiences of our families are embedded in their rights, their needs and their hopes, informed by recent survey activity. An Officer has been appointed to ensure all of our stakeholders are aware of their Rights and to support them in knowing how to have support if required to access them. 4.5 A calendar of Quality Improvement and Self-Evaluation has been produced and is being implemented, which will lead all Nurtured DIG partners in evaluating How Good Is Our Family Support. This process supports partners over a three year cycle, to consider the four themes of family support and outcomes of this will inform developments and improvements to service delivery. In addition and reflecting the need for improved and increased opportunities for multi-agency training and planning, a series of staff briefings and Even Better If (EBI) sessions will be implemented focussing on themes and needs emerging. Page 2 of 4
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4.6 The Strategic plan identifies three distinct phases of implementation from 2021 – 2026. This will ensure we build capacity, conduct tests of change, develop new and improved methodology and evaluation processes and embed what we and our service users know is working. 4.7 Phase One of planning involves establishing three Family Help WDC sites across the Council; Clydebank Central, Dumbarton Central and Bonhill. Families will be able to access a range of workers and supports on the premises in any given day. In addition, Outreach and support workers will also offer planned group and 1-1 sessions focussing on family help. 4.8 A diverse range of multi-agency staff and partners will provide a suite of family help supports coordinated and delivered in the premises and elsewhere as appropriate. These include: Neurodevelopmental workers, Includem, Education Outreach workers, Specialists in Family Group Decision Making, Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists and Family Nursing staff. 4.9 Officers are currently finalising a range of learning and support opportunities for parents and staff which will also be offered from the premises and in our Specialist Settings. The content of these has been informed by needs identified by parents and staff, such as supporting neurodiversity, sleep, parenting and mental health concerns. 5. People Implications 5.1 There are no people implications as a result of this report. However, it is essential that partners collaborate to re-align resource allocation and priorities to meet the needs of children, young people and families with Early Help as we progress towards 2026. 6. Financial Implications 6.1 There are no direct financial implications for Community Planning West Dunbartonshire resulting from this report. All activities related to the implementation of these interventions are contained within allocated SG funding. 7. Risk Analysis 7.1 If the Council is unable to ensure positive outcomes for children, we will not be meeting their needs (Children and Young People Act 2014) (Equalities Act 2010). 7.2 If the Council is unable to meet the needs of children, young people and families this could result in reputational damage. 8. Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) Page 3 of 4
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8.1 The plans enhance the quality of the service provided to all children, young people and families, therefore it can be seen to have a positive impact in terms of the equalities 9. Consultation 9.1 Legal Services and the Section 95 Officer have been consulted in relation to the content of this report. 10. Strategic Assessment 10.1 This report reflects the Council’s aspiration to reduce inequalities for the people of West Dunbartonshire. Person to Contact: Claire Cusick Senior Education Officer Appendices: Appendix 1 – National Principles of Holistic Whole Family Support. http://www.gov.scot/ISBN/9781804351208 Appendix 2 - Whole Family Wellbeing Funding https://www.gov.scot/publications/family-support-advisory- group-whole-family-wellbeing-funding-2/ Wards Affected: All Page 4 of 4