The ‘New Beginnings’ Intervention Service for Ethnic Minority Families
About the Intervention Programme
We founded the ‘New Beginnings’ intervention programme in 2017, following the launch of our cross-cultural assessment services. ‘New Beginnings’ recognises the need for appropriate intervention to aid BME families in the transition to embrace British norms and cultures.
The Programme has since then been able to assist, educate and empower migrant families of diverse backgrounds. Helping them to appreciate other parenting styles and behaviours – and therefore adjust and adapt their own parenting.
Our Aim
We aim to support parents in bringing gaps in their parenting, in order to adapt ways of raising their children in a new culture and environment.
We work with families to reduce the number of BME children who are open to the local authority and have come to harm through unsafe parenting practices.
Through Our intervention families can make changes to prevent the initiation of care proceedings. Where families have already been separated – through intervention we can pave the way for reunification.
Key Components of Our Work
- We work with parents to understand harmful behaviours – where children are influenced by peer pressure and risky behaviours – such as gang culture, CSE, drug misuse, school truancy, bullying, low self-esteem, and mirroring inappropriate behaviour.
- CCSER works with community faith groups and other community organisations, in order to promote social inclusion and adaptability in families.
- Address issues of physical chastisement and emotional abuse through punishments that are inappropriate.
- Children who witness unhealthy adult relationships and the impact on behaviour.
- Circumstances where beliefs, religion and culture are superseding the safety of children.
- Parents’ struggling to navigate the nuances of UK child protection system.
- Parents who leave children at home alone or older children who undertake parental responsibilities.
- Newly arrived and first-generation migrants, settled in the UK but don’t understand the UK child protection system.
- Private fostering arrangements.
Our Work
We work to engage, equip, educate and empower parents, so that they can maximise their children’s life chances. Our intervention programmes are all evidence-based. Parents will build the knowledge and confidence to support their own well-being alongside that of their children.
Our interventions are community based, working to implement a systemic approach and encourage parents to own the process. Our ethos is built upon the ‘Social Graces’ model of John Burnham – recognising that there are further aspects of difference (race, religion, age, ability, class, education etc…) that impact upon the way services are tailored to meet the needs of families.
The Intervention Service
We conduct a baseline intervention assessment to determine the key issues and formulate a work plan with families. Our work plan contains strategies to address the cultural and psychosocial issues of concern as well as elements related to maintaining improved parenting practices.
1 to 1, key face to face work sessions with parents individually and together. This usually takes place in the family home. The expectation is that children will be included during the last phase of the intervention. Parents have to demonstrate that they can reflect, embrace new knowledge and adapt to new systems in order to successfully complete the programme. Parents are expected to complete homework sessions and comment on the knowledge and skills they develop through the learning process. Updates are provided to the referrer fortnightly.
We will have between 15 to 24 intervention sessions, depending on the depth and issues as well as the complexity of the cultural, religious and other factors that impact on the parent’s ability to transition.
We will aim to conduct midway reviews to ascertain the parent’s understanding and progress.
CCSER will produce a final report to outline the learning and progress that the families have made, including prospect of sustained change.