Cradle to Career
Cradle to Career brings together residents, local services, professionals, and community leaders to support the children and young people of North Birkenhead.
It puts the people of North Birkenhead at the heart of education, services and local decision-making. It aims to significantly improve literacy standards among children, give families easy access to the support they need, improve the quality of life for all and create new opportunities for local children and young people. It works to improve communication between the community and the organisations that serve them.
Our Vision
Every child in North Birkenhead thrives, from cradle to career.
Our Mission
To support North Birkenhead to develop as a strong, thriving community where every child and young person has all the help and opportunity they will need to succeed.
How does Cradle to Career work?
A small, locally based project team will provide a “backbone” of support to bring about this change by:
- Working with all local schools, from early years to secondary, to boost literacy and communication skills, attendance and behaviour.
- Connecting with families that need support, building one-on-one relationships, offering practical assistance, and giving them access to the services they need. Through these new relationships, local people will gain a voice in local decision-making.
- Giving local people the power to change North Birkenhead for the better by building on the many strengths of the community. Residents will be supported to extend, create and deliver projects that create opportunities for local children and young people.
- Transforming the way public services are delivered. All key staff will be based under one roof in North Birkenhead and a community fund will be developed, issuing grants to back local organisations.
Who makes decisions?
Decisions about activities are made by working groups of local residents and professionals, guided by research and evidence, with input from the people the decisions will affect, especially children and young people. The programme is guided by a local Steering Group, which oversees the budget and makes sure the project aligns with the vision and mission.
How will we know if the programme is having a positive effect?
Cradle to Career intends that the children of North Birkenhead leave school with the skills and qualifications they need to succeed in later life. This change will not happen overnight; in fact it may take 10 to 15 years. The Heseltine Institute at The University of Liverpool is developing a full measurement framework for the programme.