Northwood – Cradle to Career
Working with the community, senior leaders have worked together to develop a community-led approach that aims to create more support for young people getting into education, employment or training when they leave school. Developing a local youth offer that’s informed by young people and provide more support for vulnerable families.
Education
In Northwood, there are six schools involved in the project, which has two project strands.
The transition project aims to provide a better understanding of pupils’ needs and approaches, and the NEET project aims to reduce need, by developing a sustainable approach to early identification and targeted support.
The various interventions chosen by the schools in the transition project are Literacy-based or Social, Emotional, and Mental Health-based (SEMH).
There are 3 schools in Northwood, currently taking part in our Not in Education, Employment or Training/Post-16 programme. There are various projects taking place currently:
- A Post-16 destinations system has been developed with Knowsley Council to enable schools to track pupils Post-16. Schools are regularly updating RONI (Risk of NEET indicators) tool; utilising data to identify students at risk of becoming NEET and then planning bespoke support for these students
- Talk for Work (KS4 intervention) training has been delivered with both mainstream secondary schools in the area
- Engaging with local employers and Post-16 providers and completing an audit of results from the Family Engagement meetings. This will support the development of a Communications Plan for each school to tailor to their specific needs
Services
One of the Cradle to Career aims in Northwood is to improve the local offer for young people and establish a local multidisciplinary team to ensure the local community and families are supported, and barriers to accessing services are reduced.
Similarly to Halton Lea, two Northwood Family Connectors have joined the programme. Their role is to build strong relationships with residents and services, supporting local people to access the services they need. They are managed by Involve North West.
Family Connectors have been actively working with families in the Northwood area of Kirkby since November 2023. They offer a whole family approach to improve overall health and wellbeing. They are there to empower and support families to break down barriers and reduce any challenges they may be facing. They can also connect local residents to groups and organisations within their community that may be of assistance to them. They are a vital part of the local Multi Disciplinary Teams.