Every Child Matters: Change for Children is a new approach to services for children. It sits alongside the Children's Act 2004 which provides the legal support to make these changes possible.

 Every Child Matters: Change for Children [742kb] puts children and young people at the heart of its plans.

Every Child Matters will improve outcomes and the experience of public services for all children, young people and families. Over the next few years, every local authority will be working with its partners to find out what works best for children and young people in its area and act on it. This means 'inter-agency' or 'integrated working' from management right down to the frontline.

The outcomes

The Government's Every Child Matters Green Paper identified the five outcomes that are most important to children and young people:

• Be healthy
• Stay safe
• Enjoy and achieve
• Make a positive contribution
• Achieve economic well-being

The five outcomes are universal ambitions and we want every child across North Yorkshire to achieve these outcomes, whatever their background or circumstances.

How will children's services be changed?

The Every Child Matters vision is a radical improvement in opportunities and outcomes for children and young people, driven by big changes to the delivery of children's services. The delivery of integrated frontline services to improve outcomes for children and young people will need support at a strategic level

There will be changes to:

• Build services around the child, young person and family
• Support parents and carers
• Develop the workforce, changing culture and practice to support integrated working
• Integrate universal and targeted services
• Integrate services across the 0-19 age range

The changes in children's services are all based around agencies and professionals working together more effectively. This means that different agencies - public, private and voluntary/community - will be providing coordinated support for children and young people to ensure all the outcomes are met. Children's Trusts have formed to bring together the organisations responsible for services for children, young people and families with a focus on improving outcomes for children.

Why was it introduced?

The Every Child Matters agenda was developed partly in response to the problems that led to the death of Victoria Climbie in London, and partly due to an increasing emphasis on joined up and integrated working. The two key drivers behind the Every Child Matters: Change for Children programme are the Children Act (2004) and the National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services.

Every Child Matters: Change for Children was published in November 2004. The agenda was developed to ensure that the child is at the centre of everything done by the local authority, and to ensure that local authorities focus on the "outcomes" and not simply the process when they plan and provide children's services

What does this mean for North Yorkshire?

The way children's services are run and delivered across the county will undergo a big transformation. North Yorkshire County Council, along with our partners on the North Yorkshire Children's Trust, have developed a  Children and Young People's Plan [2Mb] based upon the five outcomes of Every Child Matters.

We want to ask ourselves the following questions: are the children and young people in this county healthy and safe, do they enjoy and achieve, are they able to make positive contributions, and how many of them have a good chance of economic security?

Changing times newsletter Changing Times - July 2010 [679kb] Changing Times - July 2010 Changing Times - April 2010 [794kb] Changing Times - April 2010 Changing Times - February 2010 [625kb] Changing Times - February 2010 Changing Times - December 2009 [996kb] Changing Times - December 2009 Changing Times - October 2009 [765kb] Changing Times - October 2009 Changing Times - June 2009 [373kb] Changing Times - June 2009 Changing Times - April 2009 [640kb] Changing Times - April 2009 Changing Times - February 2009 [866kb] Changing Times - February 2009 Changing Times - December 2008 [743kb] Changing Times - December 2008 Changing Times - October 2008 [689kb] Changing Times - October 2008 Useful downloads Every Child Matters - Change for Children [742kb] Every Child Matters: Change for Children sets out the national framework for local change programmes to build services around the needs of children and young people Every Child Matters Outcomes Framework Poster [84kb] A poster detailing the national framework of the Every Child Matters agenda and how it links in with Childrens Plan Children and Young People's Plan 2008 - 2011 [2Mb] The Children and Young People's Plan for North Yorkshire sets out the priorities of how we are going to achieve the Every Child Matters outcomes for every child and young person in the County. Children and Young People's Plan 2008-11 Needs Assessment [844kb] The priorities within the Children and Young People's Plan 2008-11 are based upon extensive research, consultation and analysis, detailed within this document.   Weblinks Please note: All external websites open in a new browser window. North Yorkshire County Council is not responsible for the content of external websites. Every Child Matters - Change for Children Every Child Matters: cross-Government working with local partners to achieve better outcomes for children and young people. The site has been developed and is managed by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) Children and Young People's Strategic Partnership website. The Children and Young People's Strategic Partnership unites all partners providing services for children and young people at both a strategic and local level. The Children's Plan: Building Brighter Futures The Children's Plan, published by the DCSF in December 2007, outlines the next steps in delivering the Every Child Matters Agenda The Children's Plan: One Year On The Children's Plan puts the needs of families, children and young people at the centre of everything we do. This website explains what has been achieved during the first 12 months. Contacts Children and young people's service cyp@northyorks.gov.uk Full details for Children and young people's service