What is this and what does it mean for Suffolk?
In October 2013 Suffolk Children and Young People’s Service made the decision to adopt Signs of Safety as its practice framework for all children’s services. We have a multi-year transformation programme designed to embed Signs of Safety practice built around learning and systems change - supported by strong, engaged and visible senior leaders.
But what does this mean to social workers on the ground?
At the end of our first year of implementation, we asked what difference Signs of Safety had made to them… and this is what they said:
- Families are better engaged in the process of assessment and understand the concerns, and in the best examples, own the process themselves, including safety planning.
- I feel more confident about risk management – supported by managers
- The new supervision style reinforces SoS practice and helps co-production of next steps
- It’s built on existing good practice and celebrates skills of staff
- I’m proud of Suffolk’s commitment to this approach as shown through the level of investment and the recognition we’re getting from outside the county.
We’re still at the beginning of our journey. Every change we make is being informed and guided by what practitioners and families say is working well for them.
To learn more about Signs of Safety, check out their website: http://www.signsofsafety.net/