Family Rights Group | FGC and Lifelong Links Network Discussion Forum

Signs of safety website
http://www.signsofsafety.net/signs-of-safety/

Comprehensive infor from the last UK Signs of Safety conference including presentations and vimeo clips
http://www.signsofsafety.net/2014-leicester-gathering/

Eileen Munro's presentation on signs of safety at Leicester conference last year (45 mins long)
https://vimeo.com/95243950

Brief media clip by Andrew Turnell about origins of signs of safety and ethttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6WYm4F9mikhos

Useful NSPCC review of signs of safety
http://www.nspcc.org.uk/services-and-re ... l-england/

I recently attended the network meeting at Kings Cross and found the presentations from Tower Hamlets and Kent interesting, informative and raised alarm bells. Interesting and informative in that the Signs of Safety model for me almost completely echo the FGC model. Alarm bells, in my opinion, in that if the FGC Network of service providers do not seize the moment over time Signs of Safety will make the use of an FGC meeting redundant. In these ongoing times of economic cutbacks how many local authorities will continue to offer an FGC meeting when Signs of Safety model is being piloted to be used throughout (Tower Hamlets for one ) the entire process of the work being done within Children's Services. FGC Network need to rise to this challenge and see it as an opportunity to make the case that in using an FGC at the very start of Children's Services work with a family ie in the Assessment and Support teams may well result in better outcomes for children much earlier on and also reduce the need for cases to be escalated to Child in Need, Child Protection, PLO and or court. The costs involved in working with a family under the legal processes such as Child Protection are in my view prohibitive compared to the cost of an FGC and review meeting. Furthermore FGC model is much more in line with the Government's thinking and rationale that service providers and professionals need to be working with families in a more collaborative and respectful manner - Working Together - from the outset.
Filomena Brockwell
Children's Services.