Working together to reach your goals
Buckinghamshire
Children
and
Young People’s
T
rust
Buckinghamshire Children and Young People’s Plan
Children and Young People’s Trust Members:
Buckinghamshire County Council, Aylesbury Vale District Council, Chiltern District Council, South Bucks District Council, Wycombe District Council, Buckinghamshire Primary Care Trust, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health Trust, Buckinghamshire Hospital Trust, Buckinghamshire Local Safeguarding Children Board, National Probation Service, Thames Valley Police Authority, Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, Connexions, Learning and Skills Council, Voluntary Sector, Buckinghamshire Further Education Colleges, All Buckinghamshire Maintained Schools
Welcome To The Buckinghamshire Children And Young People’s Plan
We are pleased to introduce the Children and Young People’s Plan for 2009–2011
.
The experiences and chances that Buckinghamshire children and young people have will shape their lives. Listening and acting on the voice of our children and young people is central to the planning and delivery of services in Buckinghamshire. We have worked closely with children, young people and families to fi nd out what they want from our services and we will take action to address the matters they have raised. The Plan takes account of legal requirements and guidance for Children’s Services and includes a thorough review of local needs. It does not include everything we will be doing, but concentrates on the priorities and actions which we believe will make the biggest difference to children and young people in Buckinghamshire.
One of our strengths is the way organisations work together across the county. We share the determination to provide high quality services that give children and young people the best possible chances in life, especially those at risk.
The Children and Young People’s Plan is the single, strategic plan for all services affecting children and young people. The main organisations working with children and young people in Buckinghamshire have come together to produce a Plan. The Plan explains what we will do to make sure that every child and young person can:
Be Healthy •
Stay Safe •
Enjoy and Achieve •
Make a Positive Contribution •
Achieve Economic Well-being •
Marion Clayton
The Plan meets the requirements of
the Government’s Children and Young
People’s Plan Guidance 2009.
13Introduction
The Children and Young People’s Plan shows how
Buckinghamshire services for children and young people are acting on the requirements of Children Act 20041. It takes account of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child2, which links to the goals of the Every Child Matters programme3:
Being Healthy
• – Enjoying good physical and mental health and living a healthy lifestyle
Staying Safe
• – Being protected from harm and neglect and growing up able to look after themselves
Enjoying and Achieving
• – Getting the most out of life and
developing broad skills for adulthood
Making a Positive Contribution
• – To the community and to
society and not engaging in anti-social or offending behaviour
Economic Well-being
• – Not being prevented by economic
disadvantage from achieving their full potential in life
The Plan also links to other initiatives like:
Buckinghamshire’s Local Area Agreements
• 4
The Children and Young Persons Act 2008
• 5
Buckinghamshire Strategic Partnership
•
– Sustainable Communities Strategy6 Buckinghamshire Strategic Partnership
•
– Health Communities Strategy
National Service Framework (NSF) for Children, Young People
•
and Maternity Services7
Choosing Health: Making healthy choices easier
• 8
Healthy Lives, brighter futures
• 9 – Government strategy about
children’s health
New Opportunities – Fair Chances for the Future
• 10
(Government White Paper)
The Apprenticeship, Skills, Children and Learning Bill
• 11
Ending Child Poverty – making it happen
• 12
Aylesbury Vale Young People’s Action Plan
•
Aylesbury Vale District Council – Arts, Sports and Play Plan
•
Aylesbury Vale District Council – 2012 Olympic Action Plan
•
Chiltern District Council – Community Cohesion Plan
•
(2009 -2012)
Wycombe District Council Plan
•
South Bucks District Council Plan
“All kids need is a little help,
a little hope and somebody
who believes in them.”
The Buckinghamshire Children And Young People’s Trust
Commissioning means arranging forappropriate services to be provided to a group or to an individual. The processes involved are complex particularly when meeting the needs of a local population. Commissioning is the process for identifying local needs and fi nding the best provider to offer services which meet those needs. The Buckinghamshire Children and Young People’s Trust was set up in 2006 to coordinate all of the services that support children and young people in
The Children and Young People’s
Plan is the responsibility of all
those in Buckinghamshire who
provide services for children and
young people from 0–19 years, or
up to 24 years for those leaving
care or with learning diffi culties. It
is the basis of our commissioning
priorities for Buckinghamshire.
The role of the Children and Young People’s Trust is:
To focus on the child, the parent and •
the family
To lead change across •
Buckinghamshire by ensuring a professional understanding between services and organisations
To plan and ensure that the right •
services are provided, where they are needed.
This is their vision:
Vision For Children And Young People’s Services In Buckinghamshire
The lives of children and young people can be changed for the better through the use of local services and initiatives provided by many different organisations working together in partnership. The Buckinghamshire Children and Young
People’s Trust has worked with children, young people and their families to create a shared vision for children and young people in the county.
Buckinghamshire – Health, Education, Police, Councils, Voluntary Organisations such as charities, and many other organisations. These services join up through the Trust to plan and work together. They meet regularly and are changing to a different way of working based on a commissioning model. The Children and Young People’s Trust Board members are responsible for making sure that their organisation plays a full part in supporting the work of the Trust. This includes taking action as part of the delivery of the Children and Young People’s Plan.
Children and Young
People’s Trust Vision
Statement
This vision has come from the professionals working with children, young people and their families.
“In Buckinghamshire we
want all our children and
young people to have
the best start in life and
to be able to lead safe,
healthy and fulfi lling lives,
and to be able to make
a positive contribution
to their communities
and to society. Our aim
is to ensure access to
a range of universal
services as well as
developing more
targeted services to
meet their specialist
needs.”
Children and young people have also told us what is important to them.
This is what children said…
“As children in Buckinghamshire we want to feel safe and we want to be healthy. To be safe we need more safe routes to school and we would also like to feel safe when we are walking around. Also, lots of children don’t want to go to school because they don’t feel safe and we would like more security and CCTV in all schools so none of us get injured. Another way to help children is healthy living. We would like more activities before and after school to stop kids from just sitting around in the house. We would be thankful if we had more sports equipment to help us keep in shape. We could also do with more activities to keep adults healthy. Finally, we would like our parents not to work so hard to pay the bills so that we could spend more time with them.”
Young people made this statement… “As young people living in Buckinghamshire we want a safe and friendly community. There should be something for everyone to do and get involved in. Good and affordable transport should be available allowing us the freedom to get around. Young people should have the right to have their say and be listened to.”
Understanding Buckinghamshire
Population of Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire has a population of around 479,000 people living in 188,000 households. Children and young people (0–19) make up about a quarter of Buckinghamshire’s population – 125,900 persons (26%).
The population is expected to grow to about 530,000 people by 2026. It is estimated that there will be more people over 65 and those aged 0–19 years will reduce from 26% to 22% of the total.
42% of families in households have dependent children. In some areas this fi gure is as low as 30% or as high as 57%. Of those households with dependent children, over 60% contain two or more children.
75% of all households with children are headed by married couples; 18% are headed by lone parents and 7% are headed by co-habiting couples.
35,000 25,000 15,000 5,000
0-4 5-9 10-15 Childrens Ages (years)
94,000 children aged 0–15, registered with a GP, were made up of 14:
(Therefore, about 31,000 children and young people are either aged 16–19 or are not registered with a GP).
Aylesbury District Wycombe District Chiltern District South Bucks District
Area Total Population 0–19 year old population %
Aylesbury Vale 174,100 45,000 26%
Chiltern 90,800 23,300 26%
South Bucks 64,300 15,900 25%
Wycombe 161,400 41,800 26%
Buckinghamshire 490,600 125,900 26%
Source: 2007 Mid-Year Population Estimates
The ethnic mix of the whole population varies across the Districts. People from a ‘White’ ethnic group make up 92% of the population in Buckinghamshire.
Wycombe District has the highest proportion of non-white population (12.1%), followed by South Bucks (6.6%), Aylesbury Vale (5.9%) and Chiltern (4.5%).
The Asian group is the highest non-white population across all Districts (4.6% of the whole population). Mixed and Black ethnic groups account for 1.3% each, whilst Chinese accounts for the smallest proportion of the population at 0.3%.
District Populations
There are four Districts in Buckinghamshire
The School Census15 showed that the four main ethnic
backgrounds for school children were:
White British
Pakistani
White Other Indian
Health
The population has a higher life
expectancy than the national average, from 83 for females (compared to 81 nationally) and 79 for males (compared to 76 nationally).
Health is better than the national average, with lower levels of mental health
problems, teenage pregnancy, deaths from smoking and early deaths from heart disease. With respect to health and disability, 13% of people in the County are reported to have limiting long-term illnesses compared to 18% in England and 15% in the South East. However, fi gures for road injuries and deaths are higher than the national average.
Economy
Overall, the County is fairly fi nancially well off with low levels of deprivation or poverty. Average household incomes are considerably higher than the UK average (+24%). In Buckinghamshire, the workforce is highly skilled, with a quarter of 16–74 year olds educated to degree level. However, 2.5% of the population live within areas that are within the top third of most disadvantaged areas in the country16. Whilst the numbers affected in Buckinghamshire may be small, the impact on the health and education of children and young people can be signifi cant.
Children are more susceptible than adults to harm to their physical, social and emotional health. Studies have demonstrated that disadvantage and poor health in childhood has a lifelong impact on health and achievement in life. This highlights the importance of promoting the health of children and families.
Children and young people up to 19 years old:
99% describe their health as ‘good’.
•
3% are reported as having a
long-•
term limiting illness, health problem or disability. There are 3648 children aged 0–17 with a limiting long term illness. Buckinghamshire has a much lower
•
teenage pregnancy rate for under-18s (21.2 per 1000) than nationally (41.1 per 1000). This works out to 95 teenage mothers in Buckinghamshire.
There are children and young people
•
who suffer from substance abuse, mental health problems or have social, emotional or behavioural problems.
There are 580 young carers in
•
Buckinghamshire looking after a parent, brother or sister.
Nationally nearly 10% of children are
•
obese at 4–5 years and 17.5% are obese at 10–11 years. In Buckinghamshire, the rates are lower with 6.6% of children being obese at 4–5 years old and 14% at 10–11 years old.
National information says17:
More than 11,000 children are in poverty in
•
Buckinghamshire.
Children growing up in poverty are more
•
likely to:
have poorer health in childhood and
adulthood
be obese than those from top income
groups misuse drugs become unemployed
be involved in crime, homeless
die younger than children born into less
materially deprived homes have poorer reading skills
have poor qualifi cations
become teenage or lone parents
Children from manual backgrounds are
•
signifi cantly more likely to die in accidents than other children.
Children in receipt of free school meals do
•
worse on average than other pupils. Children who do not do well at primary
•
school are less likely to improve at secondary school if they are poor.
Children in families where no one is working
Children in families where someone is working Areas % 25 20 15 10 5 % 20 15 10 5 Areas Aylesbury Vale Chiltern Wycombe England
Recession
The current economic position in the UK and across the world is already affecting Buckinghamshire’s economy and its residents. This means that families will feel the effects of the recession, especially in terms of their fi nances and job opportunities. In turn this will affect the health and education of children and young people. Areas of particular concern are the impact on lone parents and the impact on employment opportunities for young people.
Education
Achievement in educational examinations is high.18 Schools in Buckinghamshire
continue to achieve results well above the national average and above those of similar authorities.
Early Years Foundation Stage (Aged up to 5 years old)
Results are above the national average.
Primary Schools
At Key Stage 1 (age 7) and Key Stage 2 (age 11) results are well above national standards and are high compared to similar authorities.
Secondary Schools
At Key Stage 3 (age 14), results are well above national standards.
At Key Stage 4 (age 16), across all subjects:
More pupils gained 5 or more GCSEs at
•
Grade A*- C.
More pupils gained 5 or more GCSEs at
•
Grade A*- C including English and Maths. Buckinghamshire’s results were the top-rated
•
Results for students at A/AS level (post-16) and equivalent qualifi cations are well above the national average.
College
Overall success rates at Aylesbury College and
•
Amersham & Wycombe College are satisfactory and in line with national averages.
The colleges are good at raising the
•
achievements of its learners.
Although overall standards are high, there is still a wide variation in the performance of individual schools and groups of pupils. A priority in this Plan to Close the Gap focuses on closing the gaps in educational achievement and progress between the majority and specifi c groups of pupils, especially:
vulnerable groups such as underachieving
•
ethnic minority groups, those from more socially deprived backgrounds and those with special educational needs
the performance of boys in English
•
writing at Key Stage 2 (age 11)
Environment
The largest number of people
live in Aylesbury (69,000) and
High Wycombe (77,000) – added
together, this is nearly 40% of
Buckinghamshire residents. The
North of the county is mostly rural
with small market towns.
Over a quarter of Buckinghamshire is included within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding
Beauty. Within rural areas, over 70% of land area is used for agriculture19. The rural nature of Buckinghamshire presents a number of challenges including restrictions on land development and access to key services and facilities for rural communities, particularly for
young and older people. The Government’s policy statement Sustainable Communities:
Building for the Future20 identifi ed Milton Keynes and the South Midlands as one of four growth areas in the wider South East. As part of this growth area, a large increase in housing in the Aylesbury urban area is planned. Delivering growth, whilst sustaining the environment and the quality of life in Buckinghamshire, will be one of the biggest challenges we face over the next 15 years.
The Buckinghamshire Strategic Partnership is taking forward the Sustainable Communities approach and developing individual plans for communities. These will set out the priorities for the future of Buckinghamshire, relevant to your local area and to the communities you are involved with. These plans will link to the Children and Young People’s Plan in relation to:
Improving Quality of Life for Children
•
and Young People – Targeting areas of
identifi ed need; closing attainment gap.
Prosperous Communities –
• Skills
development; Economic well-being of vulnerable groups.
Thames Valley Police have a dedicated
neighbourhood team in every community that works locally with partners to solve problems identifi ed by the community; this includes issues raised by young people as well as those involving young people. Young people are encouraged to take part in local neighbourhood action groups.
Research
The health and well-being of children and young people in Buckinghamshire was examined in detail 21.
Children and
young people
face a range
of exciting and
sometimes
daunting
challenges as
they grow and
develop.
To identify the priorities for children and young people in Buckinghamshire, the following areas were researched:
Health
• such as such as maternity care, antenatal screening, number of actual and projected live births, low birth weights, infant mortality, breast feeding, emergency admissions for accidents to children, respiratory tract infections, mental health
Education,
• such as achievement in school/college examinations and the achievement of children in care Social Care factors,
• such as poverty
and deprivation
Children and Young People in special
•
circumstances, such as young carers, children with disabilities, children who witness domestic violence or family breakdown, homelessness, children missing from home, bereavement, teenage parents, substance abuse
Life changes
• , such as:
starting school
changing from primary to secondary school
leaving school to enter further education, training
or employment
leaving the care system
They are subject to pressures which, for some, at certain times in their lives and under certain circumstances, will mean that they need
Key Priorities For Buckinghamshire
Priorities
1. Closing the Gap –
working with the children and young people who most need extra support – to improve their learning at school/College, and their understanding of how to be healthy and where to get help if they need it.2. Family Focus – providing individual help and support to a
family so that they can provide the best home for their children.3. Early Intervention and Secondary Prevention –
providing help to children, young people and their families as soon as problems begin, to stop things getting worse or out of control.
4. Transitions – providing extra support to children and young
people at times of change in their lives, such as:starting school •
changing school •
moving from primary to secondary school •
moving from secondary school to further education, •
training or employment
when family arrangements change •
(e.g. when parents divorce or a parent dies).
5. Children and young people and decision making
–
using the opinions and ideas of children and young people to make sure the services provided for them are what they really want and need.All of the partners in the
Buckinghamshire Children and
Young People’s Trust have agreed
the following priorities, which will
be the focus for working together.
The following pages show the results of our consultation on these priorities with people in Buckinghamshire, including children and young people.Core Belief
We are committed to improving the safety of all children and young people. Safety is fundamental – if children are not safe, they cannot be happy, healthy, achieve or reach their full potential. We want to keep children and young people safe from neglect and abuse, accidents, bullying, crime, anti-social behaviour and provide a safe and stable home environment. This is our core belief which runs through the Children and Young People’s Plan.
The Children and Young People’s Trust recognises the importance of active lifestyles in equipping children and young people for the future. This theme is incorporated across the fi ve key priorities.
Consultation With Children
And Young People
The priorities they considered were identifi ed through a variety of methods including the Tell Us Survey 2007, Buckinghamshire County Council Residents Survey 2007 and feedback from people who provide services.
Children and young people were asked if they agreed or disagreed with the priorities. The results are shown below.
Suggested priority strongly agree% agree /
Closing the Gap – working with those children and young people
who most need extra support - to improve their learning at school/ college, and their understanding of how to be healthy and where to get help if they need it.
79%
Family Focus – providing individual help and support to a family to
help them provide the best home for their children. 69%
Early Intervention and Secondary Prevention – help is provided
to children, young people and their families as soon as problems begin, to stop things getting worse or out of control.
73%
Transitions – children and young people are given extra support at
times of change in their lives. 72%
Children and young people and decision making – the opinions
and ideas of children and young people are used to make sure the services provided for them are what they really want.
81%
The views of 612 children and young people aged from 3 to 19 years were collected 22.
The children and young people were: Equally split between girls and boys •
From different minority ethnic backgrounds •
From across a wide geographical area within •
Buckinghamshire
Included children and young people who •
All the priorities received high levels of support from children and young people.
Children and young people were asked what other things were important. These issues will also be taken into account through the actions in the Children and Young People’s Plan.
% 100 80 60 40 20
Responses of children and young people – Do you agree with…
Yes No Not sure
Closing the gap
Transition
Intervention Famiy Focus
They said:
Information about keeping safe in relation to sexual health •
Making information available to children and their families •
about what services and leisure/sporting activities are available to them
Actions in the Plan:
The new Buckinghamshire Family Information Service, under Family Focus, and Children and Young People and Decision Making
More support for children with disabilities •
Actions in the Plan:
Aiming High for Disabled Children programme are described under Family Focus, and Transitions.
Involvement of disabled children, described under Children and Young People and Decision Making.
Improvement to play, youth and leisure facilities •
Actions in the Plan:
The Children and Young People’s Trust supports the promotion and delivery of a range of activities including organised sessions, improved play and recreation, participation in high quality PE and sport, cultural opportunities, different ways to volunteer and services for disabled children. For example, see Healthy lifestyle activities (described under Family Focus in relation to childhood obesity) or the Local Delivery approach providing a range of activities (described under Early Intervention and Secondary Prevention).
When asked whether they agreed with the suggested priorities for Buckinghamshire, the percentage in agreement was:
These priorities can be compared with the priorities for children and young people
Suggested priority strongly agree% agree/
Family Focus – ensure that services are working together to
support the whole family to achieve outcomes 85%
Early Intervention and Secondary Prevention – a strong
focus on prevention and providing early support for those at greatest risk so that problems don’t get out of control
92%
Transitions – support for children, young people and adults at
key stages in their lives 81%
These priorities were about more general issues
Maintain robust systems for surveillance and control of
infectious diseases 84%
Improving effi ciency and effectiveness of services to ensure
most effective use of available resources 95% Giving people more say about the services they receive,
including in some cases direct control over the budgets for their services
50% Improving the health of those with the poorest health and
addressing wider factors that affect the health of these groups 75%
Adults were encouraged to complete an online consultation questionnaire on the Buckinghamshire County Council’s website. There were 123
responses from individuals. They were: Equally split between men and women,
•
Mostly from a white British background
•
(90%),
Aged between 18 and 75+, with the highest
•
response group aged 45–54 (24%)
There were also 39 responses presenting the view of organisations.
Closing the Gap
We will work with those children and young people
who most need extra support – to improve their
learning at school/college, and their understanding
of how to be healthy and where to get help if they
need it.
Why are we doing this?
There are key groups with poorer emotional and physical well-being, poorer educational attainment and fewer opportunities in life as a result. This priority aims to support poorer children/ young people or those affected by special circumstances by helping them to achieve at school/college and be healthy.
% 100 80 60 40 20
Foundation Stage Profi le 2007 – % of pupils achieving 6+ in PSE scales
The Foundation Stage Profi le23 is a set of data collected on 5-year old children. The chart shows that children living in hard-pressed areas are achieving lower “Personal, Social andEmotional Development” scores than children of the same age in more well-off areas.
Wealt hy Achievers Urban Prosperity Comfortably Off Moderate Means Har d Pressed
Generally, children and young people in Buckinghamshire have exceptional education results. Buckinghamshire has one of the highest levels of pupils attaining 5 or more GCSE’s A*–C including English and Maths in the country. However, the likelihood of a pupil attaining this varies according to the area in which they live. The following graph shows this variation. It also shows that, in Buckinghamshire, the gap between the highest achievers and those at the lower end of the scale is much greater than the national average. Buckinghamshire England % 80 60 40 20
KS4 2007 – % of pupils that achieved 5+ A–C including English and Maths
Wealt hy Achievers Urban Prosperity Comfortably Off Moderate Means Har d Pressed Wealt hy Achievers Urban Prosperity Comfortably Off Moderate Means Har d Pressed
The education and health of children and young people can be affected by a range of special circumstances. For example, of the 126,000 children/young people in
Buckinghamshire: The Confederation of British Industries, in partnership with the Learning and Skills Improvement Service, has researched how businesses and colleges can work together more effectively to boost employees’ skills24. Tough
economic times make it more important than ever that effective college-business partnerships are in place to help young people improve their skills, so that they are able to meet employer’s needs and get jobs.
There are children who are affected by
•
family breakdown or trauma
3% – 5% of children experience the death
•
of someone close to them
There were 95 teenage mothers in
•
Buckinghamshire
There are children and young people
•
who suffer from substance abuse, mental health problems or have social, emotional or behavioural problems
There are 580 young carers in
•
Buckinghamshire looking after a parent, brother or sister
22% of school aged children live in areas
•
classed as either "hard-pressed" or
"moderate means". There is evidence that those who live in these areas are likely to have worse health, education and social outcomes than those living in other areas Some minority ethnic groups in
•
Buckinghamshire have worse educational outcomes than the national average level There are 279 children in care in
•
Buckinghamshire. Generally, they do not do as well as other children at school There are 3648 children aged 0–17 with a
•
limiting long term illness
There are 2668 children with a Statement
•
of Special Educational Need (SEN)
There are children who witness domestic
•
violence (1400 referrals in a 6-month period where domestic violence was a factor)
Case Study of Good Practice
Case Study of Good Practice
From 2006 to 2009, thirty schools in challenging circumstances and the staff in the County Council’s School Improvement Service have worked together to raise educational standards. The project included working with an Early Years group to make sure that actions were connected, from the local Early Years settings through to the local school.
Under-performing groups of pupils or individual pupils were identifi ed and their progress was carefully tracked. Schools worked out what the barriers to learning were for these pupils, and set up coaching to further improve learning and teaching. Schools were encouraged to be creative and innovative. For example, one school set up a home tuition project. Another used video technology to improve skills in speaking and listening. Improving the quality of writing and Maths were also high priorities for improvement.
Although headteachers were responsible for their own action plans, there were regular opportunities for the schools to share successes and good examples of actions taken. This was a community of schools learning from each other.
By tracking pupil progress, schools focused closely on the targeted pupils and were well informed about what could make an impact. By the end of the project, most of the schools had achieved their targets in English and exceeded their targets in Maths.
Mohammed* was brought up in the children in care system and is now a sixth form student. When he was 13 years old, his teacher noted that Mohammed was naturally
talented at science. Because of this, at the end of Year 11, Mohammed attended the Aimhigher/
Buckinghamshire New University Summer School for Children in Care. He achieved 12 GCSEs but a year later, in summer 2008, he did not do well in his AS level examination. Mohammed’s social worker asked the Educating Children in Public Care (ECPC) 16+ team to help. They gave Mohammed advice on choosing university courses, and a tutor was recruited to help improve grades in the subject most relevant to his chosen
degree. ECPC paid for Mohammed to re-take his AS level examination and his grade improved from Grade U (June 2008) to Grade D (January 2009).
The ECPC team helped Mohammed to complete his university application form, write a personal statement and decide on his choices. This
included going with him to visit the universities he was considering, taking a campus tour, meeting with student services and understanding how funding and accommodation choices would work. Mohammed has developed increased confi dence in his academic work. He has received offers of a place on a degree courses from four universities. Mohammed asks for support when he needs it and is now planning his future.
What are we going to do?
1. Implement the strategy for closing the gap in early years education:
Develop the quality of the service provided for
•
children up to 5 years old (known as the Foundation Stage)
Support early years staff to develop their
•
knowledge, skills and abilities through gaining early years qualifi cations from NVQ Level 2 through to post-graduate level
Work locally through the 0–7 Alliance to improve the
•
progress of individual children and provide support as they move from early years to school
2. Implement the strategy for closing the gap in school/College:
Strengthen the leadership in our schools so that
•
school/college staff can focus on learning and speed up children’s progress
Provide extra support for school/college to improve
•
the quality of learning and teaching
Provide individual support to pupils, to improve
•
their confi dence and progress at school/college Provide a broad and balanced curriculum that
•
meets the needs and interests of all learners, and motivates and inspires pupils to do their best
3. Implement the strategy to improve the quality of learning for children aged 14 –19 and offer high quality learning opportunities which will:
Provide each individual with a range of courses
•
which meets their needs
Ensure better opportunities for pupils to progress
•
on to higher education, further education, training and to work
Be better matched to the needs of the local,
•
regional and global economies
Meet the needs of learners with disabilities or other
•
diffi culties, so that they can access learning
“Give extra help and information to
the children who need it most.”
4. Strengthen the support offered to children and young people in public care, as part of the statutory role of the Local
Authority as a corporate parent25:
Ensure children in care under 5 years old are using high
•
quality early years provision
Monitor the educational progress of children in care
•
Provide additional support for individual children, such as a
•
specialist subject tutor or a personal mentor, in line with their particular needs
Develop good partnerships with appropriate schools staff
•
(known as Designated Teachers) and provide training on the care system and the needs of children in care
5. Improve the knowledge of children and young people about how to be healthy:
Provide information and advice through the new
•
Buckinghamshire Family Information Service
Through the actions to reduce childhood obesity (more
•
information under the priority called Family Focus)
Through the Healthy Lives Brighter Futures initiative (more
•
information under the priority called Early Intervention and Secondary Prevention)
We expect that this will mean:
Every child is supported to fulfi ll their potential, with a
•
focus on their individual needs.
Extra support is given to children who are not doing as
•
well as they could do. This will help improve their results at school, so they are similar to those of other pupils. This could include, for example, children from disadvantaged families, black and minority ethnic backgrounds, boys with their writing, summer born pupils and children in care.
More children in Early Years settings will reach the
•
expected level of personal, social and emotional development, and language and literacy skills.
More 11 years olds will achieve the nationally expected
•
level in English and Maths.
More secondary school pupils will achieve 5 or more A*–C
•
grades at GCSE, including English and Maths.
Improved progress for children from Key Stage 1 to Key
•
Stage 2 (ages 7–11) in English and Maths.
More 16–18 year olds in some form of education,
•
training or employment.
Improved qualifi cations and examination results for
•
children aged 14–19.
Young people from low income backgrounds are able
•
to progress to college or university.
“Help children and young people that are
struggling with school and home.”
Family Focus
“There are only two
lasting bequests we
can hope to give our
children. One is roots;
the other, wings.”
Hodding Carter
We will provide individual help
and support to a family to help
them provide the best home for
their children.
Why are we doing this?
Children and young people are part of families. We want to ensure that services work together to help the whole family. Research suggests that “Good, high quality, timely support for parents as their children grow up is likely to improve [children’s] health, social and educational development and well-being.” We want to ensure that there is appropriate support so that parents can fulfi l their parenting role.
Key issues are:
Where both parents are obese, there is a
•
signifi cant likelihood that children of that family will be obese. In Buckinghamshire, 6.6% of children are obese at 4–5 years old and 14% at 10–11 years old. A report commissioned by the Buckinghamshire Overview and Scrutiny Committee for Public Health examines the issues. Children are more likely to smoke if their
•
parents smoke.
45% of young people receiving treatment
•
for substance misuse in Buckinghamshire had a family member misusing
substances.
Children growing up with parents with
•
mental health problems or learning
diffi culties are at risk of developing social, emotional and/or behavioural problems. The environment in which children grow affects their development and emotional well-being.
Children who witness domestic violence
•
are more likely to experience post-traumatic stress and/or emotional and behavioural diffi culties. In a year, there were 5912 incidents of domestic abuse recorded by Thames Valley Police, with Women’s Aid providing refuge for 137 women and 205 children. There are children who witness domestic violence (1400 referrals in a 6-month period where domestic violence was a factor). Thames Valley Police know that young people suffer when family relationships break down. When police become involved in the investigation of domestic abuse, they consider the impact on young people in the household and link into other services to ensure they receive the help and support they need.
Families with disabled children told
•
government that their top priority is regular and reliable short breaks from caring.
Case Study of Good Practice
At Pre-school, the Leader noticed that Kai* was having some problems with his speech. When the Pre-school Leader mentioned this to Kai’s parents, they didn’t agree with her opinion and didn’t want any additional help for Kai.
The Leader heard that the local Children’s Centre was holding Play and Learn sessions where professionals, including the Speech and Language Therapist, speak about their work in a very informal setting. The Pre-school Leader spoke to Kai’s parents again and encouraged them to attend the session, just to hear what the Therapist had to say.
After the general talk by the Therapist, Kai’s dad had a short chat with the Therapist and was encouraged to seek help for Kai. He agreed that Kai could join a Speech and Language Group. The Pre-school Leader has noticed that this additional support for Kai is already leading to improvement in his speech. The proportion of parents living in hard-pressed areas that
think that “parents’ not taking responsibility for their children is a problem” is higher than in other areas.
* Name has been changed. Image posed by model.
% 50 40 30 20 10 Wealt hy Achievers Urban Prosperity Comfortably Off Moderate Means Har d PressedAverage % 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The proportion of parents living in hard-pressed areas that “are dissatisfi ed with support for parents” is higher than in other areas. Wealt hy Achievers Urban Prosperity Comfortably Off Moderate Means Har d PressedAverage
4. Further work around domestic abuse:
Provide parenting programmes
•
for families who have experienced domestic abuse
Provide Freedom
• 29 programmes for
women (adults and young people) who have been involved in domestic abuse Provide specialised Therapeutic Play
•
Groups / Parent and Child Support sessions for families who have experienced domestic abuse within their families
What are we going to do?
1. Update our Parenting Strategy, in line with the Government’s Think Family 26 initiative:
Work with parents who are known to
•
put children at risk, such as parents who are offenders, in prison, involved in domestic abuse, have mental health problems or misuse drugs or alcohol Support parents to be involved in
•
their child’s learning, including school attendance and offering support and information
2. Ensure information, advice and assistance is available to families through the new Buckinghamshire Family Information Service. This will
include information on positive activities, such as clubs, sports, physical activity and leisure and cultural activities.
3. Implement the Aiming High for Disabled Children27 programme:
Extend short break provision for
•
severely disabled children and young people, including focusing on those who:
have complex health needs;
have autism combined with other
impairments;
are severely disabled young people
aged 14+;
are children aged 11+ with lifting
and handling needs;
are disabled young people with
challenging behaviour;
are severely disabled children
under 5.
Short breaks should include specialist services, targeted services and
supported access into universal services, providing opportunities for young people to have social activities and new experiences.
Meet the requirements of the Local
•
Authority Charter for Every Disabled Child Matters28
We expect that this will mean:
5. Implement the recommendations of the Buckinghamshire Overview and Scrutiny Committee for Public Health and the
Buckinghamshire County Council Cabinet in relation to childhood obesity30:
Support the delivery of a school meals
•
service in all schools with a sustainable demand, with resources targeted towards the most disadvantaged areas
Focus on the 20% of young people who
•
do not participate in physical activity and encourage them to do so
Make sure that activities that will infl uence
•
family lifestyles, including sports and physical activity, are available through a variety of channels
Provide consistent health messages and
•
information in locations where the public expects to fi nd them
6. Address childhood poverty through the Buckinghamshire Strategic Partnership’s Healthy Communities Strategy:
Help families in workless households or
•
households on low incomes with their fi nancial management skills and provide support to get parents back to work Support for lone parent families
•
Parents/carers know what support and
•
information is available to them, which will help them in their role and meet their needs
Parents/carers are able to use
•
parenting support at appropriate times and stages to meet their needs
A wide range of information and advice
•
is available to parents and provided through the web, by telephone and in locations where the parents would expect to fi nd it
More Children’s Centres will open
•
across the County, offering support and services to families with
young children
Parents/carers of disabled children are
•
involved in service planning and help to ensure that short break services are planned based on local needs, and are culturally appropriate to meet the racial, cultural, linguistic and religious needs of disabled children and
their families
Parents/carers of disabled children will
•
have access to an expanded range of short break services, including more activity-based short breaks at weekends and in the holidays, and more home-based breaks
Parents/carers of disabled children
•
will have clear information on eligibility criteria and how to access services
Support for families involved in
•
domestic abuse at an early stage Non-abusing parents will have an
•
increased understanding of the effect of domestic abuse on their children, so that they can develop ways of thinking and behaving to protect themselves and their children
Children and the non-abusing parent
•
who have experienced domestic abuse will have a safe environment to explore their feelings so that all family members are able to move forward More schools will take part in the
•
national Healthy Schools programme, focusing on Personal, Social and Health education (PSHE), healthy eating, physical activity and emotional health and well-being A health programme will be
•
introduced in Children’s Centres, such as Health, Exercise and Nutrition for the Really Young (HENRY)31
Early Intervention And Secondary Prevention
We will help children, young people and their families as soon
problems begin, to stop things getting worse or out of control.
Why are we doing this?
We want to focus on those children and young people who are at risk. We want to help them to be better informed about the risks they may face, and offer support to solve problems or make changes.
Research undertaken by Communities that Care32 identifi ed factors that may be helpful to understand in deciding on the best approach.
Home School
Poor parental supervision and discipline
•
Family confl ict
•
Family history of problem behaviour
•
Parental involvement/attitudes in relation
•
to problem behaviour Low income/poor housing
•
Low achievement beginning in primary
•
school
Aggressive behaviour, including bullying
•
Lack of commitment, including truancy
•
School disorganisation
•
Individual/Friends/
Similar children/Young people Community Lack of social contact, isolation
•
Attitudes that condone problem behaviour
•
Early involvement in problem behaviour
•
Friends involved in problem behaviour
•
Disadvantaged communities
•
Community disorganisation and neglect
•
Availability of drugs
•
High turnover of people in the community
•
Lack of community attachment
•
The Common Assessment Framework33
aims to identify children and young people who may have additional needs at an early stage, so support can be offered at the earliest possible point. This Framework was introduced in Buckinghamshire in 2008. A year later, a review of the implementation found that:
Early indicators of risk are not being
•
identifi ed for many children and young people
Some services have not been delivered
•
in a way that made them easy for families at risk to access
“Children are our
most valuable
natural resource”
Herbert Hoover
There are many risk factors that we need to consider:
Bullying
• – The recent Tell Us Survey34 showed that bullying is an issue for more children in Buckinghamshire than other areas nationally.
Teenage pregnancy
• – Young people are
likely to participate in risky sexual behaviour and the younger they become sexually active, the more likely they are not to use contraception. The teenage pregnancy rate in Buckinghamshire has fallen by 15% since 1998 Buckinghamshire has a much lower teenage pregnancy rate for under-18s (21.2 per 1000) than nationally (41.1 per 1000). The Tell Us Survey found that children and young people in Buckinghamshire want better information on sex and relationships
Children at risk of exploitation
• –
77 young women aged between 11 and 18 were referred to the Buckinghamshire ‘RU Safe’ Project35 having been identifi ed as being sexually exploited or at serious risk of sexual exploitation
Children missing from Home
• –
141 children and young people were
referred as missing by Thames Valley Police to the Buckinghamshire ‘RU Safe’ Project Missing Service
Obesity
• – Nationally, nearly 10% of children are obese at 4–5 years and 17.5% are obese at 10–11 years. In Buckinghamshire, the rates are lower with 6.6% of children are obese at 4–5 years old and 14% at 10–11 years old. The Tell Us Survey found that children and young people in Buckinghamshire want better information and advice on eating healthy food.
Substance misuse –
• Alcohol – A survey of 11-18 year olds by Buckinghamshire New University had over 14,000 responses, which showed that:
boys were more likely to have drunk
•
alcohol than girls
boys drank more units of alcohol
•
than girls.
28% of pupils had consumed 14 or more
•
units, which is higher than the nationally recommended maximum level.
Substance misuse –
• Drugs – 222 young people were in drug treatment. The main drugs being used were cannabis (55%), heroin (6%) and cocaine (5%). Young people receiving treatment are likely to be abusing more than one substance.
Road Traffi c Accidents
• – 21 children and young people were killed or
seriously injured. In our mostly rural county, many children and young people travel by bus or car and are not exposed to signifi cant traffi c risks. The numbers of young people aged 17–24 involved in a collision where someone has been killed or injured is reducing slowly
Youth Offending
• – The greatest infl uence on offending behaviour is caused by lack of education, training and employment (44%), diffi culties with family and personal relationships (41%) and issues relating to substance use (36%).
Absence from schools
• – Buckinghamshire rates are better than for England as a whole – the fi gures for England are in brackets in the table below:
Total absence Persistent absentees Primary 4.37% (5.18%) 0.90% (1.80%) Secondary 7.10% (7.86%) 4.70% (6.70%) All schools 5.70% (6.49%) 2.80% (4.10%)
Exclusions from school
• – Buckinghamshire rates are better than for
England as a whole
Permanent Fixed Period
Primary 0.62%
Secondary 0.08% 7.70%
All schools 0.04% 4.38%
Case Study of Good Practice
Susan* is 7 years old and lives in High Wycombe. Her health visitor realised there were some problems affecting Susan and her two younger brothers. She arranged a meeting of representatives who could support Susan and her family with problems at home and school. These problems included Susan’s parents recently separating and diffi culties with learning. There were also some family diffi culties related to housing and fi nance, which impacted on Susan’s care at home.
At the meeting, Susan’s mother explained the diffi culties that she was experiencing and how they were affecting her daughter’s learning and self esteem. The group considered each of the issues and suggested ways to help with them. For example, support was provided by the school nurse to help Susan’s self-esteem. Arrangements were made for free school meals that would help the family’s fi nances and also stop Susan feeling “different”. The Headteacher helped Susan’s mum understand the best way to support her daughter to read at home, to help improve her literacy. Each service that supports Susan and her family are aware of the different aspects of support that is being provided by the representatives on the group. This is a good example of a family experiencing a number of issues which together make a complex situation. The situation is then improved by a coordinated approach.
“[Families] should be given
time to sort it out themselves,
then, if it doesn’t work out,
help them”
What are we going to do?
1. Firmly establish the Local Delivery36
approach across the County. Local
Delivery is an effective way of linking together Children’s Centres, Extended Services, schools, colleges and services that support children and young people 0–19 (or 24 if they are looked after or have a special need or disability). There are eight Local Delivery Areas in
Buckinghamshire offering a range of positive activities for all age groups.
2. Implement the fi ndings of Lord Laming’s report Child Protection in England37:
Make sure that the business
•
processes in Buckinghamshire match the expected national standards e.g. case records, data quality.
Improve communication and training
•
for staff to make sure that everyone is aware of the improved business processes and standards, and has the latest local and national information on child protection matters.
3. Implement Healthy Lives Brighter Futures38 initiative in Buckinghamshire:
Mothers and fathers are provided with
•
the information they need to help their children lead healthy lives.
The right services are in place to
•
meet the specifi c health needs and expectations of children and
their families.
Extra support is provided for those
•
from the most disadvantaged backgrounds.
4. Implement and review the Children and Young People’s Trust Prevention and Early Intervention Strategy to boost
children’s capacity to avoid developing problems and to tackle problems that have already emerged for children and young people as soon as possible:
Make sure that the range of
•
organisations which can support families are working together effectively in local communities,
especially schools, colleges, Children’s Centres and early years settings.
Work with areas, communities
•
and individuals most at risk of not achieving positive outcomes
5. Implement the Local Area Agreement39,
which sets out the priorities for our local area as agreed with central government:
Develop the effectiveness of child and
•
adolescent mental health (CAMHS) services by:
Oxford/Buckinghamshire Mental
Health Trust operating the service Joint budget combining funds from
the Primary Care Trust and the County Council
Reduce substance abuse by young
•
people by:
supporting schools within Personal,
Social and Health Education (PSHE) lessons
providing drop in and 1:1 support
services throughout the county Reduce the number of fi rst time
•
entrants to the Youth Justice System aged 10-17 by:
supporting the most vulnerable 8-15
year olds as part of a whole family support package
working in schools/colleges to help
children and young people with their emotional development, and to identify alternative methods of dealing with problematic behaviour
We expect that this will mean:
The lives of children and young people,
•
and their families, will be improved by the support they receive at an early stage of an issue, or the information they receive which helps stop an issue occurring Young people understand about sex
•
and relationships
Fewer teenage pregnancies
•
Support for children and young people
•
who frequently misuse substances such as alcohol or drugs, helping them to change
Primary school children who
•
are overweight
Children understand how to live active
•
and healthy lives, through better information about healthy eating,
opportunities such as school meals and information about sports, play facilities, clubs etc
Children’s capacity to avoid developing
•
problems is improved
Children are offered help to tackle
•
problems at the earliest possible stage Support will be provided in a coordinated
•
way from a range of local services The number of children experiencing or
•
concerned by bullying reduces
Young people do not go on to offend or
•
become involved in anti-social behaviour Parents are more able to cope with the
•
behaviour of their children Reduction in school exclusions
•
More young people are involved in
•
positive activities, especially opportunities in their local community
Timely assessments for children and
•
young people who have been identifi ed as needing support, so that assistance can be given at the earliest possible point Timely reviews for children and young
•
people to ensure the range of support offered is meeting their needs
“Stop people getting bullied.
You are encouraged to tell
your teacher…but I was too
scared. I told my brother
and sister to help me
instead and stop
the bullying.”
87% of children and young people agreed with this priority, especially in relation to bullying.
Transitions
Why are we doing this?
“When I approach a child,
he inspires me in two
sentiments: tenderness for
what he is, and respect for
what he may become.”
Louis Pasteur
We will provide support to children
and young people at times of
change in their lives (known as
transitions), such as:
starting school
•
changing school
•
moving from primary to secondary school
•
moving from secondary school to further
•
education, training or employment when family arrangements change (e.g.
•
when parents divorce or a parent dies).
A study in the USA found that effective support during the period when a child starts school makes a signifi cant difference on the child’s progress at school. The impact for children was greater for those from low- to middle-income families and less on upper-income children.
Other general research suggests that schools are effective at helping children deal with the social and emotional aspects of moving from primary to secondary school, but are less effective in maintaining learning progress over the same period.
Leaving school offers choices to young people, such as further study or work opportunities. The number of young people in Buckinghamshire who are not in employment, education or training is 4.0%, lower than the national average of 6.7%. However, this fi gure is rising due to the economic downturn across the UK. For some parents with a child with a disability, the period when a young person leaves school may be challenging, and effective planning is essential.
There were 279 children in the care system in Buckinghamshire. They need support as they enter care, and as they leave the care system. The outcomes for young people leaving the care system are likely to be poorer than other young people. They may have fewer educational qualifi cations and are less likely to be in education, employment or training. In Buckinghamshire 66% of care leavers achieved at least one GCSE, compared to a national average of 57%. Whilst Buckinghamshire’s results are better than national averages in this area, we want to focus on those children and young people who will benefi t from additional support and guidance at specifi c times in their lives.
Case Study of Good Practice
The young people presented a rap that they had written, recorded and produced. Here are some of the lyrics:
“We wanna progress not digress, we need support to achieve success”
“Some things in life seem a little complex, when we don’t understand it just makes us vexed, that’s what we call the transition process” “Transitions a mission, we wanna grow
up and become good citizens”
“So sit up yeah, we got dreams and they’re glistening, they’re gonna come true and that’s because of commissioning”
We have been working with staff in Adult Social Care to improve the experience of young people with additional needs and their families as they move towards the transition into adult life.
In January 2009, 120 young people told us what really mattered to them during this process of transition. This was followed by a conference in March, called Mission Transition. The conference was led by 30 young people from Amersham and Wycombe College and Furzedown School. The
conference was attended by over 100 people who support young people in transition. There were presentations on some of the good work that has happened so far and what other improvements need to happen in the future in areas such as:
Health
•
Leisure and recreation
•
Education and employment
•
Being independent and transport needs.
•
Case Study of Good Practice
Aylesbury College worked closely with young people and Connexions to design and deliver a 12-week full time course for young people who were not in education, employment or training. In listening to needs of the young people, the College was able to provide a practical work skills programme with an emphasis on developing personal, social and employability skills. The programme was delivered by teachers from the College and Connexions Personal Advisors. 12 young people attended the programme and half of these have now put in applications to study on full time programmes in September 2010.
What are we going to do?
1. Aiming High for Disabled Children, the government’s
transformation programme for disabled children’s services in England, says more work is needed to improve and co-ordinate services for disabled young people in transition to adult life. We will implement the Transition Support Programme40 in Buckinghamshire coordinating change across Children’s Services and Adult Services:
Establish clear and effective arrangements across
•
all of the organisations that are involved to ensure a single, shared approach for the management of transitions to adulthood
Provide young people with additional needs with
•
access to advocacy services
Offer young people with additional needs the
•
opportunity to make an active contribution at all levels of service planning and commissioning Develop a clear framework (by working with
•
interested people including young people with additional needs and their families) to show how the actions have made a difference
2. Review, develop and improve the way transitions in school for vulnerable children are supported
3. Develop a support network for children and young people experiencing loss, such as when parents
