As the national roll-out of Sure Start children's centres nears completion, Jeremy Sutcliffe talks to leaders about how they ensure their centres make a difference
to local communities.
For more than a decade now the government has been investing in a big idea. The idea is that early intervention and support can help pre-school children overcome many of the problems caused by social disadvantage and enable them to thrive in later life.
Since 1997, the Sure Start scheme has developed from a small number of programmes designed to support pre-school children and their families in the country's most disadvantaged communities to what, by 2010, will be a nationwide service, with a Sure Start children's centre in every community.
The services offered by Sure Start children's centres vary according to local needs, but typically include early education and childcare, advice and support for parents, child and family health services, and helping parents into work or training.
A key aim of the centres is to raise the aspirations of children and families through a variety of self-help and family learning programmes. The most vulnerable children and parents are targeted through outreach support.
Children's centres are designed to provide the help and support children and their families need but sometimes are unable to access in the early stages of their development. In September, the National College's Extended and Integrated Leadership team visited children's centres in some of the country's most disadvantaged communities in Nottingham, London, Birmingham and Chester, to look at how children's centre leaders are delivering their services. They found leaders having to deal with the day-to-day realities of multi-agency working in communities that are very diverse both ethnically and economically.
Common challenges arising from partnership working, with up to 26 other agencies sometimes involved, included red-tape, different agencies working to their own goals and agendas and duplication of services. Despite the challenges, however, the team found that centres enjoy high levels of community engagement, with many parents actively involved in running activities that are making a difference.
One example is the Bromley by Bow Children's Centre in the London borough of Tower Hamlets, which reaches a high proportion of the 926 designated families in its catchment area. The centre runs a highly successful family learning programme, offering ESOL courses — English for speakers of other languages — to the mainly Bengali parents who learn side by side with their children. The programme offers parents a greater insight into and understanding of their children's learning.
According to centre manager Margy Creber, the aspirations of both children and adults are rising, with increasing enrolment on learning programmes and greater participation in health-based groups. An extended school programme run in partnership with local primary schools has led also led to greater parental involvement in children's learning.
"The extended school programme is reaping rewards especially in terms of working with fathers and engaging them in opportunities available for their children. A good example is the high uptake of fathers who have enrolled on our 'Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities' courses," she said.
At Sneinton Children's Centre in Nottingham, which serves one of the city's poorest districts, a young parents' group focusing on the training and employment needs of teenage mothers and fathers is also raising aspirations and outcomes for both the parents and their children. The 'Incredible Years' programme, which is being delivered from the centre in partnership with health, has been targeted at young parents to help them develop strategies to understand and support their children's development and manage their behaviour. All 16 of the teenagers who recently completed the course have gone on to do some form of training.
The centre runs a broad range of services, from ESOL training for families of Asian and Eastern European origin, to the Busy Bees nursery which provides 50 day care places.
According to centre manager Wendy Brown, running a diverse children's centre requires leaders to maximise staff resources and develop their capacity as professionals. She also stresses the importance of working with parents and encouraging them to participate and shape services through parents' forums.
This commitment to engaging parents and the wider community is steadily raising aspirations and building new confidence in some of the country's most disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
Next steps:
The National Professional Qualification in Integrated Centre Leadership (NPQICL) is run by the National College. There is currently a national programme to address the needs of leaders within multi-agency, early years settings.
www.nationalcollege.org.uk/npqicl
