Barnet Children and Young People Plan
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Vision to be a family friendly London borough
A place where children and young people excel and enjoy living
Barnet has a large and growing number of children, young people and families and we want to make sure the borough is an excellent place to live for children and their families.
Working together with the children and young people and our partners (voluntary community sector, police, education & health services) we have developed a new Children and Young People’s Plan 2023 to 2027.
Children and young people have been central to the development of this draft from the outset and have co-produced it in line with the My Say Matters strategy. A broad range of partners as well as parent carers have also been engaged in its development.
Our approach continues the ambition to be the most ‘Family Friendly Borough’ and has been formed with young people at the heart of conversations to drive out the best outcomes.
This will enable Barnet Council, its partners and young people to work together to ensure our young people lead happy and fulfilling lives.
Key outcomes supporting our aspiration of a Family Friendly Barnet include the provision of a series of mental health initiatives for children and young people, enhanced plans to prevent young people from getting involved in violence, crime and anti-social behaviour as well as increasing the number of schools in Barnet that are good or outstanding.
About this plan
The plan captures the priorities, needs and aspirations of the local population and sets out how, together, we can make Barnet an enjoyable place for children and families to live.
The plan sets out 4 key outcomes for children and young people:
- Safe and secure, ensuring that the most vulnerable are protected, safe and supported to make the best choices and to build trusted relationships
- Family and belonging, supporting all our children, including those in care and care experienced young people, to live their lives successfully, to develop a sense of identity, improve wellbeing and to have fun and play
- Health and wellbeing, supporting our children and young people to adopt healthy lifestyles to prevent avoidable illness and improve their social, physical and mental wellbeing, including through integrated health and social care
- Education and learning, supporting children and young people to reach their educational and academic potential, by closing attainment gaps and reducing exclusion
These outcomes act as a framework to make our vision a reality.
Our Plan continues our focus on increasing resilience, helping families to help themselves. It outlines how we will work together to provide efficient, high quality and best value services.
Regular reports on each outcome will be presented to the Children’s Partnership Board throughout the year for review and scrutiny. These will highlight progress towards our objectives.
Children and young people demographics in Barnet
Barnet is part of a successful and thriving London economy and has the second largest population, with Croydon recording the highest number of residents:
- the population of Barnet is estimated to be 389,300, which is the largest of all the London boroughs
- 96,600 children and young people aged 0-19 remains the second largest in London and this group makes up a quarter of the borough’s overall population
- Compared to London, Barnet has a greater proportion of the population in those aged 0-15