Agenda item

Report of the Chief Officer for Children’s Services, attached.

The Board received the Report of the Chief Officer for Children’s Services (CS/19/26) on the Devon Children and Families Partnership Children and Young People’s Plan and the connections to the Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

The Devon Children and Families Partnership (DCFP) was established in 2018 in response to the Wood Review reforms and subsequently set out in statutory guidance ‘Working Together 2018’.  The DCFP strategic plan set out the vision and priorities for children and families in Devon for the next three years.  It was led by three local safeguarding partners, being the Council, the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Devon and Cornwall Police, although membership spanned education, schools, social care, public health, health providers, District Councils, voluntary sector, police and children and families. The partnership had a responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people in Devon.

The development of the Plan had been coordinated through a range of multi-agency events and refreshed the commitments made and direction that had been set in 2017. The voice of children and families had been a critical foundation to the priorities.

The vision and priorities identified in the Children and Young People’s Plan included all children / young people having the right to:

1.  Life Chances – including a good education for all, better support for children in care and care leavers and improving the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) offer.

2.  Be Healthy and Happy – including emotional wellbeing, mental health and self-harm, early support for autism and improving speech and language services.

3.  Feel Safe – including better identification and prevention of neglect, support for vulnerable young people at risk and helping more people stay out of care.

4.  Be Protected from Harm – including protecting and supporting children where there was domestic or sexual violence and abuse, helping children in crisis and reducing the impact of self-harm and preventing exploitation.

The Partnership would continue to engage with children and to refine interventions and demonstrate impact. It had also reviewed population data taken from the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment and Devon Children and Young People’s Sustainability and Transformation Plan Data Pack which informed the priorities.

The Plan broke with tradition and moved towards total digital communication, putting the purpose and priorities in the hands of staff and children, accessible through mobile devices and accessible in language and design. The Report further highlighted how the plan had been shared and the positive feedback received.

The Plan would be supported by more detailed documents such as an Outcomes Framework a Workforce Development Strategy and a Joint Commissioning Plan and there were multiple sub-strategies and plans.  The priorities were focused on areas of increased demand or high spend and the preventative and early intervention support required to prevent increased demand in the future, which was challenging in current financial conditions.

Members discussion points with officers included:

·         ongoing work with young people to include climate change actions within the Plan;

·         an emphasis on children living in poverty and deprivation and aiming to give young people the best start in life; and

·         an updated Devon and Cornwall Police Drug Strategy Policy included a push towards supporting vulnerable young people – to be circulated to Board Members once published.

RESOLVED that the Children and Young People’s Plan be noted.