Schools and Family Hubs Come Together to Strengthen Support for Wirral Families
Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs) from schools across Wirral recently came together with local Family Hub teams for a powerful day of connection, collaboration and change, all with the purpose of improving support for children and families.
The DSL Community of Practice event brought together staff from schools and Family Hubs with a shared goal: to create closer relationships and better understanding between schools and the services in their communities. By getting to know their local Family Hubs and what support is available, schools are now better equipped to help families earlier, often helping before issues escalate and reducing the need for formal referrals to specialist services.
This work is part of the Families First for Children Pathfinder, a national programme being piloted in Wirral that’s looking at how children’s social care can be reformed to ensure families get the right help at the right time. One focus of the Pathfinder is improving Multi-Agency Safeguarding Arrangements (MASAs), which brings together organisations like schools, health providers, police, and local authorities to work more closely on keeping children safe.
Wirral is one of the areas trialling a new approach that gives education a more strategic role. The dedicated Pathfinder Team, including the Delegated Safeguarding Partner for Education, are working to introduce schools as a fourth statutory partner in safeguarding, alongside health, local authorities, and police. This presents a unique opportunity for Wirral schools to shape national policy and practice, helping to demonstrate the value of giving education a strategic voice in safeguarding decisions.
The event was also a chance to spotlight how schools across Wirral are coming together as a collective to share best practice and support one another in providing faster, more effective help for children and families.
The event also highlighted exciting new projects. Guest speakers from CPOMS and Ativion, who provide safeguarding software to schools, shared updates on improving how schools and services share vital information. Also in attendance were Scenegraph Studios, a Wirral-based company specialising in immersive technology and VR. They’re working with the DSL collective to explore how virtual reality, and immersive tech could support future training and help retain information better.
Hear from the DSLs that attended the event, and what they have to say about the new way of working:
By bringing people together, the event showcased what’s possible when schools and local services work side-by-side. This collective approach is already having a positive impact, helping families get the support they need more quickly, and empowering professionals to make a real difference.
