Agenda item

Alex Hawley, Consultant in Public Health, to present an update on the Best Start Local Plan

Alex Hawley, Consultant in Public Health, presented an update including national policy changes with the aid of the following powerpoint presentation:-

 

National Policy Context

-        Overlapping changes across Health, Education, Early Help

·        75% good level of development by 2028

·        Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies

·        Healthy Child Programme guidance

·        SEND Reforms

·        Families First Partnership

·        NHS shift: prevention and community

 

What this means locally

-        Best Start Local Plan required – published by end of March 2026

-        Alignment across multiple programmes

-        Focus on school readiness outcomes

-        Strong partnership delivery needed

 

Rotherham Targets for Good Level of Development (GLD)

-        73.3% children achieve GLD 2028

-        56.6% GLD for FSM pupils

-        Explicit focus on reducing inequalities

 

Our approach in the Plan

-        A Shared Vision

-        Work in genuine partnership with parents and carers

-        The 4 cornerstones:

Welcome and Care

Communicate

Value and Include

Work in Partnershp

-        Quality of Early Years

-        Smooth transitions

-        Early intervention

-        Tackling inequalities early

-        Connected services

 

6 Priority Areas

-        Strengthening early communication, language and literacy for all children

-        Increasing access to early education for disadvantaged children

-        Improving the quality of Early Years Provision including Reception for all children

-        Identifying needs early and supporting children with SEND and vulnerable families

-        Providing joined-up family support through Rotherham’s Family Hubs

-        Tackling inequalities across the 0-5 system

 

Key Challenges

-        Complex system of overlapping programmes

-        Risk of duplication vs added value

-        Maintaining clear outcomes focus

-        Capacity across whole 0-25 pathway

 

Implementation Priorities

-        Detailed needs assessment

-        Theory of change and metrics

-        Map activity and identify gaps

-        Develop implementation plan

-        Involvement of all key partners across Health, Education, Early Help, Social Care, voluntary sector and others e.g. potentially important role for Housing

 

Next Steps

-        A more in-depth needs assessment for GLD

-        Develop and agree a theory of change logic model for GLD

-        To agree a set of metrics to measure change and progress towards the desired outcomes

-        To map existing operational or planned activities within related programmes

-        To identify gaps and opportunities for adding value

-        To determine lead officers for agreed new activity

-        Develop a high level implementation plan for the Best Start Local Plan

-        To agree a key topic focus for applying the Best Start and Beyond Framework within school age cohort

-        To agree a forward plan of reporting into the Health and Wellbeing Board for Best Start Local Plan and other outcomes within Aim 1

 

Discussion ensued with the following issues raised/clarified:-

 

·        The SEND forward plan had been submitted in accordance with the 19^th June, 2026, deadline

·        The delivery plan had to be submitted to the DfE by the end of the week (12^th June)

·        There were a series of interlinked initiatives coming on stream with the Government vision that there be a Best Start Programme which included Family Hubs, Families First Programme and SEND

·        The national consultation on the SEND proposals had just closed but the Local Authority had to submit a plan around managing SEND for the next 2 years without knowing what the outcome of the consultation was

·        Health colleagues had been very supportive in developing the Expert at Hand model together with an expectation that SEND specialists would sit within the Family Hubs which would link to the Best Start Programme

·        There would be a lot more work around the Youth Hubs and the expectations for the older age range (16-24 years)

·        It was a very challenging landscape as were the targets set particularly for GLD which would be difficult to achieve.  Representations had been made to the DfE

·        There would be Best Start Inclusion Practitioners in each Family Hub.  Some guidance had been received earlier in the week which was more specific than previously issued

·        Clearly very much in the early stages of work and the implementation plan for Best Start was much different to what was happening.  It was felt useful to step back and assess the situation in order to add value and fill any gaps rather than immediately develop a delivery plan 

·        There was no similar target to that of GLD and pupils on Free School Meals for children with SEND and was one of the key challenges.  This had been part of the statement back to the DfE when initial targets had been issued

·        The need to acknowledge that children with SEND could still achieve some major development even if they could noy achieve everything

 

Resolved:-  (1)  That the Board endorse the published Best Start Local Plan be approved.

 

(2)  That the refreshed version of the Best Start and Beyond Framework be approved.

 

(3)  That the range of policy updates reported in the briefing and the concomitant local system response be noted.

 

(4)  That one overview report on the Best Start Local Plan be submitted to the Board together with one more focused topic-based report during the course of the year with sufficient time allowed within the agenda to facilitate discussion.