Family Compass: Empowering Families through Shared Decision-Making

Completely different from when we were young, and the most positive we have ever been to.

—Care Experienced Parents

The Family Compass test of change aimed to understand whether children, young people, parents, and carers could be more meaningfully involved in Child Protection Planning Meetings and Looked After Reviews through chairing or co-chairing these meetings.

The evaluation explored whether this approach strengthened participation, amplified the voice of the child, improved shared decision-making, reduced power imbalances, and aligned with the promise and rights-based practice.

We spoke with Fiona Di Duca, formally Quality Assurance Review Officer for South Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership where she led this test of change, to learn more. Fiona is now an Independent Decision Maker at Renfrewshire Council, where she plans to trial the approach again.

What did you do?

Family Compass was trialled over six months (April to October 2025) across 20 meetings involving 21 children and young people. A range of children, young people, parents, carers, practitioners, and multi-agency partners took part.

Fiona said:

The approach enabled children, young people, parents, carers, and a kinship carer to chair or co-chair meetings alongside a facilitator. Support included pre-meeting preparation and emotional support, co-chairing scripts and agendas, accessible and visual participation tools, age-appropriate adaptations, and post-meeting reflection and support.

What helped, and what got in the way? 

Fiona learned that thorough preparation and emotional support before, during and after meetings was essential to ensuring the meetings were positive and productive. This was supported by strong relationships between facilitators, families, and practitioners.

She also found that using visual and accessible tools and adapting each meeting to suit the individual needs and circumstances of the child or young person helped support an environment where everyone felt empowered to contribute.

But there were also challenges in trying a new approach.

Fiona said:

Some practitioners and carers expressed anxiety around the chairing and co-chairing approach. This also required additional time commitment from Fiona due to the preparation involved and this would need to be consider in the context of implementing the approach. Also, not all partners had awareness of the project which affected consistency of the offer to families.

The complex circumstances of each family could also be difficult to navigate. Some families declined the opportunity to chair or co-chair meetings, preferring more traditional formats and there were concerns that the model may be more challenging in some permanence planning situations.

What did you learn?

Evidence was gathered through baseline audits, interviews, written feedback, observations, reflective notes, and reviews of meeting documentation. Professionals were also consulted before and after meetings to support learning and evaluation.

The evaluation found that Family Compass:

• Increased participation and engagement from children, young people, parents, and carers.
• Helped families feel more involved, listened to, and in control of decisions affecting them.
• Created a greater sense of emotional safety, with parents frequently describing meetings as feeling "safe".
• Improved children's participation, particularly when parents or carers co-chaired meetings.
• Increased professional confidence in more collaborative and child-centred approaches.
• Demonstrated that meetings can remain effective while being more inclusive, relationship-based, and less formal.
• Supported the need for an adaptable, trauma-informed approach as not all families will want or feel ready to participate in this way.

Fiona reflected:

It was clear from the evaluation that trying something different and working through challenges, while remaining flexible, can support better outcomes for children, young people, and families.

What difference did it make?

Everyone contributed fully, and I felt supported and important as Fiona came to my house, helped me prepare and brought me into the meeting like I was the most important person to my granddaughter. I felt proud of everything I have achieved to care for her.

—Kinship Carer

Family Compass resulted in more inclusive, child-centred, and collaborative meetings. Families reported better experiences overall, greater confidence in expressing their views, and a stronger sense of ownership over plans. Children and young people were more actively involved, meetings were generally more relaxed and less intimidating, and professionals recognised the value of shared decision-making.

Fiona highlights:

The project demonstrated that empowering families to lead or co-lead meetings can strengthen participation, improve relationships, and support South Ayrshire's commitment to the promise and rights-based practice.

Why does this matter?

If my granddaughter had been at the meeting today, I think it would have helped her knowing her gran was involved in this way and about how much she is loved and cared for.

—Kinship Carer

‘If my granddaughter had been at the meeting today, I think it would have helped her knowing her gran was involved in this way and about how much she is loved and cared for’- Kinship Carer

Fiona explains: “Family Compass proves that child protection and care planning meetings don’t need to feel intimidating, overly professional-led, and difficult for children, young people, and families to participate in meaningfully.

“Through challenging traditional power imbalances and creating opportunities for families to lead discussions and influence decisions that affect their lives, statutory meetings can remain effective while becoming more inclusive, empowering, trauma-informed, and family-led.”

Could your local area or service try a similar approach? Here are some key lessons to keep in mind:

• Invest in preparation. Meaningful participation starts before the meeting. Time spent preparing children, young people, and parents builds confidence and reduces anxiety.
• Facilitation is critical. Successful co-chairing relies on skilled facilitators who can create emotional safety, manage power dynamics, translate professional language, and support shared decision-making.
• Start with willing participants but build confidence to include more complex situations. Early success was achieved by working with families who were open to the approach, but valuable learning was also gained from introducing it in more challenging circumstances.
• Use accessible and flexible tools. Visual aids, prompts, emotion cards, meeting rules, and adapted communication methods helped make meetings more understandable and engaging for children and families.
• Prepare professionals as well as families. Some anxiety from professionals stemmed from uncertainty about the new approach. Early communication, training, and reflective discussions help create confidence and buy-in.
• Accept that one size does not fit all. Not every family will want to chair or co-chair a meeting. However, offering genuine choice is itself an important element of participation and person-centred practice.
• Embed continuous learning. Ongoing evaluation, reflective discussions, and toolkit development are essential to refining and scaling the approach successfully.

Fiona concluded:

This approach will not be right for every family, but offering genuine choice and sharing decision-making power can transform the experience of meetings from something that is done to families into something that is done with them.

Ultimately, Family Compass demonstrated that meaningful participation is not achieved through a single tool or meeting format; it is achieved by creating conditions where children and families feel safe, valued, and empowered to influence the plans and decisions that shape their lives.