Maidenhead & Windsor

The needs of children and young people in the Royal Windsor and Maidenhead Borough are the focus of a wide-ranging consultation which gets underway next week.

The three-week consultation (from Tuesday February 26 to Monday March 17) will invite comments from members of the public as well as agencies involved in the provision of children's services on the new Children and Young People Plan (CYPP) 2008/11.

The final stage of the consultation on the plan follows a review of progress of the first CYPP (published in April 2006) as well as a stakeholders' event at the end of last year and an initial consultation on the council's website regarding the key priorities in the plan.

Priorities for the new plan reflect the comments already received and focus on:

· being healthy – developing services to promote better mental and physical health
· staying safe – developing services to enable vulnerable children to be educated and supported close to home
· enjoying and achieving – helping underachieving children achieve the best possible standards and helping schools to achieve more 'good' and 'outstanding' OFSTED reports
· making a positive contribution – providing more targeted support for young people and supporting parents and carers to help nurture children and young people's social and emotional development
· achieving economic well-being – enabling all 14 to19-year-olds to benefit from a range of learning opportunities.

Cllr Eileen Quick, lead member for Windsor and Maidenhead children's services, said: "The priorities of the council's second Children and Young People Plan are about improving the lives of our children and young people by working closely with partner agencies such as Berkshire East Primary Care Trust, Connexions Berkshire and a wide range of voluntary groups.

"We have already consulted widely with parents, carers and children and young people themselves to establish our priorities and have adjusted them accordingly. Now we want to give people an opportunity to comment on the full version of the new plan.

"When finalised, the plan will point the way to addressing the needs of some of the most vulnerable members of our community – so I would urge as many people as possible to take part in this important consultation."

The draft plan will be available on the Windsor and Maidenhead council's website www.rbwm.gov.uk/web/consultation_current.htm from Tuesday February 26. Comments can be returned by submitting the online form, by emailing cypp.consultation@rbwm.gov.uk or sending them to Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, CYPP Consultation, Children's Commissioning, 1st floor, Brocket, Maidenhead, Berks SL6 4EY by the closing date of Monday March 17.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead