A little over two months ago, I took on the role of Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services.
Like councils across the country, we are seeing an unprecedented rise in the number of children and young people who need our help, and we must respond to their needs.
This is why in Suffolk County Council’s budget, we outlined plans to increase funding for Children and Young People by £36.5 million in 2024/25.
This additional money will allow us to support more children to remain safely cared for within their families and further improve the provision and support for children with additional needs and disabilities.
I would like to share some reflections from my first 2 months in the role.
Over the last 2 weeks I have visited Family Hubs across Ipswich, East and West Suffolk. It has been incredibly valuable to hear from practitioners about the work that they do, the challenges they face and the families they work with.
Family hubs aim to provide children with the best start in life and to enable them and their parents to receive the right support, at the right time to help them thrive. This can be from baby and toddler classes through to targeted family support to prevent problems escalating. Support is available for families with children aged 0 – 19, and up to 25 for those with Special Educational Needs and Disability.
The Family Hub offer is delivered alongside the Public Health funded Health Visitors and whilst many families are supported in Family Hub buildings many interventions are also available in families own homes or online, making sure families can stay together and get the support they need.
As set out in our 2024/25 Budget, we have made a commitment to redesign our Family Hubs in 2024/25. Whilst a redesign of our Family Hubs model will mean some changes will be made, we are committed to providing steadfast support to ensure families stay strong and connected and which reflect the way that people would like to access help and support.
Your feedback will be absolutely crucial in shaping the future of our family hubs, and you will have the chance to tell us what you think via a public consultation which will take place later this year.
More details on the consultation will be released in due course and we will notify families when the consultation is live.
In recent weeks I have met with some of our outstanding social workers to see first-hand the hard work and dedication they put into the role every single day.
Social work is vital to keeping children and adults safe. Social workers help people live good, independent lives as part of the community. We are incredibly proud of our social workers in Suffolk and the fantastic work they do.
Earlier this month, we welcomed the Association of Directors of Swedish Social Services to Suffolk, to discuss ideas and share learning.
These helpful discussions offered a real focus on understanding the different approaches, processes and policies employed in both countries which effectively deal with the universal challenge of delivering good social care.
Turning to Children in Care, the Council is proud that most children in care remain in Suffolk, close to their family networks and to support this, we are increasing the number of residential placements. Working with Break, a voluntary sector provider, we have opened two new solo children’s homes in March, with a further home due to open in April. We are working with other providers to open two further homes by the end of May 2024.
Our Children in Care Council is made up for children and young people who are in care or leaving care who meet to discuss what it’s like to be in care in Suffolk.
Last month three young people from the Children in Care Council made up a young person’s panel to support with the recruitment for the role of Executive Director of Children and Young People.
As always, their insights were invaluable and the conversations with the candidates were so inspiring. They are looking forward to working with the successful candidate, Sarah-Jane Smedmor, who will be joining Suffolk in July from Central Bedfordshire Council.
Last month’s scrutiny focussed on our Youth Justice Service, which has recently seen a number of improvements, including changes to the way we work which has increased the team’s capacity.
Suffolk’s Youth Justice Service, which is made up of partners from across the Suffolk System helps children in or on the edges of the justice system, so it is vital that we provide them with the best support possible.
We have also been among the first to adopt the new national Prevention and Diversion Assessment Tool. The assessment tool supports the practitioner to hold the child in mind throughout the assessment and make sure they are at the heart of it. The tool has helped us to explore questions with young people which were previously unexplored, which has improved the quality of these assessments and ultimately helps us to ensure the right support is offered.
We are continuing to roll out our Foster Friendly Employer programme and we’re pleased to have recently welcomed Suffolk Libraries as a Foster Friendly Employer. Suffolk Libraries has made a commitment to offer its employees the flexibility and support they need to become foster parents while also continuing their careers. We're incredibly thankful and are looking forward to working with them to promote and celebrate fostering.
If your organisation is interested in becoming a foster friendly employer, please visit www.fosterandadopt.suffolk.gov.uk/fostering-friendly-employer to find out more.
I don’t underestimate the challenges that lie ahead as we continue to support current demand while also anticipating new commitments.
I am confident we can rise to the challenge as we continue to prioritise support for those that need us the most.
