Posted on Tuesday 9th July 2024
A service that looks after children and young people’s health and wellbeing in Staffordshire could be set to continue.
Staffordshire County Council, along with the Staffordshire and Stoke-on Trent Integrated Care Board (ICB) is set to jointly commission a new children and young people’s emotional health and wellbeing service.
The county council’s cabinet will consider options for recommissioning the service, which helps support children and young people between 5 and 18 years old (25 if they have care needs or disabilities) with their emotional health and wellbeing.
The service works with families and communities, and focuses on prevention and early intervention to help children maintain good mental health. In 2023/24, it supported nearly 13,000 children and young people.
If agreed, the service will go through a tender process, with the new service starting on 1 April 2025. This will last for 2 years, with the option to extend for a further two years.
Nationally, over the next three to five years, around 15 per cent of children and young people will need new or additional support for their mental health. This equates to around 21,315 children and young people aged 5-19 living in Staffordshire.
Councillor Mark Sutton, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People said:
“Every Staffordshire child and young person deserves to have the best start in life, and the chance to achieve their potential. A child’s emotional health and wellbeing significantly influences their development, learning, physical and social health, and mental wellbeing into adulthood.
“Our current emotional health and wellbeing service—jointly commissioned with the ICB—is working well. With the contract coming to an end we need to commission a new service that takes learning from what we currently have, and makes changes for the better. This way, we can more comprehensively address the needs of some of our most vulnerable children and young people.”
Cabinet will discuss the options on July 17.