Durham – Easington Children’s Centre Cluster

Durham – Easington Children’s Centre Cluster

p.1

Easington Colliery Primary School, Whickham Street, Easington Colliery, Peterlee, Co Durham. SR8 3DJ

p.1

This inspection: Requires Improvement 3

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected Access to services by young children and families Good 2 The quality of practice and services Requires Improvement 3 The effectiveness of leadership, governance and management Requires Improvement 3

p.1

This children’s centre group requires improvement. It is not good because:

 Not enough parents take up the opportunity to increase their employability prospects through volunteering activities despite a good number of them originally expressing a high level of interest.  Information sharing systems between partner organisations to deliver services and activities are not yet sufficiently established to provide the level of detail required to judge their full impact and some service level agreements are under-developed.  Not enough professionals make regular contributions to the advisory board and therefore they do not have a good enough overview of the services provided to be confident that good progress is being made for each of the agreed priorities.  The proportion of mothers who continue to breastfeed at six to eight weeks following birth has risen following a previous dip but remains below local and national averages despite the hard work put in by health visitors and family support workers.

p.1

This children’s centre group requires improvement. It is not good because:

 The quality of recording in case files is variable with some having incomplete sections including contact details, parental views, review dates and parental signatures.

p.1

This children’s centre group has the following strengths:

 Registration figures have risen significantly in the past year. This is attributed to the new leadership within the team and the tireless work of the family support workers. The large majority of families in target groups regularly access services, helping them to make positive changes.  Most eligible two-year-olds and almost all three-and four-year old-children access funded early education in school nurseries or with good or better providers.  Following consultation with parents, teaching assistant and childcare, courses were successfully introduced. The teaching assistant course is particularly successful with almost all of the parents recruited staying on the programme and successfully achieving.  Effective use of outreach sessions are in venues that meet families’ needs better by making these more accessible in the community.

p.1

What does the group need to do to improve further?

 Through key partners, increase the opportunities for parents to participate in a wide range of volunteer programmes to improve their level of skills and employability.  Improve the way information from services provided by key partners is gathered and used to measure the difference made to the lives of families and use this information to inform future plans.  Increase the attendance levels and participation of key partners at the advisory board meetings.  Continue work with health partners to increase the number of mothers who continue to breastfeed their babies. Complete the audit on case files to ensure the quality of recording is of a high standard.

p.2

Information about this inspection

The inspection of this children’s centre group was carried out under Part 3A of the Childcare Act 2006 as amended by the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009. The centres that form part of this children’s centre group are; Easington Children’s Centre and Murton Children’s Centre.

p.2

Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out by two of Her Majesty’s Inspectors and one additional inspector.

p.2

Information about this inspection

The inspectors held meetings or telephone conversations with centre leaders and senior management, representatives of the local authority, members of the advisory board, a range of partners and parents.

p.2

Information about this inspection

The inspectors visited the two children’s centres, Rosemary Lane Nursery School and activities in the community.

p.2

Information about this inspection

They observed the centres’ work, and looked at a range of relevant documentation.

p.2

Inspection team

Kathryn Gethin, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Michael White Her Majesty’s Inspector Jackie Phillips Additional Inspector

p.2

Information about the group

Durham-Easington Children’s Centre cluster was established in May 2013. It consists of two children’s centres, Easington Children’s Centre and Murton Children’s Centre. These have merged and share services. There is one locality manager, supported by one early help coordinator and one principal family worker. Governance of the cluster is provided by Durham local authority in conjunction with a separate advisory board whose members include a range of partners and parents. With partners, the cluster provides a range of activities both on-site and in community buildings throughout the area, including ante-natal services, parent and child activity groups, adult learning, volunteering opportunities, one-to–one work with families and specific advice and guidance. The target groups identified by the cluster are those families living in the top 30% most deprived wards, two-year-old children and teenage parents.

p.3

Information about the group

Easington and Murton villages were productive coal mining communities until the closure of the collieries in the 1990s. The area served by the cluster is in the top 30% of the most deprived areas in the country. More regeneration initiatives have taken place in Murton than in Easington. There are approximately 1,077 children aged under 5 years living in the area served by the cluster. The large majority of families are from a White British background. Levels of unemployment are high and around 36% of children aged under five years live in households dependent on workless benefits. There is no direct bus link between the two villages. Most children enter early years provision with skills below those expected for their age, particularly in communication, language and literacy and personal, social and emotional development.

p.3

Information about the group

Easington Children’s Centre is adjacent to Easington Colliery Primary School and on-site day care is provided by Giants Steps. Murton Children’s Centre shares a site with The Ribbon Academy and has on- site day care provided by Little Bundles of Murton. The reports of these inspections are available on the Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

p.3

Inspection judgements

Access to services by young children and families Good

p.4

Inspection judgements

 Registration figures have continued to rise. None more so than in the previous year and families registered now stand at 97%. This is attributed to the new leadership within the team and the strong focus on outreach work.  Timely referrals are received through the First Contact system and weekly allocations are held with a range of professionals. Advice and support is provided through the child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS), social care and health visitors. This enables the cluster to effectively plan and provide the early intervention work to support families.  As a result of feedback from the community many events now take place outside the centres. Extensive outreach work has taken place at toddler groups, community events, clinics and schools. Regular contact with families has improved significantly from 20% in 2011 to 76% for families living in the top 30% area of deprivation.

p.4

Inspection judgements

 The successful fathers and male carers group named Sunday Family Man Group is regularly well attended and provides a good mix of indoor and outdoor activities. Although there are only a few in the reach area the teenage and expectant parents are known by the children’s centre and multi- agency working is effective in meeting their needs and developing their parenting skills.  The provision of information providing advice and guidance to parents on a wide range of social, employability and financial issues is good. Communication with Jobcentre Plus is strong providing appropriate and timely guidance on employability and benefits aspects. External partners such as the Citizen’s Advice Bureau and East Durham Housing, visit centres to provide advice and guidance.  The take up of the free entitlement to early education by two-year-old children is excellent and currently stands at 83%. This is above the Department for Education average. Good

p.4

Inspection judgements

partnership working with the on-site day care provider has ensured current capacity issues are met and plans are in place to meet the increased demand for places with good or better providers. The take up of three-year-old places is good and at 96% is above the local average and in-line with the national rate.

p.4

Inspection judgements

The quality of practice and services Requires Improvement

p.4

Inspection judgements

 At the previous inspection of Murton’s Children’s Centre in 2013 opportunities for volunteering was a key recommendation. The Easington cluster responded quickly to this by developing a volunteer programme. However, while the level of initial expression in becoming volunteers was good, the low numbers taking up volunteering activities was disappointing for the cluster. In consultation with another voluntary organisation alternative approaches are currently being investigated to re- introduce the programme.  Good links with local training providers enable the children’s centre to signpost adults to develop English and mathematics skills or access vocational qualifications. Partner organisations, such as Durham Belles and Sunderland Athletic Football Club, are being increasingly used to deliver these courses to meet parents’ needs. However, systems to monitor the impact of these arrangements are insufficiently established and the centre cannot clearly evidence the proportion of learners who

p.4

Inspection judgements

successfully complete these courses or what they consequently progress to.  In 2012/13 the proportion of mothers continuing to breastfeed at six to eight weeks following birth rose by 9% to 25% and is now close to the local average of 28%. Although, the number remains some way below the national average. Health visitors and the family support team work hard to encourage parents to breastfeed, for example, through the Baby Cafe and peer support.  The quality of recording in case files varies. Not enough files have all sections of the common assessment form or request for services fully completed. This includes: family details; a lack of clarity on the action plan; the voice of the parent not always being evident and a lack of parental signatures demonstrating their consent to any specified action. This leaves the centres vulnerable should any challenge be raised.  A second key recommendation following the Murton Children’s Centre inspection was to improve the

p.4

Inspection judgements

provision of adult learning. Following consultation with parents, teaching assistant and childcare courses were successfully introduced. The teaching assistant course is particularly successful with almost all of the parents recruited staying on the programme and successfully achieving. Progression from Level 2 to Level 3 is excellent.  Good partnership working and effective sharing of information ensures that parents who would benefit from attending parenting courses are identified. As a consequence, an increasing number of parents and children are attending these courses. Outcomes for the courses are good with a large majority of those attending courses successfully completing. Parental evaluations indicate that courses have a positive impact, particularly on improving child behaviour.  Sessions for children are well planned and organised and meet their developing needs. Practitioners make sure they link activities to the Early Years Foundation Stage and cover all

p.5

Inspection judgements

areas of learning. There is a particular focus on supporting children’s speech and language development. There are lots of trips and outings organised and visitors are invited to the setting. This means children benefit from rich learning experiences and opportunities to visit places of interest in their community.

p.5

management

 Effective leadership and management has re-focused the cluster and critical self-evaluation has resulted in a reduction in the number of groups identified as a priority. This has enabled the cluster to focus resources on areas of most need to reduce inequalities. Health partners and others have been pivotal in identifying families across the reach area.  Procedures for the management of staff performance and professional supervision are well established. The staff team are experienced and well qualified. They access relevant training planned to meet the centre priorities.  Safeguarding is embedded within the cluster. Parents spoken to say they feel safe and are aware of who to report concerns to. Children and families being supported through early help assessments such as the common assessment framework (CAF), children in need and children subject to a child protection plan are well represented in both universal and targeted services. Close links are in place

p.5

management

with the domestic abuse team and three, ‘You and me mum’ programmes have been co-delivered with positive results for the families.  Service level agreements and protocols with some key partners are not well established. Consequently, not enough information is received from all key partners for senior leaders to effectively monitor the impact on services. However, performance monitoring on the data received is thorough.  The advisory boards are kept well informed on development at each centre and meet on a regular basis. However, attendance by the majority of key partners is irregular. Therefore, is it difficult for the centres to gain an overview from the different services to aid with planning.  Until recently there has been some resistance from parents to become involved in the governance of the centres. To alleviate this and gain parental views a ‘chatter-time’ session has been introduced at the end of some activities. This has been very successful and as a result two parents now feel

p.5

management

confident enough to join the board.  Links between the cluster and some local schools are ‘heading in the right direction’. There is an acknowledgement that there is a new openness between them and a will to work together and share good practice.

p.5

Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding Practice consistently reflects the highest aspirations for children and their families and, as a result, inequalities are reducing rapidly and gaps are closing. Grade 2 Good Practice enables most children and their families to access good quality services that improve children’s wellbeing and achieve the stated outcomes for families. Grade 3 Requires improvement Performance is not as good as it might reasonably be expected to be in one or more key areas. Grade 4 Inadequate The needs of children and families in its area are not being met and/or the leaders and managers are not providing sufficient challenge to bring about improvement to the quality of services.

p.6

Children’s centre group details

Unique reference number 80109 Local authority Durham Inspection number 430113 Managed by The local authority

p.7

five in the reach area

Centre leader Cheryl Temple Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 03000 268 486 Email address cheryl.temple@durham.gov.uk

p.7

This group consists of the following children’s centres:

 21013 Easington Children’s Centre  22705 Murton Children’s Centre guidance ‘Raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.7

This group consists of the following children’s centres:

(Ofsted) regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille,

p.8

This group consists of the following children’s centres:

please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

p.8

This group consists of the following children’s centres:

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.8