Children and Young People Resources

Children's Trust - Statutory Guidance and Background
National Perspective - Overview
Regional Outcomes
Raising Attainment
14-19
21st Century Schools
Corporate Governance
Child Poverty

This page includes useful background information members of the Children's Trust and those interested in Children's Trusts. It will be updated regularly and any suggestions for information to be included should be sent to childrensplan@thurrock.gov.uk.

Many of the files below are in PDF format - please see how to access PDFs.

Children's Trust - Statutory Guidance and Background

Statutory guidance on co-operation arrangements, including the Children's Trust Board and the Children and Young People's Plan

The purpose of this statutory guidance is to set out in one place what a Children's Trust is, what it does and how, by promoting co-operation between partners, it improves the lives of local children, young people and families. This aim has been captured in the five Every Child Matters positive outcomes:

be healthy
stay safe
enjoy and achieve
make a positive contribution
achieve economic well-being

Statutory Guidance on Co-operation Arrangements (PDF 1.8MB)

Improving Support for Schools

Integrated and effective children's services help children to be safe and healthy, to enjoy their childhood, and to prepare for the future. This leaflet explains how Children's Trusts ensure services are joined up and how headteachers and school staff can get involved.

Children's Trusts: Improving Support for Schools (PDF 1.4MB)

The Roles and Responsibilities of the Lead Member for Children's Services and the Director of Children's Services

The Every Child Matters Green Paper (2003) launched a programme of systemic change to improve well-being for every child: all children should be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and enjoy economic well-being.

While it is the responsibility of local authority Leaders and Chief Executives to ensure that arrangements are in place to provide political and professional leadership and accountability for delivering this programme, these arrangements will in the main be provided by the Director for Children's Services (DCS) and the Lead Member for Children's Services (LM), who between them should provide a clear and unambiguous top line of accountability for children's well-being. This reflects Lord Laming's recommendation that "the single most important change in the future must be the drawing of a clear line of accountability, from top to bottom, without doubt or ambiguity about who is responsible at every level for the well-being of vulnerable children".

This guidance is intended to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the DCS and LM, within an overall framework of local authority accountability and leadership, to improve children's well being.

Statutory Guidance: The Roles and Responsibilities of the Lead Member for Children's Services and the Director of Children's Services (PDF 290.6kB)