 In 2003 the Laming Report identified a number of weaknesses in Children's Services in some areas. The most significant for the future shape of services were
- Lack of accountability
- Poor co-ordination of service provision across agencies
- Failure to share information
- Weak management of services
- Lack of training
The Every Child Matters: Change for Children framework sets out the Government’s vision for children’s services, including a number of measures to address the above issues. This Vision is based on the development of national and local arrangements where there is
- Clear accountability for services
- Integration of key services around the needs of children, in particular, education, social care, health, youth justice and Connexions.
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What is the Sunderland Children's Trust?
The Children’s Trust is a set of arrangements through which partner organisations work together to improve the well being of children and young people. It aims to achieve better outcomes through joint planning and commissioning and more integrated service delivery.
The Sunderland Children's Trust vision is:
"Working together to improve life chances and aspirations for each child and young person in Sunderland, and to narrow the gap in outcomes for our most vulnerable groups and families.”
This vision represents our shared ambition to improve the lives of all children and young people in Sunderland, and 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.
 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 Children's and Young People's Plan, 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, as well as the Local Strategic Partnership and City Council.
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
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- Northumbria Probation
- Tyne and Wear Fire & Rescue Service
- City of Sunderland College
- University of Sunderland
- Learning and Skills Council for England
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There are also other organisations and professionals whose services contribute to children’s well being.
For more information on the work of the Sunderland Children's Trust, visit their website at http://www.sunderlandchildrenstrust.org.uk
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