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What do we want for all children and young people in Gloucestershire?

We believe Gloucestershire should be a great place to grow up where all children and young people can thrive and live lives of choice and opportunity, no matter of where they live, their ethnic background, sexuality, gender identity, special educational needs or disability. Bringing together the insight from young people and families, as well as what the data tells us, has led us to identify four objectives to deliver our vision: a great place to grow up where children and young people thrive and live lives of choice and opportunity.

Objective 1 - Equity

Close the gap and eliminate inequalities.

Our data tells us people who have the least in Gloucestershire struggle more than they would in other parts of the country. The reasons for this require further investigation but are likely to include higher costs of living, challenges due to Gloucestershire’s rural geography, and a focus on average population outcomes rather than incentives to target children falling behind. We must work together to create the conditions for children to thrive and target our resources where they are most needed.

Objective 2 - Access

Right help at the right time for all children.

Young people and their families tell us the right support isn’t always there when they need it. We acknowledge that services are under strain and need to invest in innovative approaches to improve efficiency, early identification of needs and build independence.

Objective 3  - Inclusion

A county where everyone belongs and we celebrate diversity.

We know we have more to do to create an inclusive society, that values and respects people regardless of their age, cultures, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexuality or disabilities. For example, our data shows us some ethnic groups are more likely to experience poor outcomes and this may in part be due to unconscious bias and prejudice. We must build a workforce that has inclusion at its core.

Objective 4  - Quality

Effective, outstanding services.

Whilst in the main our services perform well, it is essential that we maintain standards and raise performance where this isn’t the case. We must move with the times and capitalise on technology developments and innovations, as well as growing a sustainable workforce.

Responsibility for driving progress against these objectives will be owned by Gloucestershire’s Children and Young People’s Coalition board and three subgroups themed around the life stages of Starting Well, Growing Well and Being Well.

To deliver this vision we will be guided by the following principles:

  1. We will listen - work in partnership ‘with’ children, families and communities, not ‘for’ or ‘to’, build on existing children, family and community assets and aspirations, ensuring everyone can make a contribution, is respected, and that we take a whole family approach.
  2. We will care - build a culture within our workforce of empathy, using language that cares, acknowledging children and their parents and carers are the experts in their lives and being welcoming and inclusive for families and children of all ages, cultures, religions, ethnicities, genders, sexuality and disabilities.
  3. We will be fair - prioritise resources to those that need it most, ambitiously aim to reduce inequalities in outcomes and close the gap.
  4. We will act early - aim to reduce escalation and specialist support through early identification of needs, building resilience, using restorative approaches, and reduce trauma for children and young people.
  5. It will feel easy - strive to create integrated services, smooth transitions and pathways to give consistency to children and families’ experience of support.
  6. It will work well - seek to ensure value for money with our resources, avoid duplication and inefficiency, embrace innovations and build on existing evidence-based approaches.

We are not starting from scratch, we have fantastic foundations to build from and powerful drivers for change. We have many examples of best practice, innovation and learning that we need to continue to develop and share as a system to effect change against our objectives and improve outcomes.