Thinking Family Acting Family

A collaboration between a leading Scottish child and family welfare organisation and Dr Gary Clapton of University of Edinburgh that researched the experiences of parents receiving a service from Circle (Scotland)

A study of Family Support Workers in action

A‘whole family’ approach to family difficulties has been
praised and recommended as the most helpful involvement
that can be adopted by child welfare and protection
agencies, yet this is more honoured in theory than in
practice. More often than not, in children and families work,
child protection takes precedence. We identify what helped to resolve
problems from the parents’ perspectives. We learn that
practical, emotional and connecting support is important, as
is the value base, flexibility, responsivity and relational style
of practitioners in helping both individual family members
and families as whole to move beyond complex sets of
interplaying factors that inhibit a resilient family life.