Islington LBC

This award is open to a single council or where appropriate a partnership of councils, or a council- owned company. Private sector partners can enter on a council’s behalf, with the permission of the council itself. Children’s services are very much under pressure, and ever more so in the face of a cost of living crisis, adding to the numbers of potentially vulnerable children. There is an imperative to protect vulnerable children, the importance of early intervention and the changing relationship with schools – all under an intense media and now social spotlight. This award is intended to recognise the success of those councils that adopt a genuinely strategic approach to this vital service area in the face of extraordinary challenges. Entries can focus either on a specific aspect of the council’s work on children’s services or the entirety of its work on children’s services.

Islington LBC, in partnership with Camden, commenced the Parental Support Project. It deserves recognition for developing and supporting 11 exceptional parent champions to provide peer-to-peer support to families as part of a public health approach to violence reduction. Active across Islington and Camden, the parent champions are determined to improve the lives of other families by providing crucial information on keeping young people safe in the community. The parent champions are leading a coordinated parent-led response to reducing knife harm in Islington and Camden and play a critical role in the successful work to reduce youth violence in both boroughs.