Supporting Newcastle's Families First Workforce Integration
Helping teams navigate change, strengthen relationships and embed the Families First vision
As Newcastle prepared to implement the Families First reforms, significant organisational change brought together practitioners from different services, professions and backgrounds into newly formed teams.
Alongside the practical challenges of new roles, systems and processes, there was a clear recognition that successful implementation would depend on more than structural change. Teams needed time to build relationships, understand one another's roles, develop a shared identity and work through the opportunities and challenges of the new model together.
Newcastle commissioned us to facilitate a series of workforce integration sessions across Family Help, Child Protection, Family Group Conferencing, Connect and specialist teams.
Our approach
Rather than delivering traditional training, we designed a programme of facilitated workforce engagement that provided practitioners and managers with a safe, independent space to:
- explore the purpose and principles of the Families First reforms
- understand the rationale behind organisational change
- build relationships within newly formed teams
- discuss professional identity and new ways of working
- explore the emotional impact of change
- identify practical solutions and opportunities for improvement
- contribute directly to organisational learning.
The sessions combined evidence-based change models, facilitated discussion, team development activities and practical implementation planning.
What we achieved
Over a series of sessions we supported hundreds of practitioners and managers from across Children's Services.
The sessions enabled staff to:
- develop stronger relationships within their new teams
- gain greater clarity about the Families First model
- openly discuss concerns and identify solutions
- understand that different responses to change are normal
- recognise the strengths different professional groups bring to integrated working
- begin creating a shared vision for successful Family Help services.
Importantly, the sessions also generated rich organisational learning, providing senior leaders with an independent snapshot of workforce experience during the early stages of implementation.
Added value
Following the sessions, we produced a comprehensive Emerging Learning Report, bringing together the themes identified across the workforce.
Rather than simply identifying challenges, the report highlighted:
- what was working well
- differences in experience across services
- examples of effective leadership
- emerging implementation themes
- opportunities to strengthen collaboration and workforce confidence.
The report has provided senior leaders with valuable insight into how Families First is being experienced in practice and how implementation can continue to evolve while maintaining the relational principles at the heart of the reforms.