Barnardo’s: Father-Inclusive Practice

Barnardo’s delivered a thought‑provoking session on father-inclusive practice, immersing practitioners in the realities of working effectively with dads and male carers in safeguarding and early help contexts. Throughout the workshop, practitioners explored the importance of recognising fathers as central, not peripheral, to a child’s world; interactive activities and reflective discussions challenged unconscious bias and traditional assumptions, strongly aligning with themes from recent rapid reviews which highlighted the impact of ‘hidden males’, as well as gaps in information sharing and the unintentional ‘sidelining’ of fathers upon a child’s safety, wellbeing and outcomes.