Birmingham Families First
The vision
Our vision is to deliver improved outcomes for children, young people and families through integrated services, delivered in partnership, at a district level.
A core principle is a passionate belief in providing earlier, more proactive and effective support to children, young people and families (in line with the current national reform direction).
District Operating Model
The operational centre piece of the work will be the implementation of a District Operating Model. This has been initially developed with representatives from across Birmingham Children and Young People’s Partnership, and we are currently developing the detailed plan for its design and initial pilot in Hodge Hill that will start from November 2025.
The priority outcomes for this work are:
- Keeping more families together
- Improving school attendance
- Improving child development in the early years
Governance
The Birmingham Families First Transformation Group oversees the programme and has the following membership:
- Sue Harrison (Executive Director, Children and Families - Birmingham City Council)
- Adrian Weissenbruch (Director of Children’s Commissioning and Performance - Birmingham City Council)
- James Thomas (Chief Executive - Birmingham Children’s Trust)
- Suzanne Cleary (Deputy Chief Executive - Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust)
- Jenny Watson (Deputy Director of Commissioning and Transformation)
- Carol McCauley (Senior Strategic Commissioner - Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism Provider Collaborative, Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust)
Birmingham Families First sits within the wider partnership and therefore will also engage partners across schools, the Integrated Care Board, wider council, police and voluntary sector as required to progress the work.
Finding out more about Birmingham Families First
Staff who work with children and families are invited to a webinar in the week of 24 November to learn about the Birmingham Families First programme and how district working will be piloted in Hodge Hill.
The webinar will be a half-hour session led by leaders from the Children’s Partnership, repeated throughout the week to give as many opportunities as possible to attend. The webinar will also be recorded and made available in early December for those who were not able to attend.
Colleagues from across the partnership who work in Hodge Hill are particularly encouraged to attend one of the sessions, but they are open to everyone who would like to find out more about this new way of working.
| Day | Time | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Monday 24 November | 12:00pm to 12.30pm | Join the 24 November lunchtime session |
| Monday 24 November | 5:00pm to 5.30pm | Join the 24 November late afternoon session |
| Tuesday 25 November | 12.30pm to 1:00pm | Join the 25 November lunchtime session |
| Tuesday 25 November | 5:00pm to 5.30pm | Join the 25 November late afternoon session |
| Wednesday 26 November | 12.30pm to 1:00pm | Join the 26 November lunchtime session |
| Wednesday 26 November | 5:00pm to 5.30pm | Join the 26 November late afternoon session |
| Thursday 27 November | 5:00pm to 5.30pm | Join the 27 November late afternoon session |
If you have any questions, email BirminghamFamiliesFirst@birminghamchildrenstrust.co.uk
Page last updated: 18 November 2025
