Rotherham Council: we'll put children at the heart of everything we do
Plans being debated today aim to make Rotherham's children's services a 'benchmark' for other local authorities across the country
Plans being debated today aim to make Rotherham's children's services a 'benchmark' for other local authorities across the country.
A damning report declared the council unfit for purpose last year following the town's grooming scandal.
But new plans - set to be agreed today - aim to put children at the heart of everything the council does.
Gordon Watson's in charge of Children and Young People's Services - he told Hallam it's about thinking about children in every area:
"What it hopes to achieve is to actually make sure every child in Rotherham thrives. That very old saying that it takes a village to raise a child actually has a lot of truth in it. So what we're saying is we need to put children's welfare at the front of everything we do - no matter what the policy is."
Rotherham Council was heavily criticised by the Casey Report last year - which found children were being sexually exploited on a huge scale in the town.
Councillors are hoping these new plans will put those problems in the past.
Cllr Watson says it's a comprehensive approach:
"It is about protecting vulnerable children but it's about actually looking after all children - it's giving every child a good start, a healthy start. For our vulnerable 2 year olds, the recent figures show 82% of them are nowy accessing services against a national average of 72%. The important thing is to ensure a healthy start, good education and getting into the worl of work."
There will be six themes the plans come under:
• A focus on the rights and voice of the child
• keeping children safe and healthy
• ensuring children reach their potential
• an inclusive borough
• harnessing the resources of communities
• a sense of place.
Cllr Watson told us it'll have a knock-on impact to other issues in the town too:
"If we can't get that right, we're not going to get anything else right. We're not going to get employment right because we won't have the people with the necessary skills. One of the issues in Rotherham is we've got a smaller proportion of university graduates in the town than you would expect for an area of this size. And that's about making sure there are the opportunities."