Early Years
Early Years The Early Years (0-7) / Y blynyddoedd cynnar Income Poverty
Current Challenges
What Can Be Done?
Where To Go?
Working with parents Research indicates that many lone parents are reluctant to make use of formal childcare due to trust issues. This hampers their ability to engage in employment and training opportunities.
Consider innovative approaches and improved partnerships with key stakeholders such as Communities First partnerships and frontline staff to promote childcare as an option for lone parents. Outreach work and awareness raising in the local community has been proven to ensure that parents and children participate and reluctant parents are encouraged to take up such provision.
http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/aio/242114 Practitioner guide to interagency working
Benefit Take-up Most disadvantaged families are not taking up their full benefit and tax credit entitlements. Only 44% of children in severe poverty are in families that report claiming the child tax credit. There is a lack of knowledge among many on low incomes of their entitlements to support.
Review the quality/ accessibility of information and benefits (particularly in work benefits) available via early years settings. Consider undertaking co-ordinated benefit take up work within early years settings.
Promoting Tax Credits and help towards childcare costs provides a simple, easy to use online toolkit to help your local authority raise awareness about help for paying for childcare. http://www.surestart.gov.uk/_doc/ P0001075.doc
Benefit Take-up Consider undertaking specialist benefit take-up Families with a disabled member are at a high work with this group. risk of experiencing poverty.
workshop 3b planning take up projects involving parents
Early Years The Early Years (0-7) / Y blynyddoedd cynnar Income Poverty
Current Challenges
What Can Be Done?
Where To Go?
Affordable childcare The provision of accessible and affordable childcare remains a key priority within the Government’s pledge to ‘end child poverty’.
Explore methods of maximising the quality provision
www.ndna.org.uk
Affordable childcare
Develop sustainability support mechanisms http://www.cwlwm.org.uk/ Ready Steady go for childcare providers based within areas of high deprivation (e.g. encouraging other family support services to utilise existing provision).
Affordable childcare
Explore methods of maximising the quality provision.
http://www.ndna.org.uk
Early Years The Early Years (0-7) / Y blynyddoedd cynnar Income Poverty
Current Challenges Benefit Take-up Most disadvantaged families are not taking up their full benefit and tax credit entitlements. Only 44% of children in severe poverty are in families that report claiming the child tax credit. There is a lack of knowledge among many on low incomes of their entitlements to support.
What Can Be Done? Review the quality/ accessibility of information and benefits ( particularly in work benefits) available via early years settings. Consider undertaking co-ordinated benefit take up work within early years settings.
Disabilities Review existing provision and consider Specialist childcare provision for families with developing specialist provision for example disabilities is often expensive. training specialist child minders.
Vocational Skills The opportunities to work with parents accessing early years provision on improving skills for work are not always maximised.
Review the links between early years provision, vocational training, skills development and access to employment.
Where To Go? Citizens Advice
Promoting Tax Credits and help towards childcare costs provides a simple, easy to use online toolkit to help your local authority raise awareness about help for paying for childcare Sure Start Working families
Early Years The Early Years (0-7) / Y blynyddoedd cynnar Income Poverty
Current Challenges Family Friendly Employers The promotion of family friendly employer working practices remains a priority to help more parents into work.
What Can Be Done? Visit the website to find out more
Where To Go? http://www.employersforchildcare.org/ Working Families
Literacy Skills Review the effectiveness of current activity and Specialist support in pre-schools – particularly explore potential for further work. for language and pre-reading skills –benefit’s children from disadvantaged backgrounds and those for whom English is an additional language.
Literacy Trust
Education Costs Parents living on low incomes in Wales are struggling to meet increasing and diverse "hidden" costs of sending their children to school.
Tackling Child Poverty in Wales - A Good Practice Guide for Schools Or Contact anita.myfanwy@childreninwales.org.uk
Utilise the Children in Wales: good practice guide for schools (training available)
Early Years The Early Years (0-7) / Y blynyddoedd cynnar Income Poverty
Current Challenges Affordable childcare
What Can Be Done? Develop robust business support (assistance with business planning etc) for child care providers.
Where To Go? Ready Steady Go: Supporting business development in the childcare sector: Contact: bethanp@clybiauplantcymru.org http://www.ndna.org.uk/ Developing rural childcare toolkit
Early Years Education and Learning Opportunities / Addysg Income Poverty
Current Challenges
What Can Be Done?
Where To Go?
Sustainable Procurement In 2005 it was estimated that 35% of the ÂŁ4 billion spent each year by the public sector in Wales was won by indigenous business supporting some 70,000 jobs. Every 1% increase to this figure should relate to an increase of some 2,000 jobs.
Develop a common partnership approach to Buy Wales sustainable procurement that ensures opportunities to support the local economy http://www.forumforthefuture.org.uk/ and skills development of young people are node/1413 secured. http://www.s-p-i-n.co.uk/ toolkit.asp#Socio-Economic
Working with others Schools alone are unable to tackle and overcome the effects of child poverty on education. Effective schools working in deprived areas develop creative methods of working with others.
Develop creative methods for the recruitment and retention of staff. Consider recruiting from the local community and ex pupils for all staff positions.
Early Years Participation and Decision Making / Cymryd rhan yn y broses benderfynu Income Poverty
Current Challenges Lack of money Monetary issues can often act as a barrier to attending participation activity.
What Can Be Done? Develop good practice in relation to the reward, remuneration and recognition of Children and young people’s participation, ensuring that it takes into account the complexities of the welfare benefits system.
Where To Go? Good practice Guide www.participationworkerswales.org.uk
Early Years Income Maximisation / Employment / Heb fod dan anfantais o achos tlodi Income Poverty
Current Challenges There is currently no obligation on councils to take responsibility for promoting improved take-up of welfare benefits. Despite this, there is a growing expectation from Central Government that benefit checks and help to claim benefits should be integrated within council key services.
What Can Be Done? Consider the feasibility of providing holistic benefit checks for vulnerable families within key frontline services in partnership with the voluntary sector and encourage the take up of WTC/CTC and DLA (especially for children) and Attendance Allowance.
Where To Go? The unclaimed millions: dla and cancer patients CPAG: Out of Reach: benefits for disabled children Citizens advice: Tax credit take-up resource pack
Early Years The Early Years (0-7) / Y blynyddoedd cynnar Service Poverty
Current Challenges Gypsy, Roma and Traveller families Gypsy, Roma and Traveller families are particularly marginalised in terms of early years provision.
What Can Be Done?
Where To Go?
Utilise the “working towards inclusive practice� toolkit which has been designed to support training into Gypsy, Roma and Traveller culture. The exercises can be used separately as part of an existing programme or used together as a complete package.
https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/ docs/earlyyears_traintoolkit.pdf
Parenting Consider approaches to promoting positive 'Positive' parenting styles may help protect parenting and priorities areas of high deprivation children against the risks attached to poverty and social housing and with vulnerable families. and deprivation.
http://www.incredibleyears.com/ http://www.parenting.org.uk/ http://www.youngfoundation.org.uk/ work/local_innovation/consortiums/ the_local_wellbeing_project
Childcare Quality The quality of childcare is extremely important in relation to children from low income families as it exerts more influence on the development of these children when compared to others.
Care Council for Wales The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) Project: Final Report A Longitudinal Study Funded by the DfES National Day Nurseries Association
Develop robust methodologies for early years improvement, targeting provision which caters for families experiencing poverty.
Early Years The Early Years (0-7) / Y blynyddoedd cynnar Service Poverty
Current Challenges
What Can Be Done?
Where To Go?
Assessment of Childcare Sufficiency
In responding to the assessment pay particular attention to income gaps, geographical gaps in information and provision in disadvantaged areas, time gaps that act as barriers to work.
Assessment of Childcare Sufficiency
In responding to the childcare sufficiency assessment consider the gaps surrounding provision for families most at risk of experiencing poverty such as large families, families with a disabled child.
Staff Training
Equality Works Consider developing robust workforce development plans for early years and play staff. Care Council for Wales http://www.wcs.org.uk/ Managers_Guide.pdf
Research shows that children made more progress in settings which had staff with higher qualifications, especially those with a good proportion of trained teachers on the staff.
Local approaches to ensuring childcare for black and minority ethnic families day care trust Resources for local authorities MCA
Early Years The Early Years (0-7) / Y blynyddoedd cynnar Service Poverty
Current Challenges Breastfeeding Despite considerable efforts to encourage breast feeding in the UK, rates have remained static for the past 20 years with a strong disparity between social classes and ethnic groups
What Can Be Done? Consider reviewing the level of provision and support available to disadvantaged mothers.
Where To Go? http://www.breastfeeding.nhs.uk/en/ docs/FINAL_Breastfeeding_Guide.pdf
Transport When planning early years services transport Lack of transport often acts as a barrier to provision should be considered. taking up early years provision and parenting programmes.
Reaching Out Outreach work remains a particular challenge for early years programmes, specifically with regards to improving services for fathers, the parents of children with disabilities, and for ethnic minorities in areas with smaller minority populations
Consider innovative approaches to outreach for early years provision such as investing in Children’s Information Service Outreach.
Toolkit for Reaching Priority and Excluded Families
Early Years The Early Years (0-7) / Y blynyddoedd cynnar Service Poverty
Current Challenges
What Can Be Done?
Where To Go?
Positive Behaviour Promoting positive behaviour within early years settings can be particularly challenging in deprived areas.
Utilise the Behaviour 4 Learning website which aims to ensure that teacher educators and trainees are provided with high quality relevant resources that enable trainers and trainees engage with the principles of behaviour for learning to improve the management of classroom behaviour, enable achievement and foster the emotional wellbeing of learners.
http://www.behaviour4learning.ac.uk/ index.aspx?menuId=10126
Basic Skills Improvement
Develop robust approached to improving basic skills.
http://www.basic-skills-wales.org/ bsastrategy/en/resources/ early_years.cfm http://www.basic-skills-wales.org/ bsastrategy/en/resources/ early_years/family_programmes good_practicepack.cfm http://www.basic-skills-wales.org/ bsastrategy/en/cross_phase/ financial_literacy_homepage.cfm
Early Years The Early Years (0-7) / Y blynyddoedd cynnar Service Poverty
Current Challenges Food Poverty The inequalities in what families eat – depending on their socioeconomic group, where they live in Wales, and their ethnic background – have not been recognised.
What Can Be Done?
Where To Go?
http://www.heartforum.org.uk/downloads/ Think about establishing a group to work through the nutrition and food poverty toolkit. Nut_TkitAll.pdf
Early Years Education and Learning Opportunities / Addysg Service Poverty
Current Challenges
What Can Be Done?
Where To Go?
Basic Skills Low levels of basic skills in work hamper the ability of employees to progress and perpetuates in work poverty.
Prioritise basic skills within your own organisations and encourage all partners to sign up to "Basic skills employer pledge". Complete and implement the action plan.
Basic-skills-Wales: employer_pledge
Working with others
Consider bringing in role models to show people from their own background that can be successful.
http://www.infed.org/biblio/ role_model_education.htm http://www.teachers.tv/video/244
Working with Parents Parental engagement in supporting learning has been found to be a key factor in increasing the attainment of vulnerable pupils.
Consider using the Scottish toolkit parents as partners in learning toolkit to enhance current work.
teachernet. workingwithparents parents as partnersinlearning toolkit
Early Years Education and Learning Opportunities / Addysg Service Poverty
Current Challenges Homework Policies Children from more advantaged backgrounds enjoy considerable out of school support in overcoming their problems that their disadvantaged peers do not receive. The latter are almost totally dependent on out-of-school homework clubs if they are to access such support.
What Can Be Done? Develop guidance on homework policies that take account of the difficult situation faced by children experiencing poverty and the support that can be made available to them.
Where To Go? http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/ management/atoz/h/homework/ Homework Policies
Early Years Health Freedom from Abuse and Exploitation / Iechyd, a rhyddid rhag cam-drin a Service Poverty
Current Challenges Access to community run healthy lifestyle groups
What Can Be Done?
Where To Go?
London Borough of Islington Instant Integration of health promotion and Crèche Company education into core community based universal services, such as Parent & toddler classes/Crèche’s/fitness groups and support groups
Early Years Play Sport, Leisure and Culture / Chwarae, campau, hamdden a'r pethe a Service Poverty
Current Challenges There are very few audits of available services mapped against deprivation indicators. This makes planning activities very difficult. Funding for play services is rarely reviewed continuing on the basis of historical information. An audit of services and funding streams would align current resources to children’s play needs
What Can Be Done? In all local authorities there is sustained investment in cultural venues. This in turn needs linking up with local community groups, school curricula and youth services to increase access and opportunity e.g. school visits to museums, hiring of mini buses via transport grants and organising walking buses. Sustainable community provision linked in with local priorities e.g. reclaiming unused land to create new play spaces by working with the environmental services and planning departments. Greater use and development of play impact assessment to support the need for increased provision. linking the wider community with educational and environmental agendas.
Where To Go? www.playwales.org.uk Play Impact Assessments Bridging the Gap –from policy to implementation working together to combat poverty (Swansea, Glasgow & Newham)
Early Years The Early Years (0-7) / Y blynyddoedd cynnar Participation Poverty
Current Challenges
What Can Be Done?
Where To Go?
Children’s Information Services Poor communication with parents about the range of services available limits participation.
Develop a range of materials to support the promotion of early years provision to parents who are at risk of experiencing poverty.
At risk Groups Lone Parents, the disabled and some ethnic minority families are at risk of child poverty.
Ensure that steps are taken to research the local Listening to lone parents about Childneeds of lone parents and other groups at risk of care day care trust child poverty. Listening to parents of disabled children about childcare day care trust
Fathers Utilise the information provided and review Fathers’ involvement in the earliest months of practice. a child’s life may be critical to later outcomes.
http://www.surestart.gov.uk/_doc/ P0002522.pdf
http://www.surestart.gov.uk/_doc/ P0002547.pdf
Early Years Play Sport, Leisure and Culture / Chwarae, campau, hamdden a'r pethe Participation Poverty
Current Challenges The need for local services to encourage greater participation.
What Can Be Done? There will be enhanced participation if service provision is worthwhile, fun and gives opportunity to gain new skills or an award (e.g. Millennium volunteers Grant scheme) Development of intergenerational projects enhances skills and provides access to services e.g. cinema night or cultural trips. Some local authority areas have sports’ councils who provide a voice for local clubs. The umbrella body for these is the Welsh Association of Local Sport Councils. The Libraries for Life scheme launched by WAG should encourage greater engagement with and use of local library facilities
Where To Go? Communities First Network- Billy Brown Creative Partnerships Arts Council Wales strategies for promoting participation and funding opportunities. WAG Statement 2005 Welsh Association of Local Sport Councils Libraries for Life