On 15 December 2022, Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner, published ‘A positive approach to parenting: Part 2 of the Independent Family Review’.  The Children’s Commissioner wants the review to achieve a ‘paradigm shift’ which would ‘put strong and loving families front and centre of our politics and policy making’ and help to change attitudes and overcome barriers to parents receiving the support they want and need.

Alongside the review, the Children’s Commissioner published three reform guides ‘addressing some of the thorniest issues when it comes to reforming and integrating different public services.’

One of these guides is the ‘Outcomes framework: Annex to a positive approach to parenting: Part 2 of the independent Family Review’.

To inform this work, the Office of the Children’s Commissioner drew heavily on the joint report by Kindred Squared and The For Baby’s Sake Trust, ‘Children and families: towards a core outcome framework’ and the discussions that The For Baby’s Sake Trust, Kindred Squared and the Early Intervention Foundation had been convening with multi-agency and multi-disciplinary professionals on this theme of common outcomes.

Building on this work to produce their report, the Office of the Children’s Commissioner (CCo) convened a workshop with over 50 professionals from different services to hear presentations (including from the Trust’s Director of Strategic Partnerships), share challenges, expertise and best practice.  The CCo also drew on best practice in how to go about creating an outcomes framework, including the learning from creating the Core Outcome Set for domestic abuse services for children and families (where The For Baby’s Sake Trust had been a co-instigator and remains on the steering group).

The CCo ‘Outcomes Framework’ guide explains: ‘A high-level outcomes framework which is seeking positive outcomes for children and families is vital. Too often, services are working in siloes, working to different objectives based on their work with an individual, rather than seeing the family as a whole. This can mean too many families and children fall through the gaps in provision and struggle to support each other effectively.’

In response, the CCO propose the creation of a high-level outcomes framework, set out in the diagram below, which can be adopted by all services at a national, local and individual level.

This framework resonates with what children, parents and families have been telling the Children’s Commissioner, including through ‘The Big Ask’ and contributions to the Independent Family Review.

The Outcomes Framework guide includes important findings from correlating the data that the CCo gathered from The Big Ask, about children’s happiness with different aspects of life.  This included the finding that children who were happy with their family life were three times more likely to say they were happy with their mental health.

The CCO recommends that the outcomes framework should be easily accessible with the detail of how the outcomes might be achieved – possible indicators and metrics – sitting below the outcomes.

The Children’s Commissioner recommends a task-and-finish group to provide high level guidance on the application of outcomes frameworks across the public sector, suggesting that this group’s considerations should include:

• A common set of definitions
• Clarity that an outcome should be a positive and tangible difference to the lives of a person or group of people
• A plan to improve the use of outcome metrics which can accurately capture tangible improvements in the situation of children and families, drawing on existing work to develop metrics around child wellbeing, domestic violence, reducing parental conflict, and consider how their take-up could be encouraged in relation to the Supporting Families outcomes framework, the Start for Life outcomes framework and children’s social care outcomes.

 The For Baby’s Sake Trust warmly welcomes the report and recommendations of the Children’s Commissioner, which recognises how an effective outcomes framework can drive system change. It is positive to see the joint emphasis on family outcomes and children’s outcomes, alongside recognition of the role of parents and the importance of empowering them.  We particularly encourage a whole-family approach, recognising of course, as articulated by the Children’s Commissioner, that ‘family comes in many forms’ and  ‘while the composition of families may change, their importance does not’.

Our Founding Chairman, Stelio Stefanou OBE, DL, stepped down from The For Baby’s Sake Trust Board at the end of the Trustees’ Board meeting on 8 December 2022.  Dame Lin Homer is now Chair and Adam Shutkever is Vice Chair.

Stelio Stefanou established the charity in 2008 with a vision to protect and improve the life-chances of babies who are at risk and unable to tell others. Evidence about the scale of domestic abuse, and about how babies are particularly affected, led Stelio and the charity to focus on empowering parents to break cycles of domestic abuse and give their baby the best start.

Alongside an extraordinary philanthropic commitment, Stelio’s visionary leadership has been central to the Trust’s achievements in the past 14 years.  Shaped by Stelio’s determination to tackle root causes, his commitment to cross-sectoral partnership working and the values he instilled, the charity created For Baby’s Sake to work with both parents and the whole family. The academic team evaluating For Baby’s Sake found it to be the first known programme to overcome existing limitations of whole-family responses to domestic abuse.

Stelio’s innovative flair was also instrumental to the creation of the nationally-available For Baby’s Sake CONNECT delivery channel, quickly spotting that positive experience of delivering the programme through video and audio calls during lockdown meant that a team could work with families living anywhere in the country.

During his tenure chairing the charity, Stelio was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant of Hertfordshire. In 2016/17, he served as High Sheriff of Hertfordshire and during that year found creative ways to further cross-sectoral partnerships and relationships, notably to enable the courts and other agencies to build mutual understanding and develop Hertfordshire’s response to domestic abuse.

Mindful that succession planning is vital for all charities, Stelio concluded that the time was right in 2022 to step down from the Board, as the Trust moves into the next phase of its development.

In stepping down, Stelio paid tribute to the value of everyone’s contribution and the power of the team effort, which he credited for “making For Baby’s Sake such a powerful tool for tackling domestic abuse and intergenerational trauma”.  Addressing trustees, senior leadership and all our teams, Stelio said: 

“It has been such an enormous privilege to work with so many people who are all intent on doing the right thing with an open heart.  I know you will go from strength to strength – because those babies and parents need you. Through your work, you really are making the world a better place.”

On taking as Chair of the Board of Trustees, Dame Lin said: 

“The Board and staff are deeply grateful to Stelio Stefanou for his vision, innovation, commitment, generous philanthropy, strategic wisdom and leadership, which have brought the Charity successfully to this point, and are grateful that he will continue to be a valued and important supporter of the Charity.” 

Addressing Stelio, Dame Lin added:

“Stelio, since first meeting you decades ago across a negotiating table, I have always found you ambitious for people, fearless, honest and full of humanity.  You inspire me with hope for the future.”