How we deliver children's services

Our Children's Services is organised into three areas: 

Education and Early Help

We provide both support and challenge services to schools, colleges, early years providers and Children's Centres along with targeted support to children, young people and families who might benefit from additional help with issues like attendance, youth employment and family relationships. 

Safeguarding

We have a single point for a referral at Sutton's Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub. Based on the subsequent assessment, we support children requiring protection, children in care (including fostering and adoption), and young people leaving care.

Planning and Commissioning

We focus on ensuring enough school places by coordinating admissions and creating additional pupil places. We also provide the system support for children with special educational needs who might need to access specialist education or may require specialist transport.

Delivery

Sutton delivers a number of services for children, young people, families and schools by a mixture of:

• joint working with partners
• commissioning others to deliver on our behalf, and
• delivering services ourselves

As part of the Smarter Council programme, we intend to introduce a fourth way, which will see some of our services 'spin out' from the Council's control and become independent - perhaps as a charity, or a social investment company.

Who we work with

We work closely with a wide range of partners such as:

• Schools
• colleges
• GPs
• Public health
• Voluntary sector agencies and
• Metropolitan Police

Our priorities

Together we share 4 priorities:

• ensure safeguarding
• promote the Early Years and Early Development
• champion healthy lives, healthy minds
• enable success and encourage ambition