Cheltenham Locality
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1 Due Regard Statement – Cheltenham Locality Please use this statement to evidence how ‘due regard to’ the three aims of the public sector equality duty has been made (section 149 of the Equality Act 2010) during the development of the ‘policy’.1 Eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the ACT; Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it; and Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic. Name of the Reshaping Services for Families with Young Children is part of group of projects in the Vulnerable Children’s and Young ‘policy’: People’s Programme. A separate project will reshape targeted services for children and young people from 11-19. This locality Due Regard indicates the impact of the reshaping the services in the Cheltenham locality. Person(s) Ruth Lewis – Lead Commissioner for Early Years. responsible for completing this statement Briefly Reshaping Services for Families with Young Children. describe the activity being The business case proposes to reshape the provision of Targeted Support offered through Children’s Centres services and other services for families with young children in Cheltenham, so that it is customised to level of need and geography across considered the locality maximises the use of resources and achieves savings. Targeted Support will be aligned to a continuum of provision including aims from Early Help Hubs supporting practitioners in universal services to prevent families’ problems from escalating. It also aims to and expected reduce the number of referrals to more specialist provision. outcomes The total current Children’s Centre budget is £8.2M; budget allocations to each locality are based on the number of children . Cheltenham Locality Due Regard Statement v2 –September 2015 2 identified through Indices of Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) in Children’s Centre area as being in greatest deprivation. £2.7m of this budget is funded through the Dedicated Schools Grant as part of the Early years funding Block, the remaining £22.7m of which is allocated to nursery provision for 2, 3 and 4 year olds. In October 2015 funding for Public Health Nursing (Health Visiting) will transfer to local authorities as part of the Public Health grant, this will mean £3.126m additional funding in 2015/16 (£6.252M in full year). The budget to provide targeted support for children aged 5-11 years of age includes £500K for the Targeted Support Teams and £450k from the Families First programme (This is a payment by results programme funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government). The proposed budget for children’s centre services in 2016/17 is £8.0m. The consultation process described in this document will inform budget decisions from 2017/18. The proposed 2016/2017 budget for the Cheltenham locality of children centres is: £1,880,675 Current Service The current Children Centre is provider is Gardners Lane and Oakwood Federation and GCC has given written notice that they wish to extend the contract for up to two year from April 2016 to allow the consultation process to take place. Universal and targeted provision is currently delivered seven Children’s Centres: Hesters Way, Gardners Lane and Oakwood, Rowanfield, Up Hatherley, Charlton Kings and Leckhampton. Up Hatherley and Leckhampton are based in libraries. There is co-location of partner organisation in two of the largest centres. Gardners Lane is used as a base for Community Midwives, Health Visitors and one Early Education Consultant while Hesters Way Children’s Centre is used as base for Health Visitors. Early Years Education is provided by the current children’s centre provider at Hesters Way (30 places), Rowanfield (36), Gardners Lane (80) and Oakwood (66). Cheltenham Locality Due Regard Statement v2 –September 2015 3 The consultation process in Cheltenham will focus on the following two options for the future delivery of service provision: OPTION 1: Early Years Targeted Family Support (0-5 years) Targeted Family Support service for families with 0-5 year olds against a shared commissioning outcomes Framework for Early Years in areas of greatest deprivation. Key elements: Delivery of universal health visiting and targeted early years provision (0-5) across Cheltenham locality. Targeted Family Support providing case work and programmes of support to children in need, those on child protection plans. An integrated targeted service .Reconfiguring children’s centre and Families First Plus staff teams to provide a locality based and integrated family support response from three Children and Family Centres, based in the greatest areas of deprivation, in the following locations: Hesters Way, Gardners Lane and Oakwood. Children’s Centre buildings used for Early Education and Childcare, community use and bases for professionals who work with families: Rowanfield, Up Hatherley, Charlton Kings and Leckhampton. The creation of a Locality and Community Support Service to support and advise universal services delivered within Children’s Centre buildings, for example early education delivered by schools and community based services. OPTION 2: Children’s Centre Plus (0-11 years) Targeted Family Support service for families with 0-11 year olds against a shared commissioning outcomes Framework for Early Years and Middle Years in areas of greatest deprivation. Key Elements: Delivery of universal health visiting and targeted early years provision (0-11) across Cheltenham locality. Family Support Service providing case work and programmes of support to children in need, those on child protection plans Cheltenham Locality Due Regard Statement v2 –September 2015 4 and families identified through Gloucestershire’s Families First Programme. An integrated targeted service .Reconfiguring children’s centre and Families First Plus staff teams to provide a locality based and integrated family support response from three Children and Family Centres, based in the greatest areas of deprivation, in the following locations: Hesters Way, Gardners Lane and Oakwood. Children’s Centre buildings used for early education and childcare, community use and bases for professionals who work with families: Rowanfield, Up Hatherley, Charlton Kings and Leckhampton. Consultation on the Options It is proposed to consult in two phases. Following approval through a Lead Member decision a formal consultation process in July 2015. A pre engagement process will begin on 1st July 2015 until 30th September 2015. A report to Cabinet in December 2015 will share the results of the first phase of the consultation and will seek approval to undertake a second consultation of 12 weeks. This phase is likely to involve a more detailed engagement at local level and will commence in January 2016 until 31st March 2016. This will include the development of a Targeted Support solution for each locality based on assessed need, co production of community delivery of universal services with districts, parishes, voluntary organisations and parents and joint commissioning of some targeted provision with education, health and social care to integrate services at the front line. Following evaluation of the pilots and feedback from the two phases of consultation new specifications will be developed and procured for a targeted support service for families with young children. Internal services may also be restructured. Preferred Option The preferred option for the Cheltenham locality as yet to be identified but would need to: Support improvements in education, social and health outcomes for vulnerable children, young people and families living in the highest areas of need; Adopt a more integrated approach to the delivery of a targeted service from 0-11; Increase the involvement of parents and communities in supporting universal service provision; To ensure County Council services are targeted to those in greatest need in both rural and urban locations (i.e. ensure geographic spread); To ensure the child, and their families, are listened to and their experiences of services is seamless and integrated; Cheltenham Locality Due Regard Statement v2 –September 2015 5 To do what the Council is required to do by legislation, regulation or policy; To support partners to provide universal services; To protect the reputation of the Council. Service information (if applicable) or Needs analysis (if applicable) Who is Children’s Centres responsible for Since April 2013 Gardners Lane and Oakwood Federation a social enterprise have run Children’s Centre services under contract delivering the for Gloucestershire County Council. There are large centres offering a wide range of services throughout the week and smaller service? ‘bases’ that offer fewer activities and interventions. 7 centres in Cheltenham in Leckhampton, Charlton Kings library, Hesters Way, Rowanfield, Gardners Lane, Whaddon and Up Hatherley library. A Children’s Centre is defined by the Childcare Act 2006 as a place or group of places: which is managed by, or on behalf of, the Local Authority to secure that early childhood services are made available in an integrated way. Thus the sufficiency of Children’s Centres is as much about making services available as it is about providing services in particular geographical areas. Early Childhood Services are defined by the Government as: Early Years provision (i.e. early education and childcare); Social Service function of the Local Authority relating