CYSCP

Our Practice Model Building Brighter Futures sets out our framework for how we work with children and their families. The framework shares the vision and ethos of the Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 (.pdf) and the Children’s Social Care National Framework in the way in which we want to work with children and their families and the outcomes we want to achieve for them. We'll support all of our partners to understand our practice model with the aim of ensuring a common language and approach in the way which we work with children, young people and their families.

Every conversation and decision in York:

• starts with the child
• considers what the long-term impact may be of every decision
• ensures we develop resilient lifelong foundations for children through secure local family networks
• asks is it good enough for my child or family

Our Practice Framework

Our Practice Framework includes 4 main sections.

Systemic Practice

We'll build trusting relationships with children and their families, focusing on the whole family system rather than an individual. Everyone is unique in their experiences and an expert in their own situation. We'll work to understand a person in their context, their relationships and how they navigate within their own community. We will challenge ourselves to understand what makes someone who they are and how we can best support them.

Signs of Safety

We'll work to build relationships with children, their families and everyone naturally connected to them to understand well-being, risk and promote safety, by building on strengths and successes and give the family and their network every opportunity to come up with and use their ideas to create lasting safety and wellbeing before we offer or impose ours. We'll keep children and young people at the centre of our work through understanding their views, wishes and feelings. We'll use a common language which is understood by all focusing on ‘What are we worried about?’ ‘What’s working well?’ ‘What needs to happen?’ to create long-lasting change over a child’s lifetime.

Family Seeing

We believe that every child has a family and a community who they should be connected to. We'll invest in them, knowing that families and communities often have the best solutions to their challenges. Relationships are the foundations of resilience. We'll see the family in front of us, engage them and their networks at the earliest opportunity, identify those important adults in the child’s life and work to build lifelong family relationships.

Safe and Together

We'll work to promote the well-being of children through understanding the impact of domestic abuse, partnering with survivors to support them alongside intervening and engaging with those who cause harm to reduce risk.