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Memorandum submitted by Exeter Children's Centre I write this on behalf of Exeter
Children's Centre, How models of Children's Centres have developed as the programme spreads from the most deprived neighbourhoods As a Early years practitioner who has been involved with the development of Sure start and Neighbourhood nurseries from the start I have witnessed the changes in the programme and the more recent roll out of centre services to less deprived neighbourhoods. It is my experience that this has been successful in enabling hard to reach families to access more services as the stigma and preconceived ideas that Sure Start centres are for "mums with problems" has reduced and the fact that universal services are available to all has helped considerably. The roll out of children's centres as a universal point of access has also enabled families who live in pockets of deprivation or isolated areas to access more targeted services.
The range and effectiveness of services provided by Children's Centres; In our children's centre the model of providing a range of services that move from easy to access services such as messy play and story sessions through to targeted groups for families such as peer support groups for women involved in abusive relationships or families where the UK is not their country of origin has helped considerably to allow families to progress and develop their skills.
Currently the funding for this children's centre is managed through the school and agreed via a steering group which focuses on the priorities for the centre as identified through a parent led needs assessment and area priorities issued through our performance management framework. This allows for the centre to operate effectively however the restrictions on working with families with children under 5 years of age can often make it difficult to work collaboratively together and streamline activities for the whole family which would create a more cost effective service. It is vital that a focus remains on the early years age group however it should not restrict linking with other programmes and initiatives e.g. extended schools.
An issue faced by all children's centres has been staffing centres with staff that are experienced and qualified in a multitude of areas. Centres have invested huge resources, not just financial into developing these skills and the lack of secure long term funding has made staff retention very difficult. Moving forward being able to develop five year financed plan would enable all families to be supported in our reach areas. Being based on a school site and part of the school organisation has enabled close working relationships to be forged however it has at times been assumed that staff within schools will be completely familiar with a centres running and it is expected the two parts of the organisation would work cohesively together however variation of hours, focus on different areas and lack of understanding of roles and responsibilities has often caused confusion. Through time these issues have been minimised but it should be learnt that organisations need the same ethos and culture to work together not just a shared relationship through working with children. Relationships with health have been sporadic and the recent changes in health visitors roles have not supported their work within centres. Within children's centres the role of the outreach worker/home visitor has been integral in building relationships with communities and enabling confidence in the centre, its services and removal of any ideas of a 'hidden' agenda to be built. Engaging with hard to reach communities takes time and if children's centres are to reach their true goal then this must be allowed to develop as progress has been made but these relationships still require strengthening.
Claire Spooner Children's Centre Manager October 2009
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