Save Services At Appledore

Appledore is a child protection unit run by Birmingham City Council that specialises in working with parents who have experienced difficulties in their parenting ability and keeping their children safe from harm.

Appledore's main role is to safeguard children and to undertake intervention work with the parents with the aim of rehabilitating the family to the community, with the knowledge and skills learnt so that they can continue to parent their children to an adequate standard and keep them safe, in line with government legislation of Every Child Matters and Brighter Futures.

Appledore is currently under review (for three months up to 26 October 2010) and we have been advised that there are four options to this review:

* a change in a way that the service is delivered

* a reduction in the service provision

* a merger of the service with another service

* cessation of the service

Apple dore believes that the work they undertake is of vital importance within keeping children safe from significant harm. Whilst Appledore would welcome changes of a positive nature, we are of a strong belief that reduction or cessation of the service we provide would be detrimental to the children who are most at risk of significant harm. It would also be in direct conflict with the current undertaking to improve the City of Birmingham's plan to improve children's services as outlined in the recent OFSTED report of 16 July 2010.

Please sign our petition if you feel Appledore is a valuable service that should remain in place.

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