Education CommitteeSubmission of evidence on behalf of Andrea Leadsom MP and Sharon Hodgson MP, Chair and Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Sure Starts
Introduction:
Since the 2012 AGM this summer, the Sure Start APPG has been holding evidence sessions as to:
collect evidence of best practice from Sure Start centres and the services operating within them;
highlight areas where improvements are necessary;
contribute to delivering better services for families across the country.
This submission of evidence to the Education Select Committee will reflect the early findings from the APPG, and jointly offer our thoughts on the points of consideration raised by the Education Committee.
Summary:
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1. Sure Start Centres are a vital part of the lives of children and families across the country. The new Core Purpose of Sure Starts makes clear that Children’s Centres should “improve outcomes” for children and their families. Therefore Sure Starts must ensure that the parent and infant/child relationship sits at the core of everything that a Children’s Centre offers. Whilst children from disadvantaged families deserve particular focus, as the new vision outlines, it is important to realise that relationship difficulties and parenting problems can occur within families of any background.
2. We would recommend ensuring that the Core Purpose makes specific reference to the period of conception to two years as providing the best opportunity to improve outcomes for all children.
3. Louise Harrington of the NLH Partnership, conducted a 6.5 year research project into Children’s Centres, in over 40 local authorities. She found that not enough clear guidance is available on who “hard to reach” families are. Louise recommended collaborative work with parents which delivers services that people really need. Joanna Tucker from OXPIP also noted that parents should be involved in decision making, meaning that services are much more likely to be effective.
4. George Hosking of the Wave Trust has highlighted the importance of the first year of a child’s life. “In every second of a child’s life, one million new neural connections are formed.” The quality of the parent-baby interaction is therefore essential. 30–40% of babies don’t form secure attachments, leading to social issues and service costs later down the line.
5. Sure Starts must be able to signpost on to vital and relevant services to parents and families. This might include therapeutic support for the relationship between the parent and infant, employment support, legal advice, or a number of other relevant services. Partnership work is therefore crucial to ensure that families and children receive the appropriate service, and that agencies work in a joined up fashion.
6. Louise Harrington has noted that best practice involves strong signposting to key services. Jo Hardy from Contact a Family has also highlighted that the best Children’s Centres will provide help with accessing other services such as benefits and healthcare.
7. To this end, integrated work between health, social care and education staff can be achieved through the improved training of front-line staff. Peri-natal, post-natal and early year’s workforces must be aware of the critical importance of secure early attachment. Training provision for professionals is not yet good enough, and awareness of the critical period from conception to age two must be more widely understood in our front line services. Confident on-referring can only be achieved if health and social care professionals are aware of the benefits of early year’s intervention. This will also encourage a more joined-up approach between social services and Children’s Centres.
8. Jo Hardy from Contact a Family has stated that Children’s Centre staff require more training and support to properly engage families with children with addition needs, and provide appropriate care for them. Whilst Contact a Family are a national charity who support families of disabled children, this point will resonate with staff who work with all families with relationship difficulties, but with nowhere to turn. George Hosking from the Wave Trust noted that the quality of the workforce must be suitable to provide the necessary support.
9. If the focus of Sure Starts is to create the most secure relationship possible between parents and their baby, it is vital that the services being offered are evidence-based. This can be done through the commissioning of evaluated services which show quantitative and qualitative improvements in the relationship between parents and their baby. If social workers are aware of the services being offered, which look to secure parent-infant attachment, this will encourage them to work more closely with their local Children’s Centre.
10. Joanna Tucker from OXPIP suggested that centres must use good outcome measures, and set understandable and achievable goals with parents. Both the NLH Partnership and OXPIP have expressed concerns about Payment by Results, which they saw as creating a “tick box” culture, squeezing innovative practices, and that excludes potentially valuable interventions.
11. Previous APPG inquiries into the un-ringfencing of the Early Years Intervention fund have demonstrated concern over a reduction in funding for vital early years work. A reduction in universal services will be detrimental to Sure Starts if they are to provide a gateway for more targeted interventions.
December 2012