Improving cross-sector support for children in complex situations with multiple needs task and finish group
The group will work to improve outcomes for children who are in complex situations and are currently, or at risk of, being deprived of their liberty, by ensuring that there is an aligned cross-government approach to commissioning and delivering the best possible models care.
Role
The group’s main objectives are to:
- develop guidance and system resources which establish a joined-up approach to commissioning across health, social care and education for children in this cohort
- develop and pilot evidence-based models of safe therapeutic care for children in this cohort
- make recommendations for future phases of work; including medium and longer-term plans
Terms of reference
Membership
Current members:
- Sophie Langdale, Fran Oram and Sarah Jennings from Department for Education
- Prathiba Chitsabesan and Ailsa Swarbrick from National Health Service England
- Claire Fielder and Alan Webster from Ministry of Justice
- Charlotte Kume-Holland from Department of Health and Social Care
- Andy Smith, Katy Block and Nigel Minns from Association of Directors of Children’s Services
- Lynne Abrahms from Youth Custody Service
- Rachel De Souza, Joe Lane and Juliette Cammearts from Office of the Children’s Commissioner
Meeting dates
From December 2024 the group will meet approximately every 3 months. From July 2023 the group met approximately every 6 weeks until Spring 2024.
Minutes
Webinar
A joint webinar between NHS England and the Department for Education was held on 22 November 2024 and the recording, presentation and questions from the webinar are available on the NHS Futures platform.
Output
In 2024, we commissioned a report from the Office of the Children’s Commissioner which sets out the views and experiences of children who have been deprived of their liberty, their parents and the professionals that support them. This report was published in November 2024 and can be found at Children with complex needs who are deprived of liberty.
In 2025, the group will publish independent research on how the system works, its current impacts and how we could do things differently to achieve better outcomes for children and young people. We plan to publish this research in summer 2025. We will draw on these reports to support the development and testing of evidence-based models of safe, therapeutic care that delivers integrated, consistent, and collaborative practices for these children and young people.
In addition, we will issue further guidance and resources that are informed by evidence, existing good practice, and, importantly, by what children, young people and their parents and carers say they want and would find helpful.
We will work directly with the South East Regional Care Co-operative to test an integrated assessment, commissioning and delivery model, including input from health, justice and children’s social care professionals, and evaluate the effectiveness of the approach.