Councillor Laing (Cabinet member for Children and Young People) introduced the report.

This initial business case sets out the ambition to transform how Early Help and Targeted Support for children, young people and families is delivered in Plymouth, through the creation of a neighbourhood network of 0-19 Family Hubs and Targeted Support citywide teams.

The importance of engaging with as many people and families as possible, and with professionals and partners in the city who deliver these services was highlighted.

Following a short debate and having considered the information in the reports, Cabinet agreed that:

1: Engagement be carried out with children, young people and families and professionals (including schools), to cover the following aspects:

·      Co-design the Family Hubs model to expand the use of Children’s Centre’s from a 0-5 year old offer to 0-19 year old Family Hubs, whilst retaining the specialism in Early Years and working with partners to deliver the 5-19 offer seamlessly to families. The partners will include currently commissioned services and the following in-house Plymouth City Council provision

o      REACH function (missing children and those at risk of exploitation), prevention function of Youth Offending Team (YOT), Family Intensive Intervention Project (FIIP), Family & Community Solutions, Families With A Future (FWAF), Adolescent Support Team, Early Help Advice and Support, Community Youth Services and Crisis Intervention

·      The name and branding of the proposed Family Hubs (during consultation in Autumn 2018, 74% of respondents liked the name Family Hubs, but this needs further testing);

·      The location of future services and the neighbourhood coverage of these buildings (a map will be created to assist as a visual aid with the consultation,) including the completion of building surveys as part of the estates strategy;

·      The location of the proposed Targeted Support teams and possible delivery sites including the completion of building surveys as part of the estates strategy;

·      The interface with other built community assets such as Health and Wellbeing Hubs to maximise opportunities for the creative use of buildings.

2: Co-design workshops be held to begin to develop the service specification, outcomes framework and workforce development plan. This in turn will inform how effectively system partners are able to work collaboratively, which will determine any procurement options or other proposals for partnership arrangements. The workshops together with the consultation will be used to promote the idea that Family Hubs are a component part of the wider Early Help system for Plymouth. These workshops will also be delivered utilising the learning from research and local place based approaches such as the Together for Childhood pilot in Ernesettle.

3: The process and feedback from engagement be used as part of a statutory consultation (required by the Department for Education) where possible changes to the delivery of children’s centres are being considered, including changes to the range and nature of services provided. Any consultation is required to explain how the local authority will continue to meet the needs of families with children under five as part of any reorganisation of services.

4: A detailed final business case to come before Cabinet in November to describe the outcome of the consultation and co-design activity, and recommendations for options for procurement and organisational models.