Teams of professionals are now working from three Local Area Team bases located in the North, South and Central areas of the borough and covering the whole range of vulnerable children from 0-19 years. The approximate areas are indicated in the map below.

As a pilot a team of social care professionals is now located in the North. Health visitors are now based in all three localities.

Professionals and practitioners from different services being based together enable them to form integrated “teams around the child," and to provide earlier intervention and more effective support which can reduce the need for referral to more specialised or intensive forms of intervention.

Practitioners involved include:

• Behaviour Support Teachers
• Community Mental Health Nurses
• Connexions Community Team & Duty team
• Education Psychologists
• Education Welfare Officers
• Extended Services Coordinators
• Fieldwork: Social workers and social work assistants
• Learning Support Teachers
• Link Inspectors/Ethnic Minority Achievement Service/Looked After ChildrenNursery Nurses
• Primary Mental Health Workers
• SEN Development Officers
• Social Work Assistant/ Family Support Workers
• Local service development has been underpinned by joint training, information, sharing, assessment and planning.

Extended services are beginning to be developed to meet the differing needs of particular areas of the borough that are accessible to vulnerable groups and offered in a joined-up way through schools, children's centres, libraries, GP practices and other providers in local areas