Hazelwood and De Bohun Children’s Centres

Hazelwood and De Bohun Children’s Centres

p.1

Hazelwood School, Hazelwood Lane, Enfield, N13 5HE

p.1

This inspection: Requires improvement 3

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected Access to services by young children and families Requires improvement 3 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:

 Despite a large increase in the overall number of families registered with the centres, not enough target families from priority groups are using their services, including fathers and those who speak English as an additional language.  Accessing services easily and regularly can be difficult for families. Sometimes families are turned away from the Hazelwood centre because there is not enough space for all of the families that want to come to ‘Stay and Play’ sessions and this is frustrating for both families and staff.  The new headteachers at the governing schools are improving the way governance supports and challenges the centres. Developing the role of the advisory board and involving a greater number of parents in the decision-making process for both centres continue to be a priority.  The systems in place to make sure the centres are performing well are new. Not all data are yet available at locality level. The local authority has yet to make sure that the centres’ planning for the

p.1

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

future includes targets which will make a real difference to the communities they serve and provide enough challenge.  While some children benefit from positive play and learning experiences, the quality of early years provision for all children is too variable. The centres have started to track the progress children make, but this is not yet routinely done for all children.

p.1

This children’s centre group has the following strengths:

 The joint centres managers and staff are highly committed, caring, skilled and approachable. Parents who spoke to inspectors identified the people working there as the main strength of the centres.  Relationships with other agencies delivering services at the centres are good. Partners value the contribution that the centres make to the community. ‘The children’s centre really is just what the families need’ said one practitioner.  Outreach work is good. Case tracking shows that the outreach workers are improving outcomes for families who most need support and in some cases preventing the need for social care interventions. Joint work with children’s social care and health practitioners is leading to early identification and assessment of need.

p.1

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 Hazelwood and De Bohun.

p.2

Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out by three of Her Majesty's Inspectors.

p.2

Information about this inspection

The inspectors held meetings with the joint managers of the children's centres in the locality, commissioning and development coordinators in the local authority, headteachers and governors of the two linked schools, health, adult education, children's social care and early years practitioners, early help partners, parents, outreach workers and children's centre staff and representatives from commissioned services.

p.2

Information about this inspection

The inspectors visited both children's centres.

p.2

Information about this inspection

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

p.2

Inspection team

Penny Fisher Her Majesty's Inspector, Lead Inspector Jo Caswell Her Majesty’s Inspector Denise Blackwell Her Majesty’s Inspector

p.2

Information about the group

Children’s centre services in the London Borough of Enfield are delivered through a combination of grouped and stand-alone centres. Hazelwood and De Bohun centres formed a children’s centre group in April 2012. The centres are managed on behalf of the local authority by Hazelwood and De Bohun primary schools, which are inspected separately. Governance is through the schools’ governing bodies and a new advisory board. The group is managed on behalf of the schools by two joint centre managers, who also run an outstanding stand-alone centre in the London Borough of Enfield. The centre is accountable to the local authority, which commissions many of the delivered services centrally.

p.3

Information about the group

Hazelwood Children’s Centre is a purpose-built centre on the site of the local school and meets its core purpose. It operates full time and some space within the children’s centre is shared with the school. The De Bohun centre only runs on a Tuesday and Wednesday and currently operates from two rooms within De Bohun Primary School. Both centres are phase 3 and received designation in 2009. However, it was not until August 2011, with the arrival of the current joint managers, that services became fully operational. There is no on-site registered childcare provision.

p.3

Information about the group

The locality area covered by the children’s centre group is large and public transport systems do not enable families to access centres easily. There are over 4,100 children under five years living in the area. Deprivation levels in the locality are not as high as is average for Enfield as a whole, with the vast majority falling within the 50% – 90% level on the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2010, although there are some pockets of higher deprivation. Worklessness levels are lower than found elsewhere in the borough. The majority of families in the area are White British. School data show that at age four the largest ethnic group is Black-African. The Hazelwood area also has a large Greek community. The proportion of children achieving a good level of development in the Early Years Foundation Stage is the second highest in the borough and better than the outer London and England averages. The gap

p.3

Information about the group

between the lowest achievers and their peers is narrow in comparison to Enfield as a whole. The group are aware of increasing levels of identified domestic violence in the locality and families’ emotional health and well-being are a priority for the centres. Other identified priority groups include teenage parents, fathers and those who speak English as an additional language.

p.3

What does the group need to do to improve further?

 Continue with plans to further establish the advisory board in order to: - fully involve partners in building capacity across the children’s centre group - provide effective challenge and support to the centres and drive their further improvement - ensure parents have the opportunity to be formally involved in the development and design of services.  Embed the new Performance Management Framework so that there is a clear improvement plan in place that incorporates relevant local targets based on precise data.  Increase the number of families from identified priority groups that are using the centres and work with the local authority to receive appropriate data on health outcomes in the centres’ areas.  Strengthen the delivery of the Early Years Foundation Stage by: - improving the systems for assessment and the identification of children’s starting points - improving the use of observation and linking identified next steps for target children into

p.3

What does the group need to do to improve further?

planning records - developing robust tracking systems to ensure the progress of each child is closely monitored.

p.3

Access to services by young children and families Requires improvement

 The majority of families living in the area are registered and engaging with the children’s centre group and there has been a good increase in the numbers using services over the last year. The group managers know the needs of the community well and the centres are welcoming and inclusive. However, there is more to do to engage those from priority groups, including the high number of fathers in the locality and those who speak English as an additional language.  The amount of available play space means that sometimes families are being turned away from ‘Stay and Play sessions’ that are open to all. Additionally, staffing levels and volunteer numbers do not allow the flexibility to deliver services in other parts of the locality, where there are higher levels of deprivation, without reducing the services offered at the two centres. Services at De Bohun are already limited, although plans are in place to increase the space and provision at the centre.

p.3

Access to services by young children and families Requires improvement

 Staff are good at identifying vulnerable children who may benefit from enhanced early years provision and work hard to obtain funding for such provision. The centres are helping parents of disadvantaged two-year-olds to take up their free entitlement to early education, although the criteria mean that many of the children identified by the centres are not eligible. In these instances, families are referred to appropriate services elsewhere.  A high number of families that have experienced domestic violence are engaging with services. Outreach workers have established close links with organisations supporting these families, who are all registered with the centres. They are given the highest priority to ensure they can access the services they need, such as counselling sessions and English classes.  Strenuous efforts are made to ensure that identified families with the highest levels of need are

p.4

Access to services by young children and families Requires improvement

benefiting from services. For example, outreach workers communicate regularly with families where there is social work intervention to ensure they understand the importance of regular attendance. When families choose not to access services this is followed up to ensure they do not fall through the net and that children’s needs are being met.

p.4

The quality of practice and services Requires improvement

 Some children benefit from positive play and learning experiences with a wide range of resources. However, observation and assessment used at open-access ‘Stay and Play sessions’ are not being used effectively to identify children’s starting points and achievements. The lack of space in the playroom means that some children’s learning, especially the non-mobile babies who are held by parents throughout sessions, is inhibited.  The two linked schools have begun to identify and track the progress of those children that have engaged with the children’s centres’ services but links with other private, voluntary and independent childcare settings and primary schools in the locality are underdeveloped. The large majority of children in the locality are achieving a good level of development by the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage, but it is not currently clear whether the work of the children’s centres is adding

p.4

The quality of practice and services Requires improvement

value.  The centre group is unable to evidence the impact it is having on health outcomes, such as immunisation rates, breastfeeding rates and the prevalence of smoking during pregnancy as the data are not available at locality level. However, parents in the locality have good access to advice and guidance on health and child development issues as health visitors and midwives hold clinics at the centres and a health early years practitioner runs the weekly ‘Bumps to 12 months Play and Stay’ session. Health partners are sharing live birth data, which is effective in ensuring early identification of need and signposting families to the new parents group.  Courses in English for speakers of other languages are well attended and valued. Parents spoken to by inspectors felt their English skills are improving and their achievements are celebrated. However, opportunities for parents to improve further once they have completed Entry level one are more

p.4

The quality of practice and services Requires improvement

limited and some parents had not been made aware of how to continue their learning, despite being keen to do so.  Staff within the centres maintain a strong focus on the needs and safety of children. Outreach workers are reflective and highly approachable and there is evidence of good work to avoid the need for social care intervention in some cases. Cases seen by inspectors demonstrate that referrals to children’s social care are appropriate and timely and joint working with social workers is effective.  There are good attendance and completion rates at parenting programmes. Parents spoken to by inspectors felt that their parenting skills and confidence had grown as a result of the programme. Forty parents have accessed a parenting programme, and follow-up work to ensure that learning has been sustained and is having a positive impact on family life is planned.

p.4

Requires improvement

 Reporting to governing bodies has been taking place and managers feel well supported, but historically there has not been strong challenge or support provided to the centres to enable improvement. A new advisory board is in the early stages of development and there is a strong commitment from the new headteachers, parents and partners to drive this forward. Training has been provided by the local authority.  Parents are able to make suggestions about the way the centres are run and these have led to some changes in the ways services are delivered. However, not all parents that spoke to inspectors are aware of the opportunities that exist for them within the centres to volunteer or be part of decision- making processes.  The local authority has introduced a more robust performance management framework over the last year and quarterly monitoring visits are taking place. The quality and timeliness of data provided by

p.5

Requires improvement

the local authority is improving, but some is still not available at locality level. Using borough-wide rather than locality data means that some of the targets set for the children’s centres by the local authority are not challenging or relevant. This inhibits the pace at which the centres can further improve.  The children’s centres’ joint management team has had a significantly positive impact on the development of the centres since its arrival in 2011, ensuring staff and resources are used efficiently across the two centres. They are pro-active, solution-focused and well-respected having overcome some significant barriers to progress in the last 18 months. The children’s centres managers know their locality well. Priority groups have been appropriately identified and work is continuing in this area.  Safeguarding policies and procedures are clear and refer to Enfield Safeguarding Children Board

p.5

Requires improvement

guidelines. The safety of children and families is paramount and systems to ensure staff are appropriately vetted are sound. The centres are working well with partner agencies to ensure that children at risk of harm are identified and protected and the centres’ involvement with the SPOE (Enfield’s single point of entry for early intervention and prevention) is leading to earlier identification and support for some families.

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 80405 Local authority The London Borough of Enfield Inspection number 423314 Managed by The governing bodies of Hazelwood and De Bohun primary schools on behalf of the local authority

p.7

five in the reach area

Centre leader Claire Jakobsson and Robert Rollins Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 020 8886 8217 Email address Robert.rollins@raynham.enfield.sch.uk

p.7

This group consists of the following children’s centres:

 Hazelwood Children’s Centre  De Bohun 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