Better Outcomes for All

Every Child Matters
Changes for the better for Children

April 2008 - 2009

~ A Vision for Services for Children and Young People in Tameside ~

Tameside’s mission is to promote and achieve better outcomes for all. Our vision is of a just and harmonious society, of which children and young people are valued and respected members; supported and encouraged as they grow up by their parents, friends, and family but also by other adults in the community. Encouraged to aim high but also to learn from mistakes as they grow into and through adolescence, they will be increasingly able to participate in decisions that affect their lives and those of others.

We use the symbol of the ‘Tameside Rainforest’ to show the way in which services and outcomes for children and young people are naturally connected and interdependent, and contribute to the life of the community in the borough.

(Source: The Science Museum of Minnesota - www.sci.mus.mn.us/sln/tf/s/strata/strata.html )

The rainforest is a perfect eco-system. The forest floor provides the nutrients to enable sustained growth. The under-storey and canopy aim ever upwards. And the emergents are dramatic evidence of success, in turn feeding the floor and sustaining the whole system. Just as rainforests are vulnerable to outside pressures of ignorance and exploitation we know, with our partners, that high quality services need to be nurtured and protected.

Tameside's Services for Children and Young People are also organic. Our vision leads to practical strategies to ensure the best for all children and young people in a continuing cycle into adulthood, thus sustaining and improving the community.

Priorities for Children and Young People in Tameside for 2008-09

• Promote healthy lifestyles with particular focus on Obesity and Oral health
• Improve Emotional Health and Wellbeing for all young people
• Increase the proportion of young people moving into education, employment and training
• Continue to raise attainment at all phases of learning with strategic focus on under-achieving groups and schools
• Reduce the rates of Teenage Pregnancy
• Continue to reduce the gap in the outcomes of Looked After Children and other vulnerable groups.

In addition to the above priorities we will:

• Continue to work hard to reduce the impact of domestic abuse on children, improve the stability of placements for looked after children and ensure that safeguarding issues are kept high on the agenda
• Develop integrated services for children with disabilities
• Develop a comprehensive and well publicised range of support for parents 

Our Community Strategy in Tameside was produced through extensive consultation with all sections of the community, including children and young people. A revised 10 year strategy is now in place for 2003-2013, but the six main themes within the strategy continue to fit perfectly with the 5 Every Child Matters outcomes for children and young people.

The Five Outcomes and Tameside's Community Strategy

Be Healthy		A healthy population
Stay safe		A safe environment
Enjoy and achieve		A learning community
Achieve economic well-being		A prosperous society Supportive communities
Make a positive contribution		An attractive borough

A rainforest does not appear from nowhere, nor can it flourish without the right conditions. We are fortunate that the strengths of Tameside as a 4 star Council have created a foundation of partnership, collaboration and genuine consultation.

Young people were consulted with about the community strategy and consultations with young people continue to play a vital part in the development of services. The Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership reports directly to Tameside’s Strategic Partnership, and we continue to consult with, inform and take part in joint activities with all partners within and beyond the borough to continue with our aim of ‘achieving better outcomes for all’.

To turn this aim into reality we have developed a set of commitments that will underpin and sustain all the work we do. These commitments apply to every young person in the borough and to all the adults working with them and are embedded in the priorities and strategies outlined in the Children’s Plan:

Integrated Services:

Through integrated working we can enable professionals to work together effectively to meet the need of young people – not just within our service but across all partners and agencies. Integrated services are built around the needs of children and not for the convenience of professionals.

Access to Services:

 However good services are it is no use if young people cannot gain easy access to them. Through our Service Information Directory (SID) and through better coordinated arrangements, including localised services, our commitment is to ensure quick and easy access.

Support and Information:

As well as providing information for young people it is essential to meet their needs by accurate sharing of information about them. This is vital to ensure they get the services they need – when they are needed. We are committed to further developing our own information sharing system as well as linking it to the national system known as Contactpoint.

Inclusion and Equality:

It is important to meet the diversity of needs of all young people in Tameside – and to help them to feel a sense of pride and belonging to a safe, supportive community whether at home, in school or out and about. We are committed to tackling disadvantage and discrimination to ensure that all our young people have the best possible start in life.

Narrowing the Gap:

Our commitment to narrowing the gap is an ambitious one. It means that at all levels we raise aspirations to ensure that the most vulnerable and disadvantaged have better chances and are able to benefit from a better start in life. This applies to individuals, groups of young people, services and schools. For instance, at the time of writing the gap between lowest performing schools and higher performing ones has narrowed by 20% at the same time as achievement in schools has improved – postcode should not determine a young person’s success or failure.

Early Intervention:

We know that the earliest years of a child’s life are crucial to their development and life chances. We are committed to the provision of high quality Children’s Centres and Extended School services to ensure children, especially the most vulnerable, get a good start. We also know that when a child needs support it is urgent to intervene as quickly and effectively as possible, bringing the right level and type of support into play.

Local Provision:

Although Tameside is a small borough it is important that young people have access to locally based services and that partners work closely together to meet their needs. To ensure this happens we have established four service areas, covering the whole borough. At the same time we have appointed four area coordinators to ensure that children’s workforce in the four areas begin to work in partnership, sharing common goals and objectives.

High Achievement:

We are committed to ensuring every child in Tameside has a high quality education, leaving school having achieved the best of which they are capable. Standards in schools have risen every year for the last eight years but some young people still fail to benefit as much as they should, affecting their future life chances. Every child matters and every child’s education matters as a means of ensuring that they can go on to enjoy the benefits of society.

Involving Young People as Positive Members of the Community:

In addition to involving young people in consultation about what kind of services they want we are committed to ensuring that they are also involved in the life of the community and are perceived in a positive light by older people in the borough.

All of these commitments are crucial to the delivery of our Children and Young People Plan. They are not stand-alone activities but the principles that underpin our belief in better outcomes for all young people in the borough.

This document has been produced by Tameside Services for Children and Young People in collaboration with all our partners.

For further information on this publication, please contact one of the following:
Send a Message to Executive Director, Send a Message to Director of Education or Send a Message to Director, Children