Keys to the Future: Family homelessness, the forgotten needs of children

Learning Partnership | Service Design

Barnardo’s

Keys to the Future is a joint learning partnership between Barnardo’s and Dartington that seeks to embed the Rapid-cycle design and testing approach to the design, implementation and refinement of homelessness provision and sustainability planning in North Lanarkshire for families.

 

 The need

Previous research has highlighted a systemic failure to understand and respond to children’s needs when families are presenting as homeless. In response, Barnardo’s have been designing and delivering Keys to the Future to support children and families impacted by homelessness in North Lanarkshire. Barnardo’s team have been working with key stakeholders from across education, social work, health and housing to help improve homelessness policy and processes. Barnardo’s are building upon existing relationships within North Lanarkshire to help design and deliver an approach that ensures homelessness policy and practice is child-centred and trauma-informed – adhering to principles and commitments of The Promise and UNCRC. 

Our response

The Dartington team will be working alongside Barnardo’s Keys to the Future team to implement a rapid-cycle design testing (RCDT) approach, which will encompass three tests-and-learn cycles. 

These cycles are designed to generate ‘three-tier’ learning for:  

  1. Project team level: Providing the structure and tools to help the Keys to the Future team and local partners embed the Rapid-cycle Design and Testing approach in the design, implementation and refinement of homelessness provision and sustainability planning in North Lanarkshire.  

  2. Barnardo’s Foundation level: Creating facilitated spaces to surface and aggregate up learning (via themes) about undertaking investments in developmental and summative approaches tackling systemic challenges.   

  3. National policy and practice level: Designing from the outset an approach which has impact at scale in mind, and the focus upon producing contextualised, yet generalisable evidence that can be used to shape policy and practice across different areas in Scotland.   

 
 

 For more information, contact:   

Annalise Clelland