Families First Reforms Update: Next Stage of Our Journey - October 2026

Over the coming weeks, Barnet Children and Family Services will be moving into a transitional period as we prepare to launch our new Families First operating model.

Across Children's Services and with our partners, new teams are being established, services are being brought together in different ways, and new approaches are being introduced to help us deliver a more joined-up, family-centred system.

An exciting step forward as we progress to a system that is simpler and easier for families to access and navigate is the transition to new service names. You will see these names appearing across our reports, referral forms, websites, guidance, meetings and communications.

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New Service Names Coming This Autumn

Why are we changing the names?

The language we use matters.

The names we use can influence how families feel when seeking support. For some families, terms such as "MASH", "social care" or "child protection" can feel intimidating or difficult to understand.

We want our language to be clearer, kinder and more reflective of what our services do, making it easier for families to find help, understand services and access support when they need it.

While some of the names are changing, our commitment to children, young people and families remains the same.

Service Name Changes

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What Do the New Names Mean?

Family Access and Support (formerly MASH)

Family Access and Support remains the first point of contact for children, young people and families needing advice, information, safeguarding support or access to services.

The new name better reflects its role as a place where families can seek support, guidance and connection to services, not only where there are safeguarding concerns.

Family Support (formerly Early Help)

Family Support continues to provide a wide range of preventative, community-based and consent-based services through our Family Hubs and local partners.

The new name is simpler and easier for families to understand, focusing on what we provide rather than professional terminology.

Family Help (formerly Assessment, Intervention and Planning)

Family Help brings together support for children and families with multiple or more complex needs, ensuring families experience fewer transitions and build stronger relationships with practitioners who stay alongside them for longer.

The name reflects our focus on working with families to identify strengths, overcome challenges and create lasting change.

ROTH Service – Risk Outside the Home (formerly REACH and Contextual Safeguarding)

The ROTH Service will lead our work with adolescents who may be experiencing risks beyond the family home, including exploitation, serious youth violence, missing episodes and other extra-familial harms.

The new name better describes what the service does, rather than using professional terminology that may be unfamiliar to families.

Introducing the Multi-Agency Safety Team (MAST)

A key development within the reforms is the creation of the Multi-Agency Child Protection Team, which in Barnet we have named the Multi-Agency Safety Team (MAST).

MAST replaces the former Child Protection Conferencing and Reviewing Service and will act as Barnet's specialist child protection hub, bringing together multi-agency expertise to strengthen safeguarding, support child protection decision-making and coordinate child protection activity across the partnership.

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What Happens Next?

Over the next eight weeks, updated names will gradually appear across our systems, forms, guidance and communications.

For partners, schools and families, referral routes and service functions will largely remain the same during this period while we complete the transition to the new model.

What Partners Need to Know

The names are changing, but during transition:

• Referral routes remain largely unchanged
• Existing contacts remain in place
• Service functions continue as expected
• Updated forms, templates and guidance will be rolled out over the coming weeks

You may see both old and new names used for a short period while the changes are embedded across the partnership.

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Our Shared Ambition

Together, these changes support our vision for a system that is:

Family friendly • Relationship based • Less stigmatising • Easy to access • Focused on getting the right help at the right time

New Language. Same Strong Safeguarding. Better Experiences for Families.

Over the coming months, we will continue sharing updates and practical guidance to support everyone through the transition.

In the meantime, there are no changes to accessing support for children if concerns are present on their welfare - please continue to use https://www.barnet.gov.uk/directories/directme/multi-agency-safeguarding-hub-mash-team-childrens

Our website here at BSCP will confirm the exact dates of the changes from MASH to FAS 

Thank you for being part of this exciting next stage as we shape a more accessible, compassionate and family-friendly offer for Barnet's children, young people and families.