A better future for children and young people - what we’ve delivered 2023 to 2025

Keeping children and young children safe and ensuring no child or family is left behind

Ofsted inspectors confirmed in 2024 that the council delivers outstanding children’s services to our most vulnerable families with strong social work and family help.

We‘ve refreshed our Corporate Parenting Strategy and further strengthened ways for children in care and care leavers to have their voices hear.

We’ve launched a local Mockingbird project to support foster carers and children in foster care. The project provides a network of experienced foster carers to support the children in care much like an extended family, giving respite care when foster carers need a break.

Developing our prevention and family support offer

Our Best Start Family Hubs offer support to all families in Brighton & Hove with children aged from 0 to 19. Young people with special educational needs or disabilities can receive services up to age 25. Some 27 community and partner organisations also offer their services at our four hubs across the city. Over the last 2 years, 3,414 people accessed support from the Best Start Family Hubs.

Our health visitors provide a proactive, universal service for all children 0 to 5 years and for vulnerable populations targeted according to need. They work with families to identify individual health needs, enhance health and reduce health inequalities. Our most recent figures show that over 12,000 people were in contact with our Health Visiting Service over the year.

We have embedded a Right Support at the Right Time model alongside a relationship-based practice model across all our children’s services. The approach covers universal provision for all children, more structured and focused help where a child has additional needs, and specialist services to address acute or chronic need.

We have brought together our Mental Health Support Teams and a new school-based counselling pilot into a single Schools Mental Health Service. This enables a graduated approach to mental health support for children and young people. The service has also increased its voice and participation work to understand and incorporate the views of different groups of young people.

We’ve also invested in youth services provision across the city, securing new youth clubs in communities where they are needed.

Supporting the provision of high quality and inclusive education from early years through to adult learning

We celebrated Brighton & Hove achieving the nation’s highest take up of Early Years Free Entitlement among disadvantaged 2 year olds.

Overall academic outcomes for pupils across the city are in line or above national averages at all levels. Reading outcomes for disadvantaged pupils are above the national average in our primary schools.

In the past year we consulted on and agreed changes to school admission arrangements aiming to improve choice and make the process fairer and more equitable. We introduced a new Free School Meals priority and made important changes to secondary school admissions, with a new oversubscription criterion to assist in tackling educational disadvantage.

We are proud to have implemented a comprehensive anti-racist education training programme for school governors and staff to support schools develop an anti-racist approach to education. We also deliver a nationally recognised environmental education programme.

We have extended our special educational needs and disability online information offer, launching our Connect with Digital Best Start Family Hubs service to help parents, carers, and young people find and access family support more easily.

Working with partners to deliver ambitious employment, training and apprenticeship opportunities

We secured Turing Scheme funding for several local young people to take up international study and work placements, unlocking life-changing experiences for those taking part. Our new city careers website provides employment advice, tips on successful job hunting and sign posting to other sources of information and support.

A recent Ofsted inspection of our Adult Learning offer has praised Ofsted has praised the service’s ‘ambitious vision’ and ‘inclusive training’.