The Children and Young People's Plan
The East Sussex Children and Young People's Plan
The Children and Young People’s Plan (the CYP Plan) is the ten-year ambition for partners in the Children and Young People’s Trust.
The CYP Plan shows how partners in the Children and Young People’s Trust work together to improve outcomes for children and young people. It focuses on those who are vulnerable to poor outcomes.
Working together is important in times of challenge. The CYP Plan aims to strengthen and promote working in partnership to best support the children and young people of East Sussex.
The CYP Plan takes account of wider aspects set out in the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment in relation to children and young people. This includes the Public Health Outcomes Framework. The Joint Strategic Needs Assessment identifies:
- health and wellbeing needs and
- strengths
of the local community.
Not all children at risk of poor outcomes live in households with low income. Not all children in such households are at risk of poor outcomes. There is a significant link between poverty and poor outcomes in relation to:
- education
- health and wellbeing
- safeguarding
- housing
- involvement in the criminal justice system
The Children and Young People’s Trust partners work together to help families with problems related to poverty. They want to support them in moving out of poverty. They want to prevent poor children from becoming poor adults by:
- removing barriers to attainment
- improving educational outcomes
- raising aspirations
- improving opportunities
Key Priorities in the Children and Young People's Plan
Through discussion and participation, five priority areas have been identified. These will support children and young people within East Sussex:
- Best Start for Life
- Physical Health
- Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing
- Education
- Safeguarding
Each of these priorities has:
- a set of performance indicators
- a multi-agency governing group
- a strategic lead
Key strategic objectives have been identified under each priority. Each of these will have more detailed delivery or action plans.
Cross cutting themes and overarching principles
We have identified several cross-cutting themes and overarching principles. These underpin:
- everything we do as a partnership
- working with children, young people and families
- a number of overarching principles
These themes and principles should be clear in all service delivery and commissioning. The key priority plans and strategies reflect the themes and principles, where appropriate. They should also reflect national influences such as:
- the recent pandemic
- the cost-of-living crisis
Thinking Digital: Using digital options to improve the services we can offer and the way we work.
Tackling inequalities: Understanding children, young people and families’ diverse needs. This is so they can inform us how we can best support them.
User Voice: Listening to children, young people and families’ experiences. Listening to how our services and commissioning affect them. Working with them to develop what works best.
Reducing carbon emissions: Initiatives to reduce our reliance on carbon. Working towards carbon-neutral services.
Prevention: Supporting people when needs first arise, to stop problems from getting worse.
Trauma-informed practice and therapeutic thinking: Recognising traumas people have experienced. Recognising their ongoing impacts. Asking ‘What is happening to you?’ rather than ‘What is wrong with you?’
Whole family approach: Working with whole families rather than just individuals. Helping them address challenges and support their children.
Helping people help themselves: Providing information and advice people need. Helping them to solve their own problems.
Making best use of resources: Partners working together to secure funding. Working together to join up services and reduce duplication.
Priority One: Best Start for Life
Governance:
Early Intervention Partnership Board
Vision:
All children including:
- those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and
- those who are looked after
are supported in their early development, from birth to age 5. This is so that the best possible foundations are laid for:
- their emotional and physical well-being as children and adults, and
- for their educational development
Strategic Objectives:
1. Early Attachment and Infant Mental Health
Families are supported. All babies and children are strongly attached to a caregiver. This caregiver is attuned to their needs and capable of meeting them in their earliest years. The mental health of caregivers is supported through early identification and intervention.
Key Action Areas
- Healthy Child Programme. High Impact Area, maternal and family mental health
- Family Hubs Programme. Develop and enhance public and community services. These are to support infant mental health and perinatal mental health. This includes provision for fathers and non-birthing parents
- Ensuring that all professionals are equipped to promote:
- strong attachment
- infant mental health
These include those working in the health visiting, midwifery and early years settings.
- Ensuring that accessible resources to promote the baby’s emotional well-being are made available. These are for all pregnant women and their families
- Ensuring there are opportunities in all local areas for families to get support. This includes peer support to:
- promote their own mental health
- reduce social isolation and loneliness
2. Home Learning Environment (HLE) and School Readiness
Families are helped to support the three prime areas of development:
- personal
- communication and language
- physical
Help and support aids
- educational recovery and
- the school readiness of children
who were babies during the pandemic.
Key Action Areas
- Healthy Child Programme. High Impact Area, ready to learn, narrowing the ‘word gap’
- Promote early play and communication opportunities
- Promotion of positive ways to help children thrive. This is through interaction, social contact and first-hand experiences
- Early identification and assessment of need. This is using ages and stages questionnaires (ASQ) and integrated review. This includes children with SEND
- Family Hub Programme: develop and enhance face-to-face and virtual home learning environment provision. This includes ‘Making it REAL (Raising Early Achievement in Literacy)’. Also, ‘50 Things to Do Before You’re Five’ resources
- Healthy Active Little Ones (HALO): enhancing parental involvement with early years providers and speech and language support
3. Physical Health
Babies and children develop good physical skills and maintain a healthy weight.
Key Action Areas
- Healthy Child Programme. High Impact Area:
-breastfeeding
-healthy weight and healthy nutrition
-reducing accidents
-health literacy for reducing accidents and minor illness
- Family Hubs Programme: develop and enhance face-to-face and virtual support for infant feeding. This is through peer support and other roles
- Further development of Health, Exercise, and Nutrition for the Really Young (HENRY) provision
- HALO: improving early years provision and parental involvement
- East Sussex Whole-System Healthy Weight Plan 2021-2026
- East Sussex Children and Young People’s Physical Health Services Strategy 2022 – 27
SEND
Early identification of special educational needs and or physical or mental health issues. Children and their families receive the right help at the right time.
Linking to Healthy Child Programme 0-5, Family Hubs and Early Years Education plans.
Priority Two: Physical Health (Sussex wide)
Governance:
Sussex Integrated Care Systems (ICS) Children’s Board
Vision:
We will work together as a system. This will ensure that Sussex Children and Young People (CYP), their families and carers are:
-
happy
-
healthy
-
safe
We will deliver accessible services no matter where in Sussex. These will offer consistent, compassionate, and high-quality care. CYP, families, and carers are at the heart of all that we do.
Strategic Objectives:
- Transforming Whole System Models of Care for CYP. Partnership working for innovation, integration, and improvement
- Interfaces and interdependencies across:
-Mental Health
-Learning Disabilities and Autism (LDA)
-Physical Health
Joining up expertise and delivery for improved outcomes
3. Long Term Conditions (LTCs):
Focusing on chronic conditions to improve quality of care and quality of life
4. CYP with Complex Medical or Health and Care Needs and Community Services. A priority focus is:
- addressing health inequalities
- ensuring accessible services for CYP with complex needs
5. Transitions from Children's Health Services to Independence and or Adult Services. Empowering young people to maximise their quality of life
How we know we have made a difference (performance indicators):
- Development of joint dashboards across:
-physical health
-mental health and wellbeing
-learning disabilities and autism
To include a range of metrics to monitor improvements. This includes waiting times and other agreed performance measures
- Joint commissioning arrangements to support integrated service pathways. Including the development of joint outcomes measures
- Increased community services with join-up across secondary and primary care
- Improvements in quality of care and outcomes for CYP with Long Term Conditions. These are in line with national ambitions
- Improvements in Health Inequalities for CYP and families. These will ensure good access to consistent high quality. Targeted areas to be decided
- All Service specifications to include best practice principles. These will ensure good transitions into young adult-friendly services. These will improve experience and outcomes
- All above areas should reflect CYP and family involvement and co-production
Physical Health Strategy link to be added March 2023
Priority Three: Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing
Governance:
East Sussex Children and Young People’s Health Oversight Board
Vision:
Our aim is to support children and young people (CYP). We want them to have positive emotional well-being and mental health so that they can thrive.
Strategic Objectives:
The objectives proposed as our areas of focus from September 22 to September 23 are as follows:
- To develop a social prescription model for CYP with mild to moderate mental health and emotional well-being difficulties. To support subsidised access to community support and activities
- To provide accessible high-quality:
-advice
-guidance
-self-help
for CYPs, their families, and practitioners
3. To improve well-being through education, including early years
4. To increase early help and access to support for moderate to mild mental health and emotional wellbeing difficulties
5. To develop an ‘East Sussex Best Start’ strategy
6. Listening to and responding to service user voice
7. Developing the workforce
8. Improving the mental health and emotional wellbeing support. This is for specific groups of vulnerable and neurodiverse children and young people.
9. Meeting the mental health and emotional wellbeing needs of children in need, children in care and care leavers
10. Develop plans for improving all life transitions made by CYP. These include the transition from child to adult services
11. Have a clear pan-Sussex suicide prevention strategy, supported by local multi-agency plans.
12. Ensure that appropriate urgent support is provided to CYP and families in crisis
How we know we have made a difference (performance indicators):
To develop a social prescription model for CYP with mild to moderate mental health and emotional well-being difficulties. To support subsidised access to community support and activities
- Develop and evaluate social prescribing models for CYP. This will include professionals who provide social prescribing and subsidised access to community support and activities.
- For the CYP who receive subsidised access to community support and activities:
-Number and percentage of CYP or service users reporting improved outcomes following engagement in social prescribing. This is through pre- or post-measures using validated well-being measures
-Reduction in referrals to Single Point of Advice (SPOA)
-Increased school attendance
-Improved behaviour in schools
- To provide accessible high-quality
-advice
-guidance
-self-help
for CYPs, their families, and practitioners.
- Develop a ‘Stepped Care’ model for schools and community services around ‘Getting Advice’ - part of the i-THRIVE framework. This will enable staff in schools and other organisations who work with children to be clear when and where they can go to get appropriate advice.
- Publicise the Single Point of Advice helpline for professionals supporting CYP. In particular those with mental health and emotional wellbeing difficulties.
- Establish service user feedback on the helpline
- A communications action plan that improves the accessibility of advice, guidance, and self-help. It will also inform young people and families how to access the mental health and emotional well-being offered in East Sussex. Baseline data will be established through a survey and progress monitored.
To improve well-being through education, including early years
- Improvement in CYP well-being as measured through school surveys, Well-being index
- Number and percentage of CYP or service users reporting improved outcomes. This is following interventions through pre- or post-measures
- Reduction in the number of children who are persistently absent from school
- Reduction in the number of children who require Teaching and Learning Provision. In particular, children with mental health and emotional wellbeing difficulties
- Reduction in exclusions
To increase Early help and access to support for moderate to mild mental health and emotional wellbeing difficulties
- Establishing increased capacity for 1500-2000 completed interventions in a year. (Emotional Wellbeing, mild, moderate mental health)
- Number and percentage of CYP or Service users reporting improved outcomes. These are following interventions through pre- or post-measures
- Number and percentage of CYP, parents, or carers reporting satisfaction with service received
- Monitoring and or measuring protective characteristics to evidence equity of access to this service. This is for vulnerable or hard-to-reach CYP
- Reductions to referrals and corresponding CAMHS caseloads by 25%
- Reduction in CAMHS waiting times
- Reduction in the number of crisis assessments undertaken in A&E
Priority Four: Education
Governance:
The Primary and Secondary Boards
The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Governance Group
Vision:
To fulfil the role of champion for children and young people. Continue to hold the school-led system to account for the:
-
outcomes,
-
progress and
-
destinations of all learners.
Additionally, promote the importance of mental health and wellbeing. We will do this across all strands of its work with schools, settings and other partners.
With the Primary and Secondary Board, our shared ambitions are to:
-
deliver the best possible education for all children and young people
-
promote and enable inclusion
-
further develop our school-led system
The Education White Paper (March 2022) sets out national ambitions and policy directions. We believe that schools:
-
being part of strong Multi-Academy Trusts
-
driven by a clear shared moral purpose and
-
committed to close partnership with each other and with the council
has the potential to support our shared ambitions well. Working with our strong local partnerships a landscape of strong Trusts could:
- strengthen collaboration and capacity for school improvement
- build on joint working through existing partnership structures.
Ensure that children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in East Sussex:
- are supported
- achieve the best possible outcomes in life
Work with partners across Education, Social Care, and Health to ensure that they:
- receive a good offer of local education
- are kept safe
- have their health needs met
- are able to transition to adulthood and independence when they are ready to do so
Strategic Objectives:
1. Support every setting and partnership to strengthen leadership at all levels. Enable leaders who promote excellence for all children and young people.
2. Improve literacy and oracy, across all phases. Build on the gains that have been made in the county over recent years. Address areas of historically lower achievement.
3. Take the innovations developed during the pandemic into our post-lockdown working. These approaches to learning and participation will support the
- inclusion and
- wellbeing
of children and young people.
4. Five Strategic Outcomes for SEND:
a. My voice is heard and acted upon (participation)
b. My optimum health and well-being are supported (physical and mental health)
c. I feel confident and secure (safety and security)
d. I belong and feel valued for who I am (inclusion and belonging)
e. I am supported to develop and achieve my goals (progress and achievement)
5. Improve attendance and reduce exclusions across all schools, particularly for vulnerable groups
The Primary and Secondary Boards also set priorities for each academic year. These support delivery of our strategic objectives.
How we know we have made a difference (performance indicators):
- Proportion of primary, secondary, and special schools judged good or outstanding by Ofsted
- Proportion of pupils in all schools achieving at least the expected standard at Key Stage 2 in:
-reading
-writing
-maths
- Percentage of disadvantaged pupils achieving the expected standard at Key Stage 2 in:
-reading
-writing
-maths
- Percentage of young people meeting the duty of RPA (Raising the Participation Age) by:
-participating in education, training, or employment with training or
-undertaking re-engagement provision at academic age 16 (Year 12)
- Percentage of young people meeting the duty of RPA by:
-participating in education, training, or employment with training or
-undertaking re-engagement provision at academic age 17 (Year 13)
- Proportion of academic age 16–17-year-olds whose Education, Employment, and Training (EET) situation is not known
- Percentage of eligible 2-year-olds who take up a place with an eligible early years provider
- Percentage of pupils achieving a “Good level of development” at the Early Years Foundation Stage
- In the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile, the achievement gap between the lowest 20% of children and all children
- Percentage of exclusions in primary and secondary schools per school population in that year. This includes suspensions and permanent exclusions
- Percentage of persistently absent children in primary and secondary schools
- Percentage of EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plans) annual review meetings where:
-the child gave their view and or
-the child participated
- Proportion of respondents to feedback surveys agreeing things have changed for the better. This change is a result of Inclusion, Special Educational Needs, and Disabilities (ISEND) Services
Priority Five: Safeguarding
Governance:
The East Sussex Safeguarding Children Partnership will oversee the CYPP Safeguarding strategy. It will provide a co-ordinating and scrutiny role in the delivery of the strategy.
Each strategic objective has a strategy or plan. This is monitored through an existing board or strategic group.
Vision:
For children and young people across East Sussex to grow up feeling:
-
safe and protected from harm
-
cared for by their family
As a multi-agency partnership, we will work with families. We will enable them to keep their children safe. We will provide support, advice and guidance. We will provide intervention from the right services at the right time.
Strategic Objectives:
- Deliver an effective integrated prevention and early help service. This includes the development of Family Hubs
- Ensure effective function of:
- Single Point of Advice (SPOA) and
-Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) function
3. Enhance our Connected Practice approach through the development and embedding of family safeguarding.
4. Further reduce the prevalence and impact of offending, serious violence, and custody
5. Deliver an effective joined-up approach, including parents and carers. This is to keep young people safe from exploitation including disruption activity
6. Improve the identification and multi-agency response to neglect
7. Deliver effective preventative and support services. This is to reduce the prevalence and impact of domestic abuse - on children and their families.
8. To ensure cared for children and young people are supported to be safe. To promote stability in their home lives, relationships, and education or work
9. Enable learning, quality assurance, and practice development across the system
10. Ensure intelligence-led and evidence-based safeguarding. Using our data across the system to identify and respond to need
How we know we have made a difference (performance indicators):
- Contact, referral, and assessment activity, including re-referral and section 47 rates
- Quality of assessments and plans
- Number of children open to Early Help
- Number of children open to Children Social Care: children in need (CIN) or child protection (CP) or looked after children (LAC)
- Reunification of Looked After Children back with families
- First Time Entrants into the Youth Justice System
- Youth reoffending
- Numbers of young people in custody
- Number of children living in high-risk domestic abuse situations
- Numbers at high risk of
-Child Sexual Exploitation
-Criminal Exploitation
and length of time
- Disruption and prosecution of perpetrators of harm and exploitation