A PLAN set up to ensure all children in the town have the best lives possible will be updated next week.

Swindon Council's Children and Young People's Plan (CYPP) aims to give the town's youths the best start in life, so they can grow up and become successful adults.

The plan, which was launched last year, aims to give clear guidance until 2009 and beyond on ways of making changes to childhoods in the town.

Interested parties have reviewed the plan, and their findings will be presented to the borough's Schools Forum at a meeting on Wednesday.

So far progress has been made in a number of key areas, with the number of teenage pregnancies falling and more young people being able to access drug treatment services.

Education standards have been raised through the use of targets, and more employers are joining apprenticeship schemes to help young people gain employment while continuing their education.

Report authors Hilary Pitts, Swindon Council's children's services director, and Caroline Fowles, have paid tribute to contributors.

The report says: "During the period since the plan was written, we have continued to develop the participation of children and young people, parents and carers.

"In February 2007, 50 young people met with 50 professionals, to share information about their roles, experiences and services.

"Parents who are members of the Special Needs Forum regularly discuss improvement to the services with senior officers.

"This review draws on these processes and is consequently informed throughout by the views and wishes of children, young people, their parents and carers."

Among the areas highlighted for improvement are the involvement of children in the Youth Service with an accredited outcome, and the implementation of the Government's 14-19 strategy for education to improve standards at Key Stages 3 and 4.

The council also aims to boost the number of 19 year olds with Level 2 qualifications or the equivalent of five or more good GCSEs.

A new CYPP will be prepared to take the service through to 2011, and will continue to tackle the existing issues, as well as newly highlighted ones such as the increase in ethnic minority children in the borough.