Together for Children

Case study from the NE Child Poverty Coalition: A universal volunteers process was developed and implemented recognising the importance of volunteers in service provision

Derbyshire County Council’s Childcare Service and Adult Community Education Service, in partnership with Learn Direct and the National Childminding Association, put together a pilot to run an online project for childminders in one of Derbyshire most disadvantaged areas.

Good practice ideas when commissioning services from the private and voluntary sector.

North Chadderston Children’s Centre provide integrated childcare for children aged 0-3 years through a partnership with First friends, a private provider. The nursery has 26 places with an additional 16 for childcare.

Eyres Monsell and Gilmorton Children’s Centre provide integrated education and childcare for children up to 12 years of age through a partnership agreement with Play Days, a private nursery provider. Play Days nursery is registered for 48 children and was established in the Childrens Centre in October 2006 through a business licence agreement with Leicester City Council.

When Tattershall Primary School was identified as the site for the Phase 2 Children’s Centre in the area, it is fair to say that some local partners were surprised by the choice of location. No-one could argue that the Clinton Park Estate didn’t need services to support children and their families but practitioners were already successfully working in partnership at the Clinton Park Community Centre, facilitated by Royal Air Force Coningsby’s HIVE Information and Signposting Service, Community Centre staff and volunteers.

Leicestershire Local Authority funds a post within CVS Community Partnership (CCP) an infrastructure Voluntary Sector Organisation. CCP supports Voluntary Community Sector organisations who deliver services to children & young people. The role is to ensure that the VCS is informed at all levels of planning, development and service delivery around the extended services strategy for Leicestershire.

The Ark is a good example of how integrated work can provide co-ordinated responsive support for local families. The Ark also helps to encourage the personal development and confidence of all children and adults in one of the most deprived areas in Suffolk.

Leicestershire City Council supported a group of local parents in developing a social enterprise Co-operative in order to deliver the day care in the Children’s Centre. The Nursery has been operating successfully for almost 3 years.

Torrisholme and Morecambe Kindergarten, supported by NDNA successfully bid to deliver the childcare element of Poulton Children’s Centre in Lancashire.

Both Barnardo’s and NCH have a strong presence in two different district council areas in Northumberland in providing family centres for a number of years. Once the Sure Start programmes commenced, the two organisations became the natural lead and were keen to be involved in the future planning for Children’s Centres in Northumberland.

‘Places for Children’ is a subsidiary company for ‘Places for People’ and opened in June 2006 around the same time as Newbiggin Hall Children’s Centre. The Centre’s manager visited several settings in the Newbiggin area and was impressed by the way ‘Places for Children’ managed their setting.

Eight out of Seventeen wards in Hartlepool are among the top 10% most deprived in England. Kiddikins opened as a neighbourhood nursery in March 2004 in one of the most disadvantaged areas. Kiddikins was involved in early consultations about the development of Children’s Centres and now sits on the management board of the Headlands Children’s Centre.

Coventry Early Years have successfully engaged Flutterbies Day Nursery and Tommies Day Nursery who are both private providers, as lead agencies in delivering two of their Sure Start Children’s Centres.

A registered Charity, Ormiston Children and Families Trust is the Lead agency of the All Aboard Children’s Centre who support children and families in the St Andrew’s Ward of Colchester in Essex. The Centre offers a unique approach on achieving outcomes and is seen as a beacon of delivery to those most in need.

“ABC Nurseries” was the first private provider to be based on a school site. Parents and schools alike have found that this arrangement means that they are not only able to access great childcare, but levels of vandalism have reduced as the school site is now occupied during holidays

Alfreton Children’s Centre provide integrated education and childcare for children aged 3 and 4 by means of a partnership between the maintained nursery school and the Pre- School Learning Alliance (voluntary organisation). The nursery has 26 places with an additional 16 for childcare.

Childminding Development Officers as part of the children’s centre core staff team; to co-ordinate the role of Childminding Development Officers across the children’s centres; for Childminding Development Officers to have a designated working area.

‘Side by Side’ is a scheme to fund child care places for vulnerable children and families in acute distress using children’s centre revenue funding. Access to funding is by referral only.

In April 2007, Blackpool launched its Childcare Partners Scheme, designed to bring all local childcare providers together to enhance the benefits of quality childcareavailable to children and families. This scheme was developed in response to consultation with Blackpool private, voluntary and independent (PVI) sector childcare providers, including those offering group and sessional care, and childminders.