Supporting Families Programme
The Supporting Families programme (previous known as Priority Families programme) is a way of targeting help and support to those families who need it most.
Supporting Families focuses on the whole family and unites the skills and expertise of all our frontline partners, rather than support one family member in isolation and tackle one problem at a time.
Who are Supporting Families?
Supporting families have complex needs. They are households who have at least two of the following:
- parents and children involved in crime and anti-social behaviour
- children who have not been attending school regularly
- children who need help
- adults out of work or at risk of financial exclusion or young people at risk of worklessness
- families affected by domestic violence or abuse
- parents and children with a range of health problems
Tackling just one of their problems at a time is not going to help in the long-term. We must support and engage with every member of the family. The only way we can do this is to work smarter with our partners such as: schools, the police, education providers, other local authorities, housing and health. Learn more on our Supporting Families criteria page.
How do I nominate Supporting Families?
If you are working with a family that meet the criteria you can access additional support and resources to help your family achieve positive change. Find out what resources are available on our Additional support for Supporting Families page. You need to nominate the family to the Priority Families team to access extra resources.
To nominate a family you can contact your Locality Supporting Families Casework Support Officer. Details of what happens when a family is nominated can be found by downloading the Nomination Process. If you are unsure who to contact or need further information, please email supportingfamilies@derby.gov.uk.
Data sharing
To ensure that our work is effective we need to share data with partner agencies. Our Supporting Families Programme is part of a national initiative run by the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). We are routinely required to submit information on the families worked with and identified as eligible for the programme.
You can find out more about what we do with personal data by visiting our Children and Young people privacy notice or download Supporting Families Programme - how we use your information.
Where do I find more information?
Further details about the programme and support services:
- Supporting Families Leaflet
- Supporting Families IEHCF Support Services Integrated Early Help Commissioning Framework
National information: