A Great Place to Grow Up
Creating a more child-friendly District where all children and young people can develop and thrive is one of the most important responsibilities we share. This happens when they feel secure, supported and nurtured, and it’s up to us to ensure our services, plans and strategies increase their physical health and emotional well-being and gives them the knowledge and skills they need for life. From the spaces and places they play in and the opportunities they have access to, every detail matters in shaping their growth and happiness.
Supporting children and young people to grow up to be happy and successful adults means having effective support for families; great schools and services and a wide range of things for children and young people to do, a broad range of careers pathways that prepare them for the world of work, safe places to go and local good-quality job opportunities for those entering employment.
How the Council will deliver the Great Place to Grow Up Ambition
Objective: Improve the mental health of children and young people
| Action | Milestone 26/27 | Milestone 27/28 | Milestone 28/29 | Measures | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Promote parent–infant and family relationships to support children's mental wellbeing. | Establish clear pathways for parent–infant relationship support and parental mental wellbeing | Increase reach of evidence-based parenting and relationship programmes, particularly in priority communities. | Use insight from parents and carers to refine and sustain support. | Uptake of evidence-based programmes (for example, attachment, parenting, relational support). Reduction in referrals escalating from Early Help to statutory services |
Adult Social Care, Health and Housing |
| Enable schools to consistently promote mental wellbeing through whole-school practice | Expand adoption of whole-school approaches through Living Well Schools | Pilot and evaluate peer support and preventative programmes schools | Engage schools to understand unmet needs for mental wellbeing through pupil voice and data (post Age of Wonder cohort) | Number and proportion of schools engaged in whole-school mental wellbeing approaches. Uptake of mental health training and support offers by school staff. Pupil-reported wellbeing and sense of belonging (via AgeofWonder BIB) |
Adult Social Care, Health and Housing |
| Strengthen community-based approaches that build belonging, resilience and positive mental wellbeing | Create visible partnerships across libraries, youth services, leisure, nature and voluntary sector, including physical activity strategy. | Embed mental wellbeing outcomes within community and place-based programmes | Growth participation of children, young people and families in community wellbeing activities including play | Measures from Physical Activity Outcome framework Numbers of CYP participating in youth services |
Adult Social Care, Health and Housing |
| Increase universal high quality youth work provision across all our District localities' | Coproduction of Youth Offer with young people | Increased awareness of Youth Offer | Youth Led Evaluation of Youth Offer | Numbers of children and young people participating in targeted youth work interventions provided by Bradford Council Youth Service is sustained | Environment (Youth Service) |
| In line with the National Youth Work Strategy, invest to deliver our commitment to provide high quality open-access youth service sessions across the district | Increase the number of young people accessing open-access youth service provision | Increase the number of young people accessing open-access youth service provision | Increase the number of young people accessing open-access youth service provision | Number of children and young people accessing youth service provision | Environment (Youth Service) |
| Development of universal Youth Service provision to ensure robust alignment with the prevention and early help strategy, early help pathway and associated delivery plan | Regular strategic level attendance at Prevention & Early Help System Board to ensure strong alignment with the actions of the National Youth Service Strategy | Contribution to adolescent pathway | Contribution to shared delivery of evidence-based programmes pertinent to a cohesive adolescent offer across the district | Number of children and young people accessing universal youth service provision | Bradford Council – Environment (Youth Service and Rec & Leisure) Children's Services Bradford Children and Families Trust |
| Youth Service ambassador scheme implemented | Year 3 cohort recruited | Year 4 cohort recruited | Year 5 cohort recruited | 50% of ambassadors to secure roles in Youth Service team | Environment |
| Expand library programmes for early literacy and homework support | Launch targeted literacy sessions | Partner with schools for outreach | Evaluate impact on attainment | Literacy rates, attendance | Environment |
| Use parks, museums, and sports for therapeutic and creative activities | Pilot wellbeing programmes | Embed in youth services | Monitor mental health outcomes | Participation, wellbeing scores | Environment |
| Improve Fostering / Looked after Children attendance | Continue to build the relationship with key contacts in Children's Services. Offering free of charge opportunities to children under corporate parenting. | Develop relationships with producers and promoters to support this work. | Develop relationships with external partners and seek funding. | Attendance numbers, feedback from children's services and participants. | Environment |
| Schools activity programme and performance attendance. | Increase RSC associate schools and maintain network activity. | Increase schools attendance. | Maintain schools attendance and educational offer. | Monitoring and evaluation of schools attenders and educational offer | Environment |
| Targeted support programme through the Education Safeguarding Team to continue to reduce the numbers of children persistently absent (PA). | Build on strong foundations to ensure consolidation and targeted support – refine pathways, embed consistent practice using the Staged Intervention Approach, consider priority cohorts, strengthen multi-agency working and develop parent engagement. | Continue to roll out innovative tools and look to creative methods such as virtual clinics, community-based support, integrating attendance and safeguarding systems and developing attendance Champions network. | Review of annual impact reports, KPIs and case studies Embed CPD for attendance officers and school staff and formalise long term strategy, celebrating success to reinforce positive attendance culture. |
Percentage reduction in PA rates. Percentage of school utilising Similar School report to make strategic improvements. Percentage of TASMs carried out Attendance improvement for priority cohorts. |
Children's Services |
| Provide support for vulnerable young people through the three-tier AP model offering graduated levels of support | Children's Services | ||||
| Continue to streamline support pathways and tracking of outcomes through delivery of the One Plan | Children's Services | ||||
| Develop a shared outcomes framework to assess the effectiveness of support packages that support improved mental wellbeing and resilience | Children's Services |
Objective: Improve persistent and severe absence for children in school
| Action | Milestone 26/27 | Milestone 27/28 | Milestone 28/29 | Measures | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Targeted support programme through the Education Safeguarding Team to continue to reduce the numbers of children persistently absent. | Build on strong foundations to ensure consolidation and targeted support – refine pathways, embed consistent practice using the Staged Intervention Approach, consider priority cohorts, strengthen multi-agency working and develop parent engagement. | Continue to roll out innovative tools and look to creative methods such as virtual clinics, community-based support, integrating attendance and safeguarding systems and developing attendance Champions network. | Review of annual impact reports, KPIs and case studies Embed CPD for attendance officers and school staff and formalise long term strategy, celebrating success to reinforce positive attendance culture. |
Percentage reduction in PA rates. Percentage of school utilising Similar School report to make strategic improvements. Percentage of TASMs carried out Attendance improvement for priority cohorts. |
Children's Services |
| Development of Alternative Provision (AP) Strategy and Service to outline and enable the provision of alternative education services for pupils who are unable to attend mainstream schools. | Reduction in the percentage of pupils unable to attend or access education. | Reduction in the percentage of pupils unable to attend or access education. | Reduction in the percentage of pupils unable to attend or access education. | AP Strategy published. Percentage of pupils unable to attend or access education. |
Children's Services |
| Further develop the Team Around the School Model to increase the sufficiency of support and provision available to children and young people; and ensure a comprehensive network of professionals is in place to address pupil needs efficiently and effectively. | Increased participation of vulnerable children and young people. | Increased participation of vulnerable children and young people. | Increased participation of vulnerable children and young people. | Participation rates of vulnerable children and young people | Children's Services |
| Raising Awareness of Educational Gaps as a Form of Neglect and Improving Training. | % Increased participation of vulnerable children and young people Training for social workers |
% Increased participation of vulnerable children and young people | % Increased participation of vulnerable children and young people | Feedback on quality and suitability of AP services | Children's Services |
| Focused project on absence rates for children in care to reduce absence for these young people. | Promote inclusive and relational education approaches which improve school attendance for children with a social worker. | Reduction of PA and severe absence (SA) for Children in care to be better than national average. | Children's Services |
Objective: Improve young people's work readiness and access to work, especially vulnerable young people
| Action | Milestone 26/27 | Milestone 27/28 | Milestone 28/29 | Measures | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introduce youth internships in museums, theatres, and sports centres | Launch pilot placements | Expand across venues | Track employment outcomes | Number of placements, job outcomes | Environment |
| Deliver interventions to sustain the reduction in the NEET and Not Known (NK) rates across the district with all wards to be better thannational average. | Reduce number of young people whose destination is “Not Known”. Further reduction in NEET through earlier intervention. Expand employer partnerships. Maintain better than national performance for NEET/NK, |
Enhance NEET/NK preventative approach with full rollout of Risk Of NEET Indicator. Formalise employer network. Expand multi-agency approach. Maintain better than national performance for NEET/NK |
Undertake annual review. Implement new guaranteed place approach set out by national government. Maintain better than national performance for NEET/NK |
NEET / Not Known rate. | OCEX |
| All care experienced young people are offered opportunities under the Bradford Family Business Model. | Mobilise the Bradford Family Business Model, initial phase to include: Data review; job matching; ringfencing council roles; and employer engagement. | Collate year one feedback. Increase business sign-up by 10%. Increase offer uptake by young people by 10%. |
Collate year two feedback. Increase business sign-up by 10%. Increase offer uptake by young people by 10%. |
Number of employers engaged. Number of care leavers into Council jobs/ apprenticeships. |
OCEX |
| Reduce the number of young adults 18-25 who are unemployed or economically inactive through a system wide campaign of action. | Launch marketing, offer tailored training and wellbeing support, boost employer engagement, and achieve 95% client upskilling. | Implement the Youth Guarantee programme. | Run Youth Guarantee at full capacity. Embed systemic change for long-term impact. |
Youth claimant rate. Economic inactivity rate. |
OCEX |
| Ensure all children in care have a high-quality Personal Education Plan, quality assured by the Virtual School to ensure they improve educational outcomes and have access to any additional support required. | GCSE outcomes for children in care are above the national average | GCSE outcomes for children in care are above the national average | GCSE outcomes for children in care are above the national average | The percentage of children in care achieving GCSE English and maths increases | Children's – Virtual School |
| Virtual School to support Children in Care to progress into further and higher education through strategic partnerships with Skills House, post 16 providers and the University of Bradford. | EET rates for Children in Care are above national average. | EET rates for Children in Care are above national average. | EET rates for Children in Care are above national average. | EET rate for17 –18 year old Children in Care. | Children's Services – Virtual School |
| Targeted Interventions: Implement evidence-based literacy and numeracy programmes within mainstream, SEND, and AP settings. Deploy specialist teachers and learning mentors to support underachieving pupils, with a focus on those with EHCPs and those at risk of exclusion. | Progress Tracking: Monitor attainment data termly, disaggregated by SEND status, AP placement, and vulnerable group cohort. Set SMART targets for year-on-year improvement. | Progress Tracking: Monitor attainment data termly, disaggregated by SEND status, AP placement, and vulnerable group cohort. Set SMART targets for year-on-year improvement. | Progress Tracking: Monitor attainment data termly, disaggregated by SEND status, AP placement, and vulnerable group cohort. Set SMART targets for year-on-year improvement. | Proportion of targeted pupils achieving grade 4+ in English and maths GCSEs | Children's Services |
| Development of coherent pathways to adult life for children with EHC Plans – Academic; Vocational; Work related; and Lifeskills – that are appropriately matched to curriculum offers that enable effective progression. | Review post-16 specialist education offer within the district to consider sufficiency and delivery model. Revised offer in place. EET rates for children with EHC Plans are above national average. |
EET rates for children with EHC Plans are above national average. | EET rates for children with EHC Plans are above national average. | NEET rate for young people with EHC Plans. | Children's Services |
| Continue to run the all-age Digital Inclusion Programme to enable access to internet, devices and skills required for the digital world | Participation on programme | Children's Services |
Objective: Reduce the need for children to be in care
| Action | Milestone 26/27 | Milestone 27/28 | Milestone 28/29 | Measures | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coproduce multi-disciplinary Families First Reform that strengthens support for children and families by integrating multi‑agency child protection, developing family help at CIN and Targeted Early Help level, and embed family group decision making as standard to a core approach of resolving concerns early and safely. | Establish family help prototype teams in priority localities, with Family Ground Decision Making offered at the earliest point of concern | Launch revised multi‑agency child protection model that is integrated with Family Help | Embed the Families First model further | Demonstrable reductions in child protection investigations and care entries through strengthened multi‑agency practice, earlier family help, and widespread use of Family Group Decision Making to resolve concerns safely Effective multi-agency child protection arrangements are consistent and demonstrate a system where the right decisions are made at the right time for children to keep them safe and recover from harm |
Bradford Council |
| Ensure access to help and support for every child, every young person and every family who experiences poverty without fear of stigma – because help should always come with dignity, respect, and understanding | Develop and implement a poverty proofing practice framework across children's services. | Review and embed the poverty proofing framework | Further embed the framework | Increased numbers of families with an early help plan in the areas of most deprivation in the district. | Children's Services / Bradford Children and Families Trust |
| Collaborate with BCFT to develop their sufficiency response particularly for children looked after with the most complex support needs through the Tier 3.5 programme. | Develop market position statement. Undertake market engagement for T3.5 social enterprise children's homes. </td | Undertake provider selection to identify social enterprise children's homes provider. | Two T3.5 children's homes providing a total of 4 bed spaces open ready for children's placements. | Reduction in unregistered children's home placements. Increase in complex children's home bed capacity within or close to the Bradford District. |
Adult Social Care, Health and Housing |
| Continue to ensure that young people access out of hours Youth Service Interventions | Development of referral pathways to 90 Out of Hours Safe Spaces | Promotion of Out of Hours Safe Spaces to respond to emerging needs. | Evaluation of referral pathways for early intervention | Number of young people accessing safe spaces | Environment (Youth Service) |
| Ensuring that all of those that are entitled to additional funding opportunities - for example Pupil Premium funding – have the opportunity to access this and benefit from it. | Continue to work with partners to monitor and improve take-up | Continue to work with partners to monitor and improve take-up | Continue to work with partners to monitor and improve take-up | Number of families accessing additional funding opportunities | Children's Services |
| Work in partnership to break the cycle of poverty through a joined up preventative approach that aligns early years, education, early help, neighbourhoods, housing, employment support and public health | Continue with the work of the Anti-poverty coordination group – This group is made up of District-wide partners, with a focus on delivery of joined-up initiatives that support local families in need | Review and re-set the Anti-Poverty Strategy | TBD – Ensuring alignment with the new Anti-Poverty Strategy | Impact reports from partners | Adult Social Care, Health and Housing / Bradford Council |
| Improve access to benefits, welfare advice and crisis support through joined up services across the Council, schools, health services and VCSE organisations | Continue delivery of Welfare Support services to support local residents. | Review and re-set the Anti-Poverty Strategy | TBD – Ensuring alignment with the new Anti-Poverty Strategy | Welfare Support Services data: Enquiries; Funding provided; Outcomes for residence |
Adult Social Care, Health and Housing / Bradford Council |
| Work in partnership to promote support that helps to reduce everyday costs for families, for example community food partnerships, free school meals, holiday activities - ensuring children's basic needs are met. | Continue to support families through the new Crisis and Resilience Fund. Continue to deliver the Holiday Activities and Food programme |
Review and re-set the Anti-Poverty Strategy | TBD – Ensuring alignment with the new Anti-Poverty Strategy | Crisis and Resilience Fund monitoring HAF programme monitoring |
Adult Social Care, Health and Housing / Children's Services / Bradford Council |
| Work in partnership to break the cycle of poverty through a joined up preventative approach that aligns early years, education, early help, neighbourhoods, housing, employment support and public health | Continue with the work of the Anti-poverty coordination group – This group is made up of District-wide partners, with a focus on delivery of joined-up initiatives that support local families in need | Review and re-set the Anti-Poverty Strategy | TBD – Ensuring alignment with the new Anti-Poverty Strategy | Impact reports from partners | Adult Social Care, Health and Housing |
Objective: All children achieve their potential in environments that are nurturing
| Action | Milestone 26/27 | Milestone 27/28 | Milestone 28/29 | Measures | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Complex Children's Placements: People Commissioning to support BCFT to develop their sufficiency response particularly for children looked after with the most complex support needs through the Tier 3.5 programme. | T3.5 Market Engagement: Develop market position statement. Undertake market engagement for T3.5 social enterprise children's homes | T3.5 Provider Selection: Undertake provider selection to identify social enterprise children's homes provider. | T3.5 Children's Homes Operational: Two children's homes providing a total of 4 bed spaces open ready for children's placements. | Reduction in unregistered children's home placements Increase in complex children's home bed capacity within or close to the Bradford District |
Adult Social Care, Health and Housing |
| Expand outreach programmes to engage families in disadvantaged areas, highlighting the benefits of early education. | Annual increase, with a focus on areas where take-up below the District-wide average Termly enrolment reviews |
Annual increase, with a focus on areas where take-up below the District-wide average Termly enrolment reviews |
Annual increase, with a focus on areas where take-up below the District-wide average Termly enrolment reviews |
Percentage of eligible children enrolled in early education settings | Children's Services |
| Partner with local nurseries and childcare providers to increase available places where needed, and reduce barriers to access. | Annual 5% increase; quarterly enrolment reviews | Annual 5% increase; quarterly enrolment reviews | Annual 5% increase; quarterly enrolment reviews | Percentage of eligible children enrolled in early education settings | Children's Services |
| Improve GLD outcomes in line with national targets | Work with early years providers to ensure good progress is being made in working towards the statutory targets | a) The proportion of children in Bradford Council achieving a Good Level of Development at the end of the 2027/28 academic year is at least 70.5%; and b) Disadvantaged children have benefitted at least equally from this improvement; that is, that the proportion of children eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) and achieving a Good Level of Development at the end of the 2027/28 academic year is at least 60.6% |
Continue to improve in line with statutory targets | GLD statutory monitoring | Children's Services |
| CME Education Access Team and Admissions Teams continue to support families who need extra support to get their children into school, including asylum seekers, refugees, travellers and families new to the country | Continuous service evaluation especially in light of increased capacity within EHE team Ensure continued support and data sharing Continue to offer training and support for parents and professionals Continue creative offer with communities to support children into education |
Enhanced multi-agency collaboration and support Increased training for staff Increased engagement with attendance support and Admissions teams to ensure children miss the minimum of education |
Comprehensive service review considering trends, response times and outcomes Use data modelling to identify children at risk of CME Refine policies and staffing based on evaluation findings. Ensure close working relationship with EHE team |
All Joint Enquiries cases are considered in 10 working days Safeguarding concerns always escalated Children access education in a timely manner |
Children's Services |
| Create additional places across the district, by expanding or creating new provision that meets the needs of all children and young people. Reducing the number of children travelling out of authority | Increased capacity of Resourced Provision and Special School places across the district and reduction of children placed out of authority | Increased capacity of Resourced Provision and Special School places across the district and reduction of children placed out of authority | Increased capacity of Resourced Provision and Special School places across the district and reduction of children placed out of authority | All children across the district are able to obtain a specialist place that meets their needs via mainstream school, or special school | Children's Services |
| Manage the sufficiency of mainstream school places, working with schools and trusts to ensure all children have the opportunity to attend a Bradford district school if they want to. Developing strategies to manage falling rolls due to declining births | Engagement with Heads and Trusts to share forecasts and demographic data to support planning places, with a key focus on falling rolls within primary schools | Develop wider strategy that creates opportunities for primary schools to manage surplus places and accommodation. Aligning with Early Years and SEND strategies: | Working alongside secondary schools and Trusts to plan for lower numbers on roll and identify opportunities to support specific schools and ensure sustainability. | Children and young people are able to access a local school place, and all schools are sustainable amid reducing rolls. | Children's Services |
| Any Children in care without prompt access to education are supported by the Virtual School and actions to promote education are agreed through a multi-agency access to education panel. | % of Children in care missing out on education is below national average. | % of Children in care missing out on education reduces by 1pp | % of Children in care missing out on education is zero | Number of children in care missing out on education. | Children's Services |
| Children in care have an Early Years Personal Education Plan to promote their educational outcomes supported by the Virtual School. | Over 95% of children in care have a completed termly education plan | Over 98% of children in care have a completed termly education plan | 100% of children in care have a completed termly education plan | Percentage of Early Years children with completed Personal Education Plan (PEP) | Children's Services |
| Expand library programmes for early literacy and homework support | Launch targeted literacy sessions. | Partner with schools for outreach. | Evaluate impact on attainment. | Literacy rates, attendance | Environment |
| Safe places to go: Enhance libraries, markets, and parks as safe youth spaces | Promotion of 100 Weekly Safe Spaces (Youth Service) | Deliver infrastructure | Deliver infrastructure upgrades | Youth feedback, incident reports | Environment (Youth Service) |
| Assessment for children with SEND is managed in a timely manner with provision that enables effective progress | Education Health Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA) compliance 85% EHCNA quality – increase in gold rating |
EHCNA compliance 88% EHCNA quality – increase in gold rating |
EHCNA compliance 90% EHCNA quality – increase in gold rating |
Statutory data Quality data |
Children's Services |
| High quality teaching and learning with targeted interventions to ensure pupil progress. | Over 95% in MNHES, VI, HI transition to post 16 education | 100% of children have a personalised curriculum offer | 100% of children have a personalised curriculum offer | Over 80% of children in MNHES exceed or on target for English and Maths from baseline | Children's Services |
| Review and recommission the 0-19 Public Health Nursing Service aimed at increasing the proportion of children achieving a good level of development (GLD) by the age of 5 | Undertake provider selection and service mobilisation process to establish a 0-19 service on long contract terms with sufficient service capacity to increase 0-5 GLD | Undertake contract management arrangements which offer assurance on the delivery of GLD targets for the 0-19 Service | Undertake contract management arrangements which offer assurance on the delivery of GLD targets for the 0-19 Service | Reduction in the number of Wards where the proportion of children with GLD falls below the government target of 70.5%. | Adult Social Care, Health and Housing |
| Ensure that the council responds appropriately where children may be electively home educated, ensuring best likelihood that all children receive suitable full time education | Develop proposals to assess whether the Council can allocate additional resources to meet expectations outlined in non-statutory guidance | Recruit additional staff if bid successful Upgrade case management system Launch increased support offer for families Formalise protocols and increase timeliness of statutory interventions |
Continuous service improvement and evaluation Introduce tiered support model ensuring robust, timely support for all children Implement annual EHE survey Expand training offer re EHE to professionals Continue to develop staff understanding of EHE |
Increase in the proportion of electively home educated children who are in receipt of a suitable full time education | Children's Services |
| Bradford Council Youth Service to provide early interventions to prevent a breakdown in trust between young people and secondary school. | Bradford Council Youth Service to develop partnerships with all 36 secondary schools | Bradford Council Youth Service to develop partnerships with all 36 secondary schools | Bradford Council Youth Service to connect 6000 young people with localised out of school support. | Number of young people accessing local youth clubs | Environment (Youth Service) |