Issue - meetings

The Board considered a report of the Assistant Director Safeguarding and Partnerships which outlined the proposals regarding the development of Oldham’s Children and Young People’s Strategic Framework and set out the role of the proposed partnership board to deliver Oldham’s ambition for children and young people, within the wider Greater Manchester context. 

The author of the report and the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services attended the meeting to present the information and address the enquiries of the Board Members.

The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services explained that, following the request of this Board to review Oldham’s strategic arrangements around the Children and Young People’s agenda, £12M investment had been signed for Children’s Services. The Children and Young People’s Partnership had been established to replace the Best Start in Life Partnership. Oldham Council and its partners would meet in two separate workshops to determine the Children and Young People’s agenda for the next three years.

Members sought and received clarification / commented on the following points:

-       Links between the Children and Young People’s Partnership and the Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health partnership – It was explained that the former would bring together under one framework and governance structure the work of other existing partnerships.

-       The terms of reference of the Corporate Parenting Panel had been reviewed as well as the way safeguarding processes would operate across the Borough. Cooperation between the Clinical Commissioning Group, the Police and the Council had been strengthened.

-       Knife crime and Public Health issues;

-       The partnership would include representation of children’s acute and community services as well as prevention pathways;

-       Voice of the Child – it was explained that young people and the Youth Council had been consulted from a very early stage in the process. The Children in Care Council would also be consulted as they would have a different experience of services.

RESOLVED that:

1.    The approach to establish the Children and Young People’s Strategic Framework and Children and the Young People’s Strategy via a series of engagement workshops with Oldham Partnership Leaders and children and young people be approved;

2.    The approach to establishing the Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership Board be noted and endorsed.