Our Teams
Blackpool Families Rock – and we are here to help our families when they need it
Assessment and Support
The Assessment and Support Service work with children and families to explore concerns about their welfare. Building on the strengths and assets, clear, honest and purposeful discussions are had with families in regards to any changes that need to be made and which services and support are available to help.
Practitioners in this team focus on using strengths-based and restorative practice to develop well-rounded and analytical assessments with families that lead to meaningful change, improve outcomes for children and families and determine the right next steps.
This team offers the opportunity to work closely with children and families, and help them to navigate challenging times – guiding them to make real and lasting change. With low caseloads and small teams, there is the opportunity to get to know children and families well and help them coordinate and engage with support from across the partnership that builds resilience and safeguards their future.
Strengthening and Supporting Families
Primarily working with children in need, or on protection plans and their families – practitioners in these teams are using strengths-based and restorative practice to help families recognise and respond to opportunities for change and ensure children are not significantly harmed. When families cannot provide a safe and secure environment for their children, practitioners in this team work with families to explore alternatives and undertake the work required to find the right long term outcome.
This team allows an opportunity to build relationships with children and families that help them to understand how the statutory framework in place to protect children can work to help them achieve change, and make sure that the voice of children really informs their plans. Low caseloads mean that practitioners are able to work closely alongside families and help them to build on their assets and strengths, so that they can move forward independently.
Supporting Our Children
One of the most rewarding areas of Social Care; being the person who supports, advocates for and is the unrelenting champion for children who are in the care of the local authority / young people who are leaving care up to 25. Making sure they are listened to, have a stable and secure home to live in with good support networks that help them grow and thrive. That they are well engaged with the opportunities to learn, that they know that people care about and are ambitious for them.
This team offers the opportunity to work with children and young people from 0-25, helping them understand and cope with the changes and upheaval they have experienced. Building a stable foundation for a strong future and making sure that children are only in the care system for as long as they really need to be. Supporting our children to grow their aspirations, coordinating the support from across the Council and wider partnership to maximise their opportunities.
Fostering
We want the very best for the children who are looked after by Blackpool, and part of this is making sure we have great families who can provide them with a loving, safe and secure environment when they cannot be with their own families. Working with approved foster carers providing dedicated assistance and ongoing support / training; the team also respond to initial enquiries and applications made by prospective foster carers and attend recruitment events to provide advice and answer questions for those interested in helping Blackpool children. The fostering team also provide Family and Friends / Kinship Care whereby a child who cannot be cared for by their parent(s) or other person with Parental Responsibility, goes to live with a relative, friend or other connected person.
This team offers the opportunity to guide prospective foster families through the recruitment and assessment process, helping them to understand the many benefits and prepare for the challenges that foster care can offer. Practitioners support families who have children living with them to make sure they have access to all the support, advice and guidance they need so that children have a great home.
The Children’s Hub
The team that receives requests for support and statutory services for families and children in Blackpool. The Children’s Hub is led by Social Care and made up of Social Workers, Health Practitioners, Police and Early Help experts and has links with experts in Domestic abuse, probation and many others.
The Hub provide an advice and consultation line for professionals across Blackpool working with families across the town. Where there are serious concerns about the welfare of children in families – the Hub shares key information and work together to make informed, balanced decisions to ensure families get the support they need from the right people at the right time.
No two days are the same in this team, with a supportive , collaborative environment where a range of professional expertise is shared and respected to make the right decisions for families and children.