Rochdale – Belfield, Littleborough and Heybrook Children’s Centre Group

Rochdale – Belfield, Littleborough and Heybrook Children’s Centre Group

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Samson Street, Belfield, Rochdale, Lancashire, OL16 2XW

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This inspection: Requires improvement 3

Previous inspection: Inadequate 4 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

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

 Although most families are registered and access to services is improving, not enough families from workless households, fathers and lone parents regularly attend.  The specific nature of the differing needs of those families identified as most in need of support across the locality have not been fully identified.  Recording in some case files is not always maintained to a high standard. Systems are not streamlined enough and it is unclear why certain services have been selected as the most appropriate to help families.  Tracking of children and priority families is in its infancy. Consequently, the centres cannot reliably measure whether they are successfully helping families to improve their well-being and life chances.  While health partners share information about all new births, they do not provide up-to-date or precise enough information to the centres in order for them to develop healthy life styles for

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This children’s centre group has the following strengths:

 Governance arrangements are effective. Advisory board members have a good understanding of the data and provide effective challenge. Since the last inspection, swift and effective action has been taken to improve the quality of services across all centres.  There has been a significant increase in the take-up of the free entitlement to early education for two-year-olds. The innovative idea to supply families with a ‘Golden Ticket’ appealed to families and captured their imagination.  Families have access to good quality courses and activities in pleasant and welcoming surroundings. Inspection report: Rochdale – Belfield, Littleborough and Heybrook Children’s Centre Group Page 2 of 8

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What does the group need to do to improve further?

 Improve access to services by:  increasing the proportion of families living in workless households, fathers and lone parents currently accessing services  targeting the specific needs of families such as, those from workless households in the Littleborough area.  Improve the quality and impact of services by:  undertaking a quality audit of case files and ensure that these are maintained to a high standard, and provide a clear and detailed account of the work of the centres and partners  strengthening the current tracking systems so that leaders can check on the progress that children and adults make.  Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by:  obtaining more regular and up-to-date information from health partners across the full range of health initiatives.

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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 Belfield Children’s Centre, Heybrook and Hamer Children’s Centre and Littleborough Children’s Centre.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors held meetings with senior management, representatives of the local authority, chair of the advisory board, parents and a range of partners.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors visited all three children’s centres and other community venues.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Inspection team

Kathryn Gethin, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Philip David Ellwand Additional Inspector Barbara Wearing Additional Inspector Inspection report: Rochdale – Belfield, Littleborough and Heybrook Children’s Centre Group Page 3 of 8

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Information about the group

Rochdale-Belfield, Littleborough, Heybrook and Hamer Children’s Centre Group provides services from three children’s centre buildings, schools and outreach venues in the area. Belfield Children’s Centre is on the site of Belfield Community School. Heybrook Children’s Centre is situated in the grounds of Heybrook Primary School and Hamer Children’s Centre is situated in the grounds of Hamer and Springside Primary Schools. Littleborough Children’s Centre is on the site of Littleborough Community Primary School. The schools are subject to separate inspection arrangements and their reports can be found at: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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Information about the group

Governance of the group is provided by Rochdale Borough Council, in conjunction with a separate advisory board. The children’s centre group delivers or signposts families to a range of services which include: family support, health services, family play sessions, adult learning and parenting services. The centres have identified: children living in workless households, lone parents, and fathers as most in need of their support.

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Information about the group

In total, approximately 2,763 children under five years of age live in the area, with a significant number living in one of the areas ranked 10% to 30% most deprived in the country. There are approximately 288 lone parent families and 775 children living in workless households. Most children and families living in the area are from minority ethnic groups and approximately 49% are White British. Most children enter early years provision with skills, knowledge and abilities below those typical for their age.

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Access to services by young children and families Requires improvement

 Families most in need of support have been identified as fathers, families in workless households and lone parents. As yet, the centres are not managing to engage with the large majority of these. Although there has been a steady increase in the proportion of families using the centres on a regular basis, in the more affluent Littleborough area fewer families from workless households are accessing services.  There has been a concerted drive to increase the registration of families across the centres. Special events to raise awareness of the centres, such as weekend family fun days, are promoted through all centres and outreach venues. As a result, most families are now registered with the centres.  Families who are expecting children have good access to services. Ante-natal clinics are based at three of the four centres and clinics are very well attended. The ‘pink slip’ system used by midwives

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Access to services by young children and families Requires improvement

to inform the centres of recent live births works well and enables the centres to know when families are not engaging with services, so contact can be made.  Good links are in place with social care, and managers from the First Response team are linked to each centre. The centres are informed of all referrals where a child is under five years of age to establish if the family is currently accessing any type of service. The centres are also used well for contact sessions and foster care support.  Parents are regularly consulted when changes in access to any service are identified. Following a decrease in the attendance of families in the Hamer Children’s Centre, information from parents was sought, and the opening times changed to accommodate parents’ wishes. More families now use the centre.  The majority of eligible two-year olds take up a funded place with local providers. An imaginative strategy to issue all families with eligible children a ‘Golden Ticket’ along with the standard letter has

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Access to services by young children and families Requires improvement

been highly successful. This and the follow-up of families not taking up the offer has resulted in a significant increase in the proportion of children accessing places. Inspection report: Rochdale – Belfield, Littleborough and Heybrook Children’s Centre Group Page 4 of 8

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The quality of practice and services Requires improvement

 Systems for recording case notes are disjointed as children centre workers, family support workers and social care keep records in different ways and formats. Not enough information is recorded to identify how the needs of families have been addressed following a request for services or when files are closed.  Systems to track children’s and adults’ progress and measure the effectiveness of the centres’ work are not fully embedded. Therefore, the centres are unable to analyse fully the impact of their services on reducing inequalities and improving families’ lives.  Centre staff help adult learners identify their skills and ambitions with a good initial assessment. This has enabled them to progress on to courses leading to a qualification and employment. Many centre users describe to inspectors how the good support for independent living has improved the lives of their families.  Early years sessions and groups delivered at the children’s centres are of high quality. They are

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The quality of practice and services Requires improvement

delivered by skilled and enthusiastic staff, who share their knowledge and expertise with parents to enable them to continue to support their children’s learning at home. Parents report positively on the wide range of relevant services and support they receive from the children’s centres and the positive impact these have.  Excellent relationships are in place with the four on-site schools and the private, voluntary and independent sector. Information on the progress of children is shared to support children’s learning and development and close any gaps in readiness for school.  Commissioned services support the work of the centres effectively. Children with disabilities are supported well and many families have improved their economic well-being by receiving good information and support when dealing with debt, benefit claims, training and employment advice.  Parents, children and staff develop secure and respectful relationships. A typical remark is ‘you are

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The quality of practice and services Requires improvement

treated as an individual and they remember every adult and every child and are always welcoming’. This creates an environment in which parents are confident in seeking support and advice from staff and where children and families have fun as they play and learn together.  A small but successful volunteer programme is in place. Three volunteers are currently facilitating weekly sessions within the centres and others have gained employment as teaching assistants and centre workers.

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Requires improvement

 Not enough current information is shared by health partners. This includes: smoking during pregnancy; breastfeeding rates; obesity; immunisation levels and emergency hospital admissions. As a consequence, the centres cannot set precise targets for these areas or measure if any inequalities are being reduced.  Since the last inspection, swift and effective action has been taken by the local authority to support all centres. The local authority scrutinises data on a regular basis and closely monitors performance. Current targets are broad and focus on increasing the proportion of families identified as most in need of support accessing services across the area.  The advisory board meets regularly and key partners are well represented. The chair has an excellent understanding of the needs within the community and is well placed to drive improvement. Parents are represented on the board and as users of the centres, give regular feedback and link

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Requires improvement

effectively with the newly formed Parents’ Forum. Partners speak positively about the difference made through the new improved data format and shared understanding of issues.  Staff value supervision and feel well supported. Additional training to support middle managers has been successful and well received. Staff are excited by the changes and have risen to the challenge. It is a testament to the centre manager that staff have felt supported through a difficult period.  Safeguarding training is up to date and induction for new staff is thorough. Strong links with social Inspection report: Rochdale – Belfield, Littleborough and Heybrook Children’s Centre Group Page 5 of 8

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Requires improvement

care and representation at meetings ensure that staff are able to support children known to social care as a looked-after child, child in need or subject to a child protection plan. The number of children subject to a child protection plan has fallen significantly. Registration forms and early assessment forms are under review, following feedback received from families.  Good quality resources are evident throughout the three centres and all the centres are used well by partners, including midwifery, health visitors and the Citizens’ Advice Bureau. Money has been spent well on additional training for managers and the advisory board. This has reinforced their understanding of their roles and responsibilities. Recordable postcards and photograph albums are now in place to support those families with English as an additional language.  Parents regularly contribute to the development of services through the advisory board, parent

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Requires improvement

forum, evaluations and feedback sheets. Comments are noted and acted upon. Inspection report: Rochdale – Belfield, Littleborough and Heybrook Children’s Centre Group Page 6 of 8

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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. Inspection report: Rochdale – Belfield, Littleborough and Heybrook Children’s Centre Group Page 7 of 8

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Children’s centre group details

Unique reference number 80420 Local authority Rochdale Inspection number 455022 Managed by The local authority

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five in the reach area

Centre leader Rachael El Weshahi Date of previous inspection 29 July 2014 Telephone number 01706 356634 Email address rachael.elweshahi@rochdale.gov.uk

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This group consists of the following children’s centres:

 20256 Belfield Children’s Centre  21832 Littleborough Children’s Centre  21468 Heybrook and Hamer Children’s Centre Inspection report: Rochdale – Belfield, Littleborough and Heybrook Children’s Centre Group Page 8 of 8

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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 .

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This group consists of the following children’s centres:

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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