ITEM CA10
CABINET –
CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE’S PLAN (CYPP)
REVIEW OF YEAR ONE
Report by Interim Head of Children & Young People’s Service
Introduction
1. Oxfordshire’s first Children and Young People’s Plan (CYPP) was produced in April 2006. There is a new statutory requirement to carry out an annual review of the CYPP and publish the outcome.
2.
The aim of the review is to focus on the
impact of the plan on outcomes and quality of services for children, young
people and families and to inform the development of
priorities for Year 2 of the Plan.
3.
This review of the CYPP has been led by the
Children and Young People’s Partnership with engagement of a wide range of
partners including children and young people, parents and carers, the County
Council, district councils, voluntary sector, health, schools and police.
4.
The review has been an ongoing process over
the course of the year involving a wide range of stakeholders and has been
informed by:
·
regular reports on progress in implementing
the plan from CYPP leads;
·
regular reports on progress and feedback from the Children and Young People’s
Partnership and Board.
5.
The detailed analysis of needs undertaken as
part of the development of the CYPP has been updated.
6.
The review of the CYPP has been welcomed as
an opportunity to secure greater engagement of different agencies, particularly
schools, in the development and delivery of the plan. Six workshop sessions have been organized for
headteachers and chairs of governors as part of the CYPP review process.
7.
There has been ongoing feedback from
Children, Young People & Families Directorate about their needs and
experiences of services throughout the course of the year. This feedback has been collected to inform
the review of the Plan and the priorities for Year 2.
8.
In addition, there has been an extensive
survey of the views and experiences of 5,000 children and young people in
Oxfordshire. Feedback from this survey
has informed the review of the CYPP and will provide powerful feedback to shape
the development of services over the coming year.
9.
The review has focused on:
·
strengths and achievements in Year 1 of the
plan with a focus on improvements in outcomes and quality of services for
children, young people and families;
·
areas for further development to address
needs;
·
priorities for Year 2 of the plan.
10.
The review of the Plan has to be submitted to the
DfES on
11.
The Every Child Matters: Change for Children
and Youth Matters programmes set out a challenging and ambitious vision for how
services are to be provided for children and young people over the next 10
years. In Oxfordshire a positive start
has been made in implementing these changes in order to improve outcomes and
quality of services for children and young people.
12.
A number of new joint services for children,
young people and families have been developed in response to the needs identified,
for example:
·
a new joint funded primary care child and
adolescent mental health service was established in 2006;
·
a new drug treatment service specifically
for young people was developed in 2006;
·
joint funded residential respite provision
for disabled children is now provided through Barnardo’s;
·
the Connexions Service is now managed as part of the County Council’s integrated
youth support service.
13.
Children and families are continuing to be
engaged in the development of services. Two ‘Sounding Boards’ - one for children and young people and one for
parents and carers – meet regularly with the Director of Children’s Services,
lead member for children and other senior officers to inform decision making
about Children’s Services in Oxfordshire. A Children and Young People’s Involvement Network secures wide
engagement of children and young people in decision making about particular
issues of concern.
14.
The strategies and services are having a
demonstrable impact on outcomes for children and young people, for example:
·
educational achievement at secondary level
has improved;
·
levels of offending and re-offending have
reduced;
·
truancy and exclusions are reducing;
·
the number of homeless young people has
reduced;
·
the achievement of vulnerable groups has
improved;
·
special needs tribunals have reduced
significantly;
·
the opportunities for young people to have “things to do and places to go” is
increasing.
15.
However, there is much work still to
so. As the CYPP moves into Year 2, the
following areas had been identified:
·
focus on a small number of cross cutting
priority areas so there can be delivery of real improvements in outcomes for
children and young people in these areas;
·
ensure locality teams work well and
implement team around the child, lead professional, and common assessment
arrangements;
·
develop a strong commissioning framework;
·
develop a joint approach to allocation of
resources against priorities particularly in the context of efficiency savings
and significant grant fall out in April 2008;
·
ensure secure greater engagement of schools
and GPs in delivering the five outcomes with the necessary support from other
agencies to do this;
·
workforce development;
16.
The feedback from Scrutiny Committee on
17.
A copy of the Review of the CYPP is enclosed
at Annex 1 (download as .pdf file).
This
review is intended to complement the three-year CYPP 2006-09, which can be
found on www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cypp.
RECOMMENDATION
18. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to approve the
Review of the Children and Young People’s Plan.
MIKE SIMM
Interim Head of Children and Young People’s Service
Children, Young People
& Families
Background papers: Oxfordshire Children and Young
People’s Plan:
Review
of Year One
Contact Officer: Mike Simm, Interim Head of Children and Young People’s Service, Tel (01865) 815125
July 2007
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