Norfolk Signs of Safety and Family Network Approach

Norfolk Safeguarding Children Partnership (NSCP) has adopted Signs of Safety as the basis of work with children across all partner agencies engaged in providing services for Children in Norfolk. Signs of Safety has also been adopted by Norfolk County Council Children’s Services and the Norfolk Children and Young People’s Strategic Alliance (CYPSA) as the core philosophy for working with children and families across Norfolk.

The Family Network Approach is an integral component to Signs of Safety practice. We know that young people grow more resilient and are more likely to achieve better outcomes when they have the support of a naturally connected network, yet this is one of the most underdeveloped areas in safeguarding. We also know that plans are likely to be more successful when they are led and owned by the family and their wider network, rather than being imposed on them by workers.

Central to the Signs of Safety and Family Networking approach is the use of specific practice tools and processes. These support family networks and professionals to work with each other in partnership to address concerns and find solutions to meet the needs of children.

Signs of Safety Briefing Paper

Resources

This section contains various Signs of Safety and Family Networking practice tools and information for direct work with children and their family networks to help understand the Signs of Safety ethos and methodology.

Signs of Safety does not preclude the use of other well tested evidence based theories and assessment tools used by a wide spectrum of professionals, indeed it complements them.