Support was requested from the service to support a family in need of additional support. This was due to concerns around behaviour of some of the children and the strategies employed by the parents to deal with these. At the beginning of the support, the mother was not able to be in the family home.

Staff began providing support at a high level of intensity throughout the day to conduct observations where they were then able to implement responsive techniques for the father to use. These prompted praises and a change in the children’s responses to requests.

Hygiene routines were a particularly challenging aspect of the daily routine for the family. Staff were able to support the family to change this into a positive game for them such as “Who can get upstairs fastest?” Treat and reward boxes were used to great effect with the children that were showing challenges at bath-time, both to get in and out of the bath.

Over time the father was able to become more creative with these routines making them more positive experiences all round, along with reflection discussions and taking on advice from staff in these areas.

We were able to support the transition of the mother back into the family home at the correct time and continued to provide support to them as they readjusted to their new normal. Staff were able to support them in integrating the mother back into the routines and systems that they now had in place. The parents continued to keep all the responsibilities that they had such as attending mental health appointments, and school meetings when necessary. The support was able to be reduced from a highly intense 7-day service, to a once a week visit to ensure all plans and strategies were still being adhered to and at this time the family are still going well.