Schools Forum will receive an update on the FACT programme from Simon Thomas (FACT Programme Lead).
Minutes:
A verbal update on the FACT Programme was delivered by the FACT Programme Lead, Simon Thomas, who highlighted the following:
· Members were reminded that the FACT partnership looked at how to respond to different pressures in the system felt pre and post COVID recovery, and to concentrate their collective energies into a combined approach focussing on the space of early intervention and prevention.
· The multi-agency ‘Family Help’ arrangements were briefly outlined in which it was explained that the approach focussed on enabling children, young people, and families to access the right help at the right time through a coordinated and robust system concentrating on identifying additional needs at the earliest point, building resilience across all residents, and providing joined-up support that prevented further escalation and late intervention services.
· The pilot scheme that had been operating in Westbury and Warminster since Spring 2023 was discussed and Members were reminded that the scheme was created to explore if working together in geographically defined areas in different ways could provide better and more effective early intervention and prevention. It was explained that additional resources had been allocated to the scheme to create further capacity to build on existing successes and to test and evaluate new methods of joint working.
· It was confirmed that additional funding had allowed officers to appoint Family Help and Early Help Mental Health Practitioners who were working directly with families and provided training, support, and advice to schools and other organisations. It was emphasised that establishing strong relationships and consistent, effective communication was critical to the success of the scheme and ultimately better supporting Wiltshire residents. These officers were based in school settings and were offering no appointment drop-in sessions and group work and were focussing on building and strengthening local communities.
· It was noted that the pilot scheme was considering more restorative approaches and analysing the general culture and behaviour of children and young people in school, not just those with challenging behaviour. The results of which would allow officers to understand what the local priorities were and how to best intervene at the earliest point.
· Further roles that had been recruited were detailed including a Pilot Locality Co-ordinator, and Family Hub Practitioners & Community Navigators, which would start in post in Spring 2024.
· Feedback had been received which noted that the existing system was relatively confusing, fragmented and disjointed. Therefore, officers had invested a lot of time and effort into creating a cohesive brand which covered all services providing early intervention and prevention, communicating to families, schools, and other relevant organisations. This had led to the development of an online platform, All Together, which was the single source for all relevant information for Wiltshire residents to peruse. It was emphasised that officers were focussing on a strong communications strategy to advertise this provision to ensure that residents were aware of how they could access the specific support they needed. The website can be found through this link: All Together - Wiltshire Together
· Members were then shown excerpts of feedback received from Wiltshire residents which had identified early success factors and areas for improvement such as upskilling front-line staff on working with families and tailoring services based on local need. Officers reassured Members that once further evaluation of all feedback had been conducted, the results would be circulated across the County.
In response to a question, it was clarified that the FACT initiative was a local scheme, therefore the Council did not receive any national funding from the Government bar the introduction of the Mental Health Champion role. However, it was explained that the program was jointly funded by Wiltshire Council, Health, and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.
Members queried how officers would quantify and present the results of the pilot scheme and how long the funding was guaranteed for. In response, officers explained that they were in the process of launching an outcomes framework which would be used in tandem with a variety of short-term indicators such as family and partner feedback, Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) referrals, and school suspension data. In the longer term, officers would be looking at social mobility, and school attendance rates. It was confirmed that funding was secured until Spring 2025, however officers highlighted that as they were concentrating on increasing resource capacity, different investment options may have to be considered in due course.
At the conclusion of the discussion, it was:
Resolved:
The Schools Forum noted the update.