Council Plan Delivery theme 2: Early help for children and families

Working together to improve early help for children and families

Keeping children safe is one of the most important roles the council fulfils. We are continuously looking to improve our early help, social care, and education services.

Our progress has recently been validated recently through a Joint Targeted Area Inspection and Local Government Association Peer Review. Our Early Help offer includes projects such as Family Toolbox which gives tips and tools to support families, and Cradle to Career which has has recently received national recognition. This theme seeks to continue this work focusing on supporting children and families in need as early as possible to improve outcomes and reduce the likelihood of higher costs intervention further down the line. In summary this theme seeks to improve outcomes for children, reduce educational attainment inequalities and raise the aspirations for all our children and young people. An important part of this is SEND (this stands for Special Educational Needs and Disability).

Outcomes

  • children and young people have their needs met early
  • children and young people stay safe and are protected from harm
  • children and young people achieve their potential and are prepared for adulthood

What we will do

  • continue to deliver Family Toolbox offer, Family Hubs, building community and neighbourhood capacity
  • deliver the Breaking the Cycle programme
  • deliver Transforming Care Programme
  • continue to develop Multi-agency child protection teams
  • delivering the Youth Justice Annual Plan
  • delivering the Safer Adolescence Strategy
  • develop and deliver the children, young people and family strand of Wirral Drugs Strategy and Remodel the Domestic Abuse Service
  • remodel Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Services and launch a new SEND Strategy
  • deliver the #EveryDayCounts campaign and review Wirral Attendance Service
  • embed the Graduated Response. This helps to support children and young people to meet their learning needs

How it will be measured

  • reduced need for social care interventions
  • a wider cost-effective range of care provisions
  • multiagency team delivering effectively
  • delivering well against new youth justice KPIs
  • better identification of risk and risk management criminal exploitation
  • reduced repeat domestic abuse referrals
  • better value delivered in SEND Programme
  • improved educational attainment