Innovation in local government is about improving the lives of the people in our
communities. Browse through our case studies to see the many innovative programmes councils are involved
in.
The idea of reading to a dog originated in America. Alison Tutill had seen some research carried out by BookTrust and thought it would be something we could offer in libraries.
From Winter 2021 to Spring 2022, Cheshire East Libraries undertook a review of Storytime session provision across all libraries in the authority. The return to in-person activities post COVID-19 made this an excellent time to look at Storytime sessions.
Baby Babble is a programme for parents/carers and their babies. It aims to support early language and communication using stories, rhymes, baby signing and sensory experiences.
A design team came together drawing from staff in CAMHS, education, the voluntary sector and Youth Offending Services from three local authorities. The team examined two local critical cases and identified a need for a primarily solution-focused emotional wellbeing support for children in the 8-13 age range.
Following the relaxation of lockdown restrictions in 2020, there was an increase in antisocial behaviour. The police were seeking criminal behaviour orders against five children. With summer holidays approaching, the Youth Justice Service (YJS) wanted to put a rapid response in place to prevent further escalation and to address the community’s concerns.
The CAMHS team are implementing systemic, relationship therapy with additional behavioural and CBT programmes as appropriate. Similarly, they use the Assessment Intervention Moving on (AIMS) sexual offending programme with children as part of a wider offer, including systemic or family therapies addressing the complex family trauma.
SFSC is led by the Race Equality Foundation, and had an excellent reputation locally. In Southwark, the SFSC programme had been adapted during Covid-19 lockdown to offer online sessions which parents found very useful.
The Cwm Taf Youth Offending Service has embedded a Trauma and ACEs informed approach to working with children. It has an established prevention team that receives referrals from a number of agencies and services, including self referrals, for children aged 8-17 years. They take a developmental and relationship-based approach, responding to the needs of each individual child and family.