1.4 Explain why strategic direction from national and local policy is required to address factors impacting on outcomes and life chances for children and young people

This guide will help you answer 1.4 Explain why strategic direction from national and local policy is required to address factors impacting on outcomes and life chances for children and young people.

Strategic direction means having a clear plan and priorities set by authorities, usually to guide organisations towards agreed outcomes. For work with children and young people, this direction comes from both national government and local authorities. It influences how services are delivered, which areas need focus, and the standards expected for quality and safety.

In this guide, we will look at why this direction is needed to deal with factors that affect outcomes and life chances for children and young people. Outcomes are the results or changes experienced by children, such as doing well at school, being healthy, developing social skills or feeling safe. Life chances describe the opportunities available to them as they grow into adulthood, such as employment, housing, and health.

National and local policies make sure that organisations work towards improving these outcomes and life chances for all children, but with special attention given to those facing challenges.

Reasons for Strategic Direction

Consistency and Equality

One reason for having strategy set at national and local levels is to keep services consistent. Without national standards, children in different areas could get very different levels of support. Policies make sure that every child has equal access to services regardless of their background or postcode.

Equality matters because every child should have the same chance to succeed. Local policies adapt national rules for the needs of their community but still follow the bigger picture set by government.

Responding to National Priorities

Government often sets priorities based on evidence about the needs of children and young people. This may include tackling child poverty, reducing health inequalities, improving education outcomes, or increasing safeguarding.

Local authorities then create plans to address these priorities in their own area. Workers must follow these strategies so that everyone is moving in the same direction and working towards agreed goals.

Legal Requirements

Many national policies come from legislation, such as the Children Act 1989 and 2004, the Equality Act 2010, and safeguarding guidance like Working Together to Safeguard Children.

This means the strategic direction is not optional. Services must follow the laws and guidance to protect children, promote welfare, and work within legal boundaries.

Addressing Social and Economic Factors

Children’s outcomes are shaped by a wide range of factors, including:

• Poverty
• Health problems in early life
• Disability
• Family circumstances
• Housing quality
• Education access and quality
• Exposure to crime or abuse

National and local strategies often focus on these areas by setting targets, funding programmes, and providing frameworks for action. This ensures that resources are directed where they are most needed.

The Role of National Policy

National policy gives an overarching framework. It operates on a country-wide level and often reflects political priorities, research evidence, and legal duties.

Key features include:

• Setting minimum standards
• Providing funding allocations
• Requiring reporting and accountability
• Steering local service design through guidance documents

National policies often emerge from reports and studies that look at the needs of children and young people. They address both immediate safeguarding issues and long-term development goals.

Examples include:

• Every Child Matters framework
• SEND Code of Practice for children with special educational needs and disabilities
• National strategies for child mental health
• Government programmes on obesity reduction and physical activity

These policies support professionals to work in ways that improve life outcomes consistently across England.

The Role of Local Policy

Local authorities have the responsibility to make these national policies work in the context of their own community. Local strategies are shaped by demographic data, including the population mix, economic status, and housing conditions in the area.

Local policy ensures that services deal with local challenges. For example, an area with a high unemployment rate may put extra focus on skills education and school engagement. An area with high rates of childhood obesity might prioritise sports projects, healthy eating campaigns, and extra health checks.

Local policy involves:

• Working with schools, health services, police, and voluntary organisations
• Analysing community needs
• Using local funding effectively
• Reviewing progress against local targets

Local strategies are often more specific and detailed than national guidance, but they are shaped by the national goals.

Why Both Levels Are Necessary

National direction alone could be too general. Local direction alone can be inconsistent. Combining both levels allows for:

• A clear shared vision across England
• Local flexibility to meet unique needs
• Fairness through equal standards
• Efficiency in using resources where they will have greatest impact

When national and local strategies work together, they help to address the widest possible range of needs while still being relevant to individual communities.

Improving Outcomes Through Strategic Direction

Strategic direction ensures that organisations focus on improving factors that directly affect children’s outcomes. Without it, services might work in isolation or have conflicting priorities.

Examples of improvement areas include:

• School readiness programmes to help young children develop language and social skills before starting school
• Safeguarding policies to protect children from harm at home or in the community
• Health initiatives such as vaccination programmes, nutrition guidance, and mental wellbeing support
• Housing strategies to reduce overcrowding and improve living conditions for families

These outcomes matter because a child’s early experiences shape their ability to learn, form relationships, and achieve independence in adult life.

Addressing Barriers with Policy

Strategic direction helps identify and break down barriers to good outcomes. Policies often direct services to tackle inequality, discrimination, and disadvantage.

Barriers may include:

• Lack of access to good education
• Poor health provision
• Unsafe family environments
• Limited access to social activities and peer support

National policy demands action, while local policy shapes how that action is delivered. For example, national safeguarding guidance requires prompt intervention where abuse is suspected. Local safeguarding boards create procedures for professionals to follow, based on the resources and agencies in their area.

Measuring Success

Strategic direction is not just about setting goals. It involves measuring progress and adjusting plans based on evidence.

This often happens through:

• Regular data collection on school attendance and achievement
• Health monitoring in areas such as growth, nutrition, vaccinations, and mental wellbeing
• Reviews of safeguarding cases to improve procedures
• Public reports from local authorities showing progress on set targets

These measures help ensure that both national and local plans actually improve life chances in real terms.

Worker Responsibilities

As a worker in the children and young people’s workforce, you play a part in putting these strategic directions into practice. This includes:

• Knowing relevant national and local policies
• Following procedures set by your organisation to meet policy aims
• Recording and reporting information for monitoring purposes
• Contributing to targets through high quality daily practice
• Working in partnership with other professionals to meet shared goals

Every worker’s actions contribute to the overall success of these strategies.

Examples in Practice

A national policy might aim to reduce the number of young people who are not in education, employment, or training. Local policy could set up training workshops, mentoring schemes, and work placements with local businesses. Workers support this by helping young people with CVs, confidence building, and linking them to available opportunities.

Another example is national guidance on child obesity. Local authorities could fund community cooking sessions, improve school meals, and set up activity clubs. Workers might encourage participation, identify children who could benefit, and link families to these services.

Partnership Working

Strategic direction encourages partnership working. National and local policies often require collaboration between multiple services, such as:

• Schools
• Health visitors
• Social workers
• Police
• Youth services
• Voluntary sector projects

This sharing of information and teamwork helps tackle issues from different angles, making it more likely that positive change will last.

Final Thoughts

Strategic direction from national and local policy is necessary because it brings structure, fairness, and focus to work with children and young people. National policy gives the overall aims and legal framework, while local policy adapts these aims to meet the needs of the community.

When both levels are followed, children and young people benefit from services that are consistent, lawful, and responsive to their circumstances. Workers can act confidently, knowing their practice is aligned with agreed priorities and that they are contributing to improvements in outcomes and life chances. In the end, strategic direction means working together for the shared purpose of giving every child the opportunity to achieve their potential.