Children and Young People’s Plan 2019 – 2023

Keeping children safe

Every child and young person has the right to feel safe, be protected from neglect, and free from the exploitation of others.

Preventing neglect continues to be a top priority and we want to ensure the right support is always available for children and families where drugs, alcohol and other multiple issues significantly impact on children.

The exploitation of children by adults such as that relating to drugs and other criminal activity is a growing concern. We will continue to work together to ensure information and training is in place.

We will also work together to improve the way we reach out to vulnerable young people, including those missing education, and to intervene where there is a risk of crime, radicalisation, gangs, knife crime or anti-social behaviour.

Our priorities to 2023 are:

Support for vulnerable young people at risk

We will:

  • Work together to prevent children missing education, particularly those from disadvantaged and vulnerable backgrounds
  • Work with the community and youth services to support young people at risk of becoming part of gangs or involved in crime and anti-social behaviour
  • Support families and carers if a young person is missing and after they return home
  • Identify and support vulnerable young people at risk of radicalisation or of exploitation by adults

PREVENT Strategy

Better identification and prevention of neglect

Where the needs and actions of parents may impact on the care of children leading to neglect, we will work together more effectively to identify it, prevent it or intervene early.

Neglect Strategy and Toolkit.

Helping more people stay out of care

We want to help more children and young people to stay out of care by supporting them in their own families and communities. This means ensuring help and support is available earlier and managing often high levels of risk, need and complexity in a different way.We will:

  • Develop a multi-agency team to support children and young people in crisis where there is a risk of family breakdown
  • Develop a crisis response for children in care to help them off the roller coaster of placement crisis/breakdown