Gateshead Health and Wellbeing Strategy (Draft update)

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

We know that investing in interventions early on that support early years 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  

• address the negative impact of adverse childhood experiences and trauma, to improve wellbeing of children and young people 

• make sure maternity services, parenting programmes, childcare and early year's education are of high quality and meet needs of all groups  

• support families to create a positive home learning environment, to support children to have a good level of development as they transition into entering formal education 

• reduce inequality in child development and educational outcomes so that all children can thrive 

• support our schools to deliver an effective curriculum that addresses the skills required for later life and supports emotional, mental and physical health and wellbeing 

• support Gateshead as a child friendly place through improving all building blocks of health 

• reduce the impact of child poverty and use local and regional opportunities to tackle poverty 

We will deliver this through:

• Children and Young People's Partnership Strategy   

• Family Hubs and Best Start in Life and commissioned programmes 

• Education Schools and Inclusion including Gateshead Schools, early years and childcare settings 

• Gateshead Safeguarding Children Partnership 

• Local VCSE organisations  

• Children and Young People's Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing Transformation Plan  

• Gateshead SEND Strategy 

• North East Child Poverty Action Plan and North East Child Poverty Reduction Unit 

• Tackling Poverty Together Partnership strategy and action plan (in development) 

• Gateshead Health Foundation Trust Strategy  

• Northeast and North Cumbria Integrated Care Strategy 

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 meet their needs, to be the best parents they can  

• all families can access affordable, high quality childcare, when and where they need it. 

• child poverty is reduced 

• all children start school ready to learn, with a good level of child development 

• all permanent school exclusions are prevented  

• the gap in educational attainment and wellbeing for all is closed