Every Child Matters - a brilliant opportunity for your church to engage

The government's 'Every Child Matters' framework promotes the well-being of children and young people aged 0-19 in England and is based on the Children Act 2004. And the good news is that this framework provides churches with a brilliant opportunity for engaging with schools. Read on to find out more!

Here's a bit of background...

The aim of 'Every Child Matters' is to give all children the support they need to:

• Be healthy
• Stay safe
• Enjoy and achieve
• Make a positive contribution
• Achieve economic well-being

The Every Child Matters agenda was developed in the Children's Plan, a ten-year strategy published in 2007. The Plan aims to improve educational outcomes for children, improve children's health, reduce offending rates among young people, and eradicate child poverty by 2020. Recognising that young people spend only one-fifth of their childhood at school, the Plan covers all areas of children's lives, including strengthening and supporting families.

To achieve its aims, the government has set out a core set of services that all children should be able to access through schools by 2010, including:

• A varied range of activities, for example, study support, sport and music clubs, combined with childcare in primary schools
• Parenting and family support
• Swift and easy access to targeted and specialist services
• Community access to facilities including adult and family learning, ICT and sports grounds

Local authorities are encouraged to partner with other organisations to deliver these services.

Schools will need to work closely with parents, children and other organisations to shape these activities around the needs of their community and may choose to provide extra services, depending on the demand.

A brilliant opportunity for churches

The idea is that school effectively becomes a 'hub' for family activities and various services. This is where churches have an opportunity to serve the surrounding community, by partnering with statutory authorities and school governing bodies to provide some of the services needed to fulfil the ECM criteria.

ECM gives churches a reason to approach schools, and gives schools a reason to accept 'help' from churches. It can therefore offer a genuine 'win-win' scenario for churches who want to engage the community, and schools who are seeking partners in their efforts to fulfil the requirements of the ECM agenda.

How to get started

The first step for any church is to contact the school, either to offer a parenting course like Care for the Family's 'How to Drug Proof Your Kids®' or 'Quidz In', or by setting up activities for children, like a sports club. Initially it may just mean enquiring about the services the school needs assistance with. You can approach the school through the School Governors, PTA, or Head Teacher.

Before you contact the school, you might find it helpful to read more about 'Every Child Matters' first. Find out more on the government website at www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters

Find out more about:

• How to Drug Proof Your Kids® (DPYK)
• Quidz In

Last Updated 06 December 2010