COUNCILLOR Tracey Chapman is a woman with a mission - to give Essex children the best possible start in life.

Mrs Chapman, Tory county councillor for Rochford North, is moving up in the corridors of power at County Hall, with a new role as the councillor responsible for education and schools across most of Essex.

The 49-year-old grandmother was already responsible for children's services, but has now taken on education, too, as part of a cabinet reshuffle.

Her top priority, she says, is to make the council's range of children's services more accessible.

At the heart of this strategy will be new teams to spot potential problems early and deal with them.

The teams will be based in schools, council offices, even GP surgeries - the idea is to get them close to the people who need them.

She explains: "They will be people who are engaged in education welfare, such as social workers, perhaps educational psychologists, all of the people who have an impact on children's lives."

When the scheme goes live in September, a total of 29 teams will cover Essex, excluding Southend and Thurrock, which have their own council services.

"The teams will help with things such as special educational needs," she adds.

"We need to get into these problems early and make school life a happy experience. It will also help older children to deal with the transition to adolescence."

The pilot scheme in the north of the county has already proved successful.

"A police officer was involved in the test in Braintree," Mrs Chapman adds. "She said her whole skill set changed as a result.

"When there were warring factions - parents and children - rather than arresting everybody if they were abusive, she would try to talk to everybody and agree action to take to sort out the problem.

"This means problems can be resolved at a lower level, before you have to put in many more resources."

The pilot study's success can be measured by a ten per cent reduction in the number of children being taken into care.

Tackling problems early can also help children do better at school - one thing, it puts them in a better frame of mind to learn and achieve.

Mrs Chapman admits she has always enjoyed working with children.

"I've got kids and I've got grandchildren," she says.

"I used to to help at Guides and Brownies and I've always been up the school, so I've always been involved with young people.

"When Lord Hanningfield offered me this opportunity, I took it and I love it.

"We have a service to be proud of in Essex and I think we don't shout loudly enough about it."

Her new role should offer even more challenges, as the person in overall charge of such a far-reaching project.

"I'm not saying this will be easy," she says.

"There will be some tough decisions, but I'm really excited by it."