What is a Children's Trust?

Children's trusts are a way of joining up services for children and their families that are currently commissioned and provided separately by health, social care, education and other services. 

The Children's Trust will bring services working with children, young people and families together within one partnership for the Isle of Wight. 

The Children Act 2004 establishes an expectation that the different agencies involved in providing services to children and young people will come together into a formal partnership by April 2008. This partnership should be sufficiently robust to manage a shared Children and Young People’s Plan and to commission services jointly so that services to children and young people are joined up in good multi-agency practice which delivers high quality outcomes.

Locally our Children’s Trust is called the Isle of Wight Children and Young People’s Trust. The development is ongoing to reflect the new NHS PCT and governance through the local Island Strategic Partnership and its Public Service Board. This is to reflect the recent Local Government White Paper: Strong and Prosperous Communities in which Children’s Trusts are cited as one of the thematic partnerships within the Local Strategic Partnership.

The Isle of Wight Children and Young People’s Trust will govern the Children and Young People’s Plan with a particular focus on the Joint Area Review Action Plan. It will oversee the coordinated delivery of services for children and young people and was launched at the Big Day Out held at Ventnor Botanic Gardens on 8th October 2006.