The advent of local area agreements together with the Department
for Education and Skills' Every Child Matters are changing the
landscape of children and young people's services.
Frontline Hopscotch outlines some of the emerging trends as
they affect voluntary and community sector (VCS) provision of
services for children and young people (C&YP).
The findings of Frontline Hopscotch are based on a joint survey
conducted by NAVCA on behalf of three key England-wide networks of
local VCS organisations: the National Association for Voluntary and
Community Action (NAVCA), the National Council of Voluntary Child
Care Organisations (NCVCCO) and the National Council for Voluntary
Youth Services (NCVYS). In all, 173 organisations responded,
between them covering 86 local authority areas.
The findings suggest very strongly that local community-based
provision is under threat, indeed the evidence shows that in some
places the threat has been carried out. Our concern goes beyond
narrow self interest. Community organisations have particular
knowledge, networks and expertise that give them unique strengths
in building community ownership and improving local services. There
is a danger we will lose the vital preventative work of small
groups amongst the most disadvantaged communities. This sort of
local community action is key to sustaining local social, economic
and environmental well-being and to the development of social
capital.
Frontline Hopscotch - VCS engagement in delivering change for
children: a jumpy start or a step back? (pdf, 1.1Mb)
This publication is only available
electronically.