Stockport - Bredbury & Marple Group

Redhouse Lane, Bredbury, Stockport, Cheshire SK6 1BX

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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

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

 The numbers of families who are registered with the group of centres and who are accessing the activities and services that are offered are not high enough.  The group has not made enough difference to the relatively low breastfeeding rates in the Bredbury, Romiley and Woodley and the Bredbury Green and Goyt Valley areas. Furthermore, obesity rates in Reception-aged children are rising in the Bredbury Green and Goyt Valley area.  There are too few opportunities for parents to enhance their standards of education and to improve their chances of gaining employment.  Major changes in staffing have slowed the rate of improvement in all three centres. Leaders, managers and the advisory board have not done enough to maximise the group’s impact on outcomes for local families. Improvements to the accuracy of data and data-sharing protocols have not been swift enough.

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This children’s centre group has the following strengths:

 The leader of the group, new staff and the advisory board are keen and enthusiastic and has high aspirations for the group. They are very supportive of initiatives in the local community.  Parents are empowered to deliver valuable sessions that enhance children’s social skills and provide good opportunities for parents to make new friends. Children’s skills on entry and exit from the early years provision have improved. As a result, children are better prepared for starting school.  The spectrum course has been very successful in helping parents to develop their levels of confidence. Families who are experiencing stressful situations are well supported. They praise the work of the staff saying that they have helped them to improve their individual circumstances.

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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 Bredbury, Romiley and Woodley Children’s Centre, Bredbury Green and Goyt Valley and Marple Children’s Centre.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out by three additional inspectors.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors held meetings with the leader of the centres. They also spoke to other staff who work in the centre, and representatives from the local authority as well as five members of the advisory board. Conversations took place with staff from partner agencies including a range of health professionals, the continuing education service and local charities and initiatives. There were also discussions with parents at different times during the inspection.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors visited all three sites as well as a variety of initiatives run by members of the local community.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Inspection team

Susan Walsh Additional Inspector, Lead Inspector Tara Street Additional Inspector Maureen Deary Additional Inspector

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Information about the group

A reconfiguration of Stockport children’s centres took place in April 2012 which resulted in the Marple Children’s Centre becoming a satellite centre linked to Bredbury, Romiley & Woodley Children’s Centre. In August 2012, Bredbury, Romiley & Woodley Children’s Centre and Bredbury Green and Goyt Valley Children’s Centres joined together to form a group of phase two centres. The centres are managed by one leader, with the same staff working from all three sites delivering universal and targeted services. The centres are directly managed by the local authority through a single advisory board. There have been significant staff changes within the last three months and all of the staff team, apart from a member of the administration staff, are new to the centres.

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Information about the group

Bredbury, Romiley and Woodley is a purpose-built centre on the site of St Mark’s Church of England Primary School; the area it serves has a mix of social housing and private ownership, with some pockets of deprivation. Bredbury Green and Goyt Valley Children’s Centre is housed in a multi-use building. The neighbourhood it serves contains several large estates of social housing as well as more affluent areas. The areas with the most significant levels of financial and social need fall within this reach area. The area for which the Marple Children’s Centre provides contains no significant levels of need, although individual families may sometimes require support. None of the centres provides childcare. Families in all of the areas served by the children’s centre group are mainly of White British heritage. In the Bredbury Green and Goyt Valley area, about 24% of children under five years live in households where

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Information about the group

no one is working; elsewhere, the proportions of children under five years living in workless households are generally below the national average.

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Information about the group

Most children in the Bredbury Green and Goyt valley area enter early years provision with skills that are often below those expected for their age. In other areas served by the centres, they enter early years provision, more usually, with skills and knowledge expected for their age.

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Information about the group

The centre has identified the following as particular target groups: children living in workless households and families that have low incomes or are dependent on benefits; children classified as in need or with a child protection plan; lone parents, especially those who are under 25 years of age; children in families where there are issues relating to domestic abuse or mental health.

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What does the group need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of families within all the reach areas who are registered with the three centres and who are regularly accessing activities or services by:  moving quickly to facilitate the sharing of information with health partners especially information about live births  establishing a robust system for registering new parents and those parents who are new to the area  working to overcome the resistance of local families to registration and involvement with the centres and effectively publicise the relevance of the group’s work to all families with children under five.

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What does the group need to do to improve further?

 Promote the development of healthy lifestyles more effectively with particular emphasis on improving rates of breastfeeding in areas served by the Bredbury, Romiley and Woodley Children’s Centre and the Bredbury Green and Goyt Valley Children’s Centre, and addressing rising rates of obesity in the Bredbury Green and Goyt Valley area by:  rapidly implementing planned improvements to support breastfeeding, including developing more effective partnership work and more timely advice and support  increasing the number of activities that promote healthy eating and active lifestyles.

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What does the group need to do to improve further?

 Develop much better opportunities for parents in all the areas served by the group to develop their education and employability by:  working more effectively with partner agencies to improve the range of opportunities available to parents who wish to enhance their skills in English, mathematics and information and communication technology  making certain that clear pathways are planned that help parents to build on their previous learning and improving the way that the progress of adults is recorded and checked  working with a range of partners to improve parents’ awareness of employment opportunities and providing more help for parents who are applying for jobs.

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What does the group need to do to improve further?

 Improve the impact of leadership, management and governance on outcomes for families served by the group by:  improving the accuracy and use of data so that resources can be targeted more carefully and a more precise analysis of the centre’s performance can be achieved  developing service level agreements so that there is more effective sharing of information between partner agencies  ensure that action plans contain measureable targets for improvement and more well- defined strategies that are designed to bring about that improvement.

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Inspection judgements

Access to services by young children and families Requires improvement

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Inspection judgements

 Access to early childhood services requires improvement because the strategies for encouraging families, including those from target groups, to participate in relevant services are not always successful. Furthermore, there is not enough sharing of information with health partners. Relatively few fathers and male carers use the group’s services.  The centres do not always have sufficient contact with those who are expecting children and do not receive enough information about new births from its health partners. Systems that ensure that parents are contacted if they have not filled in registration forms or attended activities are not rigorous enough. This means that the number of families who register with the centres and access the valuable activities and services they offer are not as high as they could be.  The leader and her staff have frequent contact with many members of the local community that

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Inspection judgements

provide voluntary services. Therefore, the centres can reach out to many families who are in target groups even if they have not registered with the centres. However, staff are not able to guarantee that every family who needs help always gets it as quickly as possible. Some families are reluctant to sign up with the centres and not enough action is taken to address this.  Those families who need additional help have their needs appropriately assessed. Staff work well with colleagues from the Early Help and Prevention Service and social care to make sure children are kept safe from harm. New systems have been introduced to ensure that information is quickly shared between these partners and children’s centre staff and can be used to make sure that families in challenging situations receive carefully tailored support.  The uptake of free entitlement to early education is good. This has a positive impact on outcomes

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Inspection judgements

for children, including improving their personal and social development and their acquisition of language.

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Inspection judgements

The quality of practice and services Requires improvement

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Inspection judgements

 The group has not done enough to improve breastfeeding rates in Bredbury, Romiley and Woodley and the Bredbury Green and Goyt Valley reach areas or to address childhood obesity, especially in the Bredbury Green and Goyt Valley area. Activities are not always planned with all the target groups in mind, particularly activities that have an impact on low income and children living in poverty. Therefore, the quality and impact of services require improvement.  Breastfeeding rates are below the national average in both the Bredbury, Romiley and Woodley and the Bredbury Green and Goyt Valley areas, although they are above average in the Marple area. The current arrangements for supporting breastfeeding have not resulted in any significant improvements to the number of mothers who breastfeed. This is because the centre has not worked effectively enough with partners to ensure that advice and support are always provided at the time

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Inspection judgements

when they could have most impact. Although improvements are planned, they are in the early stages of implementation.  Currently, there are limited activities that promote healthy lifestyles, although there were more in the past. As a result, there is no clear pattern of improvement to obesity rates at the end of the Reception Year and obesity rates have risen to above average in the Bredbury Green and Goyt Valley area.  There are not enough opportunities for parents to develop their academic skills including those related to English, mathematics and information and communication technology. The progress of adults is not adequately recorded and checked and adults are not assisted to plan clear pathways that lead to progression. Too little is done to help parents to identify employment opportunities and to apply for jobs. This limits the group’s impact on reducing the number of children living in families

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Inspection judgements

with low incomes.  The centres are good at encouraging women’s personal development particularly through a popular course that is designed to raise levels of confidence. Work with health trainers has successfully reduced rates of smoking, especially for expectant mothers. The centres are successful at helping families cope with low-level mental health issues such as anxiety and mild depression. Parents are empowered to address domestic abuse and the group provides appropriate support for young parents. Many families have attended first aid courses and have applied their knowledge when necessary.  A variety of activities for toddlers, babies and their families are effectively organised and delivered by parents. Staff have helped these volunteers to improve their awareness of how young children learn and have provided a wide range of toys and resources. As a result, children and their parents enjoy attending these sessions which successfully help children to develop their language skills and

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Inspection judgements

promote their social skills.  Children are better prepared for starting school; especially when they have attended ‘Ready Steady Nursery’ and children who attend crèches also make good progress. The gap between the children with weakest skills and the rest of the children has reduced at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage, especially in the area served by the Bradbury Green and Goyt Valley Children’s Centre. This is reducing inequalities and improving life chances for children.

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management

 Leadership and management require improvement because the centres are not yet having a good impact on outcomes for enough local families. Rates of improvement have been slowed by major changes in staffing and improvements to data-sharing protocols with health partners and those that provide adult education have not been fast enough.  The available data about the involvement of local families in activities including parenting courses and adult education are not always accurate. This results in data not being used as effectively as they might be to target services and resources. It restricts the way that the centre can monitor its performance and contributes to overgenerous self-evaluation.  Duties relating to safeguarding are taken very seriously. Policies and procedures are thorough and the Common Assessment Framework is used appropriately to reduce levels of risk. Nevertheless, current rates of involvement with the group by families within the reach areas means there is the

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management

potential for some children to slip through the net. The group provides suitable support for looked after children, their carers and children who have been identified as being in need or who are subject to a child protection plan, including through their work with colleagues from the Early Help and Prevention Team and social care.  Staffing issues over the summer have limited the availability of services to meet families’ needs but the situation is rapidly improving. New staff bring a range of valuable skills and personal attributes to their roles. The group leader has successfully supported and motivated them. She has quickly identified their training needs and they have already accessed a variety of training courses that have increased their abilities to fulfil their new responsibilities.  The local authority is well aware of where the weaknesses lie and is working with local partners to improve data-sharing arrangements and the range of provision available to families. It offers

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management

challenge when necessary but is conscious that there are areas for improvement that are beyond the control of the leader of the group , including the relatively slow progress in improving data- sharing protocols with some of its external partners.  The shared advisory board contains a good mix of committed professional partners and representatives from the local community. Involvement in a planning day ensures that the board is aware of data, including that relating to reducing inequalities, and the way staff are managed, as well as making certain it has been thoroughly involved in setting the targets on the group’s development plan. However, the progress made towards those targets is not always measurable and the strategies needed to meet those targets are sometimes not precise enough. Although advisory board members clearly have the needs of the local community at heart, they do not always provide sufficient challenge, particularly regarding the number of families registered with the centre

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management

and their take-up of the services that are offered.

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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.

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Children's centre group details

Unique reference number 80629 Local authority Stockport Inspection number 429835 Managed by The local authority

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five in the reach area

Group manager Shanon Parker Date of previous inspection Not applicable Telephone number 0161 217 6028 Email address admin.brwcc@stockport.gov.uk

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This group consists of the following children’s centres:

 Bredbury, Romiley and Woodley Children’s Centre  Bredbury Green and Goyt Valley Children’s Centre  Marple 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 .

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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,

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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’.

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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

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