Comment on Signs of Safety evaluation report
Commenting on the Department for Education’s evaluation of Signs of Safety pilots, ADCS President Jenny Coles said:
“Over time, adopting strengths-based approaches has allowed us to work collaboratively with children and families to develop meaningful long-term relationships. As the evaluation report states, of the local authorities piloted, the implementation of Signs of Safety varied markedly and many local authorities across the country are adapting it to meet their own needs or local context, allowing for improvement as they each learn what works best. Measuring the value and impact of these approaches is rarely easy but where this is done well both practitioners and families tell us this works for them. However, we also know that the effectiveness of any practice model depends on organisational values, leadership and the skills and confidence of practitioners. It is important that we continue to explore and evaluate ways of supporting children and families and to give local authorities the financial means to appropriately adapt these methods to meet local needs and context.”
ENDS