To consider the progress and provide an overview of Early Years with a focus on children’s centres, number of childcare settings and funding linked to both of these.  Also to outline current objectives.

The Committee received an overview of Early Years provision with a focus on Children’s Centres, number of childcare settings and funding linked to both of these themes and considered progress against objectives.

The Early Years and Extended Services Manager reported that all Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Grant (SSEYCG) funding should support the delivery of the Government’s Ten Year Strategy for Childcare, Choice for parents.  The strategy sets out the Government’s vision to ensure that every child gets the best possible start in life and to give parents more choice about how to balance work and family life.   This was a large area of work and her report set out the headlines in relation to the capital and revenue funding available; the requirements placed on the local authorities and their partners in health services and Job Centre Plus; the key priorities and challenges, and set out some of the implications for Herefordshire.  She further reported that the government allocation for Children’s Centres now covered phase three and was intended to support refurbishment rather than new build.  The number of Childcare setting was adequate for the County, however, the settings would be closely monitored to ensure that they were in the right locations and could, if necessary, provide cover for each other.  All childcare settings had covered the basic training course and an audit would now be undertaken to ensure that the training was making a positive difference to the level of provision.  Increased funding levels were anticipated in 2009 to ensure the transformation of the disabled children’s short break service.  Children’s Centres in phases 1 and 2 were on target and phase 3 included proposals for a centre in the north of the County to meet an identified need in the Wigmore area.

During the course of discussion the following principal points were noted:

• Questioned on how the Discretionary Grant U4 (£459,390) was distributed the Committee were in formed that a panel from the Early Years Forum made the allocation based on the pattern of spend over previous years.
• Responding to what services were provided and whether all Children’s Centres would provide them, the Committee were referred to the Council publication ‘Children’s Centres in Herefordshire: what we have achieved so far…’.  The Early Years and Extended Services Manager undertook to provide the details requested and include the reasons why some Centres would be unable to offer the full service.
• It was noted that the government had made local authorities responsible for ensuring ‘hard to reach families’ were contacted and informed about the service, which many authorities were finding difficult.  The Committee noted that wherever appropriate service providers (agencies and voluntary organisations) also undertook home visits.  Close links were established, particularly with health visitors, to ensure the early identification of any child/family issues.
• While initial services were being provided in the Golden Valley by a range of existing providers in Kingstone, a more permanent Children’s Centre was being developed at Peterchurch.
• The Committee noted that performance benchmarking against other authorities was being investigated.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted and the Committee be provided with information on the range of services provided, and the limitations experienced, by each Children’s Centre.