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National partnerships
At Dixons, we are delighted to be a part of Frontline's JoinedUp programme. Frontline’s vision is of a society where no child’s life chances are limited by their social or family circumstance. In order to realise that vision, collaborative, cross-sector working among those who support children and families is vital. Only in this way can we ensure a holistic approach that enables professionals to use their skill set in the most tailored way and do their best work, avoiding unnecessary disruption or distress to children and families.
What is the JoinedUp programme?
The JoinedUp programme is a 12-month collective leadership programme created by Dixons Academies Trust, Frontline, The Reach Foundation and UK Youth. The first of its kind, JoinedUp is uniquely designed to bring together school leaders, youth workers and social workers to listen to communities and work together to provide tailored help, ultimately creating a new approach to family support from the ground up.
Each year 20 school leaders, 20 social workers and 20 youth workers will look to find ways to collectively create an approach that enables all children and young people to enjoy lives of choice and opportunity. During the programme, participants will work in local clusters to enable them to best understand the joys, hopes and concerns of children and young people in their area. They will visit, learn from and be inspired by others who are already challenging traditional ways of working, and use these insights to design and trial new ways of working together.
Why does the JoinedUp programme exist?
| GCSEs | A child who does not live in poverty or need the support of a social worker has an 80% chance of passing maths and English at GCSE. For a child who does, this drops to under 65%. |
| Mental Health | A child who is known to social services is three times more likely to be growing up in poverty. Children living in poverty are four times more likely to develop mental health problems by age 11. School leavers - Persistently disadvantaged children |
| School leavers | Persistently disadvantaged children leave school on average 22 months behind their better off peers. |
| The attainment gap | The attainment gap is growing, demand for children’s mental health services are not being met and access to youth services varies hugely. |
Although these vulnerabilities are linked, the professionals who are working to support children who experience them are generally not. Currently, school leaders, youth workers and social workers are trained in isolation from each other and mostly carry on working in silos throughout their careers. There is little opportunity for them to understand each other’s perspectives or to develop new ways of supporting children and young people. This isn’t just something happening on a national level, but locally, within boroughs and small communities.
The system these professionals are working in is not set up to enable them best work together to support children and families and enable young people to thrive. The attainment gap is growing, demand for children’s mental health services are not being met and access to youth services varies hugely.
Through the JoinedUp programme, we’ll work to bring together professionals across sectors who deeply understand the challenges their local communities as a whole face and are able to build strong, trusting relationships to best overcome these.
Who can apply?
To be eligible to join the JoinedUp programme, you must be a Senior Leader working in one of our focus areas, Essex, London, Yorkshire or the the North East
For more information, please contact joinedup@thefrontline.org.uk