What happens at a Family Group Conference

The Family Group Conference Co-ordinator invites all family members (in the widest sense) to a Meeting. This may include birth family, step family, friends, adoptive family, neighbours; whoever is important to your child or children.

The Co-ordinator meets with your family before the meeting to help you understand what it will be like and what it is you are making decisions about. The meeting takes place at a place that you will feel comfortable with.

The Family Group Conference Co-ordinator is a neutral person who is there to support you and everyone involved, but they do not take sides.   

On the day of the meeting the Family Group Conference Co-ordinator will:

• Meet and greet everyone and make you feel at ease.
• Share all the necessary information at the start of the meeting.
• Make sure that the family always have private family time to discuss and plan.
• Support you in drawing up a plan that can be agreed by everyone at the meeting.
• Consider any issues of race, gender and culture and respond positively to any particular needs a family may have identified throughout the process. For example the Family Group Conference will be held in the first language of the family.
• Help any children/young people involved to find someone to support them to share their views.
  

Providing the plan keeps the child/children safe, the plan will be agreed and all involved will work to that plan. If a referrer did feel that the plan was not safe then they must explain how the child is placed at risk of harm and give the family the chance to address these concerns. Some families choose to review their plan in the future to see how it’s going.