A number of recent policy developments around children and young people have significantly shaped the Government Office role in this important area of work.
More information on the national picture
Every Child Matters: Change for Children (2004) set the reform agenda for
children's services. Local services were asked to work together
through children's trust arrangements to improve outcomes for all children
and young people and to narrow the gap in outcomes between those who do
well and those who do not.
Children's trust arrangements are about integrating at every level of
children's services - at the front line through multi-agency teams (for
example, based in children's centres or extended schools), in the processes
that are used across different agencies, in the strategies that are put in
place on children's issues and in the governance arrangements for different
children's services. All services for children, young people and
families are now working together towards ensuring that every child can:
- be healthy
- stay safe
- enjoy and achieve
- achieve economic wellbeing
- make a positive contribution
