THE WEST MIDLANDS CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE'S FORUM

The purpose of the new Regional Children and Young People's Forum is to enable Regional agencies to agree joint action and support on the main priorities to improve outcomes for children and young people in the West Midlands.  The Forum will focus on those areas where they are able to add value at the regional level and thereby support improvement locally.  The Forum will be outcomes focused and concentrate resources on particular regional issues.

The initial members of the Forum are the Association of Director of Children’s Services in the West Midlands, the Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership, the Strategic Health Authority – NHS West Midlands and Government Office for the West Midlands.

The Forum has been created as a result of a number of developments within regional agencies and in regional improvement arrangements.

• The WM association of DCSs developing links with key partners
• SHA – appointment of new Director leads and programme manger for Child health and safeguarding
• DCSF ending the grant for maintaining Regional Partnerships
• The West Midlands Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership being tasked by Central government to support local areas
• GOWM – developing Joint Improvement and Support plans to co-ordinate the improvement support to local areas.

The Forum is a group of partners and is focused on making a difference and in particular seeking to maximise the collaboration between Regional Partners.  It will do this by agreeing a few key priority areas – Obesity, NEETs, Child Poverty, Children Trust development, Teenage Pregnancy, Workforce Development and Safeguarding – and by establishing task and finish groups, conferences, subgroups and linkages to creating greater alignment of support and improvement work.

As the Forum develops through 2008 it will need to extend its links with other agencies supporting children and young people’s outcomes, and further reflect on the future priorities.