We aim to help children and young people in Newcastle to be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and achieve economic well-being by supporting them in their families, schools and communities.
Bringing up children is an important and sometimes difficult task. Everyone needs help and advice from time to time. You can get help from health visitors, teachers, family members and friends. But if, sometimes, you need extra help, Newcastle Children's Services may be there for you. You may also need to get in touch if you have concerns about other children.
If you are a practitioner working with children and young people, or simply interested in the developments in Children’s Services, please visit the Newcastle Children’s Services website (external link)
What services make up the Children’s Services Directorate?
Click here to view our current Children's Services directorate structure chart. (Pdf, 26.1 KB)
Some of the varied services provided by, or supported by, the Children’s Services Directorate include:
Children's social care services - social care services protect, care for and support children, young people and their families in Newcastle
Education services - an education service through secondary, primary and special needs as well as a supporting network of specialist and professionals such as educational psychologists, speech and language therapist etc
Family support - free and impartial information service for parents and carers of children and young people aged 0 - 19
Early years and play - a wide range of services for children, young people and their families
Integrated youth services - services which enable young people to get involved and make a positive contribution to their lives and their futures
Does anyone else work closely with children and young people in Newcastle?
We have strong, effective partnerships in Newcastle which are important to improving outcomes for children and young people.
Newcastle Local Safeguarding Children’s Board (external link)
Newcastle Strategic Partnership for Children and Young People (external link)
Underpinning our activities is a commitment to the engagement and participation of parents and carers, and children and young people in the planning, design and delivery of services.
What is the Newcastle plan for children and young people?
The Newcastle plan for children and young people is our strategy to improve outcomes for children and young people in Newcastle. Each year we undertake an annual review and publish the results.
Newcastle plan for children and young people 2006 - 2009 (pdf 1.1Mb)
Newcastle plan for children and young people - executive summary (pdf 1.8Mb)
Newcastle plan for children and young people - review 2007- 2008 (pdf, 5.2Mb)
A number of key strategies underpin the Newcastle plan for children and young people. These can also be found on the Newcastle Children’s Services website (external link)
What is the APA?
The Annual Performance Assessment or APA is undertaken by Ofsted each year in every council to find out what contribution children’s services have made in the previous twelve months towards improving outcomes for children and young people. The latest APA report from Ofsted is available to read here:
APA 2008 Report (PDF, 61.7 KB)
How can I contact Children’s Services?
Children’s Services Directorate
Newcastle City Council
Civic Centre
Barras Bridge
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 8PU
Phone: Families Information Service on 0191 277 4133
Children’s Social Services customer service duty teams
Out of hours Social Services support
Schools A-Z
Related websites
More information about Children’s Services can be found elsewhere on the City Council website and at the following Children’s Services web access channels:
Newcastle Children's Service - information for practitioners across children’s services
Family Services Directory – the children and young people’s service directory, mainly targeted at parents and carers
School Extranet (password access) - information for school based staff in the city