Motivational interviewing – Hertfordshire

The DfE provided innovation funding to test a new way of working in multi agency teams with motivational interviewing as a framework for practice for all staff.

Teams we training included:

• Family Safeguarding
• Family Support
• Children looked after
• Early Help and Early intervention
• Specialist services
• Assessment teams

 Training was a combination of:

• ten 3 day courses with nearly 200 staff and learners
• 25 2 day courses with 380 staff and learners and
• 23 workshop days with three 2 hour workshops in each day – a total of 69 separate 2 hour workshops.
• 10 days training to the ASYE

We are delighted to read the independent evaluation report (July 2017) where findings demonstrated that two-thirds of respondents expressed agreement that MI was having a positive impact on engagement with, and outcomes for, families. Some workers identified MI as one of the biggest successes of the Innovation, reflecting that the approach was supporting frontline staff to ‘empower parents to change, therefore reduce the risk to children’, and that it allowed for ‘more effective engagement with difficult parents’.

We have learnt a great deal from this commission in terms of needing strategic buy in to really embed MI into practice and also tailoring the programme to meet the needs of different teams. 

 To read the full report see here.