Children and Young People's Strategic Partnership

What is the purpose and what are the goals of the Partnership?

We are a partnership of agencies, which work with and for children and young people in the Tameside area. Formed in 2003, the partnership includes representatives from groups including Tameside Council, the Police, Local Health Trust and voluntary organisations. Together, we work for the best possible outcomes for children and young people.

The CYPSP brings these partners together, coordinating the planning and commissioning of services for children and young people.

What is the national context?

Big changes are underway to the organisation of services that support children, young people and their families. This follows the launch in September 2003 of the Government Green Paper Every Child Matters, setting out a new direction for children's services to ensure that agencies work more closely together in the best interest of the child or young person. It aims to improve outcomes for all children and young people, and reduce the gap between the disadvantaged and the advantaged.

There are around 56,036 children and young people between the ages of 0-19 in Tameside - nearly 40% of the population.

The Children Act, passed in November 2004, provides the legal framework for these reforms to go ahead and requires all bodies involved with children and young people to cooperate, with local authorities to take the lead. Partnership working is key to the act. By 2008 all local authority children's services must have integrated working at all levels, from planning through to delivery, with new governance ensuring everyone shares the same vision for children and young people, giving agencies the confidence to share day-to-day control of decisions and resources. These may be known as 'Children's Trusts'.

What are the Partnership’s priorities in Tameside?

The Children and Young People's Strategic Partnership strongly believes that all children and young people in Tameside should be provided with a framework in which they can:

• Be healthy
• Stay safe
• Enjoy and achieve
• Make a positive contribution to society
• Experience social and economic well being

Key projects the partnership is currently working on

• Reducing the rates of teenage pregnancy
• Strengthening support for children and young people’s mental and emotional wellbeing through a comprehensive Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service
• Raising attainment at all stages of learning with a strong focus on under-attaining groups and schools
• Improving attendance and inclusion outcomes in targeted schools
• Increasing the proportion of young people moving into education, training and employment
• Improving children and young people’s health outcomes, including a reduction in obesity and substance misuse, through the promotion of healthy lifestyles
• Reducing the impact of domestic abuse on children, improve the stability of placements for looked after children and ensure that safeguarding issues are kept high on the agenda
• Developing integrated services for children with disabilities
• Developing a comprehensive and well publicised range of support for parents

Key documents

To find out more about the work of the Children and Young People’s Partnership, please contact Ameena Ahmed on 0161 342 3254 or visit www.tameside.gov.uk/cypp.