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Ethos & Culture Day Report and Appendices
Ethos & Culture Day
Working Better Together for Families
In April 2026, CHEXS brought together partners from education, health, housing, local government, community organisations, the voluntary sector and business for a shared Ethos & Culture Day.
The purpose of the day was simple: to step back from day-to-day pressures and ask whether we are truly working as a connected system around families, or simply working alongside each other.
Families do not experience services separately. They experience life as a whole. A child may be a pupil in school, a patient in health, part of a household facing housing pressure, and a young person growing up in their local community. The same families often move between different services while carrying the same pressures.
The day created space for honest reflection, shared learning and practical discussion around early help, prevention, trust, communication and partnership working. It was not a project launch or consultation exercise, but a culture and prevention alignment session focused on strengthening what already works and identifying where partners can act earlier together.
Across the discussions, one message came through clearly: there is no lack of care, commitment or effort across the system. The challenge is consistency. Families can still face unclear pathways, repeated storytelling, delays, thresholds and gaps between services, particularly during times of transition or increased pressure. The report captures the learning from the day, including lived experience, survey responses, table discussions, shared system themes, case studies and a practical roadmap for what happens next.
The next step is to move from shared understanding into practical action. This means starting small, learning together and showing what earlier, more connected working can look like in real life for families and professionals across Broxbourne.
Download & Read the full Ethos & Culture Day Report and Appendices below
Key Themes Emerging Across the System
Strong Commitment Across Services
Partners across education, health, housing, local government, community organisations and the voluntary sector share a strong commitment to improving outcomes for children, young people and families. Many examples of effective partnership working already exist, demonstrating the dedication and expertise already within the system.
Families Experience Life, Not Services
Families do not experience support through separate organisations or departments. They move between services while managing the same challenges and pressures. When systems feel fragmented, families can face repeated assessments, retelling their stories multiple times and confusion around where to access help, particularly during key transition periods.
Early Help Often Arrives Too Late
Although many services aim to provide early intervention and preventative support, families often only receive help once difficulties have escalated. This can lead to reactive responses rather than long term preventative outcomes for children and families.
Effective Partnership Working Should Not Depend on Individuals
Where collaboration works well, it is often because of strong personal relationships between professionals rather than consistent system design. While these relationships are valuable, relying on individuals can make partnership working difficult to sustain and harder to scale across services.
Communication and Information Sharing Need Greater Consistency
Inconsistent communication, unclear referral pathways and gaps in information sharing can create duplication and confusion for both professionals and families. These challenges are often most visible during transitions, including school moves and support changes around adulthood.
Relational Support Improves Outcomes
Consistent, trusted and relationship based support can have a significant positive impact across multiple areas of family life. Early, relational approaches help improve wellbeing, strengthen stability and create better outcomes across education, health, housing and community support services.
The System Already Holds Many Strengths
There was clear recognition that large scale restructuring is not necessarily required. Existing services already contain the skills, relationships, knowledge and experience needed to improve outcomes. The key challenge is creating greater alignment, earlier intervention and more consistent collaboration across the system.
A Shift Towards System Thinking
Discussions highlighted the importance of moving away from isolated organisational thinking towards a more joined up, family focused approach. This means considering how systems work collectively for families, rather than focusing only on individual service responsibilities.
Prevention Should Be Embedded Into Everyday Practice
Prevention is most effective when it becomes part of everyday practice across all services and organisations. Rather than being viewed as a separate programme or short term initiative, preventative support works best when it is consistently embedded into the way professionals work with children, young people and families every day.
