We have developed the Suffolk Approach to suit our context, building on Sign of Safety and solution-focused practice and including other key elements which are used in combination:
- Signs of Safety values and behaviours,
- An overarching comprehensive assessment framework for conversation, thinking and analysis,
- Ways to work with people and family’s naturally connected networks,
- Solution building principles and skills,
- Acknowledging, validating and responding to people’s everyday lived experiences,
- Theory and research,
- We have developed our approach in response to learning from practice, and we use the approach to inform the development of our policies, procedures and conversations across both the people directorates.
The Suffolk Approach balances risk and safety, concern and hope, because focusing on strengths and solutions does not mean ignoring challenges or spinning struggles into strengths.
The Suffolk Approach will look and feel slightly different to other local authorities who use Signs of Safety. We have changed our approach in response to learning from practice, and we use the approach to inform the development of our policies and procedures across both the people directorates.
Suffolk offer a high quality and comprehensive learning and development programme to all staff and partners, to support their use of the approach. It was noted in the 2019 Ofsted report, when Suffolk were graded ‘Outstanding’, that our implementation of the practice approach was exemplary.
