Equity

No Child Left Behind is an initiative in Cheltenham, that aims to help all young people to thrive and
improve the outcomes of the 4400 children and young people living in poverty. The borough council, supported by partners, led a three-year action for change project based on a different
theme for every month of each year.

Due to its success the initiative has continued with a focus on local industries supporting and sponsoring community projects that help vulnerable children and their families within their own communities. At the end of each year there is an award ceremony that celebrates the achievements of children and recognises the local business who contribute.

Video Interactive Guidance (VIG) is a preventative, therapeutic, early intervention with a strong research evidence base in the UK and worldwide and aims to strengthen the attachment relationship between parent/carer and child through improved communication.

This offer is being piloted by Gloucestershire’s Health Visiting Service and has been funded by the
Integrated Care System as part of the perinatal mental health pathway.

Our work to help children and families thrive is making us think about ‘The Gloucestershire Way’ - an approach used by teachers, social workers and other professionals which works with the whole family and helps to show how family members’ actions impact on each other.

It is based on building a safe space to listen, share, show kindness, understand each other’s feelings and perspectives and ultimately help to resolve difficulties by working together and building trust. It is based on growing research into Trauma Informed Relational Practice, Systemic Practice and Family Led Decision Making.

To help support communities to be empowered to build on the strengths and assets they have, we have created six Integrated Locality Partnerships across covering each of the six districts that make up Gloucestershire.

They each have wide membership from partners and communities with the aims of proactively reducing the root causes of health inequalities, improving health and wellbeing, working collectively to redesign care for people in localities and supporting them to live well at home.

Children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing is a common priority and the groups continue to grow their membership, reach and impact.

We launched ‘Levelling Up Together’ in Autumn 2022 as a flexible targeted grant scheme aiming to invest into the communities in Gloucestershire falling into the top 10% ‘most deprived’ (according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation, 2019). Fifty-two grants have been awarded, totalling just under
£1.5million, and many of our 49 Levelling Up partners support children and families facing difficult circumstances through a diverse array of initiatives.

This includes through the provision of affordable or free food (such as Hesters Way Partnership’s Pantry), the recruitment of volunteers to support families and listen to children read in schools (such as Home Start North West Gloucestershire and Read with Me CIC), the creation and renovation of youth groups and leisure facilities (such as the Islamic Society of Gloucester and
Gas Green Youth Club), mental health support for young people from diverse communities (such as Brendan’s Bridge and TIC+), and free play and physical activity sessions (such as Sportilly and
Play Gloucestershire).