Every Child Matters: Next Steps Every Child Matters: Next Steps Contents
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PHOTO REDACTED DUE TO THIRD PARTY RIGHTS OR OTHER LEGAL ISSUES Every child matters: next steps Every child matters: next steps contents Foreword by the Minister for Children, Young People and Families 3 1 The Consultation 5 2 The Response: The Children Bill 13 3 The Response: Towards a Shared Programme of Change 25 4 The Response: Working in Partnership 37 PHOTO REDACTED DUE TO THIRD PARTY RIGHTS OR OTHER LEGAL ISSUES Foreword Since the launch beyond school for young people. A shift to of Every Child prevention while strengthening protection. Matters, last Practical changes underpinned by clearer September, we accountability and partnership. By a cultural have seen the transformation to create more trusting richest and most relationships between frontline professionals significant debate – doctors, nurses, teachers, police and social on children’s workers. A vibrant voluntary and community services for over a generation. sector with new opportunities to be involved I would like to thank everyone who in the design and delivery of services. contributed to the consultation. The response Six months on, we are taking a critical step illustrated the depth and breadth of in delivering this vision through the commitment to putting children first. introduction of a Children Bill. This places The vision we have is a shared one. Every duties on every agency to work together child having the opportunity to fulfil their to deliver common outcomes. It creates a potential, and no child slipping through the statutory basis for partnership working and net. A step change in early years provision, involving all partners, including the voluntary with health, education, and social care and community sector. It addresses Lord closely integrated through Sure Start Laming’s recommendations for clear Children’s Centres. Parenting support leadership and accountability through the embedded at each life stage. Schools that creation of a Director of Children’s Services provide high standards, and a range of and a Lead Council Member for children. It extended services. Multi-disciplinary teams creates a Children’s Commissioner, a based in universal services such as clusters of powerful champion for children to ensure schools or early years settings. More support their views and interests are at the heart of and a wider range of positive activities in and policy making and national debate. Every child matters – Foreword 3 The Children Bill is the start of a long-term widening the role of the Teacher Training programme but it is vital we make rapid Agency to cover the wider school workforce. progress and build momentum. This requires The Green Paper posed many challenges. a new role for Government in promoting I am enormously grateful for the enthusiastic change. For too long we have focused on and constructive response to our proposals. micro-managing localities through small Over the next few months, we will further budgets and planning regimes. Our role in develop the dialogue with all key partners, making change happen must be primarily so that we can build the strongest possible as a catalyst and enabler. coalition around a shared programme of First, we must sharpen the incentives and change. I believe that this common accountability for improving outcomes. commitment to reform means we can be We will therefore rationalise targets and optimistic that we can together seize this ensure all services are judged on how they once in a generation chance to transform cohere to meet common objectives through opportunities, services and support for a new integrated inspection system. We will children, young people and families. develop greater contestability in service provision and build children’s views into the design, delivery and evaluation of services. Second, we are combining the tighter Margaret Hodge, accountability for outcomes enshrined in the Minister for Children, Young People Bill with greater freedom over how these and Families. outcomes are met. We are freeing up local practitioners through streamlined performance management, rationalised funding streams, new powers to pool budgets and share information, and tackling unnecessary bureaucratic burdens. Third, we will promote change through actively sharing learning and investing in our workforce. A critical priority is to increase the attractiveness of a career working with children, and improve skills, trust and teamworking. We are therefore announcing a £20 million change programme to support cultural change; creating a Sector Skills Council to bring employers together; and 4 Every child matters: Next Steps – Foreword PHOTO REDACTED DUE TO THIRD PARTY RIGHTS OR OTHER LEGAL ISSUES The Consultation 1.1 Since we published Every Child Matters emerging from the Government’s current in September 2003, there has been Spending Review. unprecedented public debate about services The Green Paper – Every Child Matters for children, young people and families. 1.3 Our aim is to ensure that every child and This document: young person has the opportunity to fulfil G outlines the views that emerged from their potential, and no child slips through the consultation – Chapter 1; 1 net. The Green Paper set out five outcomes G provides an overview of the Children Bill which services should work towards, based on and how it addresses key issues raised in consultation with children and young people: the consultation – Chapter 2; being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and G describes the first steps we are taking to achieving, making a positive contribution and implement the Green Paper through a economic well-being. Many people and programme of change for children organisations will contribute to these goals: developed and delivered through the from children, young people, parents and broadest possible partnership and on the carers to organisations in the public, basis of a new relationship between the voluntary, community and private sectors. Government and all those concerned – Strong foundations 1 Chapters 3 and 4. 1.4 The Green Paper recognised that we 1.2 We will set out the next phase of the need to build on the strong foundations for programme of change in the autumn, with a prevention we have already laid through: fuller description of the outcomes we all G tackling child poverty; want to see children’s services achieve, backed up by the targets and funding 1 This document refers to England only. The equivalent Welsh material is contained the document Children and Young People: Rights to Action, published by the Welsh Assembly Government in January 2004. All references in this document to the legislation put forward in the Children Bill are subject to the usual Parliamentary procedures. Every child matters: Next Steps – Consultation 5 G ensuring children in disadvantaged areas truancy. The voluntary and community have the best possible start in life sector would have a critical role in the through Sure Start Children’s Centres design and delivery of services. Building offering integrated daycare and early on the success of the adoption reforms, learning, health, family and parenting the Green Paper also consulted on support; measures to tackle the recruitment and G working to raise primary and secondary retention challenges in foster care, and school standards and increase ensure that foster carers have the skills participation in post-16 learning; and support they need to care for vulnerable children. G improving access to primary health care G and specialist health services; Early Intervention and Effective Protection: we consulted on measures G reducing offending and anti-social to enable children to receive help at the behaviour; and first onset of problems rather than G building strong and vibrant communities suffering from delays, duplication and and ensuring that children are safe. being passed between different services. 1.5 Improving outcomes for young people We consulted on measures to improve requires a long-term change in culture and information sharing; establish a common ways of working so that resources are assessment framework; identify lead organised around the needs and aspirations professionals for each case where a child of children and young people. The Green is known to more than one specialist Paper argued that we need to build on the agency; integrate professional working progress already made by focusing action through multi-disciplinary teams on four main areas: responsible for identifying children at risk, and working with the young person and G Supporting Parents and Carers: we family; co-locate services in and around consulted on a long-term vision designed schools and early years settings such as to ensure that support for parents, Sure Start Children’s Centres; and ensure particularly at key points in a child’s and a effective child protection procedures young person’s life, becomes routine. across all agencies. This would be through universal services G providing information, advice, and Accountability and Integration-locally, support; targeted and specialist services regionally and nationally: we consulted for parents of children who need them; on proposals to create a Director of and compulsory action through Children’s Services and a Lead Council Parenting Orders as a last resort where Member for Children; bring together the parents condone anti-social behaviour or commissioning of key services through Children’s Trusts; and require Local 6 Every child matters: Next Steps – Consultation Authorities to work closely in partnership Government was rightly giving children’s with