|
Memorandum submitted by the British Association of Early Childhood Education (Early Education)
About Early Education
1. The British Association for Early Childhood
Education (Early Education) is the leading independent national charity for
early years practitioners and parents, campaigning for the right of all
children to early education of the highest quality. Founded in 1923, it has
members in
2. This
submission is informed by the responses of 89 Early Education members currently
working in or with Sure Start Children's Centres in
Summary
3. The evolution of Sure Start Children's Centres has raised the profile for early childhood provision both locally and nationally. Early Education believes that Sure Start Children's Centres have a crucial role to play in the ongoing evolution of high quality, integrated children's services. Not only do many of them have an amassed experience and understanding of child development, family support, curriculum, planning, pedagogy, formative assessment and evaluation in teaching and learning, they also have a significant leadership role to play in promoting and advancing effective practice in early learning and care.
How models of Children's Centres have developed as the programme spreads from the most deprived neighbourhoods
4. In the last decade, 3000 Sure Start Children's Centres have been established. The majority (53%) of maintained nursery schools have a relationship with a Sure Start Children's Centre[1]. Some are fully integrated while others have a more tentative relationship. Of those maintained nursery schools who were a part of Sure Start Children's Centre. · 50 per cent were part of the Phase One Sure Start Children's Centre programme · 44 per cent were part of the Phase Two Sure Start Children's Centre programme · 6 per cent were part of the Phase Three Sure Start Children's Centre programme[2].
5. Those Sure Start Children's Centres that developed out of well established maintained nursery schools often benefited from a strong, established, highly qualified and experienced staff team who were focused on improving outcomes for children. Many are led by qualified headteachers and the staff of children centres frequently include qualified teachers, teaching assistants qualified to NVQ level 3, as well as peripatetic staff. Many maintained nursery schools already had an excellent track record of working with parents. Some had already been designated Early Excellence Centres and the majority included in the Phase One Sure Start Children's Centre programmes had been working in partial cross disciplinary teams prior to their designation as a Sure Start Children's Centre. Consequently, there were firm foundations from which to build effective integrated working practices within a cross disciplinary team of staff.
The range and effectiveness of services provided by Children's Centres
6. It is clear that the philosophy of the Every Child Matters agenda and the principles of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is at the heart of the range of effective services that Sure Start Children's Centres seek to provide.
7. Nationally, the range and frequency of services delivered through Sure Start Children's Centres varies widely. A survey of Early Education's membership engaged with Sure Start Children's Centres revealed that that services offered include: nursery education, daycare (0-2 year olds) daycare (2-5 years), full wrap around care, holiday programmes, adult learning, employability support, health visiting and midwife clinics, speech and occupational therapy, after school care, childminder networks, antenatal support, breastfeeding support, parenting classes, toy library facilities, 'stay and play' groups, nutrition classes, baby massage ESOL/EAL classes, first time parent support, Dad's groups, gypsy and traveller outreach programmes, family workers supporting families with housing, police liaison group, debt and relationships, child and adolescent mental health support, multiple birth groups, smoking cessation clinics, benefits and welfare to work advice, exercise support, domestic violence support, sexual health clinics, dental health hygiene, support for grandparents with caring responsibilities and IT skills development.
8. Health and wellbeing play a key role in the services delivered by Sure Start Children's Centres. Evidence for the most part suggests that this benefits those parents and families who are most in need and vulnerable and who might not otherwise access this support from the usual routes to market. Initial funding from the Sure Start programme has enabled outreach workers to run classes and build relationships away from the physical base of the Sure Start Children's Centre which over time has paved the way for those most in need to develop a relationship with professionals and begin to access the support that will benefit both them and their children.
9. The effectiveness of services is measured largely through small scale evaluation or questionnaire based research. Some Sure Start Children's Centres are required to map their outcomes against local and national frameworks. In Sure Start Children's Centres who are delivering the Early Years Foundation Stage, children's progress is mapped against the Development Matters statements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.
10. It has been noted by some Sure Start Children's Centres that while services prove to be highly effective and beneficial to those who do attend them, there is a tendency for effectiveness to be measured numerically. Some practitioners have been frustrated, having built a relationship with hard to reach families and developed services to effectively meet their needs, to find that the service is deemed 'ineffective' and in some cases, been required to close when the numbers taking up of the service have been small.
Funding, sustainability and value for money
11. At present, the key issue for which there is growing concern from those who work in Sure Start Children's Centres, is the impact of the implementation of the Early Years Single Funding Formula and their subsequent sustainability. There is significant concern that the services offered by integrated Sure Start Children's Centres, such as access to early education for the most disadvantaged children, extended services for families and support for other settings, will not be reflected in the Early Years Single Funding Formula and that this will lead to a reduction in the quality and range of services offered.
12. The introduction of the extension of the Free Entitlement for 3 and 4 year olds from 12.5 to 15 hours and the implementation of the Early Years Single Funding Formula at the same time has made this issue particularly acute in those Sure Start Children's Centres who have historically chosen to offer full time places (usually 25 hours per week) to children who have been identified as 'in need' or having special needs that the Sure Start Children's Centre provision can support and provide for.
13. Few Sure Start Children's Centres report a lack of demand for their care and education places. Many however, report that for parents who wish to access these places, the fees that are currently being charged make access prohibitive for those on low to middle incomes, particularly in expensive metropolitan areas. Additionally, the challenging and uncertain fiscal environment that many Sure Start Children's Centres are now facing has also required many to review their fees and charging policies. Many have concluded that in order to 'bridge the fiscal gap' and to ensure that appropriately qualified staff could continue to deliver effective provision, many would need to raise their fees so significantly that it would put access to the Sure Start Children's Centre out of reach for all but the highest earning families.
14. Phase One Sure Start Children's Centres in particular are also being challenged by the reduction of budgets as many local authorities struggle to balance the demands of implementing the Early Years Single Funding Formula. While the Early Years Single Funding Formula is currently undergoing a second phase of consultation within local authority areas, some Sure Start Children's Centres are reporting that the uncertainty of the impact of the early years single funding formula and an indication from local authorities that their budgets are to be cut by up to 30 per cent. This is already impacting on the delivery of services such as outreach and family support. Many Sure Start Children's Centres feel that they have been left with little option other than to recruit staff on temporary contracts and this has led to staff retention problems.
15. The Early Years Single Funding Formula is at serious risk of undoing much of the good work that has been achieved by Sure Start Children's Centres, particularly in early childhood education. There is little evidence that demonstrates investment in private sector provision delivers value for money provision for the disadvantaged children and families who stand to benefit most.
Staffing, governance, management and strategic planning
16. The leadership role of Sure Start Children's Centres is vital in supporting training, ongoing continuous professional development and sharing and demonstrating effective practice.
17. Sure Start Children's Centres have a key role to play in supporting the development of effective practice. Many host setting visits, contribute widely to the ongoing development of effective practice, not only in their own settings but in other maintained settings, as well as the private, voluntary and independent early learning and childcare settings in their areas. Sure Start Children's Centres also support those undertaking more formal qualifications and training.
18. Visits to Sure Start Children's Centres by other early years' staff from all sectors, primary colleagues and local authority staff are a regular feature. Some Phase One Sure Start Children's Centres report several hundred visitors annually.
19. Many Sure Start Children's Centres also support a broad range of professional qualifications that relate to their settings. These include initial and in-service teacher training programmes, NVQ level qualifications, Early Years Practitioner status, Family Support Worker qualifications and other formal qualifications in the areas of health, educational psychology, physiotherapy and speech and language therapy.
20. A number of Sure Start Children's Centre leaders also act in a training advisory role for their local authorities and support local private, voluntary and independent settings as well as nursery and primary colleagues. Some heads of Sure Start Children's Centres also support the sector with management and leadership mentoring to other Sure Start Children's Centres, and the private, voluntary and independent sector or are working as mentors for the National Professional Qualification for Headship or National Professional Qualification for Integrated Centre Leadership.
21. Sure Start Children's Centres that are led by those who previously led nursery schools have benefited from their experience to manage small but complex organisations. Typically, they have successfully risen to the challenge of managing multi professional teams in Sure Start Children's Centres.
How well Children's Centres work with other partners and services, especially schools and health services.
22. There is increasing evidence that many children's centres, particularly those that were part of the Phase One programme, are working increasingly effectively with a range of partner organisations. Almost all work in partnership with local primary schools and health visitors, with many others also working in partnership with a range of voluntary and community organisations. Many have noted that this has been key in their attempts to engage 'hard to reach' and isolated children and parents. A smaller, but not insignificant number of Sure Start Children's Centres, also work closely in partnership with a range of faith groups in their local areas. Sure Start Children's Centres also have close partnership working with statutory bodies including Job Centre Plus, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Social Service Early Intervention teams, the Police and the National Health Service.
23. A significant number of Sure Start Children's Centres also believe that these partnerships could be more effective. Consistent with other research (eg; Mooney et al, 2008), while there was considerable enthusiasm for health and well being working in the early years, many Sure Start Children's Centres felt that there was more work to be done in terms of developing partnerships between health and early years professionals, through pedagogical development on the principles of the Early Years Foundation Stage provision.
Whether services are being accessed by those most in need and how effective they are for the most vulnerable.
24. There is recognition by some Sure Start Children's Centres that their services might not be being accessed by those most in need. Many Sure Start Children's Centres noted that it "takes a long time to reach and build relationships with those who are vulnerable and most in need". Many also noted that it was important for Sure Start Children's Centres to be given the time and ongoing resources to build the required trust based relationships with those who are vulnerable and most in need.
25. When first implemented, Sure Start Children's Centres were to be accessible to the most vulnerable children and families. While initially funded through state subsidised capital investment, in more recent times, the responsibility for their funding sustainability has been handed over to local Children's Services. Many Sure Start Children's Centres hold concerns as to whether their services will be accessed by the most in need once the start up and ring fenced funding from central government has dried up. As Sure Start Children's Centres are increasingly reliant on market forces to make ends meet, there is concern that in the not too distant future, the services that Sure Start Children's Centres offer will for the most part not be accessible to those most in need. One Sure Start Children's Centre has noted that "those most in need are intimidated by the more affluent families who tend to dominate the centre because they are the only ones who have the means to buy what we offer beyond the universal services".
26. Many Sure Start Children's Centres are aware that they need to work harder to be more effective in meeting the needs of the most vulnerable but also note that the uncertainty that many of their centres are currently facing, create circumstances that conspire against the work that they need to do. One practitioner managing a Sure Start Children's Centre noted.
27. "I know what makes the difference but it's hard to ensure the continuity of personnel when due to a disproportionate number of staff on short term contracts, there is no continuity in the staff at 'the coalface'.....handing the management of Children's Centres to large multinationals who have neither the knowledge or the passion for on the ground services or developing life changing relationships means that Children's Centres are only ever going to deliver for those who have the ability to pay, and not vulnerable children or hard to reach families."
October 2009 [1] Early Education (2009). Nursery Schools Now: Maintained Nursery Schools in [2] Ibid |