• Refreshed youth safety strategy launched
• Newham Safeguarding Children Partnership to develop and deliver a coherent, whole systems approach to youth safety and the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adolescents.
Mayor of Newham Rokhsana Fiaz OBE urged partners to do more to protect and safeguard borough’s children and young people as Newham Council launched a refreshed Youth Safety strategy to place a safety spotlight over the next three years.
The Youth Safety Strategy 2025-28, developed by Newham Council through the Newham Safeguarding Children Partnership, is focused on co-ordinating those involved in children and young people’s lives ensuring all Newham’s children and young people are able to feel safe and can contribute to how they can feel safer in the borough.
To develop the strategy, more than 500 children, young people, parents, carers and professionals were asked for their insight across themes such as safety, wellbeing, care and support in Newham.
Mayor of Newham Rokhsana Fiaz OBE said: “This strategy draws from a body of work across research, policy, review and collaboration that has taken place in Newham since May 2018. It is the culmination of a breadth of work from the council and its valued voluntary, faith and community sector partners across refining and defining priorities. It sets out a solid pathway across implementation and action for the next three years that will enable us to improve the experiences and outcomes for children and young people. Our strategy sends a powerful message that we will protect and care for all children and young people like we would our own children; that their crucial and heartfelt voices matter; their experiences across discrimination and disproportionality are valid and that their rights across equity and inclusion must be upheld.
“I am looking forward to the role that the Youth Safety Board will play in offering oversight to the partnership as it implements the action plan in the next 3-years; and the deeper and wider collaborations that will emerge as we accelerate our plans to make Newham the best place for our children and young people.”
Councillor Sarah Ruiz said: “In Newham, we fully believe all our young residents have the right to feel safer, supported and have equal access to opportunity. As a society and local community, we need to do all we can to ensure our children have the help they need to be healthy and succeed. This strategy sets out a clear vision, putting children, young people and their families at the heart of everything we do in our bid to become the most child-friendly borough in the country.”
The strategy is built on six core principles:
- Working in partnership
- Tackle racism, inequality and disproportionality
- Prevent and intervene early
- Support and protect
- Disrupt and deter
- Create safer spaces.
These principles will harness strengths from across the partnership to develop and deliver a coherent, whole systems approach to youth safety and the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adolescents.
The strategy will remain agile and flexible, reviewed, appraised, updated and amended annually across the three years of its lifespan.
