Agenda item

The Early Help Partnership Strategy for 2022-25 documented what was known about the need for early help, why it was important and what action would be taken to make progress and deliver the Council’s vision for children, young people, and families in Buckinghamshire.  It had been jointly produced and was owned by the Children and Young People’s Partnership Board and all its member organisations.  The Strategy set out what was already being done (previous Early Help Strategy 2019-2022) and what was planned to develop together in Buckinghamshire to ensure that children and their families received early help when they needed it.  The document would steer and enable the priorities detailed in the Strategy to be delivered, while also reflecting the priorities set out by Children’s Services.

RESOLVED –

(1)               That the achievements made since the Early Help Strategy 2019-2022 was adopted in 2019 be NOTED.

(2)               That the priorities identified for the Early Help Partnership Strategy 2022-2025 be noted, and the Strategy be ADOPTED. 

The Early Help Partnership Strategy for 2022-2025 documented what was known about the need for early help, why it was important and what action would be taken to make progress and deliver the Council’s vision for children, young people, and families in Buckinghamshire.  It had been jointly produced and was owned by the Children and Young People’s Partnership Board and all its member organisations.  The Strategy set out what was already being done (previous Early Help Strategy 2019-2022) and what was planned to develop together in Buckinghamshire to ensure that children and their families received early help when they needed it.  The document would steer and enable the priorities detailed in the Strategy to be delivered, while also reflecting the priorities set out by Children’s Services as follows:-

Priority 1: Strengthen multi-agency strategic governance and joint ownership of the Early Help Strategy

Priority 2: Further develop the Early Help offer to include a targeted response to the increased risk of long-term disadvantage for children, young people and families due to the Covid-19 pandemic

Priority 3: Work together to provide effective Early Help in line with our strategic objectives and Early Help Partnership Action Plan, that supports children, young people and families to easily access support.

Priority 4: Develop a common understanding of Early Help across the partnership and promote a cohesive Buckinghamshire offer.

During discussion the following points were noted:-

·         There had been 4000 requests for help in the past year and the refresh of this Strategy would help extend that help working with local partners.

·         This Strategy linked well with some areas of development that Ofsted had identified, including reaching out to some of the underrepresented groups across Buckinghamshire. The Corporate Director for Children’s Services reported that the service worked hard to engage with young people and seek their views including analysing data to understand where there was a demand for services. They worked with a number of partners including the Youth Offending Service and with young people who were not in education.

·         This Strategy also linked well with the Council’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy including the Start Well policy.

·         On page 75 of the agenda pack there were some bullet points on areas of concern which related to finance and it was important to work with the voluntary sector to ensure enhanced support was given during these challenging times. The Family Centres have Community Co-ordinators in them who worked to ensure that there were good links at the local level. There were a huge number of services provided by the voluntary and community sector and it was important to ensure that there was good co-ordination of these services to provide the most effective service for children and young people.

·         Previously there was generalised provision offered through Family Centres which had now moved to a more targeted provision where early intervention could reach the cohorts in greatest need which was the rationale for change. It was important to understand whether the increase in demand and contacts at Level 2, including the whole emphasis on a single point of contact had vindicated that decision. The Corporate Director reported that the demand for services had increased particularly since the pandemic and the move to a more targeted provision had provided more flexibility. The evidence suggested that this had been the right decision and the Strategy was building on that success to continue that way of working.

·         Reference was made to children not in education or employment and if there was data which looked at those children who had received targeted support to compare with other areas such as the South East Region and the national average. The Corporate Director reported that they did have the data to undertake this comparison but there were peaks and troughs through the year such as when the academic year finished and further education might start in the Autumn.

·         In response to a query whether there was adequate funding to support the Strategy the Cabinet Member responded that costs could be met from the core budget which included a three year grant from Supporting Families of £739,000 and if targets were achieved in three years the Council would receive another £248,000.

RESOLVED –

(1)               That the achievements made since the Early Help Strategy 2019-2022 was adopted in 2019 be NOTED.

(2)               That the priorities identified for the Early Help Partnership Strategy 2022-2025 be noted, and the Strategy be ADOPTED.