Children's Services
Formed in 2005 to implement the Every Child Matters agenda across the county, we've remained true to our vision of making Hampshire a better place to live for children and young people. Everyone here, wherever in the department they work, shares our belief that every child and young person should;
- have the best possible start in life and develop to their full potential,
- receive an excellent education in preparation for a fulfilled life as an adult,
- have their achievements celebrated,
- be able to grow and develop in safety and free from discrimination of every sort,
- receive the highest possible standard of health care, and
- be listened to and have their views taken into account.
We do everything we can to bring this vision to life. We're improving outcomes for children and young people by increasing the continuity between universal services and targeted provision. We've enhanced our partnership arrangements and joint working. And we recently restructured our services to put a clearer focus on children in care - ensuring they experience better assessment and planning services, fewer case transfers and a more consistent relationship with their social workers. We're already seeing the benefits of these changes, and there are a lot more planned.
The department
Structured around 11 districts and grouped into three areas (North and East, South East and Western), our Children's Services Department works closely with Adult Services and Hampshire PCT. We employ around 2,700 staff based in 27 offices around the county, divided into three branches:
- Children and Families
- Education and Inclusion
- Performance and Resources
As you can see, we're a big department. But we need to be, with over 310,000 children and young people aged 0-19 in Hampshire.
Click here to download a map of the areas covered by Children's Services.
Children & Families' teams
Referral and Assessment Teams
Working with a range of partner agencies, this team resolves issues for children in need and prevents escalation to Child Protection or Care.
Children in Need
This team works with children and families in need - providing support where no protection plan is in place.
Children in Care
Working with 'looked after' children and young people for whom we have corporate responsibility and where a long term 'looked after' plan has been agreed.
Area Adoption
These teams progress casework where adoption is planned for a child - receiving cases from other teams and recruiting and assessing adopters.
Youth
Working closely with statutory social work teams and focusing on young care leavers, this team targets young people with particular needs.
Children with Disabilities
This team ensures that profoundly disabled children and their families have all the information, help and support they need.
Family Placement
This team recruits, trains and supports carers to look after children who cannot live at home.
Locality Teams
Providing an education welfare service to schools and also family support direct to some of the most vulnerable children in need.
Intensive Support Services
Working alongside social workers with young people on the edge of care, to prevent them from requiring to be looked after.