Integrated Children's Centres

Overcoming Barriers to Truly Integrated Services

Carole Beaty

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2010
• ISBN:
  9781136938382
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Bildung
• Subtopic: Bildung Allgemein

Designed to be a one-stop-shop to meet the needs of local communities, Children's Centres represent a revolutionary shift in the way children's services are delivered to families. Integrated Children's Centres looks at the way in which Children's Centre development has built upon the research and experiences of initiatives such as the HeadStart programme in America and the SureStart programme. Exploring the component elements of truly integrative services and the key players in ensuring positive outcomes: families, the local authority, PCT, private and voluntary sectors, and faith groups, this book covers:

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• the challenges faced by children's centres

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• how to tackle social issues through the medium of children's centres

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• achieving effective multi-agency working and true collaboration

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• the essentials of leading and managing children's centres

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• the benefits of early intervention

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• how to effectively deliver health care, education and children's services.

Providing a wealth of case studies, this highly topical book will be of interest to nursery and children's centres managers and early years practitioners enrolled on the NPQICL or EYPS programmes, as well as students working towards a degree in Early Childhood Studies or MA in Early Years.

CHAPTER 1
Why integrated children’s centres?

Carole Beaty

What is a children’s centre?

If you talk to people about hospitals, nurseries and schools, and about health centres and dental practices they know what you mean, but if you talk about a children’s centre they will often look at you blankly and ask you what you mean. Children’s centres are a key arm of the Labour government’s drive to abolish child poverty and to ensure that every child has the very best opportunity to fulfil their potential in all areas of their life in every community. They build upon the successful work of the Sure Start programmes that were introduced in 1999; they are diverse and individual programmes that lie at the heart of the ‘Every Child Matters: Change for Children’ programme. They are a central mechanism for providing services that meet families’ needs. It was estimated that by 2010 there would be 3,500 children’s centres, one in every community (DfES 2006:6). The idea is for children’s centres to bring services for young children, usually under five, but in some areas this has extended to nineteen, together under one umbrella. So a centre is a hub of health, social care, voluntary sector activities, employment and training opportunities. This may be in one building, but more likely it will be spread across a community. Most importantly the children’s centres will be there to offer advice and support, and information. There are many different models of children’s centres and this can cause some confusion. Some children’s centres are located in substantial purpose-built buildings, with training rooms, nursery and crèche facilities, possibly a community café, and much more. Others may have a couple of rooms in the local school or library, and will offer services out and about in the local area. In some areas children’s centres have combined with social services family centres. At the heart of all centres is the idea of providing early support for families and their children in an integrated and co-ordinated manner. They provide universal to targeted services to serve the whole community.

Children’s centres: the vision

Children’s centres play a key role in improving outcomes for all children in all areas; most particularly they have a central role in addressing issues of inequality between the most and the least advantaged children in our country (DfES 2006:6) and now a universal service for all. Children’s centres should provide accessible services that are led by parent and family need and are offered in such a way that parents feel fully involved. For example, parents in a local area might identify a need for a group that supports families with children who are fostered or adopted; it would be the children’s centre that could make this happen, ensuring that the way that it was organised enabled parents to be part of the process and fully contribute their own ideas, experience and feelings. Parents with children with additional needs might wish to have multi-professional assessment and planning meetings more locally rather than having to travel to their nearest hospital or child development centre.

Integration is fundamental to the children’s centre vision – the idea that the child lies at the heart of services, and that health, education, social care, training, employment and the voluntary sector work together in clear partnership to ensure that every child has the possibility of realising their potential. This just seems to be common sense that saves money and makes services user-friendly and cohesive. So at a children’s centre, a family might come to a drop-in post-natal group, and at the same time find out about activities in the summer holidays for the older children in the family talk to an adviser about possible training opportunities for the adult members of the family. More specific targeted services can be planned around the needs of children through partnership working using the CAF (Common Assessment Framework) or through regular children’s centre practitioner meetings when partners build strong, informed professional alliances. Children’s centres also provide intervention and support in those vital early years of life, when it can make such a difference: providing help, for example, to a mother who feels isolated within the local community, with obtaining childcare, getting support with housing, and considering her own training needs. Just providing a place for the family to meet up for a drink and a chat can be such a positive start.

Most importantly children’s centres are aspirational for families, children and communities and for changing professional practice.

Making children’s centres statutory?

Children’s centres have already made an enormous difference to how services are provided and to the work of practitioners; however, there is clearly a need to embed this practice into professional and public consciousness and to ensure the future of children’s centres. To this end the Apprenticeship, Skills and Learning Act gained Royal assent on 12 November 2009. This Act gives children’s centres statutory status, and a duty to Ofsted to inspect all centres (DCSF website).

Section 191 of the bill defines children’s centres as:

A place, or group of places –

a Which is managed by or on behalf of, or under arrangements made with, an English local authority, with a view to securing that early childhood services in their area are made available in an integrated manner,

b Through which each of the early childhood services is made available, and

c At which activities for young children are provided, whether by way of early years provision or otherwise.

(DCSF website, accessed July 2009)

It is interesting to note that this bill emphasises that the role of children’s centres is to directly provide activities for children, as there had been a fear that with the widening remit of the children’s centre and the move to local authority control that centres might just become places where you pick up information and are signposted. Under this bill, centres must be a hub of activity and of provision for children and families. However, a significant challenge in making children’s centres statutory is to come up with some form of recipe for centres, a standardisation without losing their unique sense of individuality. A challenge indeed, but one well worth embracing if it means that children’s centres will become part of the infrastructure of every community, providing support and care for every child in every family.

This is an exciting bill and one which sees children’s centres firmly on the map in terms of service provision and part of the furniture for community-led practice.

Why do we need children’s centres?

So we have nurseries and schools, child development centres, hospitals and health centres, why do we need children’s centres?

We live in a unequal society and one in which we see the impact of poor health, educational opportunity and the lack of community cohesion leading in some parts of our society to a sense of disaffection and hopelessness. Social isolation for many in all communities, rich and poor, is a real issue in some of our communities, both for the elderly and the young; this can and does have enormous implications for individuals’ mental health. Poor housing and lack of adequate, safe and challenging spaces for children to play and young people to meet has a real impact upon health and upon social well-being. Social class and where we live makes a real difference to how we live our lives and to the possible realisation of our own personal potential. Social policy, the way in which governments spend our money and the say that we have in this choice daily creates the context for each and every life. The good health, in every sense of that word, of our communities, makes a difference to all of us and is our collective responsibility. Sadly children’s centres do not hold the key to all the challenges of our communities, but they have the ingredients to make a substantial change.

What we know is that the social, geographical, educational and emotional conditions in which individuals live make a difference to their life expectancy, to their attainment and their sense of well-being and to their aspiration. It is not just about money spent on health and education, but about looking at issues as a whole. The foundations of life are laid down in the womb and in the very early stages of life. Those first few years are crucial for the child’s later health and well-being. In July 2009 we saw the impact that inadequate housing has on sections of our population when a tower block, Lakanal House, in Camberwell in South East London caught fire and caused the death of six people, including children. A tower block with one central stairway is an unsuitable place to house young families, which must be, you would think, self-evident. If we are to address issues of children’s life chances and of each of them realising their potential then our commitment must be multi-dimensional in nature and must look at all aspects of children’s lives. Increasing expenditure is one thing, but resources must be deployed effectively and involve those who are in receipt of them. We need to anticipate need and be skilful and imaginative in the deployment of resources.

Good health involves reducing levels of educational failure, reducing insecurity and unemployment and improving housing standards. Societies that enable all citizens to play a useful role in the social, economic and cultural life of their society will be healthier than those where people face insecurity, exclusion and deprivation.

(Wilkinson and Marmot 2003:11)

The reasons for poor health, poor educational attainment and social exclusion are myriad and complex, and are interconnected; what is clear is that all these evils blight lives as they blight communities. Children’s centres are certainly not the cure-all in the government’s armoury of social policy, but they certainly have a great deal to offer. We just need the courage and tenacity for radical changes to practice and to keep our collective heads for the long haul.

Children’s centres need to be unique to their local community and respond to local need, but all should exemplify excellent practice in providing accessible, multi-agency services. They need to be welcoming and dynamic, places you want to go to.

Sure Start children’s centres are vital, exciting places where children under five years old and sometimes young people up to the age of nineteen, and their families, can receive seamless integrated services and information, and where they can access help from multi-disciplinary teams of professionals. Children’s centres should be a ‘one-stop shop’ for families. Wherever they are they need to be a central part of the community, building upon existing services. They need to house proactive, friendly staff with a good understanding of community-based practice and of the local community and its needs.

If we are to address issues of social exclusion and poverty, and poor educational attainment, then we need to be aware of why these evils persist in our society; just spending more money is a start but it is not enough. We all need to be aware of the context in which children grow and learn and those elements that impact upon their life chances, like housing, opportunities to play in appropriate spaces, family employment, diet, exercise, aspiration, and s...

Table of contents

• Contents
• Contributors
• Preface
• Introduction
• CHAPTER 1 Why integrated children’s centres?
• CHAPTER 2 The background
• CHAPTER 3 Lessons from abroad
• CHAPTER 4 Education
• CHAPTER 5 Health
• CHAPTER 6 Social services
• CHAPTER 7 The voluntary sector
• CHAPTER 8 Training, education and employment
• CHAPTER 9 Parental involvement
• CHAPTER 10 Children’s centre leadership
• CHAPTER 11 High-quality leadership and the Early Years Professional Status award
• CHAPTER 12 Accountability and inspection
• CHAPTER 13 Conclusion
• Index