Family Rights Group’s response to proposed Working Together 2023 guidance

In June 2023, the government published a draft revision of Working Together guidance for consultation.

It follows the publication of the Stable Homes, Built on Love strategy document in February 2023, which set out the government’s plans for transforming children’s social care.

Working Together is government statutory guidance. It is about agencies working to keep children safe and well. It supports practitioners to do what the law says they need to.

Family Rights Group’s submission to the consultation can be read here.

Some of the key issues we address in our response include:

• Consistent promotion of principles on partnership working with children and families
• Families’ access to independent, specialist legal advice and advocacy
• The impact of poverty, economic marginalisation and discrimination on children and families
• A lack of explicit attention given to partnership working with fathers, parents with learning difficulties and disabilities, and young parents
• Appropriate use of information sharing
• Practice at the pre-birth stage
• Kinship care including the case for putting a single definition into Working Together and the National Framework for Children’s Social Care
• Enhancing the guidance around the use of family group conferences
• Improving the approach taken to supporting disabled children
• Clarity around reforms to early help
• Effective practice for section 17 support.