Knocking on social care’s door: relationship-based support for families at first presentation of need

I have worked as a manager in the public sector for the past 18 years, for both Southend Borough Council and Essex County Council, always in early intervention and prevention within children and families' directorates. I have been fortunate to have experiences of both commissioning and delivery of early intervention services and am currently in my third stint of working as part of the management team of the Essex Children & Families Hub. I am currently undertaking a research project regarding the barriers to early help with Anglia Ruskin University as part of a management degree, and in my spare time volunteer at a local soup kitchen in Southend where I live.

I qualified as a Social Worker in 2009 and have worked within Children’s Social Care Services since 2004. Throughout my Social Work career I have worked both in the Statutory Sector across both Suffolk and Essex and within the Charity Sector. Within statutory services I have practiced in variety of teams across the whole of the child’s journey, including Initial Assessment and Intervention, Children In Care and Adoption and Fostering. I became a Tea Manger in 2015 and have managed a range of teams including front line Child Protection teams, Adoption teams  and Fostering Recruitment. In 2018 I moved to Essex Children’s Social Care Services and I am currently a Team Manager within the Children and Families Hub, the front door to Essex Children’s Social Care,   as part of the Matrix Management Team.

Lauraine Portwood has held management roles in Essex since 2009, with her current role as Service Manager for the Children and Families Hub/Practice Leads starting in 2019. This role has supported Lauraine to build on her interests which include multi-agency working, early help, domestic abuse, and exploitation. Prior to holding a senior management role, Lauraine managed various teams supporting the child through their involvement with Children's Social Care, and spent a year seconded to Essex Police developing their MARAC response to high-risk domestic abuse. Lauraine is a Firstline fellow and has an active role supporting Firstiline graduates in Essex.