Innovation in local government is about improving the lives of the people in our
communities. Browse through our case studies to see the many innovative programmes councils are involved
in.
Sutton’s family hubs have a universal parenting service that has been developed for parents by parents. The programmes are facilitated by trained parent group leaders and have been incorporated into the wider parenting support offer of the family hubs.
We wanted to take a play-based approach for supporting rich parent/child interactions to help young children develop their speech, language and communication skills. We also wanted parents and carers to be aware of the positive impact they have on their child’s development and the simple everyday things that they can do to help.
To reduce the injuries that young children from the most disadvantaged families suffer at home, a University of Nottingham research team worked closely with Nottingham’s Small Steps Big Changes team, children’s public health 0-19 nursing services, children’s centre staff, family mentors and parents to develop, deliver and measure the impact of the innovative Stay One Step Ahead programme.
These case studies relate to High Impact Change Area C of the High Impact Change Model: Improving the timely and effective discharge of people with dementia and delirium into the community.
Rotherham Council has developed an early years education and childcare strategy to raise awareness of this important stage of development in a child’s life and ensure oversight of the identified priorities for the borough, with a particular focus on early identification of need.
Using the Chatterbug programme in Knowsley; an area with one of the lowest educational attainment outcomes in England, to address speech, language and communication challenges, referrals to speech therapy services reduced by ninety percent in two years.
Essex County Council is committed to supporting unpaid carers, whose vital contributions are often undervalued. In 2022, the Essex All-Age Carers Strategy was developed to enhance support for carers, with six key commitments to improve access to resources, wellbeing, and community recognition. The strategy led to the Essex Carers Model, which includes the Essex Wellbeing Service for initial contact, the Essex Carers Core Offer of Support (ECCOS), a digital service, and the Carers Voice initiative. Extensive stakeholder engagement and coproduction were key to its success. The ambition is to support over 12,500 carers through the redesigned core offer