A ‘children’s neighbourhood’ is an initiative that brings together people, resources and organisations in a local area, so that all of those things can work collaboratively towards better lives for the children living there.
Within any neighbourhood, there’s a huge amount of knowledge and resource – in the people who live in the community, the local third sector, public sector organisations, and businesses.
In a children’s neighbourhood, the idea is for those people and groups to agree a way of working that helps tackle the big issues making it difficult for children and young people to live happily and healthily, do well in school, and achieve what they want in life.
When you’re looking at everything that’s going on in one neighbourhood, it’s easier to know exactly what’s needed, to coordinate what is being done, and for different people and organisations to be better connected and joined up.
A children’s neighbourhood aims to make sense of the range of different services, projects and interventions in an area, including how these do and don’t work together. Then we take a step beyond existing partnership between organisations, to make sure all of these things are working together towards what local people want.
In Scotland, the aim is to use the principles from other children’s neighbourhoods, and work with local people and organisations to develop a Scottish model of a children’s neighbourhood.
The first children’s neighbourhood in Scotland has started in Bridgeton and Dalmarnock in the East End of Glasgow. Find out more.
Children's Neighbourhoods Scotland 