Sue Robb of 4Children talks to Julie Laughton and Alison Britton from the Department for Education about the role of childminders in delivering the 30 hours free entitlement.
£12 million to transform Norfolk’s children’s services
The £12 million four-year programme is hoped to reduce the numbers of children in care and improve services to children and families.
Norfolk County Council’s Policy and Resources Committee is being asked to agree a one-off investment in the project, which would reduce demand on children’s services and prevent families reaching the threshold for court intervention and care proceedings.
The programme has several key aims: to increase the breadth and depth of early help services to families, including therapeutic support; to reduce the number of children coming into contact with social care services and reduce unnecessary assessments; to recruit more Norfolk foster carers and reduce the dependency on agencies; to reduce the use of residential care; to provide better support to care leaders; and to invest in training and developing the workforce.
It is estimated that without the additional investment the number of children in care will continue to rise and demand on services will increase costing an estimated £5 million each year by 2021/22.
Cliff Jordan, leader of Norfolk County Council, said: “This is an ambitious programme, which would transform how we work with children and families, ensuring that help and support is offered far earlier so that families do not reach breaking point.
“This is the first time such significant one-off investment has been proposed for a programme of this kind in Norfolk – investing today will deliver long-term savings at a time when our budgets are under considerable pressure. As an administration we believe it is the right approach for our county and shows our absolute commitment and determination to improve services for children.”
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