Leicester, City of East Children’s Centre Group

Leicester, City of East Children’s Centre Group

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 Good 2 The effectiveness of leadership, governance and management Requires improvement 3

p.1

This is a centre that requires improvement. It is not good because:

 Information available is not being used well enough to decide who all of the target groups are in the neighbourhood served by the group of centres. As a result, the number of known target families using services is low because without clarity on who the target groups are monitoring attendance is not possible.  The documents used to track and monitor the targets for improvement set by the centre are not consistent enough to help leaders and managers check whether the group is making the progress or having the impact it set out to make.  The local authority’s review of the group’s self-evaluation does not give enough feedback on what it does well and what it needs to improve on, nor does it give enough support to the centre on setting targets for the coming year.  Parenting courses are not matched well enough to the needs of families in the neighbourhood because they are part of a local authority project. As a result too few parents take up places and

p.1

This is a centre that requires improvement. It is not good because:

even fewer successfully complete the programme. This is a drain on the group’s staffing resources.

p.1

This children’s centre group has the following strengths:

 Outcomes for children and families are improving over time. Children make good progress and at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage the number of children reaching the expected levels of skill and knowledge is above that seen nationally.  The children’s centre teacher provides well planned and delivered support to childcare providers in the neighbourhood. Strong and positive links have also been established with schools so that children who are most in need of support are receiving the help they need to catch up with their peers.  Families who have one-to-one support from family support officers or childcare and early learning officers make significant improvements to their lives.  The parent and carer forum is a strong active group which works closely with the neighbourhood board and leaders and managers to provide relevant neighbourhood activities.

p.1

Information about this inspection

The inspection of this children’s centre 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 Rowlatts Hill Children’s Centre and North Evington 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 with parents, staff, leaders and managers from the neighbourhood and representatives from the local authority, the neighbourhood advisory board and partners.

p.2

Information about this inspection

The inspectors visited Rowlatts Hill Children’s Centre and North Evington Children’s Centre.

p.2

Information about this inspection

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

p.2

Inspection team

Joanne Smith Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Joy Law Her Majesty’s Inspector Ann Taylor Additional inspector Inspection report : Leicester, City of East Children’s Centre Group Page 3 of 8

p.2

Information about the group

Leicester City East Children’s Centre group comprises two children’s centres located in the Rowlatts Hill and North Evington communities in Leicester city. The group was formed as part of a city wide review of children’s centres and children’s services. The Leicester City East group serves a population of approximately 2800 children from birth to five years old. The centre group is managed by the local authority and is supported by a neighbourhood advisory board and a parent and carer forum.

p.3

Information about the group

Both children’s centres in the group are accommodated in purpose built buildings located in school grounds. Rowlatts Hill Children’s Centre is in the grounds of Rowlatts Hill Primary School and North Evington Children’s Centre is in the grounds of Coleman Primary School. Coleman Pre-school operates from Rowlatts Hill Children’s Centre and is managed by the local authority. These schools and childcare settings are subject to separate inspections and their inspection reports can be found on the Ofsted website at www.ofsted.gov.uk.

p.3

Information about the group

The Leicester City East group is part of a birth to 12 years neighbourhood multi-agency team that has bases in the Rowlatts Hill and North Evington Children’s Centres. The group provides universal drop-in groups for parents and children, family support services, health appointments and family learning courses. Services are offered in both centre buildings, schools and community buildings that are accessible to families in the neighbourhood.

p.3

Information about the group

The Leicester City East group serves an area in which the number of children living in workless households and dependent on benefits in the area is in line with national averages. Children have access to a wide range of early years education providers. The majority of children enter school early years provision with skills and knowledge below those typical for their age. Almost all families living in the area served by the Leicester City East group are of Asian or Black heritage. The area borders Leicestershire and some families access childcare from that local authority.

p.3

What does the group need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership, governance and management by:  analysing the data and local information more incisively to provide a clear definition of who the precise target groups are in the neighbourhood  using the information available to track the attendance of all target groups more accurately  the local authority providing more evaluative feedback to the group at the annual review and sharpening targets, timelines and measures of impact so that the group can evaluate the effectiveness of all its work  Increase:  access, participation and sustained engagement of target groups  the range and frequency of parenting programmes that meet the needs of parents in the neighbourhood.

p.3

Access to services by young children and families Requires improvement

 Target groups for the neighbourhood are not well defined enough. Contact and engagement with the small number of families in the current target groups in the area is good but it is less clear for families in other potential target groups. For example, families who speak English as an additional language are at times considered a target group but their sustained engagement with the centre is not well monitored.

p.3

Access to services by young children and families Requires improvement

 The take-up of the free entitlement to early education for three- and four-year-olds is high. Inspection report : Leicester, City of East Children’s Centre Group Page 4 of 8

p.3

Access to services by young children and families Requires improvement

However, only half of families with eligible two-year-old children, including those from key target groups, access their entitlement to free early education. The local authority has been slow to provide information to the centres to enable them to make a concerted effort to improve on this, never-the-less this is now happening.

p.4

Access to services by young children and families Requires improvement

 The group works hard to contact families who do not access its services or regularly use the centres. They use a wide range of approaches such as, door knocking, surveys, multi-lingual leaflets and putting on large scale events to provide information to parents.

p.4

Access to services by young children and families Requires improvement

 The group has strong, effective partnership working with health visitors, schools and early years providers. It identifies when individual children may need extra support in their learning, especially with regard to their speech and language development. Identification happens early and action to help them and support them is timely and effective.

p.4

Access to services by young children and families Requires improvement

 Free crèche facilities are greatly valued. They are essential to parents who might struggle to find childcare to help them attend learning activities. However, places are limited because resources for this service are limited.

p.4

Access to services by young children and families Requires improvement

 Centre leaders are resourceful and look for ways to offer more to families. However, their efforts are hindered at times. For example, parents and staff wanted the centre to continue to run a ‘Forest Schools’ experience for families but were disappointed because efforts made by the centre leaders to allow this to happen were hindered by local authority policies.

p.4

The quality of practice and services Good

 Good care, guidance and support are provided to parents, particularly those whose circumstances may have made them vulnerable. Families have effective one-to-one support with opportunities for parents to gain necessary skills and knowledge. Parenting programmes, for example, can be delivered in the home. As a result, parents have improved levels of self-confidence and ability to provide good care and support to their children.

p.4

The quality of practice and services Good

 A good range of targeted activities and groups are offered across the neighbourhood throughout the year, but in some cases attendance is low. A two-week summer playscheme, which was funded by grants successfully applied for by the parent and carer forum, was highly successful and over a hundred children took part in a wide range of activities.

p.4

The quality of practice and services Good

 Good quality work is being done with private and voluntary childcare providers. They are well supported by the children’s centre teacher. The centres undertake specific work with schools and childcare providers, putting on sessions such as ‘Let’s get talking’, parenting, and transition on to school sessions to assist children’s readiness for school.

p.4

The quality of practice and services Good

 Volunteering opportunities are strong. There is an established programme with an impressive track record of nurturing and improving parents’ confidence and employability skills. The group actively provides relevant work placements to help parents and volunteers on college courses.

p.4

The quality of practice and services Good

 Parents’ views are valued and actively sought. Many of the courses on offer are provided because parents have asked for them, for example, family health and first aid. In addition, the courses help the centre to work towards some of their priorities for improvement in families’ lives.

p.4

The quality of practice and services Good

 Staff use their knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage well to plan good opportunities for children who attend the group’s preventative pathways and early years sessions. This is contributing Inspection report : Leicester, City of East Children’s Centre Group Page 5 of 8

p.4

The quality of practice and services Good

well to closing the gap in the achievement of different groups of children. The group and their partners deliver a range of good quality activities to improve parents’ confidence and parenting ability, although the impact of parenting courses is less effective.

p.5

Requires improvement

 Local authority performance monitoring cycles have recently been revised because they were overly complex and did not support effective monitoring of the group’s work. In the meantime, leaders in the centres are working with three documents that do not have any consistency in relation to what is being targeted or what is being monitored. As a result, there is no clear overview of the progress against the priorities identified for the centre.

p.5

Requires improvement

 Priorities are well-matched to the needs of the neighbourhood because staff and leaders know the area very well. However, in too many cases targets are unclear and do not provide leaders with the stepping stones by which they can measure their progress. In addition, the local authority does not actively involve itself in setting targets for the group. Its main involvement in the process is to validate targets the group sets for itself as part of the annual review process.

p.5

Requires improvement

 The advisory board is well established and supportive of the centre. It brings the needs of the neighbourhood to the forefront for consideration in relation to service delivery. The board is actively pursuing training on the role of members to improve its effectiveness.

p.5

Requires improvement

 Activities are available for families across the neighbourhood, however, some are not used by enough families. In addition, parenting courses are linked to a contractual arrangement put in place by (?) the local authority. This agreement does not serve the neighbourhood needs well. Courses are too long to meet with the needs of families and as a result too few complete them, which means that the staff resource is not being used efficiently.

p.5

Requires improvement

 The centres use the local authority safeguarding policies and procedures. They are generally well applied and staff understand and follow them. Staff work well with social workers when families have child protection or child in need plans in place. Families who have agreed to help through common assessment framework processes benefit from well managed multi-agency support for their families.

p.5

Requires improvement

 A wealth of data are provided to leaders and managers, however, they are not analysed and summarised well enough by leaders and managers to help them to see clearly how many of their target families are using services or to clearly define who all of the target groups are. Inspection report : Leicester, City of East Children’s Centre Group Page 6 of 8

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. Inspection report : Leicester, City of East Children’s Centre Group Page 7 of 8

p.6

Children’s Centre Group details

Unique reference number 80757 Local authority City of Leicester Inspection number 434456 Managed by The local authority

p.7

five in the reach area

Group manager Sue Hunter Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 0116 2924500 Email address Sue.hunter@leicester.gov.uk

p.7

This group consists of the following children’s centres:

 22174 North Evington Sure Start Children’s Centre  22568 Rowlatts Hill Children’s Centre Inspection report : Leicester, City of East Children’s Centre Group Page 8 of 8

p.7

This group consists of the following children’s centres:

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.8

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