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The Early Years Framework: Learning Together: Positive Start, Positive Outcomes

3 Breaking cycles of poverty, inequality and poor outcomes in and through early years

Inequalities appear early. Social issues, such as deprivation, unemployment and low expectations, impact on the development and care of young children and families. Crime statistics show correlations on the influences on crime where, for example, a high percentage of those who have committed murder were from broken homes, had been in care and had problems in school. This reinforces the message that vulnerable children, including looked after children, need particular support and nurture in their early care and education.

Identifying and intervening at the early stages is much less costly than waiting until the young people are in their teens and needing crisis interventions. The average cost per week for a secure placement for a young person in Scotland in 2007/08 was £4,500. Saving even a fraction of these costs can release significant resources for reinvestment in prevention and early intervention. Teenagers who have had poor experiences themselves of the care system, and those with no qualifications are more likely to become pregnant at an early age. More recent developments have focused on early and effective intervention to match children’s needs with appropriate, proportionate and timely support. These include improving outcomes for looked after children, following the We Can and Must Do Better report and the implementation of GIRFEC approach. When early intervention works well, support workers are available to respond flexibly to meet the individual needs of families who are experiencing difficulties in caring for their children. Families can then engage with and establish relationships with a range of agencies, including health and social work. Benefits accrue for children when their parents and families are supported pre- andpost-birth and when the baby has a placement at a nursery centre.

Health for All (Hall 4) has been a key policy change which re-focused the health visitor service on more vulnerable children and families, while still retaining an element of universality. However, not all vulnerable families access the support of regular health visitors. Younger parents are less likely to attend ante-natal contacts and classes. Their babies are less likely to be breastfed, and more likely to suffer asthma, have accidental injuries and be subjected to tobacco smoke in the home. By age three, there can be up to a year’s difference in child development and there is a strong link to deprivation. NHS Quality Improvement Scotland is taking the lead on behalf of Scottish Government, in developing for vulnerable children and families a multi-agency and multi-disciplinary approach to accessing better ‘pathways’ to ante-natal, post-natal and early years support.

Paisley Threads is a Barnardo’s Project which runs a service for young people under 21. One very important aspect of the work is support for prospective and new mothers. The project was set up to respond more effectively to the particular needs of teenage mothers who feel unable or lack confidence to use the regular pre-natal service. The pre-natal group in the project draws on support from health service midwives and group workers at Paisley Threads. Young mothers-to-be are given support through their pregnancy and in preparation for parenthood. The joint working approach with health visitors has been very successful in helping new, young mothers to be more confident as parents.

Paisley Threads also helps young mothers to address a range of social issues such as financial and housing advice, and return to education or into employment.

The work undertaken has enabled a number of young mothers to continue their education. Effective partnerships with other agencies, access to childcare and encouragement to return to school or college is a significant positive feature of the work of Paisley Threads.

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