York families to get £300,000 funding support boost

Children and young people in York will benefit from work to explore how to best help families facing challenges, thanks to a £300,000 funding boost.

City of York Council is one of only four local authorities chosen to partner with Foundations, the national What Works Centre for Children and Families, – and the Youth Endowment Fund on the Changemakers Programme.

The programme aims to explore how to put research about what helps parents and children overcome a wide range of challenges into practice at a local level. It is co-funded by the Youth Endowment Fund and Department for Education.

In York, the programme will initially focus on how to best help parents during pregnancy (antenatal period) and how to best support children aged six-eleven years old with their mental health and wellbeing.

Leadership of the programme in York will build on an existing partnership between City of York Council and Huntington Research School, who specialise in bridging the gap between evidence and practice.

The partnership will combine national expertise with detailed local knowledge about the needs and challenges of families in York.

Part of the wider Raise York initiative, the name chosen by families to describe the city’s partnership approach to delivering Family Hubs, it’s hoped that the pioneering work will improve outcomes for children now and in the future.

The findings from the project will be shared nationally to help other local authorities improve the way they help parents, children, young people and families.

Cllr Bob Webb, the council’s Executive Member for Children, Young People and Education, said:

“Supporting the wellbeing of parents, children and families is a priority for the council and I’m pleased that we’ve chosen to step up and lead in this area and successfully secured funding to do so through this innovative national initiative. It demonstrates this administration’s ambition for York to be at the forefront of pioneering work to improve the lives of children and families.

“I hope that the initiative will not only help the long-term outcomes for children in York, but for families across the country as well.”

Jane Elsworth, Director of Huntington Research School, said:

“We’re delighted to be able to build upon our successful partnership working with City of York Council exploring how to successfully couple the findings from research evidence with local context to really make a difference for children and families.”

Dr Jo Casebourne, Chief Executive at Foundations, said:

“We are thrilled to be partnering with the Youth Endowment Fund, Department for Education and four local authorities for this exciting programme. Changemakers is about making evidence-based services more accessible to families and demonstrating the vital role of local evidence leadership in giving parents the support they need to ensure their children develop the relationships they need to thrive.”

More information about local information, support and advice for parents is available at www.raiseyork.co.uk.