Ministerial letter to every Early Years Consultant
24/02/2010
The Minister of State, Dawn Primarolo has written to all Early Years Consultants (EYCs) to thank them for their contribution to raising quality and children's outcomes in 2009. Mrs. Primarolo recognises the importance of the EYC role and she is focused on the need for them to continue building their skills so that they can support the sector to continually improve quality of provision.
Ofsted praises South Tyneside safeguarding services
12/02/2010
South Tyneside Council's safeguarding children service has been praised by Ofsted inspectors.
Following an unannounced inspection of its contact, referral and assessments last month inspectors singled out the council's "well developed culture of teamwork and management support" for praise.
This has helped the children's social workers to feel stable and enthusiastic about the job, inspectors said.
New children's centre plans revealed
08/02/2010
Plans for a new £0.5 million children’s centre in Kingsway have been revealed.
The proposals, which have been submitted to planning officials, were shown to parents on Wednesday evening.
If it gets the go-ahead, the new centre could be opened by the end of the year.
It will be built in the grounds of Kingsway Primary School, but without fences and boundaries, to encourage joint use of the space.
Disadvantaged communities to get more support
21/01/2010
The Prime Minister and Children and Families Minister Dawn Primarolo today announced a further 88 new Family Intervention Projects (FIPs) across the country and a further £2.6m of funding for local authorities to start or expand FIPs in their region.
The 88 new projects will fund an additional 200 key workers to help turn around the lives of over 1,200 families in need of support each year. The £11 million projects are funded from the first round of the Housing Challenge Fund, announced by the Prime Minister in September 2009, and part funded by social landlords such as housing associations and local authorities.
Children's centres report more financial stability
20/01/2010
Children's centres are more financially stable than they were three years ago, according to a report by the National Audit Office.
The report, which was commissioned by a select committee of MPs as part of an inquiry into Sure Start, said 92 per cent of centres are close to breaking even or under budget, compared with 60 per cent in 2006. Some local authorities have improved finances by clustering centres under one manager.
However, there is still 'widespread concern' among centres about the long-term viability of childcare in centres.
ICS Improvement: Newlsetter and new guidance material
16/12/2009
The DCSF has published further guidance material to support ICS Improvements, to supplement the materials the DCSF published on 22 October 2009. The materials are accompanied by a newsletter sent to ICS champions in local authorities. All materials can be found on the ECM website at the publication link.
The guidance material comprises:
• Improving the usability of ICS systems
• A guidance note jointly produced with the Expert Panel to help and support authorities as they seek to make usability improvements to their systems
• The Integrated Children’s System and “interoperability”
• This paper is the response to the request from the Social Work Task Force in their letter of 5 May for the DCSF to explain how ICS interfaces with other systems including ContactPoint and National eCAF. The paper was drafted in consultation with a number of local authorities
• The ICS Usability Toolkit
• This was originally issued to local authorities in the summer
Sure Start inquiry questions Martin Narey of Barnardo’s
14/12/2009
The Sure Start inquiry is examining whether the Children's Centres model of integrated services for under-5s and their families promotes early childhood development and is an effective response to deprivation. It is also looking at how the policy is being delivered.
This session questions the voluntary sector organisations on the impact of the programme and the challenges in its implementation, and at the role of the voluntary sector as a provider of services and manager of Children's Centres.
EYPs and teachers look at co-working
09/12/2009
A report exploring the relationship between practitioners with Early Years Professional Status and qualified teachers is to be published next month following an event organised by two professional bodies.
The study will be based on the findings of a seminar last week, the first of a series called Working Together Better, organised by the General Teaching Council (GTC) and hosted by Aspect, the children's services union.
The first seminar looked at how teachers and EYPs work together, focusing particularly on their roles and qualifications, role definition within settings, and opportunities for continuing professional development.
Inquiry continues into Sure Start Children’s Centres
07/12/2009
The Children, Schools and Families Commitee holds an evidence session as part of its inquiry into Sure Start Children's Centres at 4pm.
This is the third oral evidence session in the Committee's inquiry, which is examining the strategic role of local authorities in the programme and the views of Centre leaders.
Serving children and young people better
27/11/2009
The Children's Inter-Agency Group (CIAG), have published a report, Serving children and young people better, looking at the progress made over six years since the introduction of the Every Child Matters programme and the work that still needs to be done.
Publication of Commissioning Support Programme (CSP) Supplement
12/11/2009
The Guardian is publishing a supplement on commissioning paid for by the Commissioning Support Programme (CSP).
The supplement will be published in the Guardian’s Society section on Wednesday 18 November (the same day as the Commissioning Support Programme’s National Conference) and contains an interview with Dawn Primarolo.
Copies of the supplement can be obtained from the CSP website.
MPs launch inquiry into Early Years Single Funding Formula
11/11/2009
MPs are holding an inquiry into the Early Years Single Funding Formula amid concerns about its impact on early years providers.
Last week the cross-party Commons children, schools and families committee heard from campaigners that children in deprived areas could be hit hardest with a loss of funding to maintained nursery schools.
Their concerns have prompted the committee to hold an official inquiry into early years funding. A report is expected early next year.
Letter from Ed Balls regarding appointment of Children's Commissioner
19/10/2009
Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls, has today written to the Chair of the Children, Schools and Families Select Committee, Barry Sheerman, about the appointment of the Children’s Commissioner for England.
The letter to Mr Sheerman is available from the publication link.
MPs debate progress of Sure Start programme
16/10/2009
Dawn Primarolo, the Minister for Children, Young People and Families, opened a debate in Westminster Hall on the progress of Sure Start, the Government’s programme to deliver the best start in life for every child by bringing together early education, childcare, health and family support.
See the publication link for:
* Commons Hansard: Progress of the Sure Start programme
* Video and audio: Progress of the Sure Start programme
* About Parliament: Adjournment debates
* Parliamentary News: Committee launch Sure Start Children's Centres inquiry
Preferred candidate for post of Children’s Commissioner announced
06/10/2009
The Children’s Secretary, Ed Balls has today written to the Chairman of the Children, Schools and Families Select Committee to invite him to hold a pre-appointment hearing with Maggie Atkinson, who he has nominated to be the next Children’s Commissioner when Sir Al Aynsley-Green comes to the end of his five year appointment on 28 February 2010.
The Children’s Commissioner for England, established through the Children's Act 2004, gives a voice to all children and young people - especially the disadvantaged and the vulnerable.
Children's Centres - Piloting new services
24/09/2009
Leaders of children's centres are getting together to find ways to offer more joined-up services in their local areas, says Karen Faux.
A programme which is supporting children's centre leaders to work at a more strategic level and improve local services is now beginning to bear fruit.
The National College for School Leadership (NCSL) Early Years Integrated System Leadership programme has been running since February. Its 12 participating children's centre heads are now beginning to provide evidence about how they can effect change.
Nurseries protest over 'intrusive' early years qualifications database
26/08/2009
Nurseries and early years organisations have questioned the role of a new nationwide electronic database - which will share nursery staff details and qualifications with local authorities - after one local authority threatened to pull nursery education grant funding if the information was not provided.
There is no legal requirement for early years settings to submit details, but local authorities can set local requirements to do so. The Early Years Workforce Qualifications Audit Tool, which went live on the Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) website last week, will share data with local authorities, the DCSF and other government agencies.
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Oldham centres taken over by Children's Society
26/06/2009
The Children's Society is taking over the running of five children's centres in Oldham in a £1m two-year contract.
The move will create more than 25 new jobs and expand the capacity of the centres in Alexandra, Medlock Vale, Werneth, Shaw and Crompton, and Royton. The centres were previously run by the local council.
The Children's Society already runs the Children's Rights and Advocacy service and a Youth Inclusion Project in Oldham, which has a total of 14 children's centres.
Early years - Centres prepare for life after 2010
04/06/2009
As ringfenced funding ends next year, the onus is on children's centres to branch out and prove their value. Ross Watson reports.
The government is legislating to ensure children's centres are here to stay, but professionals in the sector are already concerned about future funding. Ringfenced money for the centres will end next year, and although the government is committed to funding children's centres in the long-term, there can be no guarantees on the level of financial support until the next Comprehensive Spending Review. So, what should local authorities and children's centres be doing in a bid to prepare for life after 2010?
The message from key figures within the sector is to start thinking about it now. "Local authorities cannot start planning funding soon enough," says Anne Longfield, chief executive of charity 4Children. She believes it is essential that children's centres look to reach beyond early years services and into the community, such as improvements in health and crime prevention. This should open up more funding options in the process, so centres are not reliant on the ringfenced money that currently comes through the Sure Start Early Years and Childcare Grant.
Liz Railton, The national programme manager for Together for Children, the agency delivering the government's children's centre programme, takes a similar line: "It's all about making sure the centre does not live apart from other community initiatives, joining in with other things going on and using other pots of money available to partners." Funding for schools could be accessed by centres that can help to deliver extended services, for example.
Click on publication link to view full article
Parents should be involved in governance of Children’s Centres
19/06/2007
Recommendations were that the Children’s Centre teams should look to develop parent involvement in governance of Children’s Centres and subsequent design and delivery of activities and that a significant amount of good practice can be found through previous Sure Start programmes.