WHAT WE DO
Welcome! If you’ve landed on this page, we’re guessing you’re curious to learn more of the specifics about what we do and the theory behind it.
Below you’ll find the big dream we’re working towards, the steps we’re taking to make that dream a reality and the values that underpin our work and make our approach a little different.
If you’re looking for our Theory of Change, you can download a summary version here or the full version here (or click the “Download Here” image).
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We’re working to ensure children all over the world grow up in an environment where they:
And, at SFAC, the most effective way we can do this is by working with people involved in child protection and care:
From professionals and practitioners (e.g. social workers, psychologists, community workers, lawyers & judges, and even politicians!),
to small grassroots community organisations and large international charities & NGOs providing support to children and families,
as well as governments and judiciaries who make decisions about how individual children are protected and cared for and write policies, create child care and protection systems and fund programmes in their country or region.
This means that while we’re a children’s charity, we actually work with adults!
Through training, mentoring and consultation,
our team of expert trainers equip people involved in child protection and care with
the skills, knowledge and resources
needed to provide the highest quality of care and protection
to every child and family they work with.
The support we provide is:
Multidisciplinary
Protecting and caring for children is most effective when all the systems involved are working together. Our team includes qualified and experienced professionals from social work, therapeutic care and legal disciplines.
Collaborative
SFAC recognises that each child, family, culture, context, practitioner, organisation, and country is unique.
This means every need is different and so every solution must be too.
Effective services are those that are locally led and relevant to culture, law, resources, and the context organisations work in. They also need to reflect the needs of the children and the knowledge and skills of your staff.
SFAC, therefore, works in partnership and by invitation only, utilising our team’s expertise and international experience to provide advice and support for your projects.
You remain in charge, able to adapt, use, or reject our advice as you choose.
Long term
Safe, sustainable change takes time; we have no time limits and no time pressures. We work with organisations and practitioners at your pace, when you want our assistance.
We’re not just here for a one-off training workshop but are available to help you implement and integrate your new knowledge and skills for as long as needed and wanted. We help develop safe, sustainable solutions that develop over time, often with a combination of training workshops, mentoring sessions, reviews, exchanges, and more at different times throughout the partnership.
Based on Knowledge and Experience
Our trainers are all qualified in their fields and have many years of experience in direct practice. They are based across several countries, and many have lived and worked in countries other than their country of origin. This is combined with SFAC’s 20+ years working in the field of international child protection and social work. We bring all of these elements alongside international research to offer practical, practitioner-focused advice to those working in the care and protection of children.
SFAC focuses on practice and equipping and empowering staff, systems, and services to work effectively in the best interests of the child.
Accessible
Whether you’re a community group of volunteers, a large international charity/NGO, a government agency or judiciary SFAC is there for you. With a sliding scale of charges, we ensure all organisations can access our services when they need them regardless of size and financial wealth.
We have adapted our work for all levels of literacy and have many visual resources designed to be used without the need for translation. Most of our staff have extensive experience working through translation to ensure we are accessible to as many people as possible.