Wigan Council and AllChild are proving that long-term, community-driven programmes can improve outcomes for children while reducing pressure on local services and public spending. LocalGov finds out more.

The challenge

Like many local authorities, Wigan Council faces a number of systematic pressures: increasing demand on children’s services, rising costs, and fewer resources. These challenges make it harder to invest in the kind of preventative, personalised, and collaborative support that communities have long called for.

In Leigh and Atherton, the Council is piloting a new approach with AllChild - one that improves outcomes for children and families while also seeking to reduce long-term pressures. The partnership is testing new ways of working, such as providing young people with trusted relationships and building stronger links across the system.

‘Wigan are proud to be the first Local Authority outside London to offer the AllChild programme to our children, families and schools,’ said Colette Dutton, director of Children’s Services, Wigan Council.

‘In supporting our Progress with Unity missions of “Creating fair opportunities for all children, families, residents and businesses” and “Making our towns and Neighbourhoods flourish for those who live and work in them”, AllChild worked closely with our communities, local authority and education leaders to coproduce an approach aligned with the borough’s needs. This has been supported by a blend of philanthropic funding, alongside investment from the local authority and schools. Families have welcomed the support, and we particularly value that the approach is built on children and link workers developing trusted relationships over a two-year period to improve attendance, attainment and inclusion. AllChild have also engaged community-based organisations as delivery partners, recognising their vital role in sustaining the programme.’

Why this partnership is different

Too often, interventions are short-term and shaped by funding cycles rather than community priorities. Services can feel fragmented detached both from each other and from the families they intend to support.

The Wigan/AllChild partnership takes a different path. Over 18 months, the council and AllChild worked with families, young people, headteachers, local leaders, and community organisations to co-design a programme rooted in local needs. Each child and family takes part in a two-year journey of support, but the partnership itself is designed to deliver sustainable, long-term impact across the borough.

Each child and family are supported by a dedicated link worker – an individual who builds trust, helps set achievable goals, and connects them with the right mix of support and opportunity delivered in school and in the community by the link worker, specialist partners and local organisations. The focus is on preventing the development of more serious problems, not reacting to one crisis at a time.

A model designed for local authority pressures

The partnership’s blended funding and outcomes-based model is designed to deliver value for money while addressing structural barriers:

• Early action – supporting children to stay in school, reducing exclusions, avoiding escalation into statutory services, and meeting some SEN needs without requiring an EHCP.

• Shared investment and outcomes focus – the council contributes a portion of programme costs, with schools and philanthropy also paying in. Payments are only made when real impact for young people is evidenced, reducing the need for large upfront spend and giving partners greater flexibility to adapt support as needs change.

• Strengthening communities – harnessing the assets of local voluntary organisations while building stronger connections between schools, families, and services.

• Whole-system working – fostering collaboration across the council, schools, and VCSE partners.

• Changing the system – recognising that better life chances for young people require reshaping the structures that support them to meet their multi-faceted needs.

Progress in year one

By July 2025, 250 children and families had completed their first year. Although this is only the halfway point in a two-year programme, early results are encouraging:

• More children are attending school regularly.

• Participants report improved emotional wellbeing and confidence.

• Families, schools, and local services are working more closely together.

• 94% of children took part in the programme as regularly as planned – attending sessions consistently and staying actively involved throughout the year. This shows a very high level of participation and commitment.

These outcomes mean fewer exclusions, reduced escalation into children’s services, and a more sustainable approach to SEN support – helping Wigan manage demand and long-term cost pressures.

National recognition

In July, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy MP, and Makerfield MP Josh Simons visited Westleigh Methodist Primary, one of the partner schools. They met children, staff, and programme partners, including AllChild’s North Regional Director Jenny Muter, to see how the approach works in practice and launched the Government’s new national, outcome-based fund, the Better Futures Fund.

Looking ahead

With a second cohort of children already joining the programme, Wigan Council and AllChild are expanding to reach more children, families, and schools this year. The ambition is to deepen local impact and demonstrate how place-based, long-term partnerships can improve outcomes for children while helping councils use resources more effectively.

Louisa Mitchell MBE, CEO, AllChild commented: ‘It’s been a promising start in Leigh & Atherton, thanks to all our brilliant and dedicated partners, our fantastic AllChild Regional Director Jenny Muter, and the AllChild team. We’re excited to be welcoming new children, families, schools, and organisations into the partnership this year.’