Research & Info

Research and information plays a vital role within the Children's Trust by informing the strategic direction and commissioning of services for Cornwall's children, young people and their families.

Needs Assessment
Needs assessment is one of the tools used for helping decide and shape the priorities and actions which will help to improve outcomes for children and young people. Visit the Kernow Matters page to see the range of data and analysis available.

NEW - Changing Cornwall: What the 2011 Census is telling us

• Significant increases in the population aged 15 - 29;
• Increases in lone parent households;
• Improvements in self reported health, but there has also been increases in illnesses that limit day to day activities and provision of unpaid care;
• Increases in the number of people with high level qualifications,
  however 1 in 5 still have no qualifications ;
• Cornwall has a higher proportion of households with no adults in employment & dependent children than the South West .

Download 2011 Census: An Overview of the headline figures for Cornwall here.

Welfare Reform Research: Impact on people, places and services in Cornwall
This research produced by the Community Intelligence Team focuses on understanding the impacts of the Welfare Reform on Cornwall.  The main purpose is to provide evidence so that services can fulfil their role to prepare customers for the changes. Services across children, schools and families will be directly impacted by the changes; impacts are wide ranging in nature and the evidence highlights a likely increase in demand for frontline and specialist services. The Executive Summary can be accessed here.

Troubled Families Programme
The Troubled Families programme from the Department for Communities and Local Government aims to improve outcomes for families with complex needs and serious problems. The national programme determines a troubled family by using 3 core categories. These include families where: parents are not in work, children are not in school and there are issues such as crime / anti social behaviour. More information can be found on the programme here.

Work is being undertaken during February and March 2012 by Amethyst and the Directorate Support Team to test national estimates on the local need in relation to troubled families in Cornwall. This will inform the future development and delivery of this programme across the county.

A report from Amethyst on families with complex needs can be accessed here in addition to a presentation on establishing the local evidence base and data sets to deliver the programme.

Contact the Directorate Support Team for more information.

Stories of Your Success
These are case studies of innovative practice that are making a difference to the lives of children, young people and families in Cornwall.  We believe that by sharing your knowledge, skills and experiences of 'what works' we will better enable everyone who works with children, young people and families to deliver services that strive to improve their outcomes. Take a look at the stories we have so far and see if you can add one of your own to our database.