Looked after children (health and wellbeing needs in South Tyneside)

• There have been many attempts to define 'early intervention' and 'prevention'. However, they are not tangible concepts and they can relate to a multitude of needs, services and outcomes. For the purposes of this needs assessment, South Tyneside will use the broad definition of early intervention published in C4EO's Grasping the Nettle report (2010): "Intervening early and as soon as possible to tackle problems emerging for children, young people and their families or with a population most at risk of developing problems. Early intervention may occur at any point in a child or young person's life."
• It is about identifying problems and risks at an early stage, assessing each child's needs within the context of their family, and providing them with the support and tools they need to stop the problems from escalating further. Sometimes the early intervention stage is referred to as 'early help' or 'targeted support'.
• In general, prevention is considered to be an earlier stage of the continuum: it is about preventing these problems from arising in the first place. It is important to note that effective engagement at this stage can sometimes lead to more risks and problems being identified. This may lead to an increase in numbers of children looked after.

National Children in Care and Care Leavers survey

The State of the Nation Report is the 2015 version of the 'Care Monitor' survey of children in care and care leavers originally run annually by the Children's Rights Director. The Children's Commissioner publishes regular State of the Nation reports into aspects of children's lives. The first of five annual reports, published in August 2015, focuses on the experiences of children in care and care leavers and provides valuable intelligence to support this needs assessment. The Children's Commissioner argues the following should be included in any improvement plan for children looked after:

1. It is essential that children's views are sought and influence all decisions that are made about them and that all decisions are fully explained to them.
2. Support for all care leavers is extended up to 25 years of age.
3. Every child in care should have at least one continuing and consistent relationship with someone who is there for them through their time in care and into adulthood.
4. Services should enable children to keep their social worker for longer through their time in care.
5. Every child in care should have access to high quality therapeutic care to enable them to recover from past harm & build resilience & emotional wellbeing.

Ofsted have a range of thematic reviews available at:

GOV.UK: OFSTED Social Care survey reports

Promoting the Health and Well-being of Looked After Children (March 2015)

GOV.UK: Promoting the health and wellbeing of Looked After Children

Promoting the Education of Looked After Children (July 2014).

GOV.UK: Promoting the Education of Looked After Children

Transition from children's to adults' services for young people using health or social care services NICE Guideline [NG43] February 2016

NICE: Guidance