Introduction

Building Brighter Futures…. Extending Services for children young people and their families in Devon

Extended Services in and around Schools (ESS) Building brighter futures? What has this to do with Extended Services in and around Schools (ESS)? ESS in Devon Where do we need to be? Where are we now? How are we going to make progress ?

Five principles underpin the Children’s Plan Government does not bring up children – parents do – so government needs to do more to back parents and families. All children have the potential to succeed and should go as far as their talents can take them Children and young people need to enjoy their childhood as well as being prepared for adult life Services need to be shaped by and responsive to children young people and their families, not designed by professional boundaries It is always better to prevent failure than to tackle a crisis later

DCFS Children’s plan Consistency Our Children’s Plan will strengthen support for families during the formative early years of their children’s lives, take the next steps in achieving world class schools and an excellent education for every child, involve parents fully in their children’s learning, help to make sure that young people have interesting and exciting things to do outside of school, and provide more places for children to play safely.

This means a new leadership role for Children’s Trusts in every area, a new role for schools as the centre of their communities, and more effective links between schools, the NHS and other Children’s services so that together they can engage parents and tackle all the barriers to the learning health and happiness of every child.

Where do we want to be? In 2010 all schools delivering on site or signposting to : Quality Childcare Varied menu of activities Parenting Support Swift and easy access to specialist services Community facilities These should be delivered in response to community need.

Five principles underpin the Children’s Plan Government does not bring up children – parents do – so government needs to do more to back parents and families. All children have the potential to succeed and should go as far as their talents can take them Children and young people need to enjoy their childhood as well as being prepared for adult life Services need to be shaped by and responsive to children young people and their families, not designed by professional boundaries It is always better to prevent failure than to tackle a crisis later

Where are we now? 34% of schools providing the core offer: 31% of primary; 51% of secondary;50% of special; 100% of nursery By mid September 2008 it is expected that Devon school level data will indicate that 50% of primary schools are delivering on the core offer, and by 2010 that all schools will be delivering the full core offer

How are we going to make progress? A strategy agreed and monitored through Schools Forum. Learning communities as basic grouping for delivery. A clear mechanism for delivery, support and accountability from Local Authority/Children’s Trust to School level Funding appropriately deployed to underpin the development of Extended Services in and Around School.

ECM – Where did it come from? “Suffice to say that at the end Victoria spent the cold winter months, bound hand and foot, in an unheated bathroom, lying in the cold bath in a plastic bag in her own urine and faeces and having to eat what food she could get by pressing her face onto the plate of whatever was put in the bath beside her. Little wonder that the time of her last admission to hospital her body temperature was so low it did not register on a standard thermometer and her legs could not be straightened. So in a few months this once lively, bright and energetic child had been reduced to a bruised, deformed and malnourished state in which her life ebbed away because of the total collapse of her body systems.” “Victoria was known to no fewer than 4 social services departments, 3 housing departments, 2 specialist child protection teams of the metropolitan police. Furthermore, she was admitted to 2 different hospitals because of concerns that she was being deliberately harmed and was referred to a specialist Children and Families centre managed by the NSPCC….between 26 th April 1999 and 25 th February 2000” Victoria Climbie enquiry, extracts from Lord Laming’s speech.