What We Do

 The project has three aims:

  1. Developing a coherent, transferrable and scalable model of ‘Migrant Aware Practice’ for children and families with NRPF.

  2. Reducing numbers of families needing support under section 17 of the Children Act as a result of destitution.

  3. Development of interdisciplinary and multi-agency practice both within the council and with other local partners to improve outcomes for children and families.

  

These aims are achieved through the following six outcomes: 

 

  1. Reduction in the numbers of repeat referrals of families with NRPF to the local authority. 

  2. Reduction in the need for families to depend on local authorities for support and relieving pressure on resources required within the  local authority to support families with NRPF

  3. Improvement in the wellbeing of families with NRPF

  4. Development of a model of practice which could be scaled to other local authorities including:

    • An open access NOREAM manual which can be used by other authorities

    • A NOREAM training programme for other authorities based on the manual.

    • Working papers and articles outlining the NOREAM process and emerging good practice as the programme develops.

  5. Increase in multi-agency support for children and families with NRPF through publication of MAP strategy in each borough. 

  6. Better coordination of support for people with NRPF across the different council directorates to reduce the likelihood of people suffering harm or neglect because of their NRPF status (Farmer 2017, Jolly 2018, Oliver 2019).


The following four programme activities are designed to achieve these outcomes:

  1. Development of transferrable NOREAM manual and supporting materials

  2. Early action Teams in each authority (1 social worker, 1 immigration advisor and 1 housing support worker) delivering a solution-focused intervention to people with NRPF at risk of destitution. 

  3. Monthly multi-agency Statutory Neglect Assessment Conference (SNAC) to advise on complex cases, including partners in Adult Services and the Housing Directorate.

  4. Publication of a borough-wide strategy for ‘Migrant Aware Practice’ (MAP)


Although the project team are all experienced in delivering services for children and families with NRPF, the NOREAM model itself is new, so the first three months of the programme will involve project development in consultation with a steering group comprising partners in the voluntary sector and families with experience of having NRPF. This user involvement and support from the voluntary sector will be key to the success of the programme, with the aim of applying the learning from case reviews where the specialist expertise of local migrant organisations was not effectively utilised (Perry 2018).


There is a growing research literature that explores the poverty and exclusion that children and families with NRPF experience (Farmer 2017; Dickson, 2020). Theoretical approaches have explored the ways that this exclusion can be understood through the lens of neglect (Jolly 2018; Oliver 2019). However, these research insights have not been applied to social work practice with this group of children and families. Similarly, the principles of Early Help or Early Intervention are well evidenced in other childcare contexts (EIF, 2018), however, local authority support for children and families with NRPF has often focused on crisis intervention after other options have been exhausted. NOREAM is an attempt to improve outcomes for children and families by applying this research evidence to social work practice.