This meeting signals a new era in partnership working in the whole system of Children’s Services and represents a significant step in a long-term journey to improve how services for children, young people and families are planned, commissioned, delivered and evaluated.
The membership of the Board includes Chief Officers from Nottingham City Council, NHS Nottingham City, Nottinghamshire Police, along with councillors and representatives from the Local Probation Board, Learning and Skills Councils and third sector organisations.
This local partnership will act as the Children’s Trust for Nottingham; a key element of the government’s Children’s Plan to improve services for children, young people and families.
Nottingham Children’s Partnership Board will:
- Increase the focus on improving outcomes for children and young people, informed by their views and those of their families:
- Ensure that professionals work together across organisational boundaries to meet the needs of children and young people;
- Enable better assessments, information sharing and improve referrals so that children can get the services they need quickly;
- Establish how services are jointly commissioned and pool budgets and resources to drive multi-agency working;
- Set a clear framework for strategic planning, how resources are allocated and who is accountable (captured through the Children and Young People’s Plan).
Councillor David Mellen, Nottingham City Council’s Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services, said:
“Nottingham Children’s Partnership provides the opportunity to make each child’s needs central to all that we do. Better joint working will lead to more responsive integrated services to ensure children are safe and get the best possible start in life.
“The partnership will also help ensure the views of children are being listened to and that parents and carers can have a say about the services available to them and how they can be improved.”
Ron Buchanan, Chairman of NHS Nottingham City, said:
“Child health is a priority for the city that can only be effectively achieved through better integration of service delivery to help us put an end to health inequalities.”
Chief Superintendent Shaun Beebe from Nottinghamshire Police said:
“The launch of Nottingham Children’s Partnership is very significant for Nottingham as it brings together all those who have a major influence on the lives of all our children and young people. Working together in partnership will help improve outcomes for children and young people.”
Helen Voce, Chief Executive of Nottingham Council for Voluntary Service added:
“Involving voluntary and community organisations in the development and delivery of services for children and young people is essential. Through joint working, we hope that the Children’s Partnership will support a stronger voluntary and community sector in Nottingham to enable groups to deliver better outcomes for children, young people and their families.”
The Board which became a formal body on 1 April 2009 replaces the Strategic Partnership for Children, Young People and Families. Under the new arrangements, all partners will sign off the Children and Young People’s Plan and agree the key strategic actions and who will deliver them. Nottingham is on track to have all its legal arrangements in place by 2010.
The work of the Nottingham Children’s Partnership will be underpinned by new working practices, including the Common Assessment Framework, the role of the Lead Professional and Contactpoint.
Find out more about Nottingham Children Partnerships by visiting the website
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