Promoting quality - developing a framework for accrediting family group conference services

We have successfully obtained funding from the Department for Education to drive consistent quality standards across family group conference services by developing a framework for the accreditation of family group conference services. This two year project began in June 2011 and is led by ourselves in collaboration with members of the FGC Network, Dr Louise Brown (University of Bath) and other key stakeholders.

The purposes of the FGC quality standards framework are:

- to ensure consistent, high standards applied across FGC projects, so that children and families offered an FGC fully benefit from the efficacy of the approach.
- To raise the credibility and consequently the use/commissioning of FGCs services amongst policy makers and commissioners.
- To increase the use of FGCs in planning for vulnerable children, thus enabling them to remain safely within their family network and avoiding them unnecessarily entering the care system.

Family Rights Group with the FGC accreditation development group have now published a proposed accreditation framework. We are extremely keen to get your views on the framework, which will then be trialled from 1 April 2012 and evaluated. So please do fill in the attached consultation survey and please do encourage others including young people and family members who have participated in an FGC, local authority commissioners and social work managers, judges and FGC co-ordinators to respond.

In addition the FGC Network meeting on 7th March at 12.30-15.30 in central London will be devoted to considering the proposed accreditation framework. If you are a FGC co-ordinator or FGC manager, whose organisation is a member of the Network, please do indicate to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you are able to attend.

We would strongly encourage all FGC projects to complete the FGC project survey. The data being collected will provide us with key information which will help affect the design and economic costings for the accreditation system. It also enables us to collect outcome and economic data from FGC projects which is key in convincing key national decision makers as to the efficacy of FGCs.