Agenda item

(To receive a report which gives an overview of the work of Children's Centres in Lincolnshire highlighting the impact that has been achieved on delivering improved outcomes for children and their families as well as identifying the areas for development to ensure that children and families receive the best service possible)

Consideration was given to a report which provided an overview of the work of Children's Centres in Lincolnshire highlighting the impact that had been achieved on delivering improved outcomes for children and their families as well as identifying the areas for development to ensure that children and families received the best service possible.

Officers thanked those elected members who had visited children's centres during the year.

Members were guided through the report, and some of the points highlighted included the following:

·         2013/14 had been a good year for Children's Centres with a substantial increase in engagement with families and three Ofsted inspections – all of which achieved 'Good' in all areas;

·         Strengths highlighted by Ofsted included family support, including assessment, monitoring and supervision; information sharing agreements and effective partnerships; and safeguarding policies and procedures;

·         Areas for improvement which were highlighted by Ofsted included the need for more emphasis on children's educational development and learning at home and the need to ensure the continuous quality assurance of early years groups;

·         Membership for the Children's Centre groups across the county was high with all groups having an average of 80% of the families in the reach area being registered with the Children's Centre;

·         Attendance at a children's centre, or one to one work in the home, with children who were on a plan had doubled in the last year.  The county average in March 2014 was 70% and continuing to rise;

·         Each children's centre group had an Advisory Board which was made up of partner agencies, parents and community groups.  Teams were working with the parent forums to build confidence amongst the parents to empower them to make their views heard.  Parents were also being supported to take on the role of Chair where possible as Advisory Boards should not be chaired by a member of staff as this would break statutory guidance;

·         A wide range of partner agencies worked with or from the children's centres, as this ensured a joined up service was delivered to children and families and strengthened communication between services.  Health visitors, midwives and community partners worked out of many centres, and requests for hot-desking was steadily increasing as the benefits of joint working became more apparent;

·         Next steps for the children's centres included improving the processes that were used to track the impact of services on children; building on the successful track record in engaging volunteers, particularly parents if young children to support their employability prospects and to build capacity in children's centres; and to continue with the Quality Improvement programme by implementing Peer Reviews, Mock Inspections and Mystery Visits.

Members of the Committee were provided with the opportunity to ask questions to the officers present in relation to the information contained within the report, and some of the points raised during discussion included the following;

·         It was commented that it was a very good and very interesting report, and members were pleased to see the Grow Project mentioned, which was funded by West Lindsey District Council and supported local families to grow their own fruit and vegetables;

·         Members were impressed with the work taking place in particular with the mystery visits which it was thought was a good way to see the standard of service being delivered;

·         It was hoped to replicate the Grow Project in other children's centres around the county;

·         If families had attended a children's centre and then stopped attending they would be contacted to find out why they were not attending;

·         Officers were confident that what was delivered met the need of the local areas;

·         There would be a focus on engaging with the ethnic minority populations;

·         Concerns were raised regarding whether there was enough support for those mothers who were unable to breastfeed.  The Committee was advised that there were breastfeeding support groups, and staff would have discussions with new mothers regarding any problems they were having.  The staff worked closely with health services to develop a network of peer supporters;

·         There was a need to ensure that both parents had an opportunity to participate.

RESOLVED

            That the Annual Review of Children's Centres be noted.