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The Assistant Director for Early Help and Prevention presented a report on behalf of the Director for Children, Families and Education which provided the committee with the third of three reports on the Breaking the Cycle programme, focused on system change. The Breaking the Cycle programme had been a key strand of the early help and prevention approach, informing long-term system change and contributing to demand reduction for acute services.

The report outlined how Children’s Services would be remodelled in 2024 informed by best practice learning from the Breaking the Cycle programme and aligned with the new Children’s Social Care National Framework (Department for Education, December 2023).

It moted that the Breaking the Cycle programme was a cross-Council, multi-agency programme which was producing valuable learning about the experiences of people facing multiple disadvantage and how well the local system responded to meeting current need and its planning to prevent future need. The Breaking the Cycle programme had provided opportunity to test and learn informing operational and strategic system change.

Members queried why Wirral had such a high rate of children looked after per 10,000 population, with Wirral at 117.5 in 2023, Wirral’s statistical neighbours at 111 and the national average at 71. Officers noted that Wirral was good at bringing children into care but that once they were in the system, they generally stayed there. They noted that Wirral had been improving since 2019, with numbers coming into care lower than its statistical neighbours and that we would eventually fall to similar levels as children aged and left care.

Members queried the mechanisms for community co-design of services. They were informed that the service was developed through parent carer forums, advisory boards in children’s centres as well as third sector organisations and community partners.

Members stated that they were in favour of the programme and congratulated officers on the work that had been undertaken to date.

Resolved – That the learning gained from the Breaking the Cycle programme be noted; and that the approach to remodelling Children’s Services based on that learning and best practice be endorsed.