Torbay Council have commissioned for every primary school to access the Healing Together facilitators programme to support children, parents and carers affected by domestic abuse. They have also commissioned every early years’ setting to train their senior manager to create a trauma informed environment so babies and young children affected by domestic abuse can access early trauma informed help. The early years offering comprises of online live training, self-directed learning modules and coaching to support the implementation of learning.

Innovating Minds are working with the head of learning academy and the education safeguarding service to promote the Healing Together programme and onboard the delegates. Torbay have a bespoke landing page whereby delegates can submit their interest in the training and find out additional information.

This strategy is also in support of Operation Encompass and the work they are doing within early years.

Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) commissioned several Healing Together facilitator training places and allocated the places across four local authorities. The local authorities then allocated the training places to early help, schools and domestic abuse organisations.

Innovating Minds worked closely with Gareth Nixon (Manchester City Council Public Health ACE's & Trauma Lead ) to implement the strategy. Our work fed into the ambition to make Manchester a trauma informed city. 

Front line practitioners continue to submit pre and post programme data following their work to support children and young people affected by domestic abuse. 

The funding was allocated from the VRU education strand.

Cambridgeshire county council have heavily subsidised every primary schools to access the Healing Together facilitators programme. This has enabled at least one staff member in every school to become a Healing Together facilitator so they can support children and young people affected by domestic abuse. Each school had to contribute £300. This subsidised model was integrated to increase buy-in. The money paid by the schools was then re-invested into training more schools.

Having seen the impact of the Healing Together training and programme, Cambridgeshire also expended their offer the train their early help team and many staff within Barnardo’s.

The funding was allocated from the domestic abuse strand.

Innovating Minds has a long-standing relationship with Cheshire OPCC. Initially funding was provided via the critical support fund. The commissioned places were distributed across the four local authorities with the domestic abuse leads identifying the services/organisations that they wanted to access the Healing Together programme to support children and young people affected by domestic abuse. Schools, early help, family support teams and domestic abuse organisations were identified across the four LAs.

Additional funding was awarded via the MoJ victim support funding from 2022 to 2025. Innovating Minds have identified services/organisations that would be best placed to access the training.

In 2024, we will work closely with the OPCC to identify if existing accredited facilitators can be up-skilled to deliver the programme that resources parents and carers (foster and kinship carers) to support their children affected by domestic abuse.

Innovating Minds are also consulting with Cheshire OPCC on new technology developments that will support victims of domestic abuse access the right help at the right time.

Over 60 Healing Together facilitators training places were commissioned by Kent OPCC.  Innovating Minds identified suitable teams and services that would be able to implement the Healing Together programme to support children affected by domestic abuse. The places were offered to early help teams, schools, alternative provisions, and domestic abuse organisations. The identification and engagement with these organisations and services was supported by the early help team within Kent County council. 

 The funding was allocated by the Police and Crime Commissioner from the MoJ Victim Support fund. The funding is between 2022 to 2025.

Salutem Care & Education are on a journey to implementing trauma informed practice within their children’s residential care homes.

They have committed to their front-line support staff to access the Healing Together programmes that support children with anxiety and angry feelings. Managers and deputy managers will access the Trauma Informed Practitioner training. 

Salutem have recognised that children in care have experienced trauma and therefore require support from support staff that are trauma informed practitioners. 

Dr Asha Patel is also providing consultation to support the implementation of a strategic plan to develop a trauma informed service.

Find out more about the Salutem’s journey and experience of the Healing Together programme.

Innovating Minds was awarded critical support funding which enabled us to work strategically with Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner. The training places were awarded to community youth workers within the councils and front-line domestic abuse organisations.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner

Innovating Minds was awarded CADA funding which enabled us to work strategically with six local authorities.

The training places were made available to a wide range of services, including local early help teams and specialist domestic abuse services. In one local authority, the schools’ behaviour support traded service were also trained and have continued to deliver the Healing Together programme.

Due to the success, additional places were procured by the service to increase the revenue generated by delivering the Healing Together programme within schools.