Lewisham receives additional funding for the continuation of its Families First for Children Pilot
Lewisham Council has been successful in securing additional funding of £4 million from the Department of Education to continue playing a leading role in the UK Government's reforms to children's social care, focused on supporting families earlier through prevention and early support, once the initial pilot ends in March 2025 until March 2026.
Lewisham Council is one of seven local authorities who was chosen to deliver the Families First for Children Pathfinder pilot program in March 2024 – improving services to help more children stay with their families in safe and loving homes and protecting vulnerable children from harm. The government is pledging an additional £250 million in total to continue to fund the social care reforms through local government who are on the frontline delivering vital services for residents.
The Families First for Children program ensures family help is available for families who are struggling, for example suffering domestic abuse, addiction, or poor mental health, to help them before issues escalate and children are put at risk of harm. It will support multi-agency teams to work with families to ensure their complex needs are met, from housing, employment and health to education.
Councillor Chris Barnham, Lewisham’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: “We welcome the government’s reform of children’s social care, which is long overdue, and we are pleased they have decided to continue to fund the Families First for Children pilot. It is great news for Lewisham’s families and young people that we can continue and build upon what we have already put in place to help our most vulnerable children and young people to stay in family networks as far as possible.
A recent report by ITV showed first-hand how the social care reforms in Lewisham are supporting families, children and young people in the borough with early intervention and help. What shone through was the vital and important work social workers and agencies are doing to support our most vulnerable residents with limited resources. We know there is more to be done, and this new funding enables us to get on with the job.”
Read the ITV report here and watch the special investigation.