Agenda item

The Committee will examine the new Early Help Strategy.

7.1     The Committee received a report containing the Early Help Strategy 2014-2018 which set out the Council’s Strategy for Early Help Services for children and young people aged 0-18.  The Committee heard that a key objective was to revise the service model of investment in universal services together with key partners in line with priority outcomes, in particular in respect of Play, children’s Centres and Youth Services.  The Committee noted that consultation was now being undertaken with service users and key stakeholders on the specific proposals set out in the report.

7.2     Andrew Christie, Tri-Borough Executive Director of Children’s Services, advised that the primary aim of the proposed new model was to improve service delivery by making the best use of reducing Council funds by structuring the service in a more efficient way and joining up with health to ensure that families who needed the Council’s services most could access them as early as possible. 

7.3     Jayne Vertkin, Head of Early Help Services, discussed the consultation taking place with parents, both in Children Centres and using an on-line survey.  She advised that feedback to date had been consistent in that investment should continue to be available for universal services, especially amongst groups at Essendine, Marshall Street and Micky Star Children’s Services, who would not be entitled to the same level of play provision if resources were targeted at vulnerable groups.  The Committee noted that all Children’s Centres would remain open and stay and play sessions would continue at some level at each Children Centre for all families.

7.4     Paul Willliamson, Head of Extended Services, discussed the consultation taking place on Play Services.  He advised that officers had looked at the provision provided by other Local Authorities and that the existing in-house service had relatively high management and administrative costs compared with other ways of providing the service.  He further advised that the initial findings of the review had found that schools could be very effective in the delivery of childcare and play services and that there were a number of third sector organisations that already provided childcare and play in Westminster at no cost to the Council.

7.5     Rachael Wright-Turner, Tri-Borough Director of Commissioning, discussed the consultation taking place on Early Help Youth Services.  She advised that current contacts ended in September 2015 which gave the service the opportunity to enhance the early help offer and arrangements within future contracts.  She advised that young people were invited to feedback via an online survey and that they would be liaising with youth providers to deliver workshops in each locality in late January/February to further capture young people’s views and ideas.  Rachael then outlined that there would be universal provision for young people but also targeted services to reduce youth offending. 

7.6     The Committee then heard from Councillor Barbara Arzymanow who spoke about the findings of her report ‘Future for Nursery Education in Westminster’ Councillor Arzymanow advised that studies had shown that vulnerable children benefited most from early intervention and that Westminster had a good nursery provision infrastructure which could be used to share good practice.  She further advised that a Project Officer should be given overall responsibility to ensure that all nursery provision providers were applying for the funding that they were entitled to by the Government. Barbara then summarised her recommendations for the Committee. (The recommendations are attached at Appendix A of the minutes).

7.7     The following key themes emerged from the Committee’s discussion:

·                  the acknowledgement that the consultation process had been widely publicised throughout Westminster and the level of engagement by parents, youth groups and young people through the organised workshops and the on-line surveys so far had been good.

·                  the advantages and disadvantages of providing universal services versus targeted services for early years provision.

·                  the importance of introducing an integrated pathway in order to publish an early year offer to families within their child’s  first year so families could see what was available to them.  This would hopefully increase the take up of the free care opportunities for two year olds for families that meet the criteria.

·                  the potential to utilise the health visiting service to improve access to the services in the future.

·                  the importance of identifying and working with families in need, especially encouraging those families to sign up for the 2 year old offer. 

·                  the benefits of changing the balance to move towards a more targeted service and the importance of effective communication and partnerships between key partners.

·                  the possibility of schools taking on the responsibility for play services and the commissioning of the third sector to take responsibility and manage play services.

·                  the cost of play services and the eligibility criteria needed to receive a discount on After School and/or school holiday play provision.

7.8     The Chairman thanked everyone who had given up their time to attend the meeting and contribute to the discussion.

7.9     ACTION

1.          Briefing note to be sent to the P&S Committee setting out the fees charged at the various Play Services in Westminster.

7.10    RESOLVED:

1.          That the Committee acknowledged and recognised the proactive and effective communication of the three consultations led by the Westminster Communications Team.  The Committee are reassured of this by the tone of the debate, which was both pragmatic and constructive.

2.          That the Committee welcomed the potential to utilise the health visiting service to improve access to the services in the future.  The Committee requested to be kept updated on progress in implementation including targeted support for those who need it most as outlined in the Early Help Strategy.

3.          That the change in balance of use of Children’s Centres towards more targeted families was appropriate and where the Council’s resources should be spent at times of financial constraint.

4.          That further promotion of the two-year old offer and an update on uptake at regular intervals be reported back to the Committee.  The Committee endorsed the importance of early intervention in a child’s development.

5.          That Councillor Barbara Arzymanow be thanked for preparing her report on the changing landscape of nursery provision in Westminster and that officers prepare a response to the salient points and conclusion of the report, especially regarding how best practice can be shared across institutions and what role (if any) Westminster City Council can play in implementing the recommendations.