Children’s Challenge refresh 2022

Contents

• The introduction
• The purpose
• The ambition
• One Family Approach
• Stakeholder engagement
• How we know what the challenges are
• Consultation feedback
• The challenge to you – partners
• The challenge to us – children and families
• What success will feel and look like
• How will we know things are being done

The Introduction

In North Lincolnshire, children, young people and families views are really valued.  There is a genuine commitment to listening to and learning from views and experiences and children, young people and families are involved in decisions that affect their lives, as individuals or as groups who access the children and families offer. The One Family Approach very clearly places children in families and communities at the centre.

There are lots of opportunities for us to influence people who make decisions and we are encouraged and supported to have our say through established groups and forums, like the North Lincs Youth Council and the North Lincs PIP Parent Forum, or by telling people what it is like for us living in and accessing the children and families offer in the area, through the regular surveys, meetings, conferences, events and other engagement activity.  We are routinely engaged in consultation and engagement activity and we’re excited about being able to use our collective voice to shape and influence the One Family Approach through other partnerships, groups and forums too.

We are pleased with the progress that has been made over the last couple of years and we’re proud of our contributions to campaigns, workstreams and projects and we can see that it is making a difference.  However, there is still a lot to focus on and a key feature of this 2022 refresh of the Children’s Challenge is that through surveys and feedback, young people and families have identified some further areas of focus.

We want to challenge local partners to work together to take action and we have challenged ourselves as to how we can help too.  We are part of the solution and together, taking a One Family Approach, we can further improve the lives and experiences of children, young people and families.

Members of the North Lincolnshire Youth Council

The Purpose

The core of this document ‘the challenges’ are written from the perspective of children, young people and families and supported by the North Lincolnshire Youth Council and the North Lincolnshire PIP Parent Forum on behalf of children, young people and families in the area. This document is endorsed through the Children and Young People’s Partnership and it also informs the 2022 refresh of the North Lincolnshire Children’s Commissioning Strategy 2020/24.

This document:

• clarifies the One Family Approach and sets out the ambition for children for children to be in their families, in their schools and in their communities
• acknowledges the progress made on the original challenges in the Children’s Challenge and sets out further challenges that have been identified through consultation and engagement activity, for partnership action to contribute to the ambition and improve outcomes (safe, well, prosperous and connected)
• sets out key challenges for children, young people and families themselves as to how they can take self responsibility and positively contribute to the ambition and improve their own outcomes (safe, well, prosperous and connected)
• clarifies the importance of stakeholder engagement as a key enabler for change
• should be taken into account when making decisions regarding commissioning and redesign
• is a mechanism to ‘challenge’ partners, and children and young people themselves, as to whether they are taking account of the challenges identified

Ambition:

• Through our One Family Approach, we will work together with schools as the primary partner, wider partners and the community to build on and further strengthen an integrated system that works for all children, young people and families, where children can be in their families, in their schools and in their communities.

We do this by:

• Meeting need at the lowest level
• Prioritising the vulnerable
• Addressing inequalities to enable equality of opportunity and equality of outcomes
• Promoting independence, maximising opportunities and enabling self responsibility
• Managing and mitigating risk
• Ensuring the best children and families offer in the best place.

Policy intents:

• Focus on place based and neighbourhoods model
• Enabling sustainable change
• Whole family working
• Fewest best interventions
• One Council One Family One Place.

Shared values:

• Equality of opportunity, excellence, integrity and self responsibility

Drivers:

• National and local policy drivers
• Organisational model
• Practice model
• Helping Children and Families in North Lincolnshire document.

Outcomes:

Safe, Well, Prosperous and Connected.

Children, young people, families and communities are at the heart of all we do and by making use of their strengths, assets, views and experiences and by engaging with and working together as partners and with other key stakeholders across the partnership, including the voluntary and community sector, we will co-produce our local offer and support which meets needs and helps to achieve positive outcomes.

Along with children, young people, families and communities themselves, key partners and stakeholders include the Council, the NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, education providers, health providers, police and the voluntary and community sector.

There is a commitment from partners to contribute to and utilise all methods of engagement at every level and to co-ordinate engagement activity i.e. through the Children and Young People’s Partnership, recognising interdependency and the impact on children and families.

How we know what the challenges are

Consultation feedback: key themes

The challenge to you: Partners

Taking account the outcomes of consultation, and further discussions across the partnership, a number of challenges have been identified to shape and influence partnership action in order to contribute to children, young people and families being SAFE, WELL, PROSPEROUS and CONNECTED.

The challenge for us: children and families

In order to help contribute to children, young people and families being SAFE, WELL, PROSPEROUS and CONNECTED, we, as children, young people and families can also contribute as follows:

Young people will be mindful of the outcomes of Lifestyle Surveys and engage in pro social behaviours to keep themselves SAFE, WELL, PROSPEROUS and CONNECTED supported by co-produced information and resources.

What success will  look and feel like:

What is the vision we want to achieve?

The One Family Approach is how we respond to the needs of children and families in North Lincolnshire in the context of integrated services for children. It provides a vision for a new system that places children and families at the centre – a One Family Approach to strategy, commissioning, planning and practise.

What is the outcome we want to achieve

We want children, families, adults and communities to be:

• Safe
• Well
• Prosperous
• Connected.

What is our ambition?

• We achieve this taking a One Family Approach where children are in their families, in their schools and in their communities.

Population profile

• North Lincolnshire demographic profile
• CYP and families needing targeted early help
• CYP needing specialist services
• CIC and those living away from family
• CYP with send needs.

System health measures

• Front door activity (SPOC, contacts, referrals, repeat front door activity)
• Number of families achieving successful family outcomes (supporting families payments by results)
• Access to learning (attendance, NEET, adult learning(
• Community capacity (connected voluntary/ community sector – early help system).

Families will experience:

• I trust the professionals working with me and my family, they understand us better
• I tell my story once
• I get offered help much earlier now and everyone works together
• I have someone in my life listening to and caring for me and my family, appreciating our strength
• I set the outcomes in my family plan with my lead worker
• I know how to improve our lives, navigate the systems and get support if there are problems
• I feel my outcomes are improved
• I know the relative relationships I have with my friends and community will help me.

Impact

The impact of One Family Approach will be seen via sustained improved outcomes for families experiencing multiple challenges, wherever they are in the system, in the following areas

• Safe – Safe in my family safe in my community safe in relationships safe online
• Well – Free from the harm of substance misuse experiencing good physical health experiencing good emotional health and well-being
• Prosperous – achieve financial stability secure and stable housing accessing education/ learning and employment/ volunteering
• Connected – receives and provides family support positive relationships outside the home takes part in the community can get help online access to transport.

How will we know things are being done

We will know this by:

• Ongoing engagement with children, young people and families in the local area
• Understanding what has and hasn’t worked before (via reviews of projects, workstreams, strategies and plans)
• Understanding what performance information and data is telling us
• Understanding what voice and practice wisdom is telling us

Action taken to respond to the challenges will be considered at the Children and Young People’s Partnership and fed into relevant partnerships, boards and forums as appropriate.

Working together taking a One Family Approach, so that children are in their families, in their schools and in their communities, we will listen, learn, review and adapt leading to improved outcomes and experiences where children, young people and families are SAFE, WELL, PROSPEROUS and CONNECTED.

Contact

For further information

Email: julie.poole@northlincs.gov.uk