Our goal is to keep children safe, for no child, young person or family to be left behind, and to provide high quality, inclusive, and accessible services.
We’re expanding our Mockingbird project to support foster carers and children in foster care keeping more children with local families. We’re also working in partnership on a Sussex Fostering Hub enabling more children to remain within the local region.
We will continue our expansion of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision in our mainstream schools, so children with disabilities can be better supported and achieve their potential alongside their friends. We are working on development of a children’s neurodiversity plan working towards alignment with the Adult Autism Strategy.
We’re continuing our involvement in the Special Educational Needs and Disability and Alternative Provision Change Programme pilot, trialling proposed SEND reforms ensuring they support our children, their families.
We will open Rainbow Lodge, a new council run residential home for children with complex needs, enabling them to stay in the city near their family, friends and their schools. We are planning a new project this summer to provide disabled children who have very high support needs with a summer holiday activity scheme.
We will review how the city’s home to school transport arrangements can be best delivered - safely, effectively and within budget – enabling children with disabilities to have the best experiences in their school days.
We will seek service improvements and value for money through collaborative commissioning arrangements. We will work with the South East Regional Care Cooperative around the children’s social care market to improve placement sufficiency and achieve best value.
Our Family Hubs Transformation Programme will continue, developing a single view of children’s records to enable better multi-disciplinary and multi-agency working.
Implementing the Families First reforms to transform children's social care, creating a continuum of family help that focuses on prevention and provides the right support at the right time. Locally, this will involve integrating our Family Hubs and social work teams to provide seamless services alongside a multi-agency child protection team.
We will develop a local youth strategy with our partners across the city, in response to the expected national Youth Strategy. This will deliver better coordinated youth services and put young people at the heart of decision-making through development of our youth participation and engagement arrangements. We will support the opening of new Youth Centres in central Brighton and Hangleton and Knoll and other areas that lack youth facilities.
We will review and refresh the city’s special educational needs and disability (SEND) strategy. This will draw on evidence from a new Joint Strategic Needs Assessment focusing on special educational needs, learning disabilities and neurodiversity. It includes the latest advice and guidance on what helps pupils learn. The framework will benefit all pupils, especially those with special educational needs and disability or who are disadvantaged.
We will keep school organisation in the city under review and work to secure schools’ financial sustainability. We will also work with school leaders to ensure a more focussed and prioritised approach. This includes reviewing and refreshing our approach to tackling educational disadvantage and ensuring that school buildings are safe and fit for purpose.
We will continue to deliver our early-years programmes of work, providing structured support to ensure that children have a strong start in their educational journey and are school ready at 4 years.
We will work to enable children to receive their education locally, avoiding the need to attend schools far from their homes, families and friends.
With neighbouring local authorities, we will continue to develop a Get Sussex Working plan working toward the government’s goal of reducing economic inactivity and achieving an 80% long-term employment rate. We will set immediate objectives and actions for the next 1 to 2 years and develop a longer-term strategic plan to enhance employment, address key challenges and utilise resources efficiently. To deliver the plan we are setting up a Connect to Work programme to help people with disabilities and long-term health conditions, to find and maintain employment.