THE government has awarded £1.4m to Cheshire East Council and charity Catch22 for a project to find new ways of supporting children who need help from social services.

The money, from the Department for Education’s Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme, will be used to develop and test innovative approaches to assisting children in need, who require additional support services for their health and well-being.

Catch22 and Cheshire East Council have a successful 11-year relationship and will test a new approach with innovative staffing and a delivery model that combines the expertise of the social work profession with the experience and creativity of a social business.

Tony Crane, Cheshire East Council’s director of Children Services, said: “The Council’s mantra is early intervention. We believe prevention is better than cure. A core focus of our service is ensuring our children and young people are safe and we want to work innovatively with families to secure this aim.

“Partnership work is the core of our strategy to prevent such harmful situations. The right services at the right time is our aim and we are delighted to be working with Catch22 to ensure the most vulnerable in our society receive early help.”