How to deliver family friendly Britain? Put families in charge
The 2010 general election was a landmark event which saw all three main parties highlighting families in their political manifestos. For the first time across the political spectrum, the family was being placed at the heart of a vision for society with commitments to make Britain a country that supports and nurtures families - a truly family friendly country.
Yet, eighteen months on, all parties are still having some difficulty in defining just what this means and how it can be delivered.Yes of course it means good buggy access to public buildings and transport, decent family orientated services and employment opportunities that allow families to balance home and work.There is still much to do in most of these areas but the pathway for the future is increasingly clear.
But would-be voters instinctively know that a family friendly country means more than this.The question is: If it’s about more than employment law and service delivery, is it something that government - national or local - could or should do something about?The families who talk with 4Children answer with a resounding yes.
A year ago, 4Children reported on one of the most extensive consultations and dialogues with families this country has ever seen. The Family Commission, chaired by Esther Rantzen had travelled the country consulting with 10,000 families about their lives, their aspirations, what held them back and what could take them forward. The Commission found optimism - families positive about their future and determined to do everything within their powers to help their family 'get ahead'; it found resilience - with families constantly evolving to face the new challenges and it found frustration with government and services that did not only fail to understand what families need but actively seemed to be working against them.
Take a look at these findings.When asked how ‘family friendly’ job centres and employment support were (there to support family members to find jobs to become and remain financially independent) only 3% of people thought they were. Local councils (there to create and support positive and flourishing communities) did little better with only 8% believing that they were.Even family services fell short of the family friendly mark for many with just 27% of people thinking childcare could be described as putting families first and 45% of schools. Let's be clear, families wanted and valued these services but there was something about the way they were being run that prevented them from gaining the full potential of support they needed from them.
For all those seeking a more outcome focus to services there is a strong lesson here:you won't get the most from the money you spend on services and you won't make the differences for families that you need to do UNLESS you change the way the service is delivered to make it 'family friendly'.Even relatively new and highly regarded services such as Sure Start Children's Centres need to reflect.The advice and support on offer to families is literally changing lives but think how much more could be achieved if you put families in the driving seat.These valuable services now need to be remodelled, improved and added to in innovative ways that work for families and that offer more to the community as a whole.
But it was those families with the most complex needs that felt most let down by a system that was felt to work against them rather than for them.Time and time again with worrying consistency, families told us of services and professionals who did not understand their lives and aspirations; when they asked for help when problems occurred none was available and when problems escalated into crisis, they were overwhelmed by a system that treated them as a failure with the scrutiny and disempowerment that this affords.“The state ignores us when we need help” we were told, “and then when we hit a crisis they are on our backs”. This is not a system designed to think ahead, maximise potential and prevent crisis.All of the things families want and need it to be.
Little surprise we called the report ‘Starting a Family Revolution’ with a call to put families in charge.This is the scale of the challenge and the scale of culture change we need to see to begin to make a difference. So what are the fundamentals that need to change?What would families make different if they were in charge? Let's start with the basics:
1.Families are assets not problems – until we realise this we won’t get anywhere.
2.Families are problem solvers – families want to shape and deliver their own solutions and want the help and support to do so.
3.Families want to help each other – 91% of people in a recent poll we commissioned told us that they would be prepared to help struggling families in their neighbourhood – let’s release that potential.
BUT that doesn’t mean that there is no role for the state – far from it.Families want help and services but they want the right kind of help – help that is available early and locally as difficulties arise; help that is practical and helps them resolve their difficulties – not just endless assessments of risk; and help that empowers and strengthens them to develop as a family unit.
Family friendly means a state that understands these things and works ALONGSIDE families to help them flourish.
So is any of this possible?Certainly it is a challenge at every level - from Government systems to professionals delivering the services and support. This means a major mind-shift and in some cases a totally different starting point.
But 4Children remains confident that it is very possible.The recent commitment from the Prime Minister’s to a Family Test across Government is a start.First proposed by 4Children as a recommendation in its Family Commission last year it has the potential to provide a powerful catalyst for change across Government by considering whether policies strengthen rather than weaken families.
Now putting families in charge of conducting the test would make it even more radical.
