Gateshead Health and Wellbeing Strategy

The foundation for a healthy life starts in pregnancy and extends throughout childhood. To address inequalities, we need to reduce the differences in children's access to positive experiences in early life and eradicate adverse childhood experiences.

We know that many children and young people in Gateshead already have circumstances which  enable them to have the best start in life. We understand there are some families, or communities, where additional pressures make the best start in life more difficult to achieve.

We know the importance of an environment that makes confident, resilient and positive parenting possible.

We will provide universal support to families in health and education. We will also deliver targeted support proportionately to meet health and social needs of different families.

We know that investing in interventions early on that support preschool development, is the most effective way of enhancing a child's long-term outcomes.

We also recognise the importance of transition points in children's lives. We will develop programmes to support key milestones.

The action we will take

We will:

• focus our efforts on supporting confident, positive and resilient parenting, to those who most need our support
• increase the focus of existing expenditure on early years to reduce inequalities in early development
• build the resilience and wellbeing of all children and young children
• make sure maternity services, parenting programmes, childcare and early years education are of high quality and meet needs of all groups
• support our schools to deliver an effective curriculum that addresses the skills required for later life and supports emotional wellbeing
• develop a framework to support Gateshead as a child friendly place

We will deliver this through:

• Early Help Strategy
• Education Gateshead and Gateshead Schools
• Gateshead Safeguarding Children Partnership
• Children and Young People's Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing Plan
• the Children's System Board
• Voice of the Child

We will know we have made a difference when:

• the circumstances which result in adverse childhood experiences are prevented
• parents can access support proportionate to their needs, to be the best parents they can
• all children start school ready to learn
• all permanent school exclusions are prevented