Supplementary memorandum submitted by
the Department for Education and Skills and the Department of
Health
Thank you for inviting us to the recent oral
evidence session on Children's Trusts on 19 April. We agreed to
write back to you on three issues; namely, Children's Centres;
the Sure Start evaluation; and finally, the guidance and support
we give to young carers. We will respond to each of these issues
in turn.
On the first issue, Jeff Ennis asked about the
location of Children's Centres on school campuses. We believe
that schools are an obvious choice for the co-location of Children's
Centres. Many already provide extended services for children and
their families including childcare and parenting support services.
Sure Start Children's Centres Practice Guidance (November 2005)
encourages all Children's Centres, whether or not they are co-located
with schools, to work effectively with neighbouring schools.
We are currently in the second phase of the
development of Children's Centres—Phase 1 took place between
2004z-06, whilst Phase 2 is currently taking place and will end
in March 2008. Of the 836 Sure Start Children's Centres established
during Phase 1, the majority were developed from Sure Start Local
Programmes, thus building on the already substantial investment
made in delivering integrated early childhood services. Of these,
we estimate around 200 designated Children's Centres are co-located
with schools, the majority developed around maintained nursery
schools.
By March 2008—the end of Phase 2—we
expect to have 2,500 Sure Start Children's Centres in total. And
based on the information we have to date from local authorities,
we expect over 1,000 of them to be co-located with schools and
with the potential that a further 660 will follow suit.
On the second issue of the National Evaluation
of Sure Start (NESS), a specific question was raised in respect
of teenage parents and the role of grandparents. The 14% of children
in the NESS sample, who had poorer outcomes than their peers in
non-Sure Start Local Programme (SSLP) areas, were children of
teenage mothers. The reasons for these poor outcomes are hard
to understand given the better results for non-teen mothers. We
do not know from the NESS whether the teen mothers were not engaging
with the SSLP or whether they were involved but they were receiving
inappropriate services or services of poor quality. It is also
not possible to tell from the NESS whether teenage parents were
receiving additional support from their grandparents.
Following the initial findings of the NESS,
the DfES has made it a requirement of Children's Centres that
they target teenage parents (along with other at risk groups)
more effectively and that they provide appropriate services that
this group needs, will use and will benefit from. Guidance on
good practice in service delivery to teenage parents was issued
in the Sure Start Children's Centres Practice Guidance in November
2005. As part of the new performance management system currently
being developed for Children's Centres, we will monitor the progress
in reaching teenage parents and the quality of services they receive.
On the third issue of young carers, Stephen
Williams asked questions about monitoring arrangements, and the
support and guidance that we provide. The Government wants to
ensure that young carers can gain maximum life chance benefits
from educational opportunities, health care and social care. The
Children Act 1989 places a duty on local authorities with responsibilities
for social services to safeguard and promote the welfare of children
in need in their area. Children who are identified as carers should
routinely be assessed under the Act, in accordance with the Government's
guidance, the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need
and their Families. The Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004
also strengthens support for all carers, including young carers,
by helping to ensure that carers are able to take up opportunities
which those without caring responsibilities take for granted.
Government guidance on this was published jointly by the Department
of Health and DfES in 2005.
The Government has funded the Carers Grant to
local authorities, which will be £185 million in 2006-07
and 2007-08. 20% of this grant is earmarked for children's services.
DfES also fund the project led by the Children's Society, the
Young Carer's Initiative, which promotes the development and social
inclusion of young carers.
Schools are not currently required to collate
data on children and young people with caring responsibilities,
and it is important to remember that not all young carers welcome
direct questioning by their schools on what they regard as sensitive
family issues.
Schools have a primary role in encouraging good
attendance and investigating underlying causes of poor attendance.
They should consider what actions they can take to address the
problems before, where necessary, referring the case to the local
authority. In all such cases, including those involving young
carers, the school and the local authority should work closely
with the pupil and their family to resolve the issues surrounding
the poor attendance.
Not all absence that results from caring responsibilities
is treated as truancy; some is treated as a leave of absence if
the school feels it is appropriate to do so. Our advice to schools
is that in a genuine crisis the school can authorise a leave of
absence for the pupil to care for a relative until other arrangements
are in place, but that children should not be expected to carry
inappropriate levels of caring. We advise schools to set a time
limit for the pupil's return to school and to provide homework
and study materials for the pupil to use whilst absent.
Naomi Eisenstadt
Secretary of State's Chief Adviser on
Children's and Young People's Services
DfES
Sue Hackman
Secretary of State's Chief Adviser on
School Standards
DfES
Dr Sheila Shribman
National Clinical Director for Children
DH
May 2006
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