October 6th 2017
Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the National Assembly's Children, Young People and Education Committee inquiry into Flying Start. The members of the all Wales Flying Start Managers’ network have worked with Children in Wales to gather evidence for submission. Representatives from Merthyr, Conwy and Carmarthenshire will attend the formal meeting on October 26th as will the Caerphilly Flying Start Manager who is the Chair of the network.
Children in Wales is the national umbrella organisation in Wales for children, young people’s and their family issues, bringing organisations and individuals from all disciplines and sectors together to speak with one voice, to exchange knowledge and practice, and to provide opportunities to enhance policy and practice through shared learning.
We understand that the Committee’s inquiry will give consideration to the following areas. This document contains collated comments provided by a number of Flying Start Managers in regards to the outreach and alignment elements of local Flying Start plans. We have not collated information regarding outcomes for parents and children but the four representatives will be happy to discuss at the formal meeting.
The outreach element of Flying Start requiring Local Authorities to identify children living outside defined Flying Start areas who would benefit from Flying Start services.
Submission to Committee
This document sets out a sample of the approaches taken to delivering a Flying Start Outreach service in nine counties.
Key issues to consider
Swansea Outreach in Swansea is used as follows:
This outreach criteria reflects the limitations of the funding available for outreach – if we were to open it up as a referral based criteria, it would be unmanageable & closed for most of the time; opening only when one of the 37 spaces becomes available over a 4 year period (as eligibility would be up to the child’s 4th birthday). General Comments on Outreach
· From 2012 local authorities were provided with additional funding (‘the uplift’) to support the expansion of Flying Start. Local authorities were expected to use 2.5% of this 2012 uplift funds for Outreach activities. This was stipulated in the original guidance for Outreach provided within the ‘Flying Start Strategic Guidance 2012’. · As there is a set amount of budget per child (WG currently allocate £2,100 per child per year), in Swansea we have translated financial cost into number of children to enable monitoring and make the services provided equitable. In Swansea our 2.5% uplift equates to 37 children. · Each Authority has a different approach depending on the need for the area · For the whole FS programme the outreach element is extremely small – in Swansea 37 out of a cap of 2,903 = 1.27%. · It is a requirement in the guidance that the full provision of FS entitlements (all 4 elements) is available for all outreach prior to the Service being offered and therefore due consideration has to be given to capacity and proximity. Childcare is the most costly with a year's childcare costing more than the annual £2,100 allocation per child. · The funded childcare element is what most parents seek and that is probably the most difficult component to achieve outside FS areas without additional dedicated funds. For this to be more widely available the FS Programme would need to be formally expanded with additional WG resources · The Childcare is very difficult to achieve for additional unplanned numbers as settings have been established to reflect typical numbers of children in each age cohort living in each area. · Other funds and programmes are available to ensure that most elements of the Flying Start Programme can be offered in some form outside FS target areas. It depends on each Authority’s priority to Early Years as to whether this has/is being done · Outreach is not necessarily aligned to the evidence base and fidelity of the Programme. |
Gwynedd Outreach work is offered to areas on the outskirts of Flying Start areas by working closely with the present Generic Health Visitor to assess and utilise a Gyda’n Gilydd referral or FS Generic Referral.
This is restricted to the following Generic HV’s:
The consented referral from Gyda’n Gilydd will be sent to the FS Referral Panel to authorise access and set work plan for family. Only high need families have access to the outreach service. For transfers out of the programme the FS HV refers directly to the FS Referral Panel.
The specific criteria for referral are the following: · Children noted as high need in the above areas or moving out of the FS area The Children will be in need of 3 or 4 of the Flying Start entitlements. · Children under 8 months old will have priority · Statutory Child Protection · Claimants of benefits · Parents under 25 years of age and parents whom have been under the care system · Children placed in temporary housing such as psl. · Parents suffering with postnatal depression
FS also works closely with the Gyda’n Gilydd Team, Families First and relevant generic HV’s to identify possible outreach. The Gyda’n Gilydd allocation meeting is held fortnightly the same day as the Flying Start referral panel with some panel members sitting on both panels which allow the information to flow effectively in between panels. Flying Start also refers back to the Gyda’n Gilydd team if a family moves out of the FS area or if the child is too old for Flying Start. During 2013-14 FS offered outreach service to 2 children and during 2014-15 the outreach numbers increased to 10. The number at 29.1.16 was 13 children. Numbers will increase further in 2016-17/ 2017-18 up to 26.
A budget has been allocated for the 2 yrs. old childcare entitlement for outreach children. The four elements are available for the families by the Flying Start team, and are opened as a case for the nearest team. If the child moves area within the period and still attends the child care, then on this occasion the child will be able to attend until end of term.
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Cardiff The following is the Cardiff Flying Start eligibility criteria;
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