East Sussex Children & Young People s Trust Children and Young People s Plan

Transcription

1 East Sussex Children & Young People s Trust Children and Young People s Plan Page 1 of 14

2 Contents 1. Introduction: The CYPP and Child Poverty 2. Priorities for Financial context for this Plan; strategic principles 4. Outcomes for Children and Young People: keeping an overview 5. The East Sussex Children and Young People s Trust 6. How we developed this plan: participation and engagement 7. Linked Strategies Page 2 of 14

3 Introduction: the CYPP and Child Poverty 1. This Children and Young People s Plan (CYPP) is the fourth plan that has been developed by the East Sussex Children and Young People s Trust (CYPT). The plan sets out the joint strategic priorities of the agencies which together make up the Trust partnership. 2. The aim of the CYPT is to improve outcomes for children and young people, particularly those who are vulnerable to poor outcomes. While not all children at risk of poor outcomes live in households with low income, and not all children in such households are at risk of poor outcomes, there is nevertheless a significant correlation between poverty and poor outcomes, in relation to education, health, safeguarding, housing and involvement in the criminal justice system. Much of the work of CYPT partners is designed to help families address problems which have either been (in part) caused by, or have led to, relative poverty, and to support them in moving out of poverty. This Children and Young People s Plan therefore also constitutes the statutory Child Poverty Strategy for East Sussex. It reflects and takes account of the three core aims of the national Child Poverty strategy namely: (i) (ii) (iii) Tackling child poverty now helping parents move into work, work enough hours and earn enough Supporting families living standards increasing incomes, reducing costs, preventing problem debt, tackling poor housing Preventing poor children becoming poor adults removing barriers to attainment, improving educational outcomes, raising aspirations and improving opportunities 3. This Plan, and the actions which are and will be taken in relation to it, are informed by a detailed analysis of levels of child poverty in East Sussex. Information used in the needs analysis can be viewed at the website for our Joint Strategic Needs Analysis (JSNA) The plan also takes account of wider aspects of the JSNA in relation to children and young people, and the Public Health Outcomes Framework for children and young people. A summary of key indicators and outcomes informing the plan, and our arrangements for monitoring performance is set out in paragraphs 4-25 below. Page 3 of 14

4 Priorities for the Partnership and for this Plan Over the next three years the CYPT partnership will focus attention particularly on the following six priorities. Our plans in relation to each of these issues are described in broad terms below, but we will maintain and regularly review a summary of relevant activity across the partnership. The aim of this will be to challenge ourselves as to whether our actions represent the best we can do, and how far those actions are effective. 1. Improving the school readiness of young children, particularly early communication, language development and numeracy 2. Helping more parents enter, sustain and progress in work 3. Improving the quality of life of low income families in other ways where possible 4. Maintaining and strengthening early help for vulnerable families; and ensuring effective safeguarding for all children and young people 5. Improving skill levels of young people 14-19, including through better access to a wider range of apprenticeship, vocational training and work experience opportunities as well as a strong academic route 6. Improving support to children, young people and families to help maintain and enhance emotional well-being and mental health 5. Alongside these specific priorities there are three key issues which are very important for the Children and Young People s Trust partners but which are not covered in detail in this Plan. This is because they are covered in other major plans. These three issues are: Child Sexual Exploitation Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) remains a threat to the safety and wellbeing of children and young people in East Sussex, especially the most vulnerable. The East Sussex Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) promotes an integrated approach to this threat, including proactive prevention and early intervention, supported by effective joint working between professionals and across sectors. The East Sussex LSCB details activity on CSE and provides information and resources for practitioners, parents and partners. Page 4 of 14

5 Educational Attainment The County Council s Excellence for All strategy sets out the steps the Council will be taking to ensure that all children in the county are able to attend a good school, that educational outcomes improve at all ages, and that all young people stay in education or training, including employment based training until age 18. Within this CYPP we focus particularly on the age range, but success in all aspects of the Excellence for All strategy is vital for children and young people in the county. Physical health and wellbeing The health and wellbeing of children and young people is a high priority for the East Sussex Health and Wellbeing Board. Two of the seven priorities in the East Sussex Health and Wellbeing Strategy relate specifically to children and young people; all of the five remaining priorities (including promoting healthy lifestyles) apply to the whole population including children and young people. 6. Annual monitoring reports on this CYPP will include data and information in relation to each of these three areas in addition to the specific priorities in paragraph 4 above. Improving the school readiness of young children, particularly early communication, language development and numeracy 7. We will be proactive in ensuring that implementation of the Healthy Child Programme 0-5 provides all parents with guidance on how to strengthen the early communication, language development and numeracy of babies and young children, and that the families of children who are not developing as well are offered targeted support. We will ensure that eligible families are aware of, and encouraged to take up, free early years places for two year olds and that those places are all provided through early years settings judged to be good or outstanding, where possible. We will increase the proportion of early years places provided at settings overseen by primary schools and continue to provide targeted support to improve the percentage of all settings judged good or outstanding by Ofsted. 8. All targeted early help and social care support for vulnerable families will aim to ensure that young children in those families are as school ready as possible by the time they reach school age, by ensuring both that families take up and maintain early years education places and also that they are helped where necessary to become effective early teachers of their children through play and high quality communication. Page 5 of 14

6 Helping more parents enter, sustain and progress in work 9. The Economic Development Strategy for East Sussex (2012) sets out how the County Council and partners aim to create more jobs and increase income levels in East Sussex, through a range of approaches including improving connectivity and creating the right environment for business growth. This strategy was supplemented in 2014 by the development of the ESCC Employability and Skills Strategy which sets out how the County Council, as the county s largest employer with responsibilities for education and skills development, will help create a better skilled, flexible workforce for the area and help to match that workforce with available employment opportunities. 10. In addition to the actions being taken through these strategies, all targeted early help (family keywork) and social care support for families will include active encouragement and practical help for parents to enter, sustain and progress in work and for parents to help their children understand options open to them, including: apprenticeships. We will monitor closely our success in helping parents in these families to access and maintain work. In addition we will provide and signpost support for a wider group of parents to enter employment, through support for adult learning and volunteering, and practical guidance about making applications and interviews. Through all our services we will ensure that parents are helped to understand the importance of work to the material and emotional well-being of themselves and their families. Improving the quality of life of low income families in other ways where possible 11. In addition to supporting access to employment, the county, borough and district councils in East Sussex are working in partnership to deliver a common response to the key challenges facing local residents and voluntary organisations as a result of welfare reform changes. This response is being coordinated under one project the East Sussex Welfare Reform Project. A key outcome for the project is that all residents of East Sussex affected by the reforms receive the financial support they are entitled to, so that they can retain as much income as possible, manage their home, maintain their health and wellbeing, and avoid homelessness. 12. Linked to this project, we will review the use by young people and families of temporary accommodation, how this can be reduced and how, where it is unavoidable, we can ensure the safety of young people and families. We will also take steps to improve the quality of private sector rented housing, through use of levers at our disposal. Page 6 of 14

7 Maintaining and strengthening early help for vulnerable families; and ensuring effective safeguarding for all children and young people 13. We aim to identify effectively all families who have needs at level 3 on our Continuum of Need and to provide support to as many as possible of these families through whole family keywork. All families whose needs are at level 4 will be supported either through social work teams or other specialist services, with the aim (wherever possible) of reducing the family s level of need on an appropriate timescale or (where unavoidable) making alternative arrangements to safeguard children. 14. All family keywork and social care support will aim to empower families and help them to build their own resilience. All support will follow the principles of assertive keywork and high quality relationship based practice. 15. We are introducing the national evaluated family drugs and alcohol court model to East Sussex and will extend it so that it fits our local need. As a result we expect to see more timely and effective plans in place for children whose care is affected by complex parental difficulties. 16. There will always be some children who cannot be safely cared for at home or within their wider families. Where it is clear this is the case for children we will intervene early and rigorously to find permanent or long-term alternatives, including through fostering or adoption. 17. The outcomes of keywork and social care support will be tracked using a combination of the Troubled Families Programme Family Monitoring Data and overall levels of need using our Continuum of Need. Regular reports on the outcomes achieved will be provided to CYPTEG and to the LSCB. Improving skill levels of young people 14-19, including through better access to a wider range of apprenticeship, vocational training and work experience opportunities as well as a strong academic route 18. The ESCC approach to developing the skill levels of young people is set out in detail in the council s Employability and Skills Strategy. All partners in the CYPT are committed to trying to identify more, appropriate apprenticeship and work experience opportunities for young people to help develop their skills and career opportunities. As a partnership we will monitor on a regular basis our progress in doing this and ensure good publicity around opportunities. We will provide additional targeted information, advice and guidance for vulnerable young people around employment and training, to complement the support provided to all young people by schools and colleges. Page 7 of 14

8 19. The approach recognises the positive impact of apprenticeships, traineeships and work experience placements on people s employment prospects. East Sussex County Council is the largest employer in the county and a key commissioner and purchaser. Through working with voluntary and community sector organisations, the networks and supply chains used to purchase goods and services can be used to set an example to provide learning, employment and volunteering opportunities. Ensuring that East Sussex has a workforce with the skills employers need is key to driving economic growth. Improving the skill levels of young people will contribute to ensuring that the future workforce can function effectively in the East Sussex labour market. 20. In line with the Council s role as corporate parents, we will continue to develop the training options available within the county for care leavers, including work placements, apprenticeships and internships. We will also be widening the range of housing, education and training options available still further so that care leavers are able to have successful adult lives. Improving support to children, young people and families to help maintain and enhance emotional well-being and mental health 21. All family keywork and social care support will aim to address any issues in relation to the emotional well-being and mental health of members of the family (adults or children), either by direct intervention, access to group support such as parenting group work programmes and/or support groups or, where necessary, through facilitating referral to specialist services. We will ensure that the thresholds for, and pathways to, specialist services are well understood across the system, and that there is also a good understanding within universal services of how to access family keywork and other local services where these exist, including in the voluntary sector. Training and advice for family keyworkers and other services working with children and young people, including the voluntary sector, will be commissioned from specialist services (for example through maintaining the current twilight training programme). We will also support schools, colleges and early years settings through guidance and resources to help promote resilience among children and young people. 22. The impact of family keywork on the mental health of family members will be monitored through the Troubled Families Programme Family Monitoring Data. 23. Through the Better Together programme to integrate health and social care services in East Sussex we will explore how we can take a whole population approach to the commissioning of mental health services for adults and children, recognising the importance to the well-being of children of providing timely support where possible to support adult carers. We will also take account of the requirements of the Children & Families Act 2014 and the Care Act 2014 in relation to the proactive identification of children and young people who may have inappropriate caring responsibilities and of both adults and Page 8 of 14

9 children s practitioners taking a whole family approach to assessment and planning. Financial context for this Plan; strategic principles 24. This Plan has been prepared against the background of reducing budgets across the public and voluntary sector organisations which make up the partnership. While there is variation in the patterns of projected spend across services, overall it is clear that over the period of this Plan there will be less money to spend on services and amenities which impact on the lives of children, young people and families. While we have strategies to reduce demand for services (including through the priority given in this Plan to providing effective early help), demographic changes and other pressures may impact on demand levels. Hard choices will increasingly have to be made about how resources are used. 25. Against this background we have agreed a number of principles which will inform our decisions both in individual agencies and collectively: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) Where we have discretion, we will generally target our resources so that we support those who most need that support At the same time, we will try as far as possible to maintain investment in services which are designed to help reduce demand for high cost services and for which we have a sound evidence base We will continue efforts to identify and eliminate duplication. This will include reducing where possible the number of different agencies working with individual families. We see family keywork as a key vehicle for improving outcomes across a range of different areas for our most vulnerable families Wherever possible we will empower children, young people, families and communities to develop resilience by taking charge of improving their own lives, including through collective action in their communities. Our approach in this area will be informed by recommendations in the recent report by the East Sussex Director of Public Health, Growing Community Resilience in East Sussex We will try wherever possible to take a collective, joined up approach to the use of assets, from buildings and volunteers, to back office functions. Over recent years the East Sussex CYPT has supported and benefitted from co-location of staff; shared funding and workforce Page 9 of 14

10 development opportunities as well as jointly delivered projects. We are committed to identifying as many opportunities as possible to reduce our costs and/or increase our impact in this way. Outcomes for children, young people and families in East Sussex: keeping an overview 23. A key role of the CYPT is to maintain an overview of outcomes for children, young people and families in East Sussex against a set of appropriate indicators. Some outcomes which particularly need to improve in East Sussex, set against local and national outcomes, include: The number of children living in poverty, which is proportionally higher in East Sussex than many other counties. The number of pregnant women smoking in pregnancy, which is very high in some areas of the county The gap between the attainment at age 16 of young people entitled to free school meals and that of other young people, which, while it has narrowed in recent years, is still greater than the gap nationally Gaps between the skills and understanding of some children at age 5 (at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage) and those of others The gap between the attainment of children and young people with special educational needs and that of other children and young people The number of children and young people not attending school regularly, or who are excluded, which is above the national position The number of children and young people who are the subject of child protection plans, the rate of which is above the national position The number of young people who perform well at Key Stage 5 (A Levels and equivalent qualifications) The Chlamydia screening and detection rate for year olds 24. This Plan does not aim to describe in detail all the actions partner agencies will be taking to improve these and other important outcome indicators. Paragraph 5 refers to the fact that the County Council has a detailed strategy, for example, for raising educational attainment, Excellence for all which includes strengthening the capacity of schools collectively to support school improvement, and taking a flexible approach to commissioning school improvement support for individual Page 10 of 14

11 schools where necessary. The East Sussex Health and Wellbeing strategy includes a particular focus on improving antenatal and postnatal support for women to address issues such as smoking in pregnancy and provide the best possible start for babies. This will be supported through the recent significant expansion of health visiting locally. 25. Rather than trying to map all outcomes and all activity, this Plan identifies a small number of issues on which the CYPT partnership will particularly focus over the next three years. Our aim is that over this period we will regularly review what we can realistically aim to achieve in relation to these issues, and our progress, so that we can be sure that we continue to make the best possible use of our collective resources. We will also maintain our overview of a wider range of outcome indicators through the CYPT dashboard. 26. We recognise the diversity of the county in which we live and work, geographically, socially and financially. In our monitoring of performance indicators we will ensure that we look not just at average performance across the county but also at the variance within the county, and at performance within specific geographical areas, particularly those which experience social and economic disadvantage. Working together in East Sussex What is the CYPT? 27. Member organisations from the public, voluntary and private sector have been working together to provide support to children, young people and their families since the introduction of Children s Trust arrangements in The governance structure of the Trust has changed over time to respond to legislation and local demand. The current structure has been in place since 2013 and the CYPT still has as its main aim the cooperation of local partners to improve outcomes for children and young people (Section 10 of the Children Act 2004). We recognise that each organisation is just one part of a whole system and that by working effectively together we can make best use of the resources available to provide support where it is most needed. Decision making is shared through partnership groups where we engage in discussion and challenge, share and review data, raise awareness of specific issues and develop joint strategies. 28. There are clear links between the Children and Young People s Trust Executive Group (CYPTEG) and the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB), with overlapping membership and a protocol agreed in 2012 governing the relationship between the two bodies. There are strong links too between the CYPT and the Health and Wellbeing Board, of which the ESCC Director of Children s Services is a statutory member. Page 11 of 14

12 The contribution of the voluntary and community sector 29. A number of our voluntary sector partners are working in partnership with Children s Social Care, Adult Social Care and District & Borough Councils to provide specialist advice services on financial support and accessing benefits as part of our work around welfare reform. 30. A number of voluntary and community sector organisations also provide services to children, young people and families, including services commissioned by public services. This ranges from counselling and mediation services with children and young people to intensive whole family support working with families with high levels of need, from access to sports and arts provision, to advice and guidance and support into employment and education. 31. Whilst the constraints on funding are well recognised across the board, we understand the important role played by the voluntary and community sector. We will work with the sector to sustain and identify ways of supporting workforce development and clarity of information flow so that organisations feel confident in the delivery of their work with children and young people. The contribution of education settings 32. Early years settings, schools, academies and colleges across East Sussex contribute to the aims of this plan by: Ensuring that they are aware of new initiatives and projects that could benefit the children and families in their school community, and, in their turn, informing other agencies about projects they are leading. Committing to participating in workforce development opportunities so that their staff are as informed and skilled as possible Using briefings and resources made available to them to best support children and families in their school community Working with early help services and children s social care and participating in the key work approach to provide sustained support to those who need it most Using Pupil Premium funding to respond to local need in order to drive up standards, support aspiration and narrow the gap in attainment between the advantaged and the disadvantaged in their community Providing effective information, advice and guidance to support transition and employability of young people in their communities Enabling and supporting parental engagement in learning, at all levels Page 12 of 14

13 The contribution of local businesses 33. Local businesses play a vital role in providing training and employment opportunities for families and young people. Our role as a commissioner of services for the county also gives us an opportunity to encourage contractors to offer work placements and apprenticeships to vulnerable adults and young people. Ongoing work with the Alliance of Chambers East Sussex (ACES) and Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) supports numerous improvements, including input in to our county s apprenticeship strategy group, support for the development of an Employability Passport for young people, and participation in careers and work related learning events. Skills East Sussex (SES) is a new group, set up to look at how young people can leave schools, colleges and universities better prepared for the workplace. SES brings together partners from education and industry, and aims to enables firms to explain the obstacles they face to recruiting skilled staff locally, shape the type of training available and also be held to account over their efforts to offer work experience or apprenticeships. How we developed this plan: participation and engagement 34. Initial conversation with key members of the CYPT began in December 2013 and identified the issues we used as a starting point for the development of the new CYPP: child poverty; housing; employment and employability; children s health and wellbeing. In July 2014 the Children and Young People s Trust Executive Group (CYPTEG) agreed ten draft priorities to be used in wider stakeholder consultation. A variety of consultation activity was offered to stakeholders during 2014, the aim of which was to discuss the draft priorities with partners; discover what work is already underway; ask what else can be done to improve outcomes; highlight areas where partnership working will have the greatest impact and consider other priorities partners want to address. An overview of the consultation activity is below: A young people s workshop took place in July 2014, members of the Youth Cabinet, Landport Youth Forum, Sussex Community Development Association, CAMHS service user forum, Eastbourne Youth Forum, Young Inspectors and Hastings Youth Forum. Wide-ranging and varying views were collected throughout the day, examples of policy and systems used in other countries were cited by the young people as well as personal experiences that illustrated points being made. Two stakeholder events were held in July and September. These events were open to all members of the CYPT and wider partners. Both events were Page 13 of 14

14 successful with huge amounts of feedback collected. We asked attendees to rank the priorities. Online surveys; one for stakeholders who did not attend the events and one for residents of the county. The surveys introduced the draft priorities and participants were asked to rank of the priorities. The ranking activity carried out at the stakeholder events and through the two online surveys was designed to reduce the number of priorities accurately; to ensure that if priorities were not taken forward in the new plan it was because we are fully aware that they are being addressed elsewhere with defined actions and measures that are being monitored by an appropriate group. Linked Strategies 35. The following strategies contribute to the aims of this Plan: Excellence for All a strategy for education improvement in East Sussex Healthy Lives, Healthy People East Sussex Health and Wellbeing Strategy East Sussex: Economic Development Strategy ( ) East Sussex Employability and Skills Strategy 2014 (note: this links to paper not full document) East Sussex Early Help Strategy East Sussex Strategic Partnership Pride of Place Strategy and Sustainable Community Strategies for: Eastbourne Lewes Wealden Hastings Rother 'Pathways to support and independence a strategy for supported housing and housing support in East Sussex East Sussex Safer Communities Partnership Domestic Abuse Strategy East Sussex Alcohol Strategy East Sussex Safer Communities Business Plan & Action Plan East Sussex Council Plan 2014/15 Hastings Anti-Poverty Strategy Growing Community Resilience in East Sussex Annual Report of the Director of Public Health East Sussex Local Safeguarding Children Board Business Plan East Sussex Troubled Families Outcome Framework Page 14 of 14