North Yorkshire – Skipton & South Craven
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Children’s centre report North Yorkshire – Skipton & South Craven c/o Brougham Street Nursery School, Brougham Street, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 2ES Inspection dates 29–30 April 2014 Previous inspection date Not previously inspected Overall This inspection: Good 2 effectiveness Previous inspection: Not applicable Access to services by young children and families Good 2 The quality of practice and services Good 2 The effectiveness of leadership, governance and Good 2 management Summary of key findings for children and families This children's centre group is good. Good leadership, governance and management has ensured that most families have good access to a wide range of targeted and universal services. The group’s manager and her staff make certain that activities and services are constantly improving and carefully tailored to meet local requirements. Highly effective relationships with a wide range of professional partners, including those in health, schools, adult education and social care encourage the good sharing of information at a local level. This has helped to ensure that a large majority of families access services. Staff are very skilled because of the close attention that is paid to their professional development. This together with high levels of commitment ensures that the services they provide are of a good quality and have a positive impact on the lives of families. The group provides very valuable support for families who find themselves in challenging circumstances. Parents praise the support they receive from the centre staff and their professional partners. They say that the services have been a ‘lifeline’ and have made a ‘huge difference’. It is not outstanding because: Too few children are accessing their entitlement to good quality free early education. Not enough is done to track the achievement of children and adults over time. The data provided at a strategic level by the local authority and health partners is not exact enough to allow the setting of precise targets for improvement so that the centre is more able to accurately measure its impact, particularly on target groups. The local steering groups do not provide governance that has sufficient challenge and they lack an independent chairperson. Inspection report: North Yorkshire – Skipton & South Craven Page 2 of 8 What does the group need to do to improve further? Ensure that more children access their entitlement to free good quality early education at age two, three and four years of age. Develop systems for tracking the achievement over time of adults and children. Enhance the impact of leadership of management including governance by working with the local authority and health partners at a strategic level to ensure that the centre is provided with: – data that is accurate, relevant and up-to-date – data that is used to set more precise targets to measure the impact of the group’s work, particularly relating to target groups – improved challenge from the local steering groups, including appointing independent chairpersons. Information about this inspection The inspection of this children’s centre was carried out under Part 3A of the Childcare Act 2006 as amended by the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009. This inspection was carried out by three additional inspectors. The inspectors held meetings with the leader of the group. They also spoke to staff who work in the centres, to managers from the local authority as well as members of the local steering groups. Conversations were held with staff from partner agencies, including a range of health professionals and staff from the adult learning services. Inspectors also spoke with headteachers and other educational professionals. Discussions with parents took place at different times during the inspection. Inspectors observed the centre’s work, and looked at a range of relevant documentation. Inspection team Susan Walsh, Lead inspector Additional inspector Tara Street Additional inspector Joan Cawdron Additional inspector Inspection report: North Yorkshire – Skipton & South Craven Page 3 of 8 Full report Information about the group Skipton and South Centre group consists of two centres, South Craven and Skipton Children’s Centre’s which are situated approximately six miles apart. The Skipton children centre, which also provides services from several satellite centres, serves the market town of Skipton. It shares a site with Broughham Street Nursery School and Skipton Parish Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School. South Craven Children’s Centre provides for a semi-rural area that includes eight villages of differing sizes. It shares a site with Glusburn Community Primary School. The two centres share a Centre Services Manager and a team of Parent Support Advisers and Early Years Workers. The centres are managed by North Yorkshire County Council. There is a Craven-wide strategic steering group which provides governance and also serves two other children’s centres in the area and both centres also have an individual local advisory board. The group offers early child hood services including family support and health services as well as aspects of adult education. Members of the Early Intervention Team are also located at the Skipton centre. Childcare is offered through Brougham Street Nursery School at Skipton and the Bungalow at South Craven. This provision is inspected separately and the reports are available on the Ofsted website: www.Ofsted.gov.uk The proportion of children who live in workless households is below the national average in both areas. However, there are pockets of housing where economic conditions are less advantaged, particularly in Skipton. The vast majority of families are from White British backgrounds but there are significant numbers of families from Asian heritages, including families of Pakistani origin in one part of the reach area. Most children enter Nursery and Reception classes with skills that are typical to those expected for their age. The centre has identified as particular target groups: families living in those areas of Skipton and South Craven where there are the highest proportion of workless households, young parents, lone parents and families from minority ethnic groups. Inspection judgements Access to services by young children and families Good Most children and families in the area are registered with the group and have good access to the wide range of services that are offered. Active involvement in the local community including partnership work with health professionals, social care and schools ensures that the staff are made aware of families, including those expecting children, that are in the most need of their services. Staff work hard to involve families who fail to participate regularly. This has resulted in a significant increase in the number of families accessing the services including lone parents, those who are living in the areas where there is the most economic hardship and families from minority ethnic heritages. Families’ needs are assessed accurately and thoroughly. Multi-agency meetings are used well to ensure support is carefully matched to meet families’ needs. Outreach work is highly effective and involves a wide range of partners. For example, close partnership Inspection report: North Yorkshire – Skipton & South Craven Page 4 of 8 with local health partners has ensured that all teenagers who are expecting babies and other young expectant parents are visited by the group’s staff before the birth of their baby. Assessment at the age of two is used well to identify children and families who need additional support from parent support workers. Staff work hard to make sure that parents are aware of all the help which may be available to them including their children’s entitlement to free early education when relevant. However, not enough children take up their entitlement to free early education when it is offered. This is sometimes because good quality provision is not always located exactly where it is most convenient for parents. Additionally, a small number of children are accessing provision that has been judged at inspection to be satisfactory rather than good. The centre is working with local providers and the local authority to extend the range of good quality provision available. The quality of practice and services Good A wide range of good quality and relevant activities is delivered by the group’s staff team and their partners. There is clear pathway of progression of services and activities from ante-natal to school, that includes good support for families with children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Families, who find themselves in complex and chaotic situations, receive prompt attention from centre group staff. Parent support advisors work closely with key agencies and organisations to effectively provide early interventions and support families in times of need. They are particularly good at fostering good relationships, providing help and support where there is economic hardship and at helping parents to overcome domestic violence through the delivery of specific programmes. Case files and records are maintained to a high standards and the development of a new computerised system has helped to enhance further the quality of record keeping. The child’s voice is playing an increasingly role in planning the type of support given to a family. This means that early help has the maximum impact on the well-being of young children. Parents