Child Poverty Solutions User Guide English

Website User Guide www.childpovertysolutions.org.uk

Foreword Andrew Chalinder, Head of Wales Programme, Save the Children

Save the Children believes that local government and their partners are key to helping meet the target of eradicating child poverty by 2020. This website is the first of its kind in Wales and will help local councils and their partners to meet the challenges in tackling child poverty locally.

Naomi Alleyne, Director of Equalities and Social Justice, WLGA Reducing child poverty is a priority for local government and its partners. Working in partnership with Save the Children, we have developed this website to provide information, guidance and practical support to assist policy makers and practitioners to meet the challenge of significantly reducing child poverty in their areas.

32% of children in Wales live in poverty. Child poverty in Wales is everybody’s business.

It affects children and young people’s life chances and well being;

Society and communities cannot be cohesive and prosperous when faced with deprivation and inequality;

The Welsh economy is less buoyant, diverse and resilient as productivity is limited by low educational achievement, poor health, lack of aspiration and reduced employment opportunities all contributing to lower national tax revenues;

The delivery of public services becomes increasingly expensive and less efficient when struggling under the costs and burdens of poor health and higher crime rates caused by poverty and inequality.

Child Poverty Solutions Wales - The Website

Child Poverty Solutions (CPS) Wales is a website toolkit providing a sustainable resource for public authorities and partnerships in Wales to develop a robust corporate approach to tackling child poverty.

It contains a wealth of information about child poverty, provides advice and guidance for improvement, and is a forum to discuss issues and develop best practice. This user guide gives you a short tour through the website with a brief overview of each on-line section.

The picture below is the Home Page view you will see when you first enter CPS. You can see the sections laid out along the top of the webpage in the purple tabs. Click on a tab and it will take you to the section you want.

Home Page The screenshots below what you will find a little further down our home page. We have a wide range of resources and quick links to key child poverty information including news and publications, latest policy developments, and tools for measuring and understanding child poverty. The blue boxes on the right of the home page are quick links to other sections of the website.

The screenshots overleaf show the other main sections of the CPS website and a short explanation of how they can help you.

Policy Process

An eight step process to develop, implement, and monitor policy to reduce child poverty. This section also provides practical advice, guidance and resources to help build and maintain the support of key partners.

Solutions Pages

Detailed information and advice on child poverty is provided in this section. Learn about how child poverty impacts each of the Seven Core Aims of the Welsh Assembly Government’s Children and Young People’s Plans or look at key challenges affecting different service areas.

Indicators Look up and compare some child poverty related indicators as they relate to your local areas, plus links to important websites that provide more detailed information.

Learning from Practice

A library of child poverty related practice from across Wales and the UK. Fill out the online form to add your own practice examples to the library.

Elected Member area

Elected officials play an important role in taking action to reduce child poverty. This section provides Members with advice on roles, scrutiny and tailored information on child poverty.

Research & resources A range of child poverty related research and resources such as child poverty impact assessment, policy proofing toolkits and video links are available here. You can also fill out our online child poverty self assessment form (below) to assess how well your organisation is placed to drive forward action to reduce child poverty.

Self Assessment

Forum Discuss a range of child poverty related issues with other professionals.

Contact Ross Chamberlain Save the Children 3rd Floor Phoenix House 8 Cathedral Road Cardiff CF11 9LJ Tel: 02920396838

Email: [email protected] or [email protected] www.childpovertysolutions.org.uk

savethechildren.org.uk

We’re the world’s independent children’s charity. We’re outraged that millions of children are still denied proper healthcare, food, education and protection. We’re working flat out to get every child their rights and we’re determined to make further, faster changes. How many? How fast? It’s up to you.