The programme will deliver a comprehensive range of training and support packages to help VCS organisations acquire the skills and knowledge needed to successfully engage in the new framework, and strengthen the sector’s involvement in the planning, commissioning and delivery of services for children, young people and their families.

By supporting increased collaboration between all agencies working to deliver Every Child Matters (ECM) related services, VCS Engage aims to improve outcomes for all children, young people and families.

Our overall aim is to help create a more effective third sector.

We want every third sector organisation to be able to access high quality support that meets their needs, when they need it.

By improving support, we will strengthen the sector, increasing its ability to create a better quality of life for individuals and communities.

The Government has long been committed to enabling all children and young people to reach their full potential. This requires a strong lead in securing integrated children’s services and educational excellence.

The new Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) means we can really concentrate on achieving these objectives.

The Department will build on the successes in education and children’s services that we have seen over the last decade. It will now focus on the significant challenges that remain – raising standards so that more children and young people reach expected levels, lifting more children out of poverty and re-engaging disaffected young people. The new structure will also allow us to respond to new challenges that will affect children and families: demographic and socio-economic change; developing technology; and increasing global competition.

In addition to its direct responsibilities, the department will lead work across Government to improve outcomes for children, including work on children’s health and child poverty.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families is one of three new government departments set up by the Prime Minister on 28 June 2007; the others are the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (DBERR).

We work to deliver, influence and develop government programmes and initiatives in the region on behalf of these departments, by working with relevant organisations to meet local needs. We also act as ears, eyes and a local voice for Whitehall in the West Midlands, reflecting back to central government the interests, concerns and successes of the region to inform policy development.

Our website is a part of this process, and we hope that you will find it easy to use.

Please forward your ideas to communications.team@gowm.gsi.gov.uk

General Fact File Link for regional information: http://www.gos.gov.uk/facts/factgowm/?a=42496