A proactive partnership

摘要

Newport City Council and Barnardo's Cymru have embarked on a first for the UK - a partnership that can pave the way for greater collaboration between councils and the third sector. It is claimed to be the first partnership of this kind in the UK and has brought about genuine benefits to both the council and the charity. A recent three-year study by Red Book 2013 found that councils are crucial to the success of early intervention. Embedding immediate support for families across their work is therefore crucial. That is why Newport City Council embarked on a new kind of collaboration with the third sector which resulted in the creation of an integrated family support team (1FST). The Welsh Government introduced legislation that would establish an IFST in four pioneer local authorities, one of which was Newport. This afforded the council the opportunity and acted as a catalyst for change across the whole of its family support services moving towards developing a whole family approach.