Cabinet approve consultation plans for children’s centre transformation

[RBWM Press Release]

Cabinet has approved a public consultation to transform the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead’s early help services into an integrated, one-stop family hub.
 

The proposals could see local resources refocussed to support our most vulnerable children, young people and families, helping to reduce the need for statutory intervention.
 

The plans, if approved, will see services being run by children’s centres, youth centres, the parenting service, health visitors, school nurses and the family resilience service bought together into a one-stop “family hub” so that residents accessing this support can get all the help they need in one place. The hub will provide services to children aged between 0-19 and up to 25 years for young people with a learning difficulty or disability.
 

The proposed model focusses on using high footfall centres more intensively and responsive outreach work to replace the reliance on a static and inflexible timetable led programme, allowing our resources to keep pace with the needs of our most vulnerable residents.
 

Several other councils including Buckinghamshire, Bracknell Forest and Hampshire have already made this change and have found it to provide an effective service for residents.
 

Councillor Stuart Carroll, lead member for adult social care, children’s services, health and mental health, says: “We need to ensure that we provide the right services in the right places for our young people and their parents and carers.
 

“This consultation is about hearing your views on our children’s centres and youth services so we can ensure that they provide the targeted support needed by some of our most vulnerable residents.”
 

Residents will be consulted on the wide range of early help services delivered across the Borough to identify those that have the biggest impact for vulnerable children. The public consultation will begin in the January so we can gather your views about the services and how we can make the changes and improvements to the service we offer.
 

The transformation will focus our delivery on the most vulnerable children and young people, driving high levels of efficiency and creating a sustainable service which strengthens families.