PLANS to change the way support is offered to families and young people will be presented to council leaders on Monday, October 7 2019.

The Early Help Strategy sets out how East Sussex County Council will spend £4.4 million on early help services and safeguard support for the most vulnerable children and families.

If approved, the revised strategy, which focuses an increasingly limited budget on services rather than buildings, would help target support to more than 2,000 families and young people at risk of needing social care intervention each year.

The proposals include offering early help services from 16 children’s centres and youth centres, and working with partners to maximise external funding for parenting support or parent peer mentoring groups and schemes.

Stuart Gallimore, director of children’s services at East Sussex County Council, said: “The proposals we are putting forward will help us target support to more than 2,100 families at risk of crisis each year, and around 500 vulnerable young people, and continue to offer support to all families of pre-school children.

“The draft strategy was drawn up following an extensive review of how we deliver services.  We are grateful to all of those who have given feedback during the consultation period, which has helped us finalise proposals to concentrate on services for the most vulnerable.”

If approved, the Early Years Strategy would save £2.6 million while the council would continue to spend £4.4 million on early years services a year.

Under the revised strategy, 14 centres will no longer be designated as children’s centres.  The county council will work with partners to identify an alternative provider of early years or education services to take over 10 of the centres.

Rooms at three centres based in externally owned buildings – Heathfield, Newhaven and at The Bridge in Hastings – will remain available for hire to provide services as needed, while Hampden Park children’s centre will close with services moved to Shinewater children’s centre.

The county council would no longer run two nurseries in Bexhill but would work with providers to ensure, where reasonably practicable, that there are sufficient nursery places in the area, as it does across the rest of the county.

While the council does not have a duty to operate childcare facilities, it will continue to run both Cygnets and Rainbow nurseries until September 2020 to provide increased certainty and continuity for families.

As well as Health Visiting services for pre-school children, all families in East Sussex would continue to have access to the School Health Service , the Family Information Service and improved online advice and information about the services offered by the county council.

Additional services would be maintained where externally funded support is available and a further 200 families will be supported through the Troubled Family Programme.

As well as targeted support, the strategy could also provide open access drop-in facilities, the details of which are currently being discussed with partners.

The draft strategy will be considered by Cllr Sylvia Tidy, lead member for children and families at a meeting on Monday, October 7 2019.  Details of the meeting and strategy are available at https://democracy.eastsussex.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=134&MId=4020&Ver=4

Under the revised Early Help Strategy, services would be offered from 12 children’s centres and four youth centres:

Shinewater (Eastbourne), Devonshire (Eastbourne), Robsack (Hastings), Hastings Town, St Leonards, East Hastings, Lewes, Peacehaven, Saxonwood, Uckfield, Hailsham, Sidley.
Hollington Youth Centre (Hastings), Heathfield Youth Centre, The Joff Youth Centre, Archery Youth Centre (Eastbourne).

The county council will work with partners to identify alternative providers for 10 children’s centres:
High Weald, Seaford, Chailey, Ringmer, Battle, West St Leonards, Old Town (Eastbourne), Crowborough, Rye and Egerton Park.