Every Child Matters: Change for children was implemented to improve the life chances of ALL children and young people and enable them to lead safe, happy, healthy, and successful lives. The overall aim is to reduce the risk to children and maximise opportunities to develop their full potential.
The strategy has five intended outcomes for children:
- Being healthy – physical, mental, lifestyle
- Staying safe – avoiding harm/neglect
- Enjoying and achieving – getting the most out of life and developing the skills for adulthood
- Making a positive contribution – involvement in community/society, not participating in anti-social/offending behaviour
- Economic well-being – in order to achieve full potential in life
These are outcomes for all children and young people but particular emphasis is placed on narrowing the gap between those that do well and those that do not, especially those with learning difficulties/disabilities and looked after children. High educational standards and pupil well-being go hand in hand. Children succeed best when they are healthy, self-confident and well-motivated. Extending the range of services that schools can offer is crucial to making sure children and families are given the support they need to thrive.
The key difference to previous strategies is the requirement for local authorities to integrate services for children in one place under one person. Local authorities now have a duty to promote cooperation between all children’s services and to develop a single Children and Young People’s Plan. Schools should be part of the consultation to develop the plan and are also required to take account of the plan when undertaking their own strategic plan.
The Youth Sport Trust recognises that the sport specialism should contribute to achieving better outcomes for children, young people, their families, and the wider community, and that this is a key factor in improving the educational achievement of all pupils. It is supporting the work that sports colleges are developing in ensuring the specialism can impact on all outcomes and where necessary are using extended services and multi agency work to support this.
To find out more please log into the Sports Colleges area