The Practitioners in Schools pilot was launched in Grimsby in November 2019. It is part of the NSPCC’s Together for Childhood (TfC) programme, collaborating with local residents and agencies to prevent abuse and neglect in families facing adversity.
The pilot provided primary schools with the support of a social worker and children’s services practitioner who worked for TfC. These practitioners delivered prevention work that responded to the needs of each school. The approach aimed to implement early support and create community partnerships that could address the challenges experienced by local families.
This report evaluates the Practitioners in Schools pilot to understand how it was put into practice and how it can be developed in local areas. The research was carried out through a series of one-to-one interviews with local primary school staff and TfC practitioners to gather their views and experiences of the initiative.
The evaluation showed that local primary schools were valuable sites for building community relationships and implementing early work to prevent child abuse and neglect.
Author: Claire Sloan, Thea Shahrokh and Stephanie Talbut
Effective and open communication between school staff and TfC practitioners helped develop understanding of the school context. Understanding the needs of children and families within the school helped practitioners to meet these needs effectively. Attending the school on a predictable weekly basis helped increase practitioners’ visibility and build trusting relationships with the school community.
The six principles of Together for Childhood - continuous learning, sustainability, co-production, strengths-based working, inclusivity and accessibility, and partnership – helped TfC practitioners embed preventative work in the schools.
TfC practitioners supported change through:
Please cite as: Sloan, C. Shahrokh, T. and Talbut, S. (2024) Embedding children’s services practitioners in local primary schools: a process evaluation of the Together for Childhood Grimsby pilot. London: NSPCC.
Learn more about Together for Childhood, an innovative, evidence-informed approach to bring local partners and families together to prevent abuse.
Evaluation of Young Voices, a project working with young people in Plymouth to design campaigns promoting healthy relationships.
What encourages the general public to act on concerns about a child? We reviewed the literature to find out.
