Pause is a national charity that works to improve the lives of women who have had – or are at risk of having – more than one child removed from their care, and the services and systems that affect them.
Removing a child from their family causes pain and distress to everyone involved. However, there are a significant number of families across the UK that have had multiple children removed from their care. Pause’s vision is of a society where women who experience the removal of a child into care are given the best possible support, so that it never happens more than once.
Pause was founded in Hackney in 2013 by frontline professionals who despaired at seeing women with complex needs have a child taken into care, become pregnant again, and have further children removed, with little ever being done to break this cycle. The Pause model is an innovative, dynamic, and creative approach, designed to address the specific needs of these women.
Our approach is trauma-informed and centred around an intensive, supportive and trusting relationship between a woman and their Pause Practitioner, who work together to build strong foundations for the future. Our programme enables them to take a pause, focus, and prioritise the goals they want to achieve to sustain lasting, positive change in their lives.
The Pause Programme is delivered by Pause Practices. There are currently 21 Practices operating across 27 local authorities in England. Pause has grown to be the largest provider of this type of support across the UK and we have great success at engaging women who are often seen as ‘hard to reach’. In ten years of service delivery, more than 1,600 women have completed the programme.