Falkirk Council and its partners are celebrating 20 years of Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) with a new publication highlighting the people, partnerships and practice supporting children, young people and families across the Falkirk District.

Falkirk Council says:

“Over the past two decades, GIRFEC has shaped how services and partners across Falkirk work together to support children, young people and families, with wellbeing, relationships and children’s rights at the heart of the approach.”

Getting It Right Together: 20 Years of GIRFEC in Falkirk brings together stories from across the local partnership, showcasing GIRFEC in practice across areas including early help, wellbeing, children’s rights, education, employability and Corporate Parenting. The stories highlight the importance of working together, building trusted relationships, providing support early and listening to what matters to children, young people and their families, along with shared responsibilities across services.

The publication also demonstrates the importance of partnership working across sectors, including the contribution of third sector organisations alongside statutory services, schools, families and communities.

One story shares how Aberlour worked alongside social work, CAMHS, school staff and family to support a young person experiencing difficulties during the transition at secondary school, with coordinated support shaped around the young person’s wellbeing and at their pace, guided by the young person themselves.

Other examples include:

partnership working between Speech and Language Therapy and Social Work to support care-experienced children to have their voices heard
support young people into employment
the Family Firm’s work with care-experienced young people
embedding rights-respecting practice at Windsor Park School
provision of early, joined-up support for families at risk of homelessness

The publication has been designed as an opportunity to celebrate what has been achieved over the past 20 years, the continued role of partnership working in improving outcomes for children, young people and families across Falkirk District, and recognising the importance of this work, and the people involved.

To read these examples in full, please view or download Getting It Right Together: 20 Years of GIRFEC in Falkirk as a pdf.