Healthy Child Programme in Leicestershire and Rutland

The Councils sought an organisation to provide the Services across Leicestershire and Rutland.

The Programme aim is to help parents develop and sustain a strong bond with children and support them in keeping children healthy and safe and reaching their full potential. We want to identify issues early so support and early interventions can be provided in a timely manner. Address key health and wellbeing concerns that focus on the health needs of children and young people ensuring they are ready for school.

This will be achieved by:

• Ensuring the service is accessible, responsive and flexible to meet the needs of children, young people and their families.
• Ensure a strong focus on prevention, health improvement, early identification of needs, early intervention and clear packages of support.
• Working with key partners and stakeholders and ensuring integration of the service into existing structures.
• Making use of evidence-based approaches to target support and prevent escalation.
• Making every contact count, using every contact opportunity to provide families with educational health messages, build their health literacy and ensure consistent messages are given that underpin the wider integration agenda in Leicestershire and Rutland.
• Building strong partnership, integration, communication and multi-agency approach to working with children and their families in placed-based settings.

Whilst there are demographic differences between the two geographical areas (Leicestershire and Rutland), a shared evidence-based approach to addressing health inequalities across the sub-region is being adopted. As such, the service specification is identical for Leicestershire County Council and Rutland County Council, with the exception of key highlighted local priorities for each of the county councils.

The Service will be an open access service for all children and their families in Leicestershire (excluding Leicester City) and Rutland who are seeking support for their families at an individual, family and community level.

Leicestershire County Council sought an organisation to provide the Services across Leicestershire.

The aim of the service is to ensure all children and young people aged 11-19 (up to 25 for children with special educational needs) have access to advice and support to help deliver better health outcomes for children and young people in Leicestershire. Enabling them to lead independent and productive lives. This includes a universal service offer for all children and offering services which meet their needs and the early identification of additional and/or complex needs. This service will aim to address high impact areas outlined below prevent escalation into higher cost services and to build resilience in young people to equip them with skills and confidence to prevent riskier behaviours that lead to health-harming behaviours later on across the life course.

This will be achieved by:

• Ensuring the service is accessible, responsive and flexible to meet the needs of service users and at times that is suitable for young people.
• Working with key partners and stakeholders and ensuring integration of the service into existing structures.
• Providing a proportionate universalism approach
• Providing a person-centred approach

The Service will be available at times that young people and their families will need them, using evidence to determine opening times. This must include cover for weekends when needs can be met more easily, with a digital offer available at all times.