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Currently viewing: Topic Pages > Children and Young People

Children and Young People

Welcome to the Children and Young People Portal

This is the portal page of the Children and Young People area of intelligence in Sandwell Trends. The area includes at the moment this page, the Early Years page, the Children's Centres and the Location of Childcare Provision pages. Further pages on Young People 11-19 and Children in Need are currently under construction.

For more information on the content of these pages, please contact Dolors Medina on 0121 569 3012.

Children in Sandwell

Sandwell is a borough with a higher than average proportion of children of young people. The latest statistics suggest that 21.2% of the population is under 16 years of age (ONS estimates 2010).

The last five years have seen a significant rise in the number of children born, to 4,977 in 2010-11. This represents a 21% growth in live births since 2004-5. If current trends continue, there may be over 5,000 more children every year from 2012-13.

The latest data from Sandwell pupils shows that the new generation of Sandwell residents is ethnically more diverse than the overall population. In January 2011, 45% of children in Sandwell schools were from a Black or Minority Ethnic (BME) group, whereas the percentage for all Sandwell populations is estimated at just over a quarter (26.2%).

Related Documents

In Brief: Children in Sandwell Fact Sheet

In Detail: Children in Sandwell- Demographic section of CPNA

Early Years

Of all children, the pre-school group (0-4 year olds) currently represents the biggest group, at 22,300 according to the latest estimates (ONS 2010). This is 36% of all children under 15 and 7.6% of the total population for the borough.

Sandwell Local Authority offers a wide range of services to pre-school children, including free early education places for all children aged 3 and 4.

Recently, the Local Authority has undertaken their second Childcare Sufficiency Assessment. The Childcare Sufficiency Assessment involves analysing the demand for childcare; mapping the supply of childcare and identifying any gaps in childcare provision within the borough.

To find more on the Childcare Needs Analysis, please visit this webpage:

Childcare Sufficiency Assessment

Related Documents

Frank Field Review Briefing

Graham Allen Review Briefing on Early Intervention

Educational Attainment

The percentage of children achieving a good level of development at foundation stage in Sandwell in 2010 was 49% compared to 45% in the previous two years. This is however behind the national rate, which increased to 56% in the same year.

The results for primary school pupils in Sandwell also improved both at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 (end of year 2 and year 6). More importantly, Sandwell pupils are closing the gap with their peers nationally in all subjects except for Maths.

The percentage of pupils in Sandwell achieving 5 or more GCSEs grade A*-C has increased steadily over the last 5 years, almost closing the gap with the national average. If we include English and Maths, the results for Sandwell (43.6%) are still behind the England rate (53.4%); however, the gap has reduced significantly (see graph below).

Links to Academic Attainment topic pages

Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1

Key Stage 2 and GCSE

Sandwell Family Support Service

Sandwell Family Support Service

The Family Support Service provides support to Children and young people who are in need of co-ordinated early intervention services.

The Family Support Service supports agencies in Sandwell in their use of the Common Assessment Framework by providing ‘Team Around the Family (TAF) Coordination’. Six town based TAF Coordinators are responsible for supporting universal services in their area. In practice this involves:

Ensuring all relevant agencies are invited to attend the multi-agency TAF meeting.
Chairing TAF meetings and providing administrative support.
Developing a holistic family plan which responds to the needs identified by the Common Assessment, and outlines who is responsible for delivering services to meet the identified need.
Holding regular reviews to monitor progress against the family plan.

How to access the Family Support Service

In Sandwell the ACCESS Centre provides the single point of contact through which to request a service for children and young people. The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) forms the basis of all referrals. With the exception of child protection referrals all request for service should be made to the ACCESS Centre using a CAF assessment.

Safeguarding leads from Children’s Social Care, Family Support Service, Education, Police and Health, based at the ACCESS Centre, ensure that all CAF referrals are directed to the right service in a timely manner. Where a child or young person’s needs are indentified as reaching levels 2 to level 3 of the Children’s Social Care A.C.C.S.S Criteria, the referral will be signposted directly to the Family Support Service.

Further information regarding the Family Support service can be accessed via the following documents:

Team Around the Family: Handbook for Practitioners

Sandwell Family Support Service: Operators Guidelines

CAF Quality Assurance: Case File Audit; Policy and Procedures

CAF Quality Assurance: Supervision in Family Support Services

The ACCESS Criteria for Children’s Support Services A.C.C.S.S and other supporting guidance can be accessed at:

http://www.sandwellscb.org.uk/