Jay Goulding, our Manager for Strengths-based Practice, is a former consultant social worker and has first-hand experience of this powerful approach. In this blog, he reflects on celebrating this important milestone.
“I can think of no intervention in children's services that has a stronger positive evidence base than the intensive family support model used by Integrated Family Support Teams. The intensive family support approach has been shown to consistently reduce the need for children to go into care—and it does not just keep families together, it saves money.” - Professor Donald Forrester
In early November, people from across Wales gathered in Welshpool to celebrate 15 years of Integrated Family Support Teams (IFST). Myself and others at Social Care Wales helped to co-organise and host the event with Integrated Family Support Services (IFSS) colleagues. The focus was on building relationships, support and improvement, aligning with Ymlaen: our research, innovation and improvement strategy for social care.
This wasn’t just an anniversary - it was a chance to reflect on how far we’ve come, reconnect with the values that guide us, and look ahead to the future.
What is the IFST model?
The IFST model was introduced in 2010 to support families facing complex challenges. Rhoda Emlyn-Jones OBE reminded us on the day that it was developed to counter the negative impact that some interventions can have on families.
This approach helps practitioners to:
- take a holistic approach
- build on existing strengths
- apply evidence and knowledge
- promote collaborative conversations
- empower families to understand their circumstances
- facilitate meaningful change.
Event highlights
Stories, research, and reflection
The day began with introductions from Paul Regimbal, a team manager in the Pembrokeshire IFSS, setting the tone for a programme that blended history, evidence, and lived experience. Rhoda spoke passionately about relationship-based practice and its role in implementing the ambitions of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 - reminding us that “we can’t afford not to have collaborative conversations.”
One of the most moving moments came when Cheryl King, a consultant social worker in Pembrokeshire IFST, shared a Most Significant Change (MSC) story from someone with lived experience. This story illustrated the transformative impact of IFSS and sparked rich discussions about values, principles, and the power of writing therapeutic letters directly to the family.
“Staff across Wales were able to join each other, build connections whilst visiting research and practice methodology that’s current and effective, which invigorated practitioners, helping them to maintain connection with their values.”
- Participant feedback
Our Research Officer Dr Grace Krause led a session on building trust with marginalised families, drawing on her evidence summary. Emma Taylor-Hill, our Knowledge Mobilisation Manager, then led a reflection session. Themes of poverty, bias, and the need to engage fathers resonated strongly, as did the importance of reflective supervision in exploring values and assumptions.
Donald’s session on motivational interviewing and rights-based practice challenged us to think deeply about conflict, inequality, and the gap between rhetoric and reality. His ambition was clear: “to create a liberal and humane society” and he reminded us that rights-based practice goes beyond strengths-based approaches.
Nick Andrews from Developing Evidence Enriched Practice (DEEP) and Michael Gray, Director of Social Care and Housing, Pembrokeshire County Council, introduced MSC as a dialogue-based approach for learning and evaluation. They highlighted the method’s ability to address power imbalances and create learning environments where people can relate to one another. As Michael noted, MSC connects people on an emotional level and exposes the limitations of purely quantitative evaluation. Nick’s recent blog also explores how MSC is being used as a learning-focused approach to evaluation in Wales.
Why IFST matters
Donald offered a crucial reminder on the day:
“…the evidence shows us one other important fact: IFSS only produces these effects when it is done well. It does not work when you do not do it properly—it has to be genuinely a crisis intervention service, with low caseloads, very high levels of input and using approaches like motivational interviewing.”
Staying true to the original model while also pushing for system change is both a challenge and an opportunity.
The outcomes that matter most include:
- keeping families together
- reducing inequality
- creating conditions for change.
We closed with a panel discussion on system change, which I was privileged to facilitate. The conversation focused on influencing leaders and changing narratives because real transformation happens when we shift the way we think and talk about families.
The event was a powerful reminder that the IFST model isn’t just a service. It’s a movement built on evidence, values, and relationships. Our goals are to keep learning, connecting, and shaping a humane, strengths-based system that’s truly transformative for the families we support.
