Althea Efunshile describes how the Children’s Fund is pushing for a cultural shift in the delivery of services to young people, and how partnerships  are involving young people.

The £380m Children’s Fund is about developing preventive strategies for children and young people at risk of social exclusion.

Members of partnerships include organisations and groups, both statutory and voluntary, who are involved in planning or delivering services to young people.

We want the fund to support a change in culture, a move towards a coherent approach to prevention work across agencies to tackle the issue of social exclusion among the 5-13 age group.

In order to do this, the top tier local authority areas (at county level) will identify a strategic partnership that can plan and develop preventive services that meet the needs of local young people.

The fund is being rolled out to all 149 areas of England with the 89 first and second wave areas now implementing their plans.

Actively involving children and young people is a core principle of the Children’s Fund and Children and Young People’s Unit. We are working with all partnerships to make sure they have effective and accessible ways of listening to and involving children and young people in their work. Partnerships are developing different ways of involving young people including setting up children’s steering groups, with young people taking part in recruitment of the programme manager for instance.

A number of diverse and innovative services are up and running, including projects to promote school attendance, peer mentoring schemes and after-school activities.

Althea Efunshile is director of the government’s Children’s and Young People’s Unit. See website www.cypu.gov.uk

Haringey’s theme scheme

Haringey Children’s Fund is developing a strategy based around four themes: language and literacy, play and creativity, self and others and giving children a voice. The scheme has close links with the local education authority which, as the lead agency, has embraced the need to work with voluntary and community groups, for instance Haringey Play Association, the Kurdish Advice Centre and Alhirja Somali Community Association, in developing and delivering services. The programme is also working with literacy-based projects for Kurdish and Somali children and their parents aiming to help attainments at school and improve health. Links between identified schools and a local community magazine have enabled the development of a children’s newsletter, where children are central to the production process.

Contact: Jay Manyande, programme manager 020 8489 3216

Robust Kowsley

 Knowsley Children’s Fund Partnership has clear and robust commissioning processes that support new ideas for services throughout the process and are seeking out examples of good practice outside the borough.

Services once commissioned are supported through service network meetings and training needs are catered for and open to all Sure Start and Connexions staff and volunteers. Enhanced service funding is available to all Children’s Fund services to allow for development.

Contact: Julia Smith, programme manager 0151 443 5648

Norfolk groups pool resources

Norfolk Children’s Fund Programme is developing partnership working with a cross-county approach to its delivery. One example of this is a sexual health project linking four schemes. These include North Lynn Discovery which runs an activity centre for children disaffected with school. A recording studio has been created to develop the musical skills of their young people. The centre welcomed several hundred children through its doors during the half-term week commencing 3 June. A group of the North Lynn children are offering musical support to the Thetford Sexual Health Project, a peer-led drama project that will visit primary schools and the younger children in secondary school. The Norwich-based Magdalene Group is planning to film this using the facilities of the Diss School Transition Project which is running filming workshops. The group will use the film within its own programme, which presents sexual health education workshops to schools. This is an  example of partnership working across a large county where schemes can sometimes end up operating in isolation.

Contact: Nicky Dawson, programme manager, 01603 495130

Redcar and Cleveland

Redcar and Cleveland Children’s Fund is encouraging children to access its services using an imaginative approach making the best use of the sorts of technology children are increasingly familiar with. They are developing an internet website and confidential and secure chatrooms to enable children, young people and families to obtain information on services and highlight issues. The aim is to develop communication strategies, highlight sources of information and provide opportunities to facilitate discussion of personal issues and problems in confidence.

Contact: Carole Moffat, programme manager, 01642 677302