How Cheshire West and Chester Council is using the national framework when working with families.
Cheshire West and Chester Council is putting the national framework into action by focusing on strong relationships with families. Their aim is to:
They are using the national framework’s ‘outcomes’ to set clear, consistent goals. This case study shows how Cheshire West and Chester Council have used the 4 outcomes and the results they have achieved.
The 4 outcomes are:
To support outcomes 1 and 2 the council has redesigned their multi-agency referral form so practitioners capture wider family, friendship and community connections from the first point of contact. This helps identify natural support at the very beginning and ensures assessments look at the whole family, not just individual issues.
The service is also exploring the introduction of a dedicated Family Network Co-ordinator within the early help pathway. This person would help families plan and organise support even if they do not meet statutory thresholds, preventing problems from getting worse.
Cheshire West and Chester Council have deepened their commitment to family-led practice by integrating an ‘ecomap’. This is a tool to map the main relationships, connections and support systems surrounding a child and their family into the single assessment.
This enhances practitioners’ ability to:
These actions strongly support outcome 2, by ensuring practitioners consistently identify, activate and strengthen family and community connections.
A family-centred approach guides the whole service and staff receive training in:
This ensures families have a real voice and influence at the main decision points.
To support outcome 4 which focuses on children in care and care leavers having stable, loving homes, the local authority has created 4 additional Family Network Co-ordinator posts.
These co-ordinators:
Their work is central to safe reunification planning and to enabling children to remain within or return to family and friend networks wherever possible.
To support all 4 national framework outcomes and reinforce high-quality and consistent family-led practice across the workforce, the council has introduced:
They also provide flexible training online and in person, to help staff confidently use family network approaches and run child‑focused meetings that stay on track.
As a result of these changes, Cheshire West and Chester Council have: