Key Intelligence is proud to announce its support for Home-Start Stroud District.

The local charity provides families with children under the age of 5 support and friendship. Trained volunteers who have had families of their own provide regular one to one home visiting support to those that need it.

Families need support for many reasons: perhaps they are struggling to cope with postnatal illness, a child’s disability, family breakdown or bereavement. Maybe they face multiple problems at once, or feel isolated and unable to connect with their local community. Whatever the reason, Home-Start provides non-judgmental practical and emotional support, to help build the family’s confidence and ability to cope.

It is charities like these that work in early intervention to help ensure fewer children go into care unnecessarily.

Home-Start is highly rated by both statutory and non-statutory funders as a value for money, high-quality service. Providing tailor-made support for families where they need it, how they need it and when they need it.

One of our 3 core values at Key Intelligence is Community and we have recently started to provide a little bit of administrative and organisational support to Home-Start Stroud each week without charge.

Key Intelligence sponsored a conference that Home-Start held in June 2017 which explored the fundamental questions surrounding the current safeguarding system.

The conference considered two key questions:

Are too many children going into care?

Can better community support prevent this?

Recent research has indicated that the number of children coming into care is rising and that this is even more prevalent in deprived areas. In view of drastic cutbacks in statutory funding to both children’s centres and voluntary organisations, this figure is only likely to rise.

Speakers included Anthony Douglas CEO of Cafcass, Dr Freda Gardner psychologist and court expert, Annie a mother who had her children removed from her and then returned after the court process, Joanna Nicolas a child protection consultant and trainer and Professor Kate Morris Head of Social Work at Sheffield University and researcher into this topic.

The conference was chaired by Judge Stephen Wildblood QC, a designated family judge for Avon, North Somerset & Gloucester,  who feels passionate about introducing more early interventions for parents involved with the CYPS in the pre-proceeding’s stage.