Sector backs Longfield’s call for ‘Sure Start for teenagers’

The proposal is one of a series of recommendations put forward in Longfield’s final report for her Commission on Young Lives, which sets out a national action plan for government, councils, the police and schools to tackle what it calls “deep rooted” problems in support systems for children, young people and families.

Recommendations include the creation of 1,000 Sure Start Plus Hubs by 2027 as well as the recruitment of an “army” of 10,000 additional youth workers and a one-off mental health recovery programme.

• Feature: Five key lessons from the Commission on Young Lives

• Special report: Tackling Youth Violence

Longfield’s report highlights that some of her recommendations echo those made in the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care and says that they “should be implemented at pace”.

Responding to the report, Steve Crocker, president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS), said: “We agree with the commission that the recommendations from the children’s social care review must not be ‘kicked into the long grass’. We need to change parts of the system that are not working for children and families, significant government investment is needed to achieve this.

“Youth services are a key part of early help, they offer young people positive activities, opportunities, and safe places to go, yet they were amongst the many vital services local authorities were forced to cut during a decade of austerity. There is a clear role for youth services to play in helping children and young people recover from the effects of the pandemic too. Now is the time for ‘a return to investing in children and their families’ and the services that support them, not a return to austerity.”

Donna Molloy, director of policy at the Early Intervention Foundation, added that the report “highlights the myriad of challenges facing vulnerable families right now”.

“We must invest in the right support at the earliest opportunity, by providing interventions and services that have the best chance of meaningfully improving the lives of those who need them most.

“Without action to secure the right support for young people, we will keep repeating a cycle without improving outcomes. This is why a focus on young people’s wellbeing and prospects through strategic, co-ordinated action at the national level is absolutely essential,” she said.

We welcome the final report by @coyl2022 & @annelongfield - especially their joint research w @CentreforMH showing the urgent need for tailored mental health support for young people & the recommendation for a mental health recovery programme👉https://t.co/oyQgnVZACr

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— Pilgrim Trust (@ThePilgrimTrust) November 4, 2022

In response to the report, councillor Nesil Caliskan, chair of the Local Government Association’s safer and stronger communities board, also called for greater investment in services for young people from central government, particularly ahead of a duty on local authorities and partners to prepare evidenced-based analyses of serious violence in their areas put forward in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act.

She said: “As councils, police, health services and community safety partners prepare for the forthcoming serious violence duty, it is important that this duty is fully funded to make a difference locally.

“Greater investment is also needed in early prevention and mental health services, including council-run youth services which play a vital role in helping young people avoid being drawn into harmful and dangerous situations. However, these services have seen funding reduced by more than two-thirds in real terms since 2010, which means limited funding for prevention work is being diverted into services to protect children who are at immediate risk of harm.

“Government must respond to these pressures and provide appropriate funding for children and youth services to prevent children from being exploited and ensure the right support is available for all young people, whatever their needs.”

Proud to have worked with @annelongfield & @coyl2022, contributing our experience to this vital report. It highlights the need to protect vulnerable children through early intervention, investment in #mentalhealth, inclusive education & more: https://t.co/ZZxevdo9Q7#inclusion

— Chance UK (@ChanceUK) November 4, 2022

Lynn Perry, chief executive of Barnardo’s, highlighted a recommendation in the report to adopt a statutory definition of child criminal exploitation, as “essential”.

“The lack of a consistent definition drives inconsistency in the response to vulnerable children across the country, often leaving child victims criminalised and without the essential specialist support that they need to escape from exploitation and recover from trauma. With a statutory definition in place, we would be able to identify children who are exploited sooner and support their recovery,” she said.

However, others questioned Longfield’s call for Care Review recommendations, authored by review chair Josh MacAlister, to be implemented as part of her report.

Joe Hanley, a lecturer in social work at the Open University, wrote on Twitter: “Commission on Young Lives final report out. Important to consider it within the context of the networks behind it. Note it praises the MacAlister Review, calling for it to be delivered "at pace" – an increasingly common meme in policy circles.”

Ian Dickson, a former social worker, with care experience, added that the report was an example of “the same people supporting the same people”.

“Most children in care have not heard, or been consulted by, any of these people,” he tweeted.