This report presents findings from a pilot evaluation of the Family Valued model in Darlington. This was commissioned by the Department for Education as part of the Strengthening Families, Protecting Children (SFPC) programme.
Family Valued is a whole system approach to children’s safeguarding. This involves training in restorative practice and establishing or expanding Family Group Conference (FGC) services. It also entails carrying out a review of existing local systems and the commissioning of new restorative services to address gaps in provision.
This pilot aimed to provide early insights into the rollout of Family Valued and inform the next phase of the evaluation by asking three key research questions:
We collected data through:
Many elements of the Family Valued model were implemented as planned in Darlington, even in the context of a global pandemic. Staff were largely positive about Family Valued and families largely had positive experiences with the FGC service and Edge of Care service (Keeping Families Together).
Practitioners reported using reflective practice and working more restoratively with families, supported by reflective supervision. Some teams, such as Early Help, reported already practising in a strengths-based or restorative approach. Practitioners working in Child Protection found it to be a bigger culture change. Staff expected to benefit from continued training and support to embed the model over time.
A central mechanism to the model was improved communication and relationship building with families. A whole system approach to culture change was also reported to be important. Potential benefits of Family Valued identified by staff and families included better quality practice and de-escalation of statutory involvement. This evidence is anecdotal at this point, and not evidence of impact.
This evaluation only captures the early stages of implementation of the Family Valued model. Interpretation of findings from this pilot evaluation should also consider that delivery of Family Valued in Darlington was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Based on what worked well in Darlington as well as ways in which delivery could be improved, when introducing Family Valued in a new area, local decision-makers should:
To ensure longer-term sustainability of Family Valued, local decision-makers should:
This rating is based on information that programme providers have supplied about the components and requirements of their programme. Based on this information, EIF rates programmes on a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 indicates the least resource-intensive programmes and 5 the most resource-intensive.
1: A rating of 1 indicates that a programmes has a low cost to set up and deliver, compared with other interventions reviewed by EIF. This is equivalent to an estimated unit cost of less than £100.
2: A rating of 2 indicates that a programme has a medium-low cost to set up and deliver, compared with other interventions reviewed by EIF. This is equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £100–£499.
3: A rating of 3 indicates that a programme has a medium cost to set up and deliver, compared with other interventions reviewed by EIF. This is equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £500–£999.
4: A rating of 4 indicates that a programme has a medium-high cost to set up and deliver, compared with other interventions reviewed by EIF. This is equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £1,000–£2,000.
5: A rating of 5 indicates that a programme has a high cost to set up and deliver, compared with other interventions reviewed by EIF. This is equivalent to an estimated unit cost of more than £2,000.
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Supporting children’s mental health and wellbeing: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing child maltreatment: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Enhancing school achievement & employment: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing crime, violence and antisocial behaviour: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing substance abuse: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing risky sexual behaviour & teen pregnancy: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing obesity and promoting healthy physical development: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
The evidence ratings distinguish five levels of strength of evidence. This is not a rating of the scale of impact but of the degree to which a programme has been shown to have a positive, causal impact on specific child outcomes.
Level 2: Recognises programmes with preliminary evidence of improving a child outcome, but where an assumption of causal impact cannot be drawn.
Level 2+: The programme will have observed a significant positive child outcome in an evaluation meeting all of the criteria for a level 2 evaluation, but also involving a treatment and comparison group. There is baseline equivalence between the treatment and comparison‐group participants on key demographic variables of interest to the study and baseline measures of outcomes (when feasible).
Level 3: Recognises programmes with evidence of a short-term positive impact from at least one rigorous evaluation – that is, where a judgment about causality can be made.
Level 3+: The programme will have obtained evidence of a significant positive child outcome through an efficacy study, but may also have additional consistent positive evidence from other evaluations (occurring under ideal circumstances or real world settings) that do not meet this criteria, thus keeping it from receiving an assessment of 4 or higher.
Level 4: Recognises programmes with evidence of a long-term positive impact through multiple rigorous evaluations. At least one of these studies must have evidence of improving a child outcome lasting a year or longer.