Sure Start Middlesbrough, Thorntree and Brambles Farm Evaluation Report Establishing Sure Start: Key Issues, Processes and Challenges Peter Jackson June 2002 School of Social Sciences & Law Acknowledgements We would like to thank the staff, partners and parents for their help and co- operation with this evaluation of Sure Start Thorntree and Brambles Farm. University of Teesside Evaluation Team: Robin Bunton Professor of Sociology, School of Social Sciences & Law Paul Crawshaw Lecturer in Research Methods, School of Health and Social Care Peter Jackson Research Fellow, School of Social Sciences & Law 1 Evaluation summary This evaluation report documents the formative stages of Sure Start Thorntree and Brambles Farm over the period January-June 2002. Grounded in the views and experiences of a diverse research population (n=41), the report examines key issues, processes and challenges from local and professional perspectives. Prominent research themes include: strategic direction, partnership development, local views and involvement, and perceptions of quality. The main findings are set out below: Professional views and experiences • Professional stakeholders perceive Sure Start as a strategic approach based on new ideas about the nature of social problems, working practices, professional/ community relationships and funding commitments. • The Thorntree and Brambles Farm programme has a strategic focus on long-term outcomes and intermediate processes. • The profile of the programme was initially raised but proved difficult to sustain without conspicuous capital development. Site developments have now begun and should help sharpen the profile of the programme in the community. • The local knowledge base is being strategically maintained: i.e. by Newsletter, activity days, recruitment training. Project activity is also enhancing profile at a micro level. • However, professional stakeholders feel there is still some uncertainty about Sure Start in the community. They feel there is a lack of expectation about it, notably in relation to sustainability. This lack of expectation reflects wider disaffection reinforced by perceptions of previous area-based initiatives. This constitutes a key barrier. • The role of the programme manager is seen to be pivotal to programme development, and programme management is viewed positively throughout the professional partnership. • Managerial style is seen to be shaped both by Sure Start principles and a particular approach to management. Strategically the role demands a broad knowledge base for effective partnership coordination. 2 • The involvement of the programme manager in the planning and development of additional Sure Start programmes was challenging for the Thorntree and Brambles Farm project. • Some stakeholders suggested the issue was isolated and had been resolved, although the possibility is noted that it could reflect distinctive aspects of Sure Start management style. • Key challenges concerning the structural nature of the programme manager role are addressed. • Other emerging challenges are noted. Issues include the delegation of managerial work and its impact on other areas of professional work, the constraints of time and space, and challenges associated with role expectations. • Professional views on the ongoing challenges of parental representation and involvement are documented. Partnership development • Partnership working is central to the vision of the Thorntree and Brambles Farm programme. Key points include the centrality of partnership, emphasis on new professional community relationships, flexibility of working practices and managerial style. • Progress is being made in the development of partnerships both strategically and at a micro level. • Challenges to partnership working at a strategic level include: increasing demands on agencies, the constraints of planning and bidding culture and time issues around the submission of plans. • Time was also a significant concern at programme level, together with problems associated with perceptions of Sure Start from the perspectives of groups already working locally. Those perceptions are beginning to change as the programme develops. • Community involvement is the founding principle of the programme and professional stakeholders considered the community to be their principal partner. • Parents are represented at board level and involved in the interviewing and selection of prospective staff. • Stakeholders perceived a series of benefits of involvement for both communities and professionals. They also emphasised the inclusive 3 nature of their approach to community involvement, although a more democratic system of representation is envisaged as the programme develops. A core group of parents have already committed themselves to Sure Start. • It was recognised that a key challenge for the programme is to ensure that it is perceived as both a Thorntree and Brambles Farm initiative. Boundary issues are apparent but do not yet appear to be a significant obstacle to development. • Thorntree has a higher profile than Brambles Farm in terms of representation at Board level. • Stakeholders feel it is important to develop partnerships with the local communities. Challenges include encouraging key people to share their experiences of Sure Start. It was also noted that those people need support themselves. Issues around local politics, ‘word of mouth’ culture, hard to reach groups and local expectations were also apparent. Local views and experiences • Parents displayed different levels of awareness about the programme, from a detailed knowledge of Sure Start aims to a more superficial awareness of activity and publicity. • It was suggested that many local people are reluctant to commit themselves to Sure Start until it is made more visible. • The parent group felt that local awareness could be enhanced; publicity material could be made more distinctive, possibly incorporating photographs and children’s artwork. • The value of ‘word of mouth’ knowledge was considered crucial to the effective establishment of Sure Start in the community. Local friendships and personal trust were emphasised. The importance of relationships with professional people was also acknowledged. • Parents identified key benefits of Sure Start investment on Thorntree and Brambles Farm. These include the impact of key services, confidence in Sure Start personnel, informal access to expertise, family support, personal development, extended social networks and wider local knowledge. • Some parents felt that Sure Start was beginning to generate a stronger sense of community, although this view was expressed by people already committed to the programme. 4 • Parents want to see evidence of new development. High quality child care/ playgroup facilities and safe play areas are priorities. Organised trips, physical activities for children and more open days were also wanted. • Regular points of contact with the programme would be valuable. Parents suggested coffee mornings as a way to accomplish this. • More contact between Thorntree and Brambles Farm parents was considered important, although peoples’ everyday routines and concerns may currently constitute a challenge. • Key areas for further evaluation were identified throughout the chapter. These include: analysing informal and formal aspects of parent representation, mapping ways parents are effectively recruited to the programme, and studying everyday routes and routines with a view to integrating Sure Start into local life. Understanding quality • Quality is a much used term, yet difficult to define. Donabedian’s distinction between process, structure and outcome is useful for organising stakeholder views on quality. • Many professionals referred to quality in holistic terms, reflecting the programme’s strategic, integrated vision. • On a micro level, inter-professional and professional/ client relationships emerged as important quality criteria. Key themes include: trust, respect and the appreciation of other viewpoints. • Professional conduct and courtesy were important to parents. • Notions of ‘consistency’ and ‘standard’ influenced local and professional judgements of Sure Start and underpinned the development of partnerships. • Parents valued the immediacy of the BLAST project, and this immediacy has been important to the programme during the formative period. • BLAST embodies the Sure Start emphasis on collaboration, although parents perceived it more in terms of the direct application of expertise. 5 • Resource and capital development are prominent structural concerns; the structural element of quality is not viewed as favourably as process quality. • Cost-effectiveness is identified as a key structural issue. • Quality as outcome emphasised the requirement for Sure Start to demonstrate quantifiable social change. However, respondents also considered outcome in terms of the qualitative experience of parents/ clients, and the team’s experience of programme development. • Overall, the study of quality is a useful tool for analysing different stakeholder perspectives and, if employed strategically over time, could be valuable for illuminating patterns of change. 6 Contents Acknowledgements Evaluation summary 1. Introduction 9 1.1 Evaluation aims and objectives 1.2 Evaluation strategy and timetable 1.2.1 Interim evaluation report 1.3 Layout of the report 2. Context 12 2.1 Origins 2.2 Development 2.3 The Sure Start initiative 2.3.1 Long term objectives 2.3.2 Core services and key principles 2.4 Sure Start in Middlesbrough