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 (IFST).

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.

The IFST was designed to bridge the gap which exists between children's and adult services and the health service.

The first stage of the partnership was to commission Barnardo's Cymru to assist and work with the IFST and from there Barnardo's Cymru has become a preferred partner to join the council in the development of a collaborative partnership.

After seeing the impact and service that the IFST provided, the council found that many other families were left without access to a similar service and decided it needed a fully functioning multi-agency, multi-disciplinary family assessment and support team (FASS), operating alongside the IFST.

The council did not have the financial resources to commission this and prepared a tender document for a preferred partner to join it in developing a collaborative
partnership.

Barnardo's Cymru was identified as the preferred provider in April 2011.

The team is hosted and financed by Barnardo's as part of its £200,000 annual contribution to services in Newport. Within the arrangement, it has four practitioners at present, although there are plans to extend this with £225,000 of additional funding.

The partnership saw the appointment of Sally Jenkins to the position of head of children and family services. Ms Jenkins is also working part-time in charge of development at Barnardo's Cymru.

Her appointment has allowed the council to build on the positive work already achieved by the authority and Barnardo's Cymru.

The IFST and FASS have brought about transformational change for children, young people and their families in Newport. It ensures they are safely with their families
and not in council placements. It combines the best of the council and the best the
voluntary sector has to offer.

Staff from Barnardo's Cymru have been seconded to the local authority to develop this partnership and vice versa.

There have naturally been challenges with different working cultures, IT differences
and the challenges of integrating two teams, however, staff have rolled up their sleeves and got on with it.

The aim of the collaboration is to safely reduce the number of people in care and it has proved successful. The authority has seen a 6% reduction on the number of children in care against a UK national trend showing a 20% increase.

The partnership working between the council and Barnardo's Cymru has been commended by inspectors.

Ms Jenkins says: ‘The partnership is seen as the flagship of strategic association working and the third-sector organisation has been supportive of the collaboration and how this model of best practice could be rolled out UK-wide. Other Welsh local authorities have been in contact about the partnership so the word is getting out on the street and people from other local authorities are peering over the fence and are interested in what we do.

‘The Welsh Government is encouraging "whole family" working and the Barnardo's ethos encourages and reflects this,' she adds.

By bringing together a council working hard to improve people's lives, and a charity that respects the unique worth of every person, next year will positively impact the lives of many people in the city and perhaps change the way in which collaborative council and third sector partnerships are developed.

Mike Nicholson is strategic director people at Newport City Council