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Every Child Matters

What is the Every Child Matters: Change for Children Programme?

The Every Child Matters: Change for Children programme is the most significant programme of change for services working with children and young people for decades. Its origins lie partly in the problems that led to the death of Victoria Climbie in London, and partly in an increasing emphasis on joined up and integrated working. The two key drivers behind the Every Child Matters: Change for Children programme are the Children Act (2004) and the National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services.

What are the aims of the Every Child Matters: Change for Children programme?

The vision is a radical improvement in opportunities and outcomes for children and young people, driven by whole-system reform of the delivery of children’s services.

There will be systemic change to:

• Build services around the child, young person and family
• Support parents and carers
• Develop the workforce, changing culture and practice and to integrate
• Integrate universal and targeted services
• Integrate services across the 0-19 age range

What is the Every Child Matters ‘outcomes framework’?

At the heart of the Every Child Matters: Change for Children programme are five key outcomes that all services for children and young people are expected to work towards. The key outcomes are that children and young people are supported to:

• Be Healthy
• Stay Safe
• Enjoy and Achieve
• Make A Positive Contribution
• Achieve Economic Well-being

There are a range of targets and indicators that will tell us how well we are meeting these outcomes for children and young people. We call this the ‘outcomes framework’. It is a set of specific outcomes and aims that all local authority areas need to work towards for children and young people. It allows for consistency across all areas in England, while also providing for local flexibility.

What are the main requirements of the Children Act (2004)?

The Children Act (2004) created the post of Children’s Commissioner for England. Professor Al Aynsley Green, formerly Clinical Lead for Children in the NHS, has recently been appointed to this post.

The local provisions are:

• A new duty to co-operate to improve the well-being of children and young people (defined by the five outcomes listed above). The Children Act names the Local Authority, Primary Care Trust and Strategic Health Authority, Connexions Service, Youth Offending Service, Police Force, Probation Service and Learning and Skills Council as the organisations under a duty to co-operate.
• A new duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children
• A duty to establish Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards. These will replace the existing Area Child Protection Committees and have will have a more significant role.
• Provision to establish indexes or databases containing information about children and young people, to facilitate better information sharing.
• A new duty to produce an over-arching Children and Young People’s Plan, setting out the agreed priorities for children and young people in the area.
• Structural changes for the council, including a requirement to appoint a Director of Children’s Services and name a lead elected member for children and young people.
• A new joint inspection framework, consisting of an annual performance assessment of services provided by the Local Authority and a three-yearly Joint Area Review of all publicly funded services for children and young people
• A new duty to promote the educational achievement of looked after children, including through improved corporate parenting arrangements

What is a Children’s Trust?

A ‘children’s trust’ is a conceptual model of the way in which services for children and young people will work together. The model has five layers:

• An outcome-based vision for children and young people
• Integrated front-line delivery of services, largely through Children’s Centres and Full Services Extended Schools
• Integrated processes – Common Assessment Framework, Information Sharing & Assessment, and Workforce Reform
• Integrated strategy – new joint commissioning arrangements and an over-arching Children and Young People’s Plan
• Inter-agency governance arrangements – through Oldham Children’s Trust

Local areas have flexibility to determine exactly what their children’s trust approach will look like, depending on local needs and circumstances. For some time in Oldham we have been developing and working to Children’s Trust arrangements under the banner of ‘Oldham’s Children and Young People Partnership’. More recently however we have officially adopted Children’s Trust status in order to more effectively deliver the Changing for Children agenda at a local level.  

Where can I get more information?

Visit the Every Child Matters website, at www.everychildmatters.gov.uk

Alternatively, you can contact the children's trust development officer on 0161 770 1295

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