North Lincolnshire - Family Led Practice programme
North Lincolnshire Council identified a need to strengthen family-led decision making across services working with children and families. In line with national reform and local priorities, the council wanted to ensure that practitioners and leaders had the confidence, skills and shared language to work with families, rather than doing to them.
The ambition was not simply to deliver training, but to embed a sustainable practice approach that aligned with their strengths-based model and One Family approach.
We were commissioned to design and deliver a bespoke, whole-system programme to support the introduction and embedding of Family Group Decision Making (FGDM) across the workforce.
The programme was intentionally structured to work at multiple levels of the system, ensuring alignment between leadership intent, managerial oversight and frontline practice. This includes:
- Senior leadership workshops to build shared understanding, clarity of purpose and strategic ownership
- Manager training focused on modelling, supervision and embedding FGDM in everyday practice
- Two-day practitioner training for staff working directly with children and families
- An optional programme of follow-up embedding workshops to support reflection, confidence and consistency over time
Training is delivered face-to-face and is highly interactive, using real-world case examples, skills practice, role play and reflective discussion.
The core practitioner programme focuses on:
- The principles and evidence base for Family Group Decision Making
- Working in a relationship-based and strengths-based way
- Using language and approaches that empower families and wider networks
- Facilitating family meetings and managing complexity and conflict
- Supporting families to co-create realistic, SMART plans
- Building confidence to have honest, respectful and challenging conversations
The programme is supporting North Lincolnshire to build a workforce that is curious, relational and confident, with families firmly at the centre of decision making.
Family Group Decision Making is not just a tool – it is a cultural shift. By investing in a whole-system approach, North Lincolnshire is strengthening practice, improving relationships with families, and creating the conditions for better, more sustainable outcomes for children.