Together: for change

Highlights from TOGETHER: how place-based partnerships with children, families, and communities enable better outcomes for all at the House of Lords. 

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“While my son was fortunate enough to access AllChild, I know that thousands of other young boys and girls just like him do not have this opportunity… Let it reach more young people who, like Luke, need guidance, structure, and belief in their potential. Because when we invest in programs like this, we do not just change lives—we save them.”

- Ladi Chapman (a parent of AllChild Alumnus Luke Chapman)

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On 12th March, AllChild marked a pivotal moment in our mission to help children to flourish in their schools and communities. We brought together around 100 partners, key stakeholders and AllChild supporters to hear directly from our young people and families. This event also marked the launch of our report, From Local Learnings to National Ambition, which celebrates the amazing lives of the young people we work with and introduces our new long-term vision. 

‘Togetherness’ was at the heart of the event and having families, schools, VCSE organisations, philanthropists, business and local and national Government in one room brought home the power of cross-sector working - and underlined our shared goal: meaningful, lasting change in the lives of children and young people across the country. 

Following a welcome by our host, Baroness Barran MBE, a first panel discussion highlighted the profound impact of the trusted and genuine relationships formed between child, parent and Link Worker with 16 year old Luke and Ayo, together with their mothers, Ladi and Sofia sharing their lived-experiences of how the AllChild programme changed their outlook on life. 

Luke reflecting on his time in the programme spoke about how he gained confidence in himself and as a result, new friends:

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“I used to be just the guy to keep my head down and not talk to anyone. I owe the majority of my friends to AllChild because if it wasn’t for them, I would not have any friends now” 

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AllChild Innovation Director Joe Prendiville hosted a second panel, discussing the importance of place-based partnerships with Lisa Collins (Headteacher, St Andrews and St Francis CofE Primary School), Nigel Chapman (Corporate Director Children and Young People -Brent Council) and Dr Kathy Adcock (CEO, In your Corner).

Commenting on the value of AllChild to help with this joining up of the system Nigel Chapman explained: 

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“You've worked really closely with us on our family wellbeing centres, our family health model, and being part of the local system as well, rather than a sort of commissioned provider, I think that has been really important to us too. You're integral to the local system and that's how we see the value.”

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The event concluded with a call to action from MP Josh MacAlister, explaining why he believed all parties needed to come together to address the urgent needs of children and young people in the UK:

‍“The thing that I love about All Child is it demonstrates the best of public service delivery that we need to see across more of our public realm as resources continue to be constrained and demand goes up. We need to get out of this cycle that we're in as a country where we're spending more and more and we've got less and less to show for it, and what All Child does is a great exhibit of what's possible.”

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Key Takeaways

• Together, we can build relationships based on genuine trust
  From the relationship between a Link Worker and a young person, to the relationship between a local commissioner and AllChild, they are strongest when centred around care, trust and deep understanding of needs, goals and contexts. 

• Together, we can take the strengths of our own services and sectors even further
  None of us - from schools and children’s services, to charities and philanthropists - can alone deliver the change we need. In the current context of unmanageable demand, resource pressures and system fragmentation, it is important to acknowledge the limits of each sector and service and that some things can only be done better with others, than any one of us alone.

• Together, we can deliver transformational change for children and young people
  And develop a blueprint for national policy change, and build a movement for a new way of investing in children and young people. Our plans offer a path towards many longstanding ambitions for public services: more prevention, more partnership, more trust, more simplicity.

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Join our movement for change by reading and sharing "From Local Learning to National Ambition." Visit this link to learn more and become a part of this transformative journey. Together, we can ensure that every child has the opportunity to flourish.