Know your communities
It is vital that local areas really understand the needs and wishes of the Children,
young people and families they aim to support. This requires meaningful consultation;
thorough needs analysis and effective use of community intelligence. The Schools
& Communities theme demonstrates the importance of wider community engagement
in designing support services, whilst the Child Poverty evidence base clearly states
that effective needs assessment relies on all-sector input. In terms of family support,
effective interventions depend on a consultative approach to needs assessment.
Similarly, the Safeguarding evidence base states that each complex case has to be
researched, both by the careful collection and analysis of what is known, and matching
that against the knowledge base of what may be effective in the particular family’s
and child’s circumstances.
C4EO Research Reviews relevant to this area include:
Early Years
Provision needs to be
non-stigmatising and cater for families’ diverse needs.
Disability
Disabled children and
young people need to be involved in designing and selecting the activities they
wish to access.
Vulnerable (Looked After) Children
It is vital to consult
with looked after children and young people regarding their leaving care process.
Child Poverty
Consult with local people
including those experiencing poverty to assess need effectively.
Schools and communities
1. Local knowledge needs
to be taken into account when developing services and similarly, interventions need
to be adapted to local need.
2. Services supporting
families need to be designed in consultation with families and the wider community.
Families, Parent and Carers:
Interventions work best
when informed by the views of participants.
