The Sunderland Children's Trust vision

“Working together to improve life chances and aspirations for each child and young person in Sunderland”

The vision represents our shared ambition to improve the lives of all children and young people in Sunderland, and to prepare them well for adulthood.

To deliver this vision, a framework for improving outcomes for all children and young people has been developed around a service delivery model that will provide universal, targeted and specialist services. These are defined as:

• Universal services: services for all children and young people and families
• Targeted services: services for children and young people and families living in particular areas and/or with identified needs
• Specialist services: services for children and young people and families with complex needs and/or children and young people at high risk
  

The focus is on early identification of need, early intervention and prevention, with clarity in individual cases about the need for targeted services and, in time, reduced demand on specialist services providing opportunity for re-investment.

In Sunderland, children and young people are at the centre of services provided for them. There is no sole provider of services and the achievement of our vision requires the continued development of key relationships between all partners across the city.

We need to continue to build upon the development of integrated services through strengthening the working relationship between partners. This is all part of our shared journey, continually being shaped by radical changes in legislation and policy, through the Children Act 2004 and ‘Every Child Matters: Change For Children’, and is informed by the DCSF’s “CYPP Guidance 2009”.

The key focus for ongoing partnership work must be the 5 outcomes for children and young people:

• Be healthy
• Stay safe
• Enjoy and achieve
• Make a positive contribution
• Achieve economic well-being

Partners will continue to work together and in partnership with children, young people and families, not to represent the interests of service providers but to ensure life chances for children and young people are sustained and enhanced.

Our values and principles

Our values are the key to how we work together for children and young people across the city. They are the drivers in our working lives, regulating our behaviour and enabling a consistent response to children and young people so that everyone working in children’s and young people’s services is truly putting children, young people and families at the centre of our thinking and actions.

The principles underpin how we work, making sure that we consistently engage in activities to better the lives of children and young people by enhancing our understanding, skills, experience and resources.

Our shared core values across the Children’s Trust are:

• Valuing people: having respect and trust for all people, valuing diversity and actively promoting equality
• Delivering results; focussing on and delivering positive outcomes for children, young people and their families
• Delivering results: focusing on and delivering high quality services that improve life opportunities for children, young people and their families
• Openness: being honest about our achievements and aspirations now and in the future
• A positive outlook: being outward looking, making a positive difference, and creating opportunities with all partners

Our shared core principles are:

• Celebrating the achievements of children and young people
• Having every child, young person and their family at the heart of all we do
• Being focussed on better outcomes
• Providing access to early support
• Actively encouraging participation
• Maintaining the highest standards
• Working in partnership

Delivering the vision – our 10 priorities for children and young people

The Children’s Trust wants children and young people in Sunderland to:

• Be strong individuals, proud of their city and contribute to its future
• Be aware of how their behaviour affects others and the importance of staying out of trouble
• Make positive lifestyle choices
• Lead healthier lives
• Feel good about themselves
• Be safe in the community, at school and at home
• Achieve in their education
• Enjoy sport, leisure and play
• Live in decent homes
• Get the right training, further education and jobs

Local Children’s Trust Arrangements

In Sunderland there is a Children’s Trust, which acts as a Board, a Children’s Trust Strategic Partnership, which implements the policy and business of the Children’s Trust, and a network of partnerships that are aligned to the Children’s Trust. Each of these partnerships has developed a strategy, which aims to work towards the outcomes identified in the CYPP, as well as other linked areas identified by the partnership.

The aligned partnerships are:

• Early Years and Childcare
• Family and Parenting Board
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health
• Looked After Children Partnership
• Learning Difficulty and Disability
• Risk and Resilience Board (Teenage pregnancy, substance misuse, sexual health and smoking)
• 14-19 Partnership
• Youth Board
• Youth Offending Service Board (YOS)
• Sunderland Safeguarding Children Board

Clear links have been made between Aligned Partnerships, the Children’s Trust Strategic Partnership and Children’s Trust Board, as well as the Local Strategic Partnership and the City Council. These are set out in the governance arrangements diagram below.

Partnerships and governance arrangements

Partners in the Children's Trust

It is recognised that good outcomes for all children and young people will only be achieved when agencies work together and are prepared to cut across established professional and organisational boundaries to plan and deliver integrated services around the needs of children and their families.

The following are key partners in the Children’s Trust:

• Sunderland City Council
• Sunderland Teaching Primary Care Trust
• City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust
• Northumbria Police
• Northumbria Probation Board
• The University of Sunderland
• Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service
• City of Sunderland College
• Learning and Skills Council for England

There are also other organisations and professionals whose services contribute to children’s well being.