Gwynedd Child Poverty Conference Presentation

What is Save the Children doing to tackle child poverty?

Save the Children Our vision is a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation. • Our mission is to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children, and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives. • We work with and for children and young people to make sure that their voice is heard

What is child poverty?

• 32% of Children & Young People live in Poverty in Wales, in households at 60% median income or less (HBAI, p75)

• 2008/09, cash figures are – £202 per week for a single adult with two dependent children under 14; – £288 per week for a couple with two dependent children under 14.

After income tax, council tax and housing costs have been deducted, where housing costs include rents, mortgage interest

What is child poverty?

As well as income poverty the Welsh Assembly recognises –Service Poverty, difficulty accessing e.g. housing, health, education, leisure

–Participation Poverty, hard to access opportunities to articulate their interests, and to share in the shaping of the decisionmaking

Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns • Advocacy & Lobbying – Influencing incoming government to keep child poverty at the top of the agenda.

– Lobbying on strategy & policy development e.g.

Rights Measure and Child Poverty Strategy

• Action research on child poverty – Gwynedd financial literacy pilot.

– Working Better Together

Policy, Advocacy and • Campaigns Campaigns – Poverty Premium – Better Odds at School - at every stage of school the poorest children do worse and make less progress than their better-off classmates.

Across Wales there remains a 34% GCSE attainment gap.

– Education ministers must target extra funds for the poorest children. savethechildren.org.uk/betterodds

In My Back Yard – Inspiring community change

• Grassroots programme across the UK. • Tackles child poverty by supporting Children and Young People to inspire change in their local area, in their ‘backyard’.

• Children and young people learn about poverty and rights.

• Their projects tackle local child poverty related issues that affect them.

In My Back Yard • “Noise stops us from sleeping and makes children tired for school.”

• Primary school children designed a poster to reduce noise when people leave the pub at night.

• Sponsored by South Wales Police, posters will be displayed in every Wetherspoons and Brains pub in the region.

g.bartlett@savethechildren.org.uk

In My Back Yard • Another group designed posters to reduce vandalism in parks in Cardiff. • A group of children & young people chaired the Cardiff Action on Child Poverty Steering Group and added their views to the Child Poverty Strategy for Cardiff.

Travelling Ahead • Young Gypsies and Travellers have a say on decisions that affect them.

• Toolkit to support professionals in their work with young Gypsies and Travellers.

• Information on culture, rights and policy context.

• Information on grants to set up a Gypsy and Traveller youth forums.

F.A.S.T. • Families And Schools Together = Parental engagement programme • Three aims enable children to: – Succeed in school and have stronger life chances because of improved educational achievement in reading, writing and maths, behaviour and better home– school relationships.

– Live in strengthened families because of improved parent-child bonds, communication and parental confidence – Live in stronger communities with increased trust, participation and reduced social isolation

Upper Rhymney Primary School

F.A.S.T.

• FAST pilot between May and July 2010. 18 families took part.

• ‘I do have more friends from the experience; the school playground is not such a lonely place anymore’

s.smith2@savethechildren.org.uk m.hall@savethechildren.org.uk

Quotes

F.A.S.T.

• ‘It has made a difference to my child’s behaviour in that he listens more and is more respectful of others. It has helped me to make new friends which was great as I didn't know many people.

That made me feel good about myself.’

• ‘The whole experience really encouraged development, communication skills, socialising skills and confidence.’

www.childpovertysolutions.org.uk

Child Poverty Solutions Wales • Partnership between Save the Children, WAG and WLGA • Face to Face work – delivering capacity building, awareness raising and organisational self assessment training and workshops

• On line – a national improvement resource for public bodies and partnerships, Child Poverty Solutions Wales

www.childpovertysolutions.org.uk

CPS Training & Workshops • Working with public bodies to help them embed and mainstream action on child poverty. See Gwynedd Local Authority corporate evaluation work.

• Self assessment workshops and on-line tool.

• Pilot action learning such as supporting the development of Financial Literacy interventions in Gwynedd.

• Awareness raising workshops.

• Supports RBA action planning workshops delivered by PSU. • Bespoke workshops.

www.childpovertysolutions.org.uk

• Awareness and understanding of Child Poverty.

• Explore roles in tackling Child Poverty.

• Develop a robust approach to reducing child poverty.

• Encourage service planning through a Child Poverty lens.

• Highlight links across policies.

www.childpovertysolutions.org.uk

www.childpovertysolutions.org.uk

Core Aim 2 - Education • Briefings show the interrelationship between core aim and child poverty • Discussion papers offering challenges, opportunities and more information.

• Key documents and links to policy and other initiatives.

www.childpovertysolutions.org.uk

Child Poverty Indicators

www.childpovertysolutions.org.uk

Self Assessment •

The CPS website offers a self assessment tool currently aimed at Local Authorities.

•

Feedback is welcome from new users to inform upgrading the tool.

www.childpovertysolutions.org.uk

CPS Phase 2 • Three years funding to 2013.

• Engage with a wider scope of public bodies, such as education, health, Arts Council, Sports Council.

• Focus on supporting public bodies to understand and implement the Children and Families (Wales) Measure.

• Continue with capacity building, awareness raising and self assessment workshops.

www.childpovertysolutions.org.uk

Your Input • Views from your sector.

• What tools, training, resources would be of use?

• Development of new on line resources.

• Useful, relevant and up to date information.

www.childpovertysolutions.org.uk

In conclusion • Save the Children tackles child poverty by partnership working, influencing and advising the National Assembly and Welsh Assembly Government.

• We also work with a broad scope of public bodies in Wales to support them to tackle child poverty.

• We work with children and their families, supporting them to grow their scope of opportunities for a brighter, more fulfilled future.

www.childpovertysolutions.org.uk

Visit the CPS website at www.childpovertysolutions.org.uk Or to find out more about how CPS can help you speak to Ross Chamberlain, Child Poverty Solutions Coordinator on 02920 803 273 Thanks for listening