"The power of universal services in securing engagement is key. Too much of recent investment has gone into small-scale projects bolted on to universal services rather than build capacity of the core services that children and families come into contact with on a regular basis." Early Years Framework |
The Early Years Framework sets out high ambitions for early years and early intervention at a time when education authorities cannot rely on large amounts of new money being available to implement the framework. The Framework outlines the disadvantage for children from vulnerable groups and the necessity for early years preventative and early intervention services to reduce this disadvantage. Universal services, particularly health and education, have the potential to reach all children and families.
The vast majority of parents want to do the best for their child. Sometimes they may not know what the best is or how to achieve it. It is crucial that parents know and understand that parenting is the most important, as well as the most difficult job that they will do. All parents need access to support them being good parents, as and when they need it. This is not about taking over the role of parents, but rather supporting them in their role and making best use of the family, peers and the community. Improved partnership working across universal services provides the opportunity to deliver effective outcomes for all parents and families.
The range of services in early years centres varies considerably and can often meet the needs of both targeted and vulnerable groups, as well as the universal population. For example, in many establishments the introduction of Nurture Groups provides extra support to children with social and emotional difficulties and helps raise their self-esteem.
Nurture groups offer a carefully planned programme of broad-based experiences in an environment which gives children security, routines and clear boundaries.
Peer mediation and mentoring schemes operate successfully in many primary and secondary schools and help young people to develop a sense of responsibility towards others. The establishment of Early Years Teams within education authorities has led to improvements in service delivery and positive outcomes for children. Staff on these teams share good practice through visits to establishments, and implement effective professional development programmes. Examples include assistance in developing early numeracy and literacy strategies, as well as workshops to explain how parents could support their children’s learning.
Sustainability of such joint working depends on the quality of relationships among the professionals working directly with children, young people and families. This is particularly the case for health and education workers and police supporting families in school and in the community. All professionals working with young people aged 14 to 25 need to be aware of the importance of early intervention at this stage, with the potential for improving employability and health and reducing teenage pregnancy and crime.
Developments, such as the expansion of pre-school hours, have the potential to benefit all children, but they are particularly valuable in increasing the capacity of universal services to intervene early. High quality pre-school provision is essential in supporting those most at risk of missing out.
"substantial numbers HMIE ISE2 |
The Impact of Nurture Groups in Primary Schools |
Areas for support will include family planning, parenting capacity and skills, health (including mental health), childcare, education, family learning, employability, play and leisure and to build resilience at every stage.
A number of education authorities and establishments have successfully introduced effective measures to monitor children’s progress at individual and group level, with a clear focus on identifying and taking action in relation to the lowest-achieving 20% of young people. Effective practice has to be developed in making mainstream services focus on inclusion and be more responsive to meeting learning needs. The presence and deployment of resources such as community link workers, home-school partnership officers, and Joint Support Teams is too patchy and inconsistent across council areas. The quality of transition from one sector to another impacts on the continuity of support, particularly for vulnerable children and their families. Careful and well-planned support for children moving from pre-school into primary school is particularly important. The early level of Curriculum for Excellence will help staff deliver more coherent outcomes and experiences for children aged three to six.
More needs to be done through prevention and early intervention to reduce the impact on children of parental substance misuse. Partnership working is crucial in such circumstances between early years centres, schools, police, primary health care and specialist services to reduce addiction. There needs to be the capacity to provide additional support and early intervention for families facing greater challenges, whether on a temporary or more long-term basis.
Points for reflection
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Early Learning Unit,
Hamilton CASE STUDY 7 |
The Early Learning Unit caters for children from six weeks to five years and is open all year round. It houses both a mainstream and specialist provision which work very closely together. The centre is particularly focused on providing an integrated service within the community. It caters for children who have mild and more complex and severe needs, as well as providing mainstream provision for children aged three to five years. Staff within the unit have received specialist training in additional support needs and also in caring for children who require medical assistance throughout their session. A very wide range of multidisciplinary services work with the unit, including speech and language therapy, visual impairment and other specialist learning support teachers, psychological services, occupational therapy and physiotherapy, community nurses, a paediatrician, social workers and parent and child support workers.
The unit provides a supportive environment for children with the earliest identification of any additional support that may be required. It offers an effective, inclusive, early years service which embraces the role of parents and supports them with high quality services. Specialist, trained staff ensure a range of medical needs can be supported within the unit. Because their children have full-time centre places at the centre, these parents have been able to go out to work. Home-visiting services support parents in recognising their child and family needs and how to access relevant services.
Parents of children with additional needs can experience many barriers. Friends and relatives may have difficulty in understanding the issues the parents face as well as the needs of the child. The Parent and Child Support Group within the unit was set up by parent and child support workers to provide a positive forum for families to support each other.
Campus Police Officers CASE STUDY 8 |
Strathclyde Police identified a need to help children feel safer within their schools and local communities. In particular, it aimed to improve its engagement with a small, hard-to-reach group of young people and to reduce offending and anti-social behaviour. Campus Police Officer posts were established in selected secondary schools within the council area. The posts were jointly funded and recruited by Strathclyde Police and the education service. Campus Officers Forums included education service staff and provided opportunities to agree on local priorities for action.
Campus Police Officers played a full part in the Integrated Support Teams within their schools. This provided valuable opportunities for them to share their knowledge of individual children and families within the wider community with staff from other key services. As a result, planning for vulnerable children was better informed. The involvement of the Campus Police Officers strengthened the impact of restorative practices in some schools. The Officers had set up a number of effective diversionary activities, including cycling clubs. As a result, a number of children have learned new skills, gained confidence and reduced offending behaviour.
Transitions At All
Levels CASE STUDY 9 |
The staff team at Laburnum Nursery Centre recognise and value the importance of having positive and smooth transitions for children at all stages. There is an emphasis on putting into practice very successful transitions for children starting nursery, moving from one room to another, to a new establishment and when going to primary school.
Before a child starts at nursery, staff offer parents either a home visit or an open day to meet the child and their family and begin to form positive relationships. This approach provides the child’s key worker with the opportunity to engage in play with the child, pass on relevant information to parents and discuss the child’s learning at home. This information is used to build on children’s previous learning to ensure that they get off to a positive start.
Staff continue to share information about each child’s achievements ensuring continuity and progression in children’s learning. Staff development is an ongoing feature of work within the nursery whereby staff are encouraged to extend their knowledge and qualifications.
Regular opportunities are planned for staff within the centre to share good practice and engage in reflective discussions about how to improve the work of the nursery.
Very effective multi-agency working and planning assist in providing a positive transition when a child is moving to another establishment. There are effective approaches in place to support children who are moving on to primary school. Nursery staff play an integral part in supporting children in this move. A particularly successful transition calendar ensures key events are planned for and take place throughout the year. Visits are arranged for P6 children who are ‘buddies’ to come and read to the children and support them when they move to school. Mutual arrangements are in place for staff to work together in the nursery and in school. In this way, teachers can meet the children and work with key workers to support the children in their first days at school. Nursery staff have made a major contribution to discussions and good practice on active learning through play in the early stages of the primary school. This has had a significant impact on children’s learning, achievements and attainment in P1. Staff use consistent and effective approaches which enable all children to transfer smoothly from pre-school to P1.
Publication reference |