Health Minister, Mike Nesbitt, MLA, together with the South Eastern Trust and The Fostering Network, were delighted to host the Welsh Minister for Children and Social Care, Dawn Bowden, MS, along with a delegation from the Welsh Government and local councils, to learn about the pioneering ‘Step Up Step Down’ service at an event in Newtownards on Monday.
Parents and children were able to explain how ‘Step Up Step Down’ has positively impacted their lives, reinforcing the success and effectiveness of this model which supports families and helps prevent children from entering care.
Since its introduction in the South Eastern Trust, in partnership with The Fostering Network eight years ago, ‘Step Up Step Down’ has significantly reduced the number of children taken into care. The programme has helped over 200 children at risk of entering care to remain with their birth families. By working closely with Family Support Foster Carers, it has provided critical support to over 140 parents and carers, with over 95% of children remaining safely with their birth families. The initiative continues to make a real and lasting difference in the lives of children and families within the South Eastern Trust area.
Following its success in Northern Ireland, the service has been introduced in two local authorities in Wales, Pembrokeshire County Council and Powys County Council, supported by funding from the Welsh Government and the KPMG Foundation. The model is also being considered for implementation by the Scottish Government and several local authorities in England.
Wales currently has the highest percentage of Looked After Children in the United Kingdom per head of population and this model of care has the potential to make a significant difference in addressing this need while keeping families together.
Local parent, Toni who has been using ‘Step Up Step Down’ explained, “I came into the service in September 2024 and initially I was very hesitant, I found it very scary. I had no choice to be involved with the service due to my circumstances. Now I love it. They look after me and support me as well as the children. The children have become more confident as well and it has helped me to build on relationships.
“’Step Up Step Down’ has made a massive difference to our family, it was a change that needed to happen and it took me a while to realise that. It has changed our life.”
Welcoming the opportunity to share the success of the service, Health Minister, Mike Nesbitt said, “Listening to the parents, carers and young people involved in ‘Step Up Step Down’ was very emotional. It is a great opportunity to showcase this initiative to the Welsh Government, as Northern Ireland is leading the way with ‘Step Up Step Down’.
“This service has delivered better outcomes for parents and children, it is fantastic and it is best practice. I would like to see this as common practice across all Trusts in Northern Ireland.”
Welsh Minister Dawn Bowden added, “This is such a fantastic service and I wanted to come along to Northern Ireland to see first-hand the successful outcomes. We have started to run a couple of pilots in Wales and initial findings indicate it is starting to make an impact.
“Within Wales, we have the highest number of Looked After Children per head of population in the UK and we need to address this which we are doing in a number of ways. We have a complete transformation of the Children’s Services Programme which is aimed primarily at keeping children and families together where it is safe to do so. ‘Step Up Step Down’ would be part of this programme. We are also about to introduce legislation on the elimination of private profit from the care of Looked After Children, so all profit from children’s residential care is ploughed back in to the development of Children’s Services, which is part of a wider agenda to reduce the number of children in the care system.”
Delighted to showcase the success of ‘Step Up Step Down’, South Eastern Trust Director of Children’s Services and Social Work, Lyn Preece stated, “It is an amazing opportunity to be the leaders in the UK for ‘Step Up Step Down’. We grasped the opportunity a number of years ago when we could see just how vulnerable families can be at different crisis times in their lives
“This is an opportunity to highlight the work that has been going on over a number of years and the outcomes that it has achieved and the families that it supports. It is a wonderful opportunity for the Welsh delegation to take this information back to their own areas and develop it in a way that works. We are so proud of it.
“Step Up Step Down’ supports families at times of crisis, it not only supports those families out in the community, it supports foster families too. We have a range of Foster Carers who go above and beyond supporting other Foster Carers who are experiencing a crisis or trouble with young people and with their children. They can step in when families need it most, step up those support services to be able to assist families and then to be able to step away again, so when families move out of that crisis they are not bombarded by services and support when they don’t need it and it is there in the background and can be implemented at any time they need. It is a very innovative and creative service.”
Jade Irwin who leads ‘Step Up, Step Down’ with The Fostering Network, commented, “It is very exciting to showcase the fabulous work of ‘Step Up Step Down’ to both Minister Nesbitt and Minister Bowden. The impact that we are seeing for families, children, young people and parents is incredible. It is about keeping children at home with their birth families, who should stay at home, which is the best outcome.
“We are delighted that so far, 95% of children have been able to remain at home with their birth families, so we need ‘Step Up Step Down’ to be platformed and rolled out. We have had an amazing partnership with the South Eastern Trust to develop’ Step Up Step Down’, they have been innovative and really willing to try something new. It has taken a lot of commitment and hurdles to overcome, but most importantly the families have been in the driving seat and that is why we are seeing positive outcomes. It is “home-grown” here in Northern Ireland and we are really proud of it.”
The event highlighted the importance of collaboration and knowledge-sharing in developing innovative solutions to social care challenges. The South Eastern Trust and The Fostering Network remain committed to supporting families and ensuring that ‘Step Up Step Down’ continues to change lives for the better.
