Serious violence hotspots to benefit from targeted support for vulnerable young people at risk of crime
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Young people across England who are most at risk of serious
violence or gang exploitation will benefit from targeted support to
keep them engaged in education and attending lessons. The new
initiative, backed by £30 million, is a part of a rollout of
10 ‘SAFE’ (Support, Attend, Fulfil, Exceed) taskforces in ‘hotspot’
areas, where incidents of serious youth violence are highest. These
will be led by local schools, bringing headteachers together to
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Young people across England who are most at risk of serious violence or gang exploitation will benefit from targeted support to keep them engaged in education and attending lessons. The new initiative, backed by £30 million, is a part of a rollout of 10 ‘SAFE’ (Support, Attend, Fulfil, Exceed) taskforces in ‘hotspot’ areas, where incidents of serious youth violence are highest. These will be led by local schools, bringing headteachers together to support vulnerable young people, and avoid them becoming involved in county lines and criminal activity. The investment will help focus on improving pupils’ attendance, reducing the likelihood of young people being permanently excluded from school, keeping young people focused on their education. Children and Families Minister Will Quince said: “Keeping young people engaged with their education has never been more important. These taskforces are helping school leaders and vital support services work together to support some of the most vulnerable young people across the country, helping to keep them on the right track and stop them missing lessons. “Through the work of these taskforces, combined with our ongoing SEND Review, the independent review of children’s social care, and our investment in Alternative Provision and other specialist support, this government is levelling up opportunities for all young people to help fulfil their potential and achieve better outcomes.” The government have also today announced the 22 schools benefitting from Alternative Provision Specialist Taskforces, which work directly with young people in Alternative Provision settings to offer intensive support from experts, including mental health professionals, family workers, and speech and language therapists. Bringing this wider range of professionals together aims to reduce the risk to these pupils of being exploited and entering a life of crime, and helping them move into further education, employment or training after they finish school. NOTES TO EDITORS
o Extending the role of Virtual School Heads – who work to raise educational standards for children in care – so there will be a local champion for children with a social worker in every local authority meaning more targeted support for these children to help improve how they engage with their education. o Working with families who require early help through our Supporting Families programme, for example with attendance difficulties, but otherwise wouldn’t meet the threshold for social care intervention. o Investing £17 million towards improving mental health and wellbeing support, including £9.5m to offer senior mental health lead training to around a third of all state schools and colleges in 2021/22, helping them to implement effective holistic approaches to mental health and wellbeing. This is on top of £79 million to increase mental health provision, including more mental health support teams working with schools and colleges. o The ongoing SEND Review, which will be setting out plans for reform of the AP system that will improve outcomes for all children and young people including those in unregistered settings.
Areas benefitting from a SAFE Taskforce Birmingham Newham Manchester Lambeth Leeds Southwark Sheffield Bradford Liverpool Haringey Alternative Provision Settings benefitting from AP Specialist Taskforces Bradford AP Academy Centre, Bradford Haringey Learning Partnership, Haringey Manchester Secondary PRU, Manchester Orchardside School, Enfield Saffron Valley Collegiate, Croydon Sandwell Community School, Sandwell Snowdon Village (Bristol Future’s Academy), Bristol Southwark Inclusive Learning Service (SILS), Southwark Stephen Longfellow Academy, Leeds Tunmarsh School, Newham Unity Academy, Nottingham St Wilfrid’s Academy, Doncaster Park Campus Academy, Lambeth Brent River College, Brent City of Birmingham School, Birmingham Ealing Alternative Provision (EAP), Ealing Everton Free School, Liverpool Leicester Partnership School, Leicester London East AP, Tower Hamlets |