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Centrepoint – Understanding Whole Family Working

We were delighted to work together with Centrepoint to successfully deliver a virtual 4 day, bespoke ‘Understanding Whole Family Working’ Training Programme.

Participants included managers and practitioners from the Upstream Project, who are working across schools and community services in Manchester, London and Sheffield, delivering a pioneering initiative designed to identify and address early risks of youth and family homelessness among secondary school students.

Sessions created opportunities for participants to develop knowledge, confidence and capability in key areas of practice. Exploring themes such as:

  • The rationale for whole-family working and understanding systemic and generational patterns
  • Practitioner skills including rapport-building, high-level communication, and reflective practice
  • Trauma-informed practice, including the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
  • Working effectively with young people and families, including adolescent brain development and meaningful engagement
  • Contextual safeguarding, serious youth violence, and extra-familial harm
  • Assessment and planning tools: chronologies, genograms, timelines, and eco maps
  • Supporting family-led decision-making and amplifying the voice of the child

Outcomes and Impact

Participants reported increased confidence and insight in working with families and young people particularly in:

  • Using practical tools to enhance assessment, analysis, and planning
  • Building stronger, trust-based relationships with families
  • Responding to needs and safeguarding concerns within family and community contexts
  • Applying trauma-informed and reflective practice approaches
  • Embedding early help principles and promoting consistent, coordinated support

Reflection

Our work together demonstrated the importance of creating safe, practical and reflective learning spaces where practitioners can build confidence, share good practice, discuss challenges, and align ways of working. The sessions helped to consider approaches and processes involved in whole family working, reinforce the value early intervention, multi-agency working and meaningful engagement with children and families. The learning will enhance practice and directly support improved outcomes for the children and families they work alongside.

Feedback

·        The training this week has really helped with embedding this knowledge and getting us thinking about approaching work in this way

·         Moving to family work will be a new challenge for me and take likely take time to adapt, this training has been a useful way of preparing me for this

·         Leanne has been very engaging and clearly has a lot of knowledge

·         Excellent in depth information on how to assess and plan

 

What will you now do differently as a result of being on this training course?

·        Focus on whole family working within our practice and use effective assessment and planning tools to support this. Have reference to support the team in this work from the training we've completed this week.

·        Think whole family rather than child specific

·        I am new to working with families so the course has given me lots of information and skills I will take away and use

·        Use geno and eco grams to better understand and explore family relationships and dynamics

·        Consider SMART goals when working with family.

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