What is Locality Working?
In common with many Local Authorities, Darlington is developing Locality Working to:
• Enable teams of professionals from different disciplines to work together in a more joined up way
• Tackle key issues such as school attendance, value added learning and teaching, school exclusion rates and behaviour.
A Strategy for the development of Locality Working(pdf document)
Why are we doing this?
The Children Act 2004 places a statutory duty on agencies to co-operate to improve the well being of children. The vision for Children’s Services in Darlington sets out a response to national developments and outlines Darlington’s plans to improve the five outcomes for children, introduced in Every Child Matters (ECM) See www.everychildmatters.gov.uk
What will it involve?
• Five localities in Darlington centred on clusters of schools and children’s centres
• All working towards the National Healthy Schools Status
• Localities are aligned with other initiatives wherever possible including the ‘Street Scene’ areas and Children’s Centres.
• Working with schools to facilitate the roll out extended services: offering a varied menu of activities, parenting support, swift and easy referral plus quality childcare outside of school hours and all year round and community access to public buildings.
What else does it involve?
Locality based services have developed from cluster based initiatives and the concept that every family should be in reach of a Children’s Centre, offering a range of children’s activities, information for parents about childcare options and access to other services including mainstreaming effective health support.
Through the national Extended Services programme all children should have access to a range of extended services in and around their school by 2010.
This is to include a varied menu of study support and enrichment activities; community access to school facilities such as ICT suites; sports and arts facilities; quality, year round childcare; parenting support; and swift and easy referral to ensure that children with additional needs are identified as early as possible, and are well supported through integrated working with other services.
The development of the pilot scheme also incorporates the National Healthy Schools Programme (NHSS), which defines the criteria schools need satisfy in order to be recognised as a healthy school.
These link into five national outcomes:
• To improve behaviour and attendance
• To reduce and halt childhood obesity
• To promote positive sexual health
• To reduce teen pregnancy
• To reduce young people’s use of drugs, alcohol & tobacco.
Who will be in the Locality Teams?
Locality teams will have closer links with their local communities and engage with children, young people and parents/carers through schools, youth centres, Children’s Centres and other providers.
Members of locality teams will be individuals drawn from existing service areas provided within the “universal” setting (e.g. youth work, education social work, mental health services, school nursing etc).
Where more specialist inputs are required the emphasis will be on bringing these services to the child rather than simply referring them on to another team. Targeted service providers may also be part of locality teams or, similar to specialist services, may be organised at a Borough level and deployed to localities as and when needed.
What will the benefits be?
For children, young people and families:
• Easier access to services
• Early identification and resolution of difficulties
• Faster, co-ordinated and appropriate responses
• One assessment
• Improved planning and evaluation
• Better service experience for families
• Reaching the right service at the right time
For professionals:
• Better service co-ordination
• Swift referrals and responses
• One assessment (Common Assessment Framework)
• Referrals reach the right professional at the right time
• Increased communication and sharing information
• Better understanding of roles and responsibilities
• Less working in isolation
• Improved recording system
• Improved Education, Health & Social care attainments.
What is Darlington Borough Council doing?
The new ways of working are being launched through a series of workshops with partner organizations. Workshops are currently being rolled out in all localities. We are developing a comprehensive data pack for each locality and these will be made available at the workshops to inform our planning. This will enable us to provide targeted support when and where children and families need it. This locality planning will match resources (both staff and budgets) to meet local needs.
How will they work?
Locality Co-ordinators will report directly to the School Years Partnership Manager. They will be the point of contact for other professionals involved in supporting the child or family, co-ordinating the delivery of a core offer to families within the locality areas. The links between the locality teams and targeted/specialist services will be clear and consistent; reducing the period of time children, young people or their families wait to get the right service at the right time.
How will we know if it works?
• Better use of resources
• Establishment of common language & understanding
• Widespread use of the Common Assessment Framework (CAF); the generic assessment for children and young people with additional needs, which can be used by practitioners across all of children’s services)
• Co-ordination of services with more parents, children and young people satisfied with the service received.
• Feedback & surveys
How can I be involved?
If you are a professional working with children and young people or voluntary organisation or community group we want you to get involved in developing locality-based services. You can do this by:
• Contacting the locality team at DBC Town Hall
• Attending one of the locality workshops
• Getting involved in discussions about extended services and integrated teams in your local school/community partnership
How will it be organised?
It will be a ‘partnership’ of anyone that plays a part in improving outcomes for children and young people – parents, schools, GPs, Voluntary organisations, community groups, councils, the police as well as children and young people themselves.
The Darlington localities will be built on existing cluster groups of service providers in each area.
Locality A: including Cockerton East & West, Faverdale, Pierremont wards
Locality B: including Harrowgate Hill,
North Road and Northgate, plus part of Central ward
Locality C: including the wards of Haughton East,
West and North, Central (part)
Locality D: including Lingfield, Bank Top, Lascelles, Eastbourne, Middleton St George, and Sadberge & Whessoe
and Hurworth wards
Locality E: including Mowden, College,
Hummersknott, Park West & East and Central ward (part)
and Heighington & Coniscliffe wards
A core offer will develop in each locality.
In time this will extend into a wide network of professionals as other services are incorporated.