Council service that keeps families safe and together shortlisted for national award

Council service that keeps families safe and together shortlisted for national award

A service which helps to keep up to 88% of vulnerable young people living safely with their families has been nominated for a national award.

The Catalyst Project, which provides support to young people on the edge of care and their families, has been shortlisting for the Provider Collaboration award at the 2024 HSJ awards. The HSJ Awards are the most respected awards for healthcare excellence in the UK

The multi-agency project involves teams from the city council, NHS and Staffordshire Police and works to protect vulnerable young people from harm and ensure they can remain safely at home with their families

One young person receiving support from the service said: “I find the workers of the Catalyst team very helpful with any needs or problems I have, the team support me day to day and have been helping me become more independent and ready for adult life.”

All of the 199 children and young people supported by the Catalyst Project in 2023 were on the edge of care, with many also having additional vulnerabilities. Of these, 40% were considered at risk of child criminal or sexual exploitation, 29% experienced substance misuse issues, 66% had poor mental health issues and over 50% have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), including communication needs.

Thanks to the successful work of the Catalyst Project, 88% of these children and young people remained safely with their families. In addition:

• 16 children permanently excluded had this decision overturned
• For the first time none of the children opened to the Family and Adolescent Support Team (FAST) social workers were admitted into care
• 14 no longer needed Catalyst as their home and school situations were stable and supported
• 77% had improved attendance in school
• Incidents of children going missing from home have reduced from an average of five per month to just one child

The project brings together teams from the city council, the NHS (Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board and the Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust) and Staffordshire Police to provide an all-inclusive service which is already achieving positive outcomes for young people.

The project illustrates the city council’s dedication to supporting family life in the city, working with communities as well as the NHS and other partners. The project’s aims are:

• To support children and young people to live safely with their family
• Where children do need to be cared for, more will be cared for in the city, close to their family, friends and community.
• Fewer children will require care in the independent sector, unless this is required for their specific needs.
• Children will feel well supported by a key person who understands, cares about and works with them to achieve their potential.
• More children will engage positively with Education, Training or Employment.

Councillor Sarah Hill, cabinet member for children’s services said: “I’d like to congratulate everyone involved with The Catalyst Project for this well-deserved award nomination. Their amazing work perfectly represents our aims as a city council to provide the right support to young people and their families at the right time, keeping them out of care and with their families.

“If you find a problem, it’s always best to sort it early. Don’t wait for it to get worse. We want our priority to be helping families because children thrive best in their own homes where they are safe and that is exactly what The Catalyst Project achieves.”

Claire Bailey, Managing Director of MPFT’s Children and Families Care Group said: “This has been an incredibly important project due to the positive impact it has had on young people and their families. The team has worked hard to deliver a multi-agency and collaborative approach. The recognition of their work ethic and impact on young people is deserving of such credible award recognition.”

DCI Amy Martin- Child Public Protection Unit at Staffordshire Police said: “We are delighted that the Catalyst programme has been shortlisted for the HSJ awards. We embarked on this journey with our partners with the aim to provide targeted interventions to some of our most vulnerable children and families with the view to improving their outcomes, preventing and deterring from offending and supporting them in a holistic and child-centred way.

“As a partnership, we have seen some great successes, not only in improving outcomes for the children and families, but also by a significant reduction in demand to our services. We are dedicated to continuing to support the programme and look forward to its future successes.”

The winners of the HSJ awards will be announced at a ceremony in London on 21 November 2024.