Implementing systemic models of social work

The summary draws on the evaluations of Innovation Programme projects published in 2017 by the Department for Education; on programme learning events on social work practice and systems; and on the on-the-ground experiences of projects. The summary is published by the DfE and Spring Consortium, drawn from Rees Centre, which led the evaluation.

In light of rising demand and reducing resources for children's services, it is imperative for local authorities to invest in systems and processes that best support practitioners to work effectively with children and families.

Different social work models are based on a range of theories and approaches, including systemic practice, restorative practice and motivational interviewing, and models like Signs of Safety, Pace and Family Group Conferencing.

The approaches with the best evidence of positive impact are based on systemic theoretical models, where children and families are viewed as part of a wider set of systems and relationships.

Evidence shows that there are key common features that can be adopted by any system, and that implementing a whole-system approach is in itself beneficial in improving experiences for young people and families.

A whole-system approach creates a unifying methodology, language and understanding that supports multi-disciplinary working and promotes consistency in families' experience. It empowers professionals to use their own judgment in the approaches they believe will be the most beneficial, and encompasses the wider workforce, young people, families and communities.

What works well

Learning from the Innovation Programme suggests that shared models of social work may improve the experience of engaging with services for children and families - an important indicator for improved outcomes.

There are core features of successful social work models - both locally designed and off-the-shelf - which are outlined below.

High-intensity support

Provision of high-intensity and consistent support from a key practitioner improves young people's outcomes. Their experience is better when they are able to work with a single adult and build a relationship over time. Young people and their primary relationships need to be placed at the centre of support, with help being organised around the needs of the family, not the convenience or limitations of services.

Strengths-based practice

Taking a whole-family approach means that adult behaviours and needs are seen as important to address alongside those of the child. Many models also take a strengths-based approach, where families are seen as part of the solution and not part of the problem, with them co-developing solutions with professionals.

Multi-disciplinary working

Different models of practice require different team composition, including social workers, educational psychologists, domestic violence navigators, clinical psychologists and youth workers. Some include the police, probation and youth offending teams, and specialists such as drug and alcohol workers and speech and language therapists.

All these models include genuinely multi-disciplinary working, specifically teams of practitioners from different sectors and services who are co-located and working together day-to-day to support the same children and families. This is different to, but supported by, multi-agency working.

More time for direct contact

Shared models of social work practice prioritise time spent with children and families. Trained volunteers, alternatively qualified practitioners (for example, those with backgrounds in teaching, nursing or the police) and highly skilled administrators are proving to be effective in freeing up social workers' time, enabling an increase in the intensity and consistency of support to families.

Benefits of group discussion

Group supervision and group case discussion is helping practitioner teams to make collaborative decisions and share collective responsibility.

Through shared learning experiences and the exchange of professional opinion and insight, practice is developed and quality assured. Group supervision across agencies that includes all professionals working with the family, as in Hertfordshire's Family Safeguarding teams, is particularly impressive (see case study).

These models acknowledge the strengths of different specialisms and developing a shared language, context and understanding.

Whole-system learning culture

Sustainable change requires bold and ambitious leadership and practice at all levels. A comprehensive approach to culture and skills building engages the whole workforce in developing capabilities in (and through) supervision, coaching and performance management. Islington has overhauled its recruitment and assessment processes of practitioners and supervisors. Coaching on live cases and group supervision enhance practice reflection and every family is interviewed about their interactions with practitioners.

Newcastle's Family Insights team has developed a bespoke Newcastle Curriculum to instil a culture of teaching and learning, contributing to better staff satisfaction on training.

Measuring what matters

It takes a long time for the effects of social work for children and families to make themselves known. Many ‘common sense' long-term measures may not, in the short term, be an indicator of good outcomes.

Caseload may not be a helpful way to think about how social workers spend their time, simply because the most complex cases take much longer. Similarly, cases kept open for longer but satisfactorily resolved are better than cases closed too quickly.

In the short-term, evaluation can most usefully focus on children and families' experience of engaging with services, and practitioners' experiences of their ability and time to work closely with families and each other.

Measures such as families' satisfaction with their social worker can be helpful in evaluating the effects of shared models.

INNOVATION PROGRAMME PROJECTS STUDIED FOR THE LEARNING SUMMARY

Hampshire and the Isle of Wight's Active Agents for Change: multi-practitioner family intervention teams to improve early help in child protection.

Harrow: embedding the Reclaim Social Work model: development of consultant social workers to lead work to keep families together, and streamlining administrative processes.

Hertfordshire Family Safeguarding: 22 co-located, multi-disciplinary teams to tackle domestic abuse, substance misuse and parental mental ill health.

Islington's Doing What Counts and Measuring What Matters: embedding motivational social work and using values-based tools, and involving families in practice assessment.

Leeds' Family Valued programme: embedding restorative practice and developing Family Group Conferencing as a core offer for vulnerable families.

Newcastle's Family Insights: organising social work teams by need, leading to a doubling in number of young people returning to families from care.

Signs of Safety: 7,000 social workers trained in first two years to implement Signs of Safety approach in 10 councils.

Stockport Family: co-location, restorative practice ad partnership working across the town, reducing children in care costs by £1.2m.

West Berkshire's Building Communities Together: training 1,000 staff and 400 young people in restorative practice and creating an emotional health academy for children and families.

Tri-borough Focus on Practice: systemic practice training for 660 practitioners across three London boroughs, reducing children in care numbers and improving staff retention.

Source: Spring Consortium

FURTHER READING

What have we learned about good social work systems and practice?, Innovation Programme thematic evaluation report, the Rees Centre, July 2017

Whole-service Change Programmes Workshop, hosted by Spring Consortium, January 2017

Innovation Programme Interim Learning Report, January 2016

A Lasting Legacy? Sustaining Innovation in a Social Work Context, Brown, British Journal of Social Work, 45, 2015

Social work and the art of relationship: parents' perspectives on an intensive family support project, Mason, Child and Family Social Work, 17, 2012

Balancing risk and innovation to improve social work practice, Brown, British Journal of Social Work, 40, 2010

One Minute Guides to Restorative Practice, Family Valued and Child Friendly Leeds, Leeds City Council

Evaluation reports for all projects in the Innovation Programme, contact details for projects mentioned and further materials can be found at springconsortium.com/learn-to-innovate/

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