Early Years Briefing

Early Years

Early Years The Early Years (0-7) / Y blynyddoedd cynnar

Income Poverty

Current Challenges What Can Be Done? Where To Go?

Working with parents Research indicates that many lone parents are reluctant to make use of formal childcare due to trust issues. This hampers their ability to engage in employment and training opportunities.

Consider innovative approaches and improved partnerships with key stakeholders such as Communities First partnerships and frontline staff to promote childcare as an option for lone parents. Outreach work and awareness raising in the local community has been proven to ensure that parents and children participate and reluctant parents are encouraged to take up such provision.

http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/aio/242114 Practitioner guide to interagency work-ing

Benefit Take-up Most disadvantaged families are not taking up their full benefit and tax credit entitlements. Only 44% of children in severe poverty are in families that report claiming the child tax credit. There is a lack of knowledge among many on low incomes of their entitlements to support.

Review the quality/ accessibility of information and benefits (particularly in work benefits) available via early years settings. Consider undertaking co-ordinated benefit take up work within early years settings.

Promoting Tax Credits and help to-wards childcare costs provides a simple, easy to use online toolkit to help your local authority raise awareness about help for paying for childcare. http://www.surestart.gov.uk/_doc/P0001075.doc

Benefit Take-up Families with a disabled member are at a high risk of experiencing poverty.

Consider undertaking specialist benefit take-up work with this group.

workshop 3b planning take up projects involving parents


Income Poverty


Affordable childcare The provision of accessible and affordable childcare remains a key priority within the Government’s pledge to ‘end child poverty’.

Explore methods of maximising the quality provision

www.ndna.org.uk

Affordable childcare Develop sustainability support mechanisms for childcare providers based within areas of high deprivation (e.g. encouraging other family support services to utilise existing provision).

http://www.cwlwm.org.uk/ Ready Steady go

Affordable childcare Explore methods of maximising the quality provision.

http://www.ndna.org.uk


Income Poverty


Benefit Take-up Most disadvantaged families are not taking up their full benefit and tax credit entitlements. Only 44% of children in severe poverty are in families that report claiming the child tax credit. There is a lack of knowledge among many on low incomes of their entitlements to support.

Review the quality/ accessibility of information and benefits ( particularly in work benefits) available via early years settings. Consider undertaking co-ordinated benefit take up work within early years settings.

Citizens Advice Promoting Tax Credits and help towards childcare costs provides a simple, easy to use online toolkit to help your local authority raise awareness about help for paying for childcare Sure Start

Disabilities Specialist childcare provision for families with disabilities is often expensive.

Review existing provision and consider developing specialist provision for example training specialist child minders.

Working families

Vocational Skills The opportunities to work with parents accessing early years provision on improving skills for work are not always maximised.

Review the links between early years provision, vocational training, skills development and access to employment.

The Early Years (0-7) / Y blynyddoedd cynnar


Income Poverty


Family Friendly Employers The promotion of family friendly employer working practices remains a priority to help more parents into work.

Visit the website to find out more

http://www.employersforchildcare.org/ Working Families

Literacy Skills Specialist support in pre-schools – particularly for language and pre-reading skills –benefit’s children from disadvantaged backgrounds and those for whom English is an additional language.

Review the effectiveness of current activity and explore potential for further work.

Literacy Trust

Education Costs Parents living on low incomes in Wales are struggling to meet increasing and diverse "hidden" costs of sending their children to school.

Utilise the Children in Wales: good practice guide for schools (training available)

Tackling Child Poverty in Wales - A Good Practice Guide for Schools Or Contact [email protected]

Early Years

Income Poverty


Affordable childcare Develop robust business support (assistance with business planning etc) for child care providers.

Ready Steady Go: Supporting business development in the childcare sector: Contact: [email protected] http://www.ndna.org.uk/ Developing rural childcare toolkit

The Early Years (0-7) / Y blynyddoedd cynnar

Early Years Education and Learning Opportunities / Addysg

Income Poverty


Sustainable Procurement In 2005 it was estimated that 35% of the £4 billion spent each year by the public sector in Wales was won by indigenous business supporting some 70,000 jobs. Every 1% increase to this figure should relate to an increase of some 2,000 jobs.

Develop a common partnership approach to sustainable procurement that ensures opportunities to support the local economy and skills development of young people are secured.

Buy Wales http://www.forumforthefuture.org.uk/node/1413 http://www.s-p-i-n.co.uk/toolkit.asp#Socio-Economic

Working with others Schools alone are unable to tackle and overcome the effects of child poverty on education. Effective schools working in deprived areas develop creative methods of working with others.

Develop creative methods for the recruitment and retention of staff. Consider recruiting from the local community and ex pupils for all staff positions.

Early Years Participation and Decision Making / Cymryd rhan yn y broses benderfynu

Income Poverty


Lack of money Monetary issues can often act as a barrier to attending participation activity.

Develop good practice in relation to the reward, remuneration and recognition of Children and young people’s participation, ensuring that it takes into account the complexities of the welfare benefits system.

Good practice Guide www.participationworkerswales.org.uk

Early Years Income Maximisation / Employment / Heb fod dan anfantais o achos tlodi

Income Poverty


There is currently no obligation on councils to take responsibility for promoting improved take-up of welfare benefits. Despite this, there is a growing expectation from Central Government that benefit checks and help to claim benefits should be integrated within council key services.

Consider the feasibility of providing holistic benefit checks for vulnerable families within key frontline services in partnership with the voluntary sector and encourage the take up of WTC/CTC and DLA (especially for children) and Attendance Allowance.

The unclaimed millions: dla and cancer patients CPAG: Out of Reach: benefits for dis-abled children Citizens advice: Tax credit take-up re-source pack


Service Poverty


Gypsy, Roma and Traveller families Gypsy, Roma and Traveller families are particularly marginalised in terms of early years provision.

Utilise the “working towards inclusive practice” toolkit which has been designed to support training into Gypsy, Roma and Traveller culture. The exercises can be used separately as part of an existing programme or used together as a complete package.

https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/docs/earlyyears_traintoolkit.pdf

Parenting 'Positive' parenting styles may help protect children against the risks attached to poverty and deprivation.

Consider approaches to promoting positive parenting and priorities areas of high deprivation and social housing and with vulnerable families.

http://www.incredibleyears.com/ http://www.parenting.org.uk/ http://www.youngfoundation.org.uk/work/local_innovation/consortiums/the_local_wellbeing_project

Childcare Quality The quality of childcare is extremely impor-tant in relation to children from low income families as it exerts more influence on the development of these children when compared to others.

Develop robust methodologies for early years improvement, targeting provision which caters for families experiencing poverty.

Care Council for Wales The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) Project: Final Report A Longitudinal Study Funded by the DfES National Day Nurseries Association



Assessment of Childcare Sufficiency In responding to the assessment pay particular attention to income gaps, geographical gaps in information and provision in disadvantaged areas, time gaps that act as barriers to work.

Assessment of Childcare Sufficiency In responding to the childcare sufficiency assessment consider the gaps surrounding provision for families most at risk of experiencing poverty such as large families, families with a disabled child.

Local approaches to ensuring childcare for black and minority ethnic families day care trust Resources for local authorities MCA

Staff Training Research shows that children made more progress in settings which had staff with higher qualifications, especially those with a good proportion of trained teachers on the staff.

Consider developing robust workforce development plans for early years and play staff.

Equality Works Care Council for Wales http://www.wcs.org.uk/Managers_Guide.pdf

Service Poverty



Breastfeeding Despite considerable efforts to encourage breast feeding in the UK, rates have remained static for the past 20 years with a strong disparity between social classes and ethnic groups

Consider reviewing the level of provision and support available to disadvantaged mothers.

http://www.breastfeeding.nhs.uk/en/docs/FINAL_Breastfeeding_Guide.pdf

Transport Lack of transport often acts as a barrier to taking up early years provision and parenting programmes.

When planning early years services transport provision should be considered.

Reaching Out Outreach work remains a particular challenge for early years programmes, specifically with regards to improving services for fathers, the parents of children with disabilities, and for ethnic minorities in areas with smaller minority populations

Consider innovative approaches to outreach for early years provision such as investing in Children’s Information Service Outreach.

Toolkit for Reaching Priority and Ex-cluded Families

Service Poverty


Service Poverty


Positive Behaviour Promoting positive behaviour within early years settings can be particularly challenging in deprived areas.

Utilise the Behaviour 4 Learning website which aims to ensure that teacher educators and trainees are provided with high quality relevant resources that enable trainers and trainees engage with the principles of behaviour for learning to improve the management of classroom behaviour, enable achievement and foster the emotional wellbeing of learners.

http://www.behaviour4learning.ac.uk/index.aspx?menuId=10126

Basic Skills Improvement Develop robust approached to improving basic skills.

http://www.basic-skills-wales.org/bsastrategy/en/resources/early_years.cfm http://www.basic-skills-wales.org/bsastrategy/en/resources/early_years/family_programmes good_practicepack.cfm http://www.basic-skills-wales.org/bsastrategy/en/cross_phase/financial_literacy_homepage.cfm


Service Poverty


Food Poverty The inequalities in what families eat – depend-ing on their socioeconomic group, where they live in Wales, and their ethnic background – have not been recognised.

Think about establishing a group to work through the nutrition and food poverty toolkit.

http://www.heartforum.org.uk/downloads/Nut_TkitAll.pdf


Service Poverty


Basic Skills Low levels of basic skills in work hamper the ability of employees to progress and perpetuates in work poverty.

Prioritise basic skills within your own organisations and encourage all partners to sign up to "Basic skills employer pledge". Complete and implement the action plan.

Basic-skills-Wales: employer_pledge

Working with others Consider bringing in role models to show people from their own background that can be successful.

http://www.infed.org/biblio/role_model_education.htm http://www.teachers.tv/video/244

Working with Parents Parental engagement in supporting learning has been found to be a key factor in increasing the attainment of vulnerable pupils.

Consider using the Scottish toolkit parents as partners in learning toolkit to enhance current work.

teachernet. workingwithparents parents as partnersinlearning toolkit


Service Poverty


Homework Policies Children from more advantaged backgrounds enjoy considerable out of school support in overcoming their problems that their disadvantaged peers do not receive. The latter are almost totally dependent on out-of-school homework clubs if they are to access such support.

Develop guidance on homework policies that take account of the difficult situation faced by children experiencing poverty and the support that can be made available to them.

http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/atoz/h/homework/ Homework Policies

Early Years Health Freedom from Abuse and Exploitation / Iechyd, a rhyddid rhag cam-drin a

Service Poverty


Access to community run healthy lifestyle groups

Integration of health promotion and education into core community based universal services, such as Parent & toddler classes/Crèche’s/fitness groups and support groups

London Borough of Islington Instant Crèche Company

Early Years Play Sport, Leisure and Culture / Chwarae, campau, hamdden a'r pethe a

Service Poverty


There are very few audits of available services mapped against deprivation indicators. This makes planning activities very difficult. Funding for play services is rarely reviewed continuing on the basis of historical information. An audit of services and funding streams would align current resources to children’s play needs

In all local authorities there is sustained investment in cultural venues. This in turn needs linking up with local community groups, school curricula and youth services to increase access and opportunity e.g. school visits to museums, hiring of mini buses via transport grants and organising walking buses. Sustainable community provision linked in with local priorities e.g. reclaiming unused land to create new play spaces by working with the environmental services and planning departments. Greater use and development of play impact assessment to support the need for increased provision. linking the wider community with educational and environmental agendas.

www.playwales.org.uk Play Impact Assessments Bridging the Gap –from policy to implementation working together to combat poverty (Swansea, Glasgow & Newham)


Participation Poverty


Children’s Information Services Poor communication with parents about the range of services available limits participation.

Develop a range of materials to support the promotion of early years provision to parents who are at risk of experiencing poverty.

http://www.surestart.gov.uk/_doc/P0002522.pdf

At risk Groups Lone Parents, the disabled and some ethnic minority families are at risk of child poverty.

Ensure that steps are taken to research the local needs of lone parents and other groups at risk of child poverty.

Listening to lone parents about Child-care day care trust Listening to parents of disabled chil-dren about childcare day care trust

Fathers Fathers’ involvement in the earliest months of a child’s life may be critical to later outcomes.

Utilise the information provided and review practice.

http://www.surestart.gov.uk/_doc/P0002547.pdf

Early Years Play Sport, Leisure and Culture / Chwarae, campau, hamdden a'r pethe

Participation Poverty


The need for local services to encourage greater participation.

There will be enhanced participation if service provision is worthwhile, fun and gives opportunity to gain new skills or an award (e.g. Millennium volunteers Grant scheme) Development of intergenerational projects enhances skills and provides access to services e.g. cinema night or cultural trips. Some local authority areas have sports’ councils who provide a voice for local clubs. The umbrella body for these is the Welsh Association of Local Sport Councils. The Libraries for Life scheme launched by WAG should encourage greater engagement with and use of local library facilities

Communities First Network- Billy Brown Creative Partnerships Arts Council Wales strategies for promoting participation and funding opportunities. WAG Statement 2005 Welsh Association of Local Sport Councils Libraries for Life

Early Years Briefing

Documents

Transcript of Early Years Briefing