The First Word gives children and young people the first say in everything from how they want to be defined, to how they would like to be supported. It was created so that the first impression is made by children and young people themselves, rather than by whatever might have been written about them in the past in their files.
It also lets them set preferences and boundaries in advance, for example by asking not to be met with during lunchtimes at school to avoid missing out on time with friends, saying what topics they're not up for discussing on the first visit, or what would make them feel best supported.
We live in a fast-paced world where it is rare to meet someone out of the blue without context or a digital introduction, yet children and young people are expected to allow relative strangers into their lives day in day out. The First Word exists to strengthen relationships from day one, to give children and young people agency and choice, and to allow for a mutual getting to know you.