Families in County Durham are seeing support offered to a wider age range as part of efforts to make sure help is targeted to those children most in need.
Durham County Council’s One Point children’s centres, which offered services for youngsters aged zero to five, have become “family centres,” with services for zero to 19-year-olds.
Margaret Whellans, the authority’s corporate director for Children and Young People’s Services, said: “We are making sure that our resources more effectively targeted, with intensive support for those most in need, in order to reduce inequalities and give vulnerable children the best start in life.”
Based on research from the Department for Education’s Innovation and national Troubled Families programmes, the One Point Service has undergone a significant redesign and restructure.
Operating from the county’s 15 family centres, seven intensive family support teams, backed by 14 Families First teams, aim to provide a seamless service including practical hands on help for those dealing with poverty and debt, and support to find the training and employment they need.
It also includes the development of a Voluntary and Community Sector Alliance, to better coordinate all of the support in an area, make sure that people know what is available to them and help them to access it.
Carole Payne, the authority’s head of early help, assessment and safeguarding, said: “Many children in County Durham are born into deprived communities and are vulnerable to the adverse impact of poverty and neglect.
“By extending our early help offer to children aged zero to 19, providing intensive support for families with complex needs, and working more closely with the voluntary sector we can help people to access the help they need within their local communities.”
The changes, which were introduced from February 1st, come at a time when the council’s Children and Young People’s Services is required to make almost £6.2 million in savings by 2021.
However, previous evidence shows that it is possible to deal with a significant increase in demand, and improve outcomes for families, while being more efficient and reducing costs.
Since a review of children’s centres in 2015, the number of people seeking One Point’s help has increased substantially, with 3,150 family assessments carried out between April and December last year, up from 1,229 in 2016/17 and 866 four years ago.
This year alone the centres have enjoyed a number of successes, with the Young Parent Programme helping over 140 people into education, employment, training or volunteering; while almost three quarters of young people working with the Team around the School saw their behaviour improve.
More than four in five parents on the Wellbeing for Life programme said they perceived a reduction in their child’s difficulties with emotions and behaviours
While the percentage of children under the age of 5 years who live in the top 30% most deprived wards who have contact with a centre is 87%, up from 43% in 2010.
Staff are also reaching more of the county’s teenage mothers with 97% of them having at least some contact with support services.
All of that has helped Durham increase the number of children achieving a good level of development, up 8.3% between 2015 and 2017, to put the county 1.2% ahead of the national average.
For more information about One Point services visit www.durham.gov.uk/onepoint
