Does your organisation have contact with children and young people (birth - 19 years old)? It could be anything, from a crèche in a church or sports centre to a full programme of structured services. We know there is a lot of fantastic work being done with children and young people in the voluntary sector across Coventry and we want to draw that out and help you to build upon it. So, whatever your involvement, we want to support you!

In 2009/10 we carried out some research into how voluntary sector organisations working with children and young people in Coventry are operating in relation to the Every Child Matters guidelines.  Every Child Matters (ECM) is the national framework that shapes all work with children and young people. You can find out more about ECM at www.everychildmatters.gov.uk

The aim of the project in Coventry was to help organisations work out where they ‘fit' within the ECM framework and what support and training they needed. We also wanted to pull that information together so that we could get an idea of what needs to be done at a city level.  To help with this, we carried out some research; the report will be available before the end of March 2010.  

In addition to the research, there were three other elements to the work:

• Developing a self assessment tool that organisations can use to assess their strengths and areas of development in relation to Every Child Matters;
• Identifying training needs within the sector, filling some of the 'gaps' and identifying other sources of support and training
• Developing a local directory of services

You can find out more about each of these by clicking on the tabs at the top of the page.

This project was funded by the Children's Workforce Development Council.