OUTCOME 1 - CHILDREN IN ESSEX
GET THE BEST START IN LIFE
ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL COMMISSIONING STRATEGY
2014-2018
Version: 1.31
Date: CCB / PLT 22nd September 2014
Author: Chris Martin
Approved by: Cllr Madden / Cllr Gooding
Next Review: 2018
Contact: Chris Martin
Director of Integrated Commissioning and Vulnerable People
email - [email protected]
telephone - 01245 434 151
PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THIS STRATEGY
Lead Commissioner
Supporting Commissioners
1
Chris Martin
Stav Yiannou
- Director for Integrated Commissioning and Vulnerable People
- Head of Commissioning; Education and Lifelong Learning
Chris Kiernan
- Director for Commissioning; Education and Lifelong Learning
Lead Members
Cllr Dick Madden
Cllr Ray Gooding
- Cabinet Member for Children and Families
- Cabinet Member for Education
Officers
Benjamin Mann – Senior Policy and Strategy Advisor, Lynne Taylor – Commissioning Support Manager, Helen Gregory –
Senior Commissioning Support Officer, Jane Richards – Assistant Director of Public Health, Zoe Bloomfield – Information and
Analysis, Richard Blakey – Head of Finance (People), Sarah Studd – Commercial, Pippa Everett – PBI, Jacqui Wells - IS,
Trudi Bishop – EYCC Commissioner for Workforce Development and Training, Liz Norton – EYFS Strategy Manager, Quality
Improvement, Carolyn Terry – EYCC Commissioner for Sustainability and Sufficiency, Clare Corrigan – Lead for Partnership
Delivery, Alastair Gibbons – Director for Local Delivery, Duncan Taylor – Commissioning Intelligence Manager
Public Office
Ruth Kennedy
VERSION CONTROL
1.27
13/05/14
Benjamin Mann
Final Edit before SCB
1.28
22/05/14
Benjamin Mann
Social Care Update
1.29
10/09/14
Benjamin Mann
Response to Consultation
1.30
16/09/14
Benjamin Mann
Consultation Responses /
Actions Reviewed
1.31
28/09/14
Benjamin Mann
Updated finance content
CONTENTS
2
The Strategy is made up of two sections. The first looks at Indicator Group A relating to Early Years attainment the second section looks at Indicator Group B which align more
closely to work being undertaken to address Child Poverty. As such the format of the report is duplicated across the two sections with a final Risk Analysis and Finance slide to
cover both sections.
PAGE
PAGE
What is behind the strategy
3-4
What will we measure? Child Poverty Indicators
26
Charlie’s Journey
5
What is currently happening in Essex?
26-28
About the measures
6
How do we define the indicators?
29 -30
What will we measure? - Early Years Indicators
7
What we know
31
What is currently happening in Essex?
7
What does success look like?
32
How do we define the indicators
7-8
What are the important issues
33-34
What we know
9
Who do we need to work with?
35-36
What success looks like
10
What are we doing to support children in Essex?
37-39
What are the important issues
11-13
Risks and Mitigations for Outcome 1
40
Early Years Review
14
What are the costs?
41-42
What are we learning?
15
Who do we need to work with?
16-18
What are we doing to support children in Essex?
19-25
WHY IS THIS STRATEGY IMPORTANT?
3
The Commissioning Strategy for Outcome 1 – ‘Children In Essex Get The Best Start In Life’ will contribute towards delivering the strategic aspirations included within the Essex
Children, Young People and Families Partnership Plan (CYPFPP) 2013-2016 and the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy for Essex 2013-2018. Both of these documents
recognise the importance of providing as much support as possible during the early years of a child’s life. The collective value of these documents is best summarised by the
leading statement of intent found within the Children, Young People and Families Partnership Plan.
‘At Essex County Council we want to do all we can to support all children, young people and their families to reach their full potential. We have high aspirations for all children
and young people . We want them to grow up safe, happy and healthy, able to make the best use of their skills to secure good employment opportunities and make the most of
their lives.’
It is important that this strategy document remains responsive to the changing needs of children and families in Essex. By supporting children and their families from
conception through birth and the early years (up to the end of the Foundation Stage) of their life will give all children the best possible opportunity to succeed, thrive and have
fun at school and be able to make a positive contribution throughout their lives.
In February 2014, Essex County Council (ECC) adopted a new Corporate Outcomes Framework – a statement of ambition setting out the seven outcomes that would guide it’s
activity into 2018. This strategy has been developed to cover the period 2014/15 – 2017/18 but it is envisaged that this remains a live, working document that informs the
strategic commissioning of the Local Authority. The commissioning strategy will remain flexible and responsive, taking on board the outcomes of the current strategic review of
Early Years and Childcare in Essex through future iterations.
Looking more broadly the strategy will continue to reflect the changing national landscape and the convergence of Early Years and School education with particular focus on
School Readiness, the Early Years Foundation Stage and high quality transitions. As such this strategy partners the Education and Lifelong Learning Strategy to take a holistic
view of support, intervention and work with families from conception through to the age of 18 or 25 where there is a Special Educational Need and/or Disability)
The Strategy is underpinned by the fact that proposed actions must be aligned to available resources and that resources are likely to be reduced as the Council seeks to close
the current budget gap for 2015/16 and 2016/17. Within this strategy can be found actions against which we expect to deliver improved outcomes for children and families at
reduced cost. These include the transfer of Health Visiting as part of the 0-5 Healthy Child Programme from 2015 and the potential for consolidation with the 5-19 Healthy Child
Programme.
There is some indication within this strategy of those actions that form a higher priority than others. The key priority action is the broad review of Early Years in Essex. As such
future iterations of this strategy that follow the Early Years Review will deliver greater prioritisation of activity in order to support future resource allocation.
The way Essex County Council has agreed to shape support for children 4
and families is dependent on levels of need and is set out in the ESCB
guidance ‘Effective Support for Children and Families in Essex’ (See
diagram). This sets out four levels of need: Universal, Additional,
Intensive and Specialist.
Most families are properly served by universal services from pregnancy
onwards (midwifery, health visiting, children’s centres. Nursery, GPs and
voluntary groups) to ensure healthy development of their children.
However, ECC and partners have available a range of support services
where children and families have additional needs, for example where a
child has some level of developmental delay or where parents need extra
support to meet fully their child’s needs. These additional support
services include health visiting, Family Nurse Partnership (FNP),
children’s centres, free nursery for disadvantaged two year olds and pupil
premium for children from low income families. Importantly they will
provide support for children with Special Educational Needs or a
Disability (SEND). In line with the vision for the SEND Strategy support
will ‘ensure that all Children and Young People with SEND have a full
range of support and opportunities available to them and are provided
with opportunities to maximise their life chances, goals and aspirations’.
We will make sure that assessment and intervention is timely, share
information effectively and support parents, families, carers and
practitioners to deliver high quality support.
Through coordinated services and integrated commissioning we can improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND as part of a holistic approach to meeting their
health, social care and educational requirements from 0-25. This pathway between the strategic commissioning approaches to Early Years, Education and Health and wellbeing
will be recognised in the appropriate commissioning strategy.
Parents are the most important influence on their child’s life. By giving parents the information, tools and support to develop a stable home environment and be a positive
influence, we increase considerably the chances of children developing well and remaining healthy. Taking a whole family approach and working with families on a holistic
and voluntary basis we can help to identify and address the factors that impact on families on a day to day basis from housing and benefits to employment and health.
Where children have multiple disadvantage, intensive support will be offered through a Shared Family Assessment (SFA) and a team around the family approach. Adopting
evidence based principles of Early Intervention, ECC will work with Early Years partners to provide families with access to Early Help opportunities that build family resilience
and will act quickly to protect children from harm and neglect.
The following slide describes Charlie’s Journey , a fictional Essex child. The slide identifies the positive impact of timely and co-ordinated support for children and families. It
highlights some of the key points of contact where we can maximise support and improve outcomes for Charlie and his family. The approach is based on an Early Years model
that delivers seamless support for families from conception through to the end of the reception year. Where effective, well supported transitions are the focus of everybody and
Schools develop strong relationships with early years settings to commission services or to raise the standards of provision through a teacher led model.
5
ABOUT THE MEASURES
6
It is important that commissioned services remain accountable, represent value for money and can clearly contribute to the strategic and financial position of the Local
Authority over the next four years. Likewise it is important that performance indicators relating to the delivery of the Corporate Outcomes and this strategy remain benchmarks
for performance rather than targets to which services are held accountable. What we must achieve is to realise our vision of success.
The indicators that have been determined aim to highlight the extent to which Children in Essex are getting the best start in life. These include measures of development
determined at the end of the Foundation Stage (Good Level of Development and School Readiness). By analysing data at this point we can make changes to those elements
where ECC has an influence. We can consider the way that early years education and health services are delivered in order to continue improving the readiness of children in
Essex to start school and we can work with parents and carers through Nurseries, Children’s Centres and Schools to offer them the support, information and advice.
The second set of indicators have been chosen to give a picture of other influences on children in Essex such as where they are living and whether they have a settled home
environment that will enable them to feel safe, secure and to develop positively. These indicators help us determine where we need to invest more resources in order to change
lives and help children and families to succeed and also where we can reduce activity, or completely decommission, in order to ensure that the most effective services can be
provided for within an environment of reducing financial resources.
These indicators overlap with the Local Authorities work with partners to describe and address Child Poverty through the Child Poverty Strategy 2014-2017. There will be an
alignment between the actions within this Commissioning Strategy and the principles and approaches taken to address Child Poverty.
Whilst these are the primary indicators there will be a number of proxy measures or outputs that we can take a view on and that will provide some indication of the direction of
travel in relation to the indicators above. These may include:-
Increased parental understanding of child
development
A shared workforce understanding of School
Readiness
Increased parental confidence to support
children with learning and development in
the home
Development of parental understanding of
the importance of reading
Increased interventions for behavioural
support /Early Support
Increased number of interventions for Speech
Therapy
Increased interventions for Early Help /
Family Solutions
Level of Early Years Workforce Qualifications
increased
Reduction in the number of Did Not Attend
(DNA) for health appointments
More parents encouraged to talk to their
babies
Increased number of parents accessing
support through Children’s Centres
Increased take up of Free Early Education
Entitlement (FEEE) for those entitled
Increased numbers of parents accessing
parenting training
Minimise the number of incidents of child
abuse
Increased numbers of Shared Family
Assessments completed
Increases numbers of parents accessing
training and lifelong learning
Levels of rent arrears identified by Housing
departments and social housing providers
Reduced levels of borrowing / take up of pay
day lending.
Improved attendance at school
WHAT WILL WE MEASURE?
7
INDICATOR GROUP A
 The Percentage of Children ready for school
 The Percentage of children achieving a good level of development by the age of five
For both of these indicators we will collect and analyse information about all children in Essex from conception through to the end of the Foundation Stage.
WHAT IS CURRENTLY HAPPENING IN ESSEX?
Within Essex there are approximately 82,000 (2011) children falling into the 0-5 age range representing 1 in 4 of all children living in the County (329,000).
Taking the County as a whole, Essex was in the top 21% least deprived local government areas in the 2010 Indices of Multiple Deprivation. In contrast; at district level, Harlow
and Tendring are amongst the most deprived 21% and 25% areas nationally. Whilst Basildon and Tendring Districts contain two-thirds of the most deprived areas in Essex
most other districts have notable pockets of deprivation. Except for Brentwood, Uttlesford and Maldon, all districts in Essex have Lower Super Output Areas (LSOA) or small
geographic areas falling within the 20% most deprived nationally. Essex is working closely with District Councils in Harlow, Basildon and Tendring to provide intensive, targeted
support packages to improve outcomes for young children.
HOW DO WE DEFINE THE PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN READY FOR SCHOOL ?
National and local attempts to define school readiness consider it to be where a child has the best possible start in life and is able to meet key points of social and emotional
development. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the statutory framework that all early years providers [0-5 years] must meet to ensure that children learn and develop
well and are kept healthy and safe. It promotes teaching and learning to ensure children’s ‘school readiness’ and gives children the broad range of knowledge and skills that
provide the right foundation for good future progress through school and life. EYFS Statutory Framework (2012).
School readiness represents a complex combination of factors and influences fundamentally based on the earliest interaction that a child has with its parents and wider
healthcare and education support including nurturing, attachment and an understanding, empathy and responsiveness to the needs of very young children known as
attunement. These social and developmental interactions along with a rich Home Learning Environment (HLE) and effective transitions from home to pre-school and pre-school
to school combine to result in a child’s readiness for school.
A decision has been taken within Essex County Council to define readiness for school through interpretation of the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile undertaken by all
children at the end of the Reception Year. School Readiness will be determined on entry to Key Stage 1 of the National Curriculum and will be a retrospective measure of the
three Prime Areas of Learning and Development which include Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development and Communication and Language. 1
Readiness for school will be determined by figures for all three Prime Areas remaining above the National Average. As a progressive Local Authority, year on year improvement
will be expected although variation in influences across the three prime areas is based on a complex combination of early childhood education and care both within the formal
childcare environment as well as in the home.
The Early Years Foundation Stage Profile is a statutory requirement set by Central Government, led by the Standards and Testing Agency and delivered by the Local Authority
which assesses and reports the profile scores on a National basis. For 2012/2013 Essex exceeded the national average across all three Prime Areas of Learning and
Development as follows:- Personal, Social and Emotional Development Essex (77%) England (76%), Physical Development Essex (84%) England (83%) and Communication and
Language Essex (73%) England (72%)
1 The current measure will be reviewed should a Baselines Assessment be introduced in Sept 2016. As a statutory assessment undertaken at the beginning of a child’s reception year this would replace the EYFSP at the
end of reception and would provide an earlier measure than the one currently planned.
HOW DO WE DEFINE
THE PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN ACHIEVING A GOOD LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT BY THE AGE OF FIVE?
8
Outcomes for pupils aged 5 are determined at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage (end of Reception year) using the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP). These
profiles summarise and describe a child’s attainment at the end of the EYFS and are based on ongoing observation and assessment.
The attainment measure used is the percentage of pupils who achieve a ‘Good Level of Development’. Until 2012 this required pupils to achieve 78+ points with at least 6+ in
all aspects of CLL (Communication, Language and Literacy) and PSED (Personal, Social and Emotional Development). In 2013 a new Framework was introduced with pupils
being assessed as being emerging (1), expected (2) or exceeding (3) against seventeen Early Learning Goals. A Good Level of Development requires pupils to be at least at the
expected level in the three prime areas of learning: communication and language, physical development and personal, social and emotional development and the early
learning goals within the literacy and mathematics areas of learning.
Historically Essex has performed below the National average with a national ranking as low as 135th (out of 152 LAs) in 2011. 2012 saw the gap reduce through targeted
interventions along with all pupils starting their Reception year in the Autumn term for the first time. Whilst 2013 is not directly comparable with previous years, it is very
noticeable that Essex now exceeds the Eastern Region and England averages for the first time and has its highest ever national ranking of 51 st.
Under the revised framework the figures for Essex 2012/2013 (53%) compare with a figure of (52%) for England and (41%) in the National Pilot (2012). Essex County Council
Early Years Foundation Stage Profile results have moved from the bottom Quartile in 2011 / 2012 to the top quartile in 2012 / 2013 based on the national profile of results.
A detailed analysis has been undertaken in relation to Good Level of Development (GLD). This document creates a detailed narrative for 2012/2013 that will form an effective
baseline for future reference and future comparison. The document considers performance by school, district and quadrant, considers each EYFSP, gender and ethnicity.
Analysis of Good Level of Development in 2013 identified that the gap between boys and girls is 17% overall and 18% when measured against writing.
The current 2013/2014-2016 Vision and Core Purpose for Early Years and Childcare referenced below has set clear aspirations to improve on the already upward trajectory for
early years outcomes in Essex.
• All Children have access to sufficient and sustainable high quality early education and childcare provision.
• Children aged 0-5 have improved educational attainment within the Early Years Foundation Stage, benefiting from a specific focus on
Language, Communication and Learning outcomes.
Much of the early education and childcare that children receive between birth and four will be informal. Commonly this is provided by parents, family and friends, but there is
an increasing acknowledgement that grandparents play a significant role in the lives of children. Essex County Council acknowledges the challenges in raising the aspiration
and ambition of some parents in supporting their children to reach their full potential. There is a need to articulate the influence that parents have on the social, emotional and
cognitive development of their child and the future aspirations of their children to achieve well at school and make a positive contribution through future employment. This can
not be achieved in isolation and requires a robust alliance to be formed between ECC, parents and partners, that provides for a development of a common language and a
shared understanding of the importance of parenting style, parental involvement in education and the quality of the home learning environment on harnessing the potential of
all children.
Parents need support and reassurance to embed these messages. By influencing and integrating Early Years support in Essex we can make sense of a complex network of
services. Involving parents in co-design and looking objectively at the resources we collectively invest with partners, we will ensure that families remain at the sole focus as
they move through their child’s Early Years. Services will understand the differing needs of parents and children and know how to respond in a way that makes a real difference
This strategy will seek to deliver an approach to working with families that is ‘strengths based’ and builds upon existing skills and resilience with an acknowledgement that for
too long the state has adopted a deficit model of intervention based upon needs over strengths. By the action inherent within the Early Years review we will ensure that such
an approach is embedded across the Early Years workforce alongside a significant up scaling of peer and network support in order to fully realise the potential of parents and
carers to support each other as volunteers.
WHAT WE KNOW?
9
We have a strong background in consulting with families who access services and in particular, early years services and Children’s Centres are at the forefront of this work.
Essex County Council has undertaken a number of consultation activities with families, lead bodies and partners to seek their views on the focus and possible shape of future
Children’s Centre Services. These include a recent Children’s Centre Family Survey (2013)
Research shows that what happens in the first two years of a child life has a significant bearing on their future. From the Field Report in 2010, further developed through 1001
Critical Days in 2014 we know that parents play the most significant role in influencing their children’s futures. Research also tells us that a combination of positive parenting
and a good home learning environment can transform children’s life chances. Graham Allen’s report in 2011 and the continuing work of the Early Intervention Foundation show
us that that evidence based programmes are the most successful in improving outcomes for vulnerable children. Early intervention is essential. Whether it is advice on smoking
in pregnancy or breastfeeding, parenting or child development, if we provide access to early help for families with children at the place and point of need we will prevent
escalation and improve the outcomes of the child.
Building on the EPPE study, the Nutbrown Review in 2012 made clear links between the quality of provision in Early Years and children’s outcomes making the correlation
between the qualifications and aspirations of the workforce and the quality of Early Childhood Education. More recently there has been a levelling of the requirements placed
upon schools and early years provision as determined by Ofsted with the expectation that standards of Early Years teaching provide safe, high quality childcare that meets the
needs of all children and does not allow any to fall through the net.
If we want children in Essex to be ready for school we need to do more to intervene early in support of children with delayed speech, language and communication. Research
shows that speech, language and communication are crucial for reading, learning in school, for socialising and making friends, and for understanding and controlling emotions
or feelings, these are the very building block for School Readiness. Our approach needs to be an co-ordinated and consistent through integration of health and education
resources where front line Early Years and community health practitioners are confident to refer children for support and there is support and training for parents.
WHERE WE NEED TO KNOW MORE
In addition to our consultation with families and service users we appreciate that we still do not have all the answers with regard to what families want and need in order to to
feel supported or how different families may require different interventions at varying stages in the life of their children or in particular areas of the County. Essex County
Council will continue to use internal engagement teams and external insight to inform future iterations of this strategy and provide intelligence to inform our commissioning
decisions which will be vital in the context of reducing funding in 2015-2016
It is vital to ECC that we develop sophisticated mechanisms for capturing local family accounts in relation to how the services they access, including Children’s Centres,
Daycare settings, child-minders, pre-schools and Health services, support them. We need to establish some qualitative baselines. What is the level of parental awareness in
relation to school readiness? How does it link into the requirements for ECC and daycare settings to promote effective home learning? What more can Children’s Centres do to
promote effective home learning? What are the true impacts on a family of having no secure employment or tenancy? How effective is transition between home and nursery and
between nursery and school?
More than consultation, genuine engagement with Children, Young People and Families will form the golden thread that runs through all that we do in our pursuit of better
outcomes for children and delivery of the corporate objectives. Only by really understanding the issues for children, young people and families, by knowing what they think,
what they want, what upsets them, what angers them and what they aspire to, can we really ensure services meet those needs. We want to go further and to work
collaboratively with parents and carers to build an ethnographic evidence base and a genuine understanding of their needs as service users. A richness of everyday experience
that has sufficient depth to inform future commissioning decisions and to deliver co-designed activity that has been developed and shaped by children and families.
WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE?
10
Indicator
What success looks like
The Percentage of Children ready for school
• For a remodelled early years workforce to deliver a seamless, integrated
service
• For all children to end reception year with the right social, emotional and
cognitive foundations to learn and enjoy school
• To demonstrate year on year progress against the 2013 baseline
• To remain in the top quartile for Early Years Foundation Stage Profile
• Essex Private, Voluntary and Independent Sector performance to remain
within the top quartile for quality as indicated through inspection results
• To ensure that early years provision in areas of greatest need is delivered
through a model that delivers the highest quality
• To remain above the national average for the three prime areas of
Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development
and Communication and Language
• To work with District Authorities, Early Years and Children’s Centre
Providers and Schools to target support where data demonstrates the
need
• To ensure that families can access the Early Help they require in a timely
fashion.
The Percentage of children achieving a Good Level of Development by
the age of five
• For schools to be engaged in driving up standards in early education
before statutory school age
• To maintain trajectory of data trend under the new framework for the
Early Years Foundation Stage Profile
• To remain ahead of national and regional averages for GLD
• Essex Private, Voluntary and Independent Sector performance to remain
within the top quartile for quality as indicated through inspection results
• To use targeted intervention to address both geographical and
demographical variation in EYFSP Results.
• To maintain intervention specific to early language and communication
• To elevate the importance of Home Learning on outcomes for children
and embed practice through Early Years Providers, Children’s Centres
and Parenting provision
WHAT
ARE THE IMPORTANT ISSUES?
11
The fundamental principle of the strategy is to grasp the opportunity that exists to re-define the Early Years Workforce. This represents a significant challenge as the broader
Early Years agenda is delivered through a multi-stakeholder network of services. By taking a holistic view of the resources available and establishing a clear outcomes
framework there is the opportunity to develop and up skill the workforce and create a seamless pathway of timely support for families based on locally identified need and
delivered through consistent advice, integrated provision and effective data sharing.
Whilst this is a positive opportunity it is one we must not fail to achieve. No longer can there be ambiguity about what good outcomes for children look like, nor can we overlook
the gap between children from low income families and their better off peers. We have the knowledge and the opportunity, we now need to make the system changes needed.
By working with partners and families we can develop an early years pathway that is simpler and more logical to families with key points of transition well developed and
communicated, a landscape where every parent in Essex shares an understanding of their role as first educators and takes responsibility for ensuring their child masters basic
essential skills before starting school because they want them to enjoy the experience, to do well and have a successful life.
Critical to the future success of plans for Early Years reform will be the creation of a sustainable model that works from the perspective of the family. A model that utilises the
experience and expertise of ECC and partners but hands back control and decision making to parents and carers giving them the information and the support to make informed
choices that impact positively on the long term stability and success of their children.
Examples already exist within Essex where families themselves lead local support through a peer support model. Volunteering , as set out in the Education and Lifelong
Learning Strategy, includes expanding networks of peer support and mentoring programmes. The impact of this is to more freely utilise the experience of families. Parents and
carers offer an empathy and the understanding that creates credible, non stigmatising local support options, increasing the likelihood of engaging the most vulnerable families
and developing local community resilience through a framework that enables families to support each other, share experiences and learn from one another. As well as
increasing opportunities for community based peer support, Essex County Council will develop the model further with families to create networks through the use of social
media and online support. Here significant learning and understanding can be gained through sharing of concerns, experiences and support through Facebook pages and
YouTube videos providing a degree of immediacy and creating a very localised and relevant community resource.
This investment in building community resilience and reducing the need for families to rely solely on the Local Authority for support has the potential to develop and extend far
beyond Early Years and Childcare to enable the type of community mobilisation described in the ‘Who Will Care’ report (2013) commissioned for Essex. Extending the
principles that a local approach and local understanding of needs can deliver the best care, support or intervention, there are opportunities grow the Early Years Peer Support
and mentoring principles in order to embrace the broader priorities of Essex County Council and improve integrated health and social care outcomes for residents through a
whole family view of community needs.
There exists an opportunity for ECC to consider more creative and innovative or flexible use of resources and capacity, particularly in terms of properties used to deliver
community based services. This is an integral aspect of the Children’s Centre delivery model across the County with services delivered from schools and libraries as well as
dedicated premises but there is significant scope for extending the use of premises in order to add value to these buildings and provide a richer resource for local communities.
The design of this strategy is very much grounded in national and international research that helps us to determine the key issues to address in order to bring about
improvement in early year outcomes in Essex, such issues act as markers around which the strategy flows and include; Investment in points of transition, effective home
learning, peer support, integrated services, workable data and information sharing protocols, good governance and appropriate scrutiny, parenting provision, workforce
development and integration, Early Years qualifications and pay and quality of provision. The delivery of the strategy will largely be determined by local conditions based on
conversations with professionals and families about local needs and pre-existing services in order that any additional emphasis or support avoids duplication and plugs
existing gaps in a way that is meaningful and accessible to families. Essex is a large and diverse County with differing needs and no one policy or activity will have universal
application but by basing our approach on a sound evidence and working with families to create local solutions we can collectively design and deliver local, sustainable
support that brings about the changes needed.
WHAT
ARE THE IMPORTANT ISSUES?
12
It is important that we know what success looks like. The basis for both indicators is to demonstrate that children are starting in Year 1 with the right basic social and
emotional blocks in place and the capacity to learn. In addition to this children attending school need to be ready to learn which will be determined by a number of external
influences including the home environment. The following schematics (Fig.1 & 2) sets out what success might look like for a parent living in Essex and for Essex as a Local
Authority. In addition to successfully improving outcomes for children and families ECC will expect to deliver these improvements within the envelope of the Medium Term
Resourcing Strategy and working towards longer term financial savings.
Essex is currently in the top quartile for Early Years Foundation Stage
Profile results which should be noted as a significant turn around from
2012. This reflects the Private, Voluntary and Independent Sector
provision across Essex where quality has been in the top quartile for
some years. This needs to be recognised as part of the journey for turning
the curve and it may be useful to further undertake work with
stakeholders to analyse information behind this (including OFSTED
reports over a period of time) with a sample of settings to establish the
evidence base for what is working well. The EYFSP results provide part of
the overall picture of quality and need to be considered alongside Ofsted
inspection outcomes to give a more holistic picture of quality.
Having strategically responded to the 2011 position against national
comparators and having so significantly 'turned the curve' in relation to
these indicators there is now a shared focus to maintain this level of
success and to sustain or build upon 2012/2013 figures. These figures
need to be viewed in the context of changes to the measure following the
national review of the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile and changes
to the methodology for measuring progress. The figure being used to
highlight the significant turning of the curve achievement for 2012/2013
reflects the first under this new framework, and as such a year on year
comparison is not possible.
It will be important to maintain focus on childcare sufficiency, making
sure that enough, accessible childcare places exist to meet demand. This
will be a bedrock for supporting families and children in the Early Years of
life. Concentrating on families who currently do not access the Free Early
Education Entitlement (FEEE) for three and four years olds and ensuring
through sufficiency duties, that capacity exists to meet the 100% target.
In relation to Free Early Education Entitlement (FEEE) for two year olds,
Essex has ensured that the current demand for places under the first
phase of FEEE2 is met but will need to respond to the Central Government
increase in target from 20% to 40% for FEEE2 under Phase 2.
Fig.1 What success might look like for parents in Essex
13
Parents and carers will help to inform the look and feel of the support that
they access and by working to co-design design support we will build
positive and trusting relationships that empower families to take a lead
in identifying and finding solutions to their own needs.
A strengths based approach to working with families will be based on
a clear understanding of what family life is like, gained through
a consistent approach to using ethnographic research. Being more
informed, we will be able to make whole system changes that enhance
our Early Help offer based on a more anticipatory approach to support,
intervening early to prevent problems from developing.
When families are vulnerable the seamless Early Years landscape will
identify and intervene quickly where a child is at risk of harm and will
develop a network of multi-agency support where families need it,
through the use of Shared Family Assessment and the Early Help and
Advice Hub.
Integrated commissioning with Clinical Commissioning Groups across
Essex will provide the opportunity to bring together early years outcomes
with physical and emotional health, joining up and developing a shared
understanding of child development, identifying and supporting children
with developmental delay or additional needs at an early stage and
providing support and advice to their families.
A homogenous workforce does not need to lose the professional heritage
of its component disciplines but can build a diversity of experience and a
richness of personal and professional development that will raise the
standards of the workforce and maintain the continuous improvement in
outcomes for children that we seek.
Through a network of Children’s Centres we will work through both
targeted and universal routes to embed further the need for a rich home
learning environment for children, providing support for children with
additional needs and disability so that they can fulfil their potential.
Fig.2 What success might look like for Essex County Council
Working with schools and childcare providers we will create a shared
understanding of what school readiness looks like for individual children,
and will embed the fundamental importance of effective, well nurtured transitions for all children in Essex. We will advocate for a greater alliance between Early Years providers
and school head teachers to support improved outcomes for those least likely to reach their potential. Where there is demand for high quality early education, particularly in
areas of deprivation, we will explore the funding opportunities to develop further Maintained Early Years provision led by Schools either on site or on linked sites, in line with
Government and Ofsted recommendations.
EARLY YEARS REVIEW
14
The strategic union that has been formed between the Local Authority and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) is one of the key factors in creating the right conditions for a
broad reaching and ambitious review of Early Years in Essex. This is a unique opportunity and one that will fully utilise the combined organisational strength and expertise to
develop an innovative approach to meeting local needs and really involving families in the design and development of their own, community based support.
The review will use national and international research
and best practice to consider how best to
re-model the Early Years workforce and corresponding
finances to develop an integrated Early Years and early
help offer from pre-birth through to school.
Working in collaboration with CCGs there are
opportunities to be truly innovative and to remove
duplication. Opportunities to better understand funding
and resources, both those in scope for the review and
those that may exist within complimentary areas of
health and education in order to achieve value for
money and determine what quality looks like in terms of
outcomes for children. There is the scope to develop a
shared understanding of child development and school
readiness across the spectrum of early years
practitioners and to look at how best to utilise specialist
targeted interventions and highly trained health
professionals to improve outcomes for children.
The diagram in Fig.3 identifies the scope of the Early
Years Review and the key consideration including
finance, workforce, research , needs assessment and
engagement.
FIG.3 EARLY YEARS REVIEW PROCESS MAP
Work in all of these areas is underway and will combine
to inform the review. Some of the most exciting and
innovative work is developing from the strategic review
of engagement with families and children. Through the
use of ethnography, commissioners will be able to
access a far richer and more informed picture of what
impacts on the day to day life of families in Essex and
gain a deeper appreciation of how to design effective
support alongside parents and carers.
The opportunity to place children and families at the centre of a model of integrated support and early help is driving the thinking during this far reaching review and will have
significant influence over the strategic actions taken forward through this strategy.
As the Early Years Review progresses there are a number of interesting and important themes and ideas emerging from our ethnographic engagement work with
children and families in Essex and our engagement of the wider Early Years workforce. It is critical that we use this information and constantly question our approach
in order to group the issues forming and accurately focus the next steps.
I must not chew gum in class
I must not chew gum in class
WHAT ARE WE LEARNING?
• COMMUNITY
NETWORKS ARE CRITICAL TO SUPPORTING
CHILDREN AND ADULTS WITH MENTAL
HEALTH ISSUES
/EMOTIONAL
• THE
IMPORTANCE OF GOOD MATERNAL MENTAL
HEALTH FAMILY
Themes ideas•
MANY
PARENTS ARE FEELING ISOLATED
• RELATIONSHIPS BRING VARIETY AND
LIVES, THEY BRING RESILIENCE AND
RICHNESS TO
THEY BRING
OPPORTUNITIES
• THE
IMPACT OF POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS ON FAMILY
STABILITY AND RESILIENCE IS SIGNIFICANT
• THE
IMPORTANCE OF NURTURING COMMUNITY
CONNECTIONS AND BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN
INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES AS A KEY MECHANISMS
FOR SUPPORTING VULNERABLE FAMILIES
• THE
POWER OF PEER SUPPORT NETWORKS IN
DEVELOPING COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND PARENTAL
CONFIDENCE
15
WHO DO WE NEED TO WORK WITH ?
16
The focus on partners has been kept purposefully broad and is not an exhaustive list.
Essex Community Partners
Parents and Carers / Foster Carers /
Grandparents
- Parents have a significant role to play as their child’s first educators as well as their primary carer. The role of
parents during a child’s earliest years is the single biggest influence on their development. A good quality
home learning environment contributes more to children’s intellectual and social development than parental
occupation, education or income.
- Grandparents, family and friends are increasingly providing informal early education and childcare
District / Borough and City Councils
- Agreeing local priorities and working together to target resources and develop informed support based on
areas of identified need
- Housing Departments
Voluntary and Community Sector Groups
-Non statutory nature of services and local knowledge open doors to families.
-Key safeguarding responsibility
- Service commissioned through Pre-School Learning Alliance (PLA) for targeted and intensive support to
Child-minders and Out Of School providers who have been judged ‘inadequate’ or ‘requires improvement’ by
Ofsted.
-Provision of commissioned services directly / on behalf of the ECC through locality commissioning; including
Home-start, CVS and Parenting providers
-Specialists who can be commissioned to deliver specific elements of support in relation to substance
misuse, parenting, support for children with additional needs and transition.
Health Partners
Clinical Commissioning Groups
- Integrated commissioning with Local Authority particularly in relation to CAMHS
- Commissioning of GP services. - Discharge of safeguarding responsibilities
- Commissioning relationship with NHS Provider Services (NELFT, SEPT, Provide and ACE).
Maternity Services
- The commissioning responsibility of the Clinical Commissioning Groups through NHS Hospital Trusts needs
to be a clear professional relationship as part of the 0-5 HCP.
- Address issues in relation to data sharing, recording and co-ordination of support for families with health
visitors and Children's centres.
NHS England
Currently responsible for commissioning the 0-5 Healthy Child Programme and Health Visiting Services
The focus on partners has been kept purposefully broad and is not an exhaustive list.
Health Partners Continued
NHS Provider Services
Delivery of 0-5 Healthy Child Programme delivered through Health Visitors (Commissioned by NHS England
until 2015) and of the 5-19 Healthy Child Programme (commissioned by LA) and
- Delivery of the Maternal Early Childhood Sustained Home Visiting (MECSH) programme – sustained nurse
home visiting for families at risk of poorer maternal and child health and development outcomes.
Supporting parents in transition, mental health , child health, raising aspirations and improving
relationships.
-MECSH works alongside Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) a programme of co-ordinated and intensive
support for young and first time parents where delivered
- A single Early Years Development Check will be undertaken by Health Visitors and Early Years Settings
based on the EYFS from 2015 which will need to be co-ordinated.
-Provision of Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy for children
Early Childhood Education and Care
Partners
Primary Schools and School Nurseries
- Early Education and care provision along with safeguarding responsibilities for children but greater
emphasis on a continuous pathway and smoother transition between Early Years and Year 1 through
reception under the supervision on a single headteacher.
Early Years and Childcare Providers
- Provision of early education and care on a universal basis through Free Early Education Entitlement
(FEEE) 3 and 4 and on a targeted basis for the most vulnerable under FEEE2
- Safeguarding responsibilities
- Statutory duty to support the home learning environment
- Transitions
- Early identification of family needs and partners to early help services.
Childrens Centres Service Providers
-The importance here is in relation to integrated commissioning by the Local Authority to integrate
contracts for Children's Centres, and the 0-5 HCP, FNP and MESCH around a single set of outcomes
creating a clear pathway for families based on data / intelligence sharing.
-Emphasis on a targeted response to local EYFSP results in line with Ofsted requirements.
-Maintaining universal services and focusing on parenting, early education and development rather than
health.
17
18
Essex Partners
Essex County Council People Commissioning
-Integrated commissioning priorities for children set out with CCGS and NHS England in the ECC, NHS
England and Clinical Commissioning Groups - Commissioning Intentions for Children, Young People
and Families 2013-2015
-Currently commission 5-19 Healthy Child Programme and will be responsibility for 0-19 Healthy Child
programme from 2015
-Commissioning of activity in relation to Outcome 1 including, but not exclusively; Weight Management
and Obesity, Sexual Health, Breastfeeding Support and Physical Activity.
Family Solutions
-Co-ordination of health intervention and parenting for families in need of additional support.
Essex Safeguarding Children Board (ESCB)
- Aims to keep children and young people in the county safe from harm, particularly those who are most
vulnerable, and tries to ensure that they feel secure, well cared for, and able to reach their full
potential.
Pre-School Specialist Teacher, Specialist Teachers,
Area SENCOs, Educational Psychologists
- Early Years resource for children with additional needs and disability working with Early Years
provision to support children in advance of school based support.
Essex Children, Young People and Families
Partnership Board and Locality Partnership Boards
- A Multi-agency, locality based forum for developing work streams and creating networks that improve
outcomes for children in line with the Essex Children, Young People and Families Partnership Plan.
National Partners
Ofsted
National Government
Public Office
-Sole arbiters of quality for all early years and child care provision. This means that the Local Authority
has no remit to visit or support settings unless they are deemed to be in need of intervention by Ofsted.
This reduces the proactive interaction with nurseries that may halt a deterioration in quality.
-Policy in relation to FEEE, Children's Centres, Select Committee Reports drive best practice,
commissioned research.
Regulation of the Early Childhood Care and Education sector.
-Commissioned to work with ECC to support the need for greater understanding of the holistic needs of
families in Essex and developing the Ethnographic principles that will enable ECC and partners to codesign support with parents.
WHAT ARE WE DOING TO SUPPORT CHILDREN IN ESSEX?
19
Lead commissioners are currently formulating a visioning document for the Early Years and Childcare Service ‘The Essex Approach to Commissioning Early Years and Childcare The Best Start in Life ‘This high level document will form the operational blueprint for the service drawing on the strategic proposals included within the Commissioning
Strategy and aligning with the Essex Health and Wellbeing Strategy, Lifelong learning Strategy and Children, Young People and Families Partnership Plan.
The vision for Early Years and Childcare Services details the aspiration of Essex County Council to support all children in Essex to get the best start in life, to enable them to
reach their full potential through direct delivering directly and procurement of early years and childcare support that endorses the principles of the Early Years Foundation
Stage and early intervention.
The document sets out the statutory duties under the Childcare Act 2006 in relation to improving outcomes for all young children aged 0-5 and reducing inequalities, ensuring
sufficiency of childcare for all children and provision of information, advice and assistance to families. Drawing on the importance of a high quality workforce in achieving
better outcomes for children, the vision includes information, advice, guidance and training for childcare providers to enable them to improve the quality of childcare
provision.
The following section represents a series of critical actions that will drive forward the strategy for Outcome 1 – Children in Essex get the Best Start in life, specifically in relation
to Indicator Group A.
The following actions represent a series of markers around which the future findings of the Strategic Review of Early Years can be mapped. Current actions fall within the
forecast budget for Early Years and Childcare and are based on early findings of the review process, national policy or evidence based decisions.
Actions have been ragged according to the time period for delivery. Actions ragged Green are already underway. Actions ragged Amber will commence within 3 to 6 months
and actions ragged Red will be delivered within 6 to 12 months.
Early Language and
Communication
ELC.1
Based on national research identifying the importance of early language and communication on social, emotional and cognitive deliver the
Talk Listen and Cuddle (TLC) programme to promote the importance of supporting young children to develop the language and
communication skills they need for life.
Increase parental support through information, guidance and activities working with Early Years Providers, Essex Libraries and Essex Parks,
to develop opportunities to explore language and communication through outdoor learning environments
20
Home Learning
Environment
HLE.1
Invest in development of the Home Learning Environment. Encourage talking, reading and playing in order to help children develop the
trust, attitude and skills to help them continue to be ready for school, willing and able to learn.
Transition
TS.1
Invest in organisational integration and a shared understanding of the importance of effective transition between health visitors, parents,
schools and pre-schools.
TS.2
Develop a pan Essex Transition Charter in order to fully engage schools head teachers and commit them to signing up to principles and
actions in relation to the ongoing dialogue with parents, children and early years providers that facilitate effective transition into school.
Inclusion and support
for children with
additional needs
SEN.1
Work with partners to ensure support is appropriate and timely will support referrals to Early Help for vulnerable families and ensure early
years provision is accessible and provides opportunities to maximise the life chances of all children. This represents an existing
commitment within the SEN budget in the current Medium Term Resourcing Strategy.
Quality Provision
QP.1
Invest in support for practitioners to effectively implement the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework, supporting
continuous improvement through professional development opportunities, sharing best practice advice and training and challenging
underperformance through targeting support and resources where data and other evidence identifies a need. This represents an existing
commitment within the main Early Years Budget but will need to be reviewed if budgets are reduced to meet the councils funding gap.
21
Developing and
maintaining a high quality
workforce
DE.1
Invest in a comprehensive workforce development model built around four key areas: Legislative Requirements; Strategic National and
Local Priorities; Research Based Practice and Inspection Analysis. Based on face to face training, briefings, bulletins, e-learning and
web based information, training will concentrate on improving early years and childcare environments, supporting early years graduate
leaders and developing professional networks across the County.
DE.2
Schools and settings to provide early, accurate and timely assessment for children with SEND, through well trained staff, where
appropriate before children reach school – keeping to a minimum, delays between referral and action.
DE.3
Map the correlation between inspection and the Early Years Graduate workforce.
DE.4
Evaluate the future impact of Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS) on Foundation Stage Profile (FSP) and School Readiness.
DE.5
Undertake a study to fully understand the deployment of EYT is within settings in relation to driving quality, contact hours, in house
training and ratios.
Family Information Advice
and Guidance
FI.1
Model extension of the statutory requirements met through the provision of the Families Information Service (FIS) to support families
to answer their own questions and to access information in an easy and timely manner. Further develop FIS to fulfil a childcare
brokerage role with particular relevance to families seeking support for children with SEND. If this is deemed to be viable and remains
a priority reductions would need to be made across other early years production.
22
Children’s Centres
CC.1
To undertake a review of the Children's Centres specification to create a clear focus and restrict the spectrum of service, concentrating
on achieving clear outcomes. This is an area of significant expenditure (approximately £11m from the Non-DSG budget) and the review
will need to reflect the impact of delivering this service with a reduced financial envelope.
CC.2
Undertake a Children’s Centre Workforce Assessment to determine the impact of commissioning model on morale, productivity and
achieving outcomes to support children and parents.
CC.3
With particular emphasis on increasing School Readiness and Good Levels of Development, analyse am interpret local data in relation
to the two indicators to shape the content and focus of Sure Start Children’s Centres services and increase the engagement of specific
demographic groups with the aim of improving outcomes in a targeted sense.
CC.4
Work with partners to support all children and their families to remain independent and to develop their own resilience and
responses to life issues. Place clear emphasis on delivering Early Help through training and awareness raising with providers and
exploring the synergy with Children’s Centre outcomes mindful of the need to maintain a universally accessible Children’s Centre
service.
CC.5
Model internal provision of targeted graduate resource akin to Children’s Centre Teacher model to work directly with settings for time
bound, outcome driven intervention. The modelling will involve detailed costing to ensure that such provision is affordable given a
reducing financial envelope for 2015/2016 onwards.
CC.6
To consider a specific focus on Early Language and Communication Development with children and families from 0-2 years through
Children’s Centre provision.
CC.7
To develop appropriate Data Sharing arrangements with Clinical Commissioning Groups and Community Healthcare Providers that
support the strategic shaping of targeted services and timely intervention that precisely meets the needs of children and families.
Support for Refuges
R.1
Continue current arrangements that provide financial support for the network of Refuges to fund a dedicated Early Years resource and
outreach services where appropriate. The level of ONGOING financial support will need to be reviewed as overall Council funding
reduces.
R.2
Support Refuges with registration of their premises and the creation of registered childcare on site, to support improvement in the
outcomes of short term, transient placements of women and children in line with EYFS.
R.3
Create a number of childcare places rather than child funded FEEE places to sustain childcare provision through the refuge network.
23
People Commissioning
PC.1
Undertake Information Evaluation with Essex University in relation to the impact of information shared antenatally with families in
relation to breastfeeding, diet, nutrition, smoking cessation in order to build effective evidence base that reflects the value of the
Children’s Centre model as a route for these public health outcomes
PC.2
Strategic planning for integration of 0-5 pathway from NHS England in 2015 as part of the Early Years Review. The planning will focus
on opportunities through integration to make cashable savings to support the closing of the Local Authority budget gap in 2015/2016
onwards.
PC.3
Prepare necessary service re-design and procurement for 5-19 Health Child Programme in the context of maximising the quality of
outcomes within a reduced financial envelope of up to 20%
PC.4
Preparation for Integrated Development Checks based on EYFS from 2015 as part of the Early Years Review. As per PC.3, the
preparation will focus on opportunities through integration to make cashable savings to support the closing of the Local Authority
budget gap in 2015/2016 onwards.
PC.5
Commission a comprehensive long term study to explore in detail a broad range of factors influencing School Readiness and Good
Level of Development (including but not exclusively); Ethnicity, Children with Individual Needs or a Disability, Free School Meals,
Summer Born Children, poverty, deprivation, the difference in developmental rate between boys and girls, the impact of single form
entry, Children with English as an additional language, Children with SEN and Additional Needs, Eligible Children who have not taken
up Free Entitlement, OFSTED inspection judgements for pre-schools / Children's Centres / Daycare and Schools / Childminders.
PC.6
Evaluate the impact of the Family Nurse Partnership on improving school readiness, promoting self sufficiency and reducing welfare
dependency across Essex in a longitudinal study.
PC.7
Consider the outcome of the internal review of education provision. Part of this review will consider the Early Years budget, structure
and remit, in a move to define the relationship between Commissioner and Provider within Education and to create appropriate
accountability and transparency in relation to funding and performance. This review will also explore opportunities for further
cashable saving that can be made to support efforts to close the Councils budget gap in 2015/2016 onwards.
PC.8
Take a strategic decision that considers whether ECC delivers the Central Government target of 40% for FEEE2 in line with the financial
impact this may have in the Councils Dedicated Schools Grant.
PC.9
Explore opportunities to utilise existing community based provision to establish a network of intelligence and support for children
who have witnessed abusive relationships.
PC.10
To develop a co-ordinated approach to identifying and supporting children where there is an early language and communication
delay. Making appropriate integrated provision to provide support, advice and training for parents.
24
Early Years Strategy
EYS.1
Work with the Public Office and Ruth Kennedy has led to a number of workshops. As a result of this work Lead Commissioners will
review current actions in line with the Keep, Discard, Amplify and Create model. By scrutinising the impact and cost of current delivery
models, commissioners will be able to consider the most appropriate mechanisms for future successes. This will be a main driver in
exploring ways in which this strategy can make budget savings to support the approach to closing the Councils budget gap in 2015/216 onwards.
EYS.2
Hold a High level Essex summit of Early Years experts to think about the future of early years provision and the most appropriate
models for delivering change.
EYS.3
Analyse data in relation to CIN and CP / Analyse Family Solutions data to prevent pre-school children moving into or returning to CP /
CIN
EYS.4
Consider the mechanisms for a targeted 0-5 grant as part of Family Innovation Fund (FIF)
EYS.5
Create a clear outcomes framework for Early Years and Childcare including Children’s Centres that demonstrates dynamic
relationships between multi-agency partners, including parents and schools, in determining school readiness.
Consultation / Engagement
CE.1
Consult with schools on their expectations of school readiness and working in partnership with PVI settings, Schools and Parents,
determine an Essex definition of School Readiness.
CE.2
Develop a platform for locality based integrated working with the PVI sector settings and schools to support the development of
integrated transition plans. Develop Individual Transition Plans for each child that move with the child to inform anybody working with
them at this critical time.
CE.3
Consult with parents / carers of children who have accessed Free Early Education Entitlement for disadvantaged two year olds and all
three and four year old to build a picture of how prepared they felt to start school (Reception Year).
CE.5
Consider links with significant partners from industry i.e. key employers within Essex who may want to link/sponsor developments
CE.6
Invest sufficient capacity and resource into developing a rich ethnographic evidence based, built around the experiences of children
and families across Essex that will inform future commissioning decisions. Work with broad spectrum of Early Years agencies and
influencers to up-skill the early years workforce and mandate to collect ethnographic evidence
25
Influencing factors
IF.1
Work with District and Locality Clusters and Children’s Partnerships to develop a series of shared principles and best practice in
relation to achieving ‘School Readiness’ based on a shared understanding of the appropriate criteria, based on every child being
individual.
IF.2
Consider the opportunities to create sustainable, high quality Early Years provision in the areas of highest vulnerability through
development of Maintained nursery provision and development of an invest to save model for release of capital funding.
Legislative
L.1
Consider improvements to the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of an area when buying and commissioning goods and
services in line with The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012. Being a commissioning led organisation requires us to ensure that
future procurements of goods/services deliver improved social value as well as best value. While the immediate financial cost of
services, and quality considerations have traditionally been the focus of commissioning, progress in considering social value has
already been made since the launch of the act, including updating our Invitations to Tender (ITT) documents to reflect SVA
criteria. Our future challenge when commissioning activity identified through this strategy is to ensure SVA’s ongoing consideration
and that we are able to quantify social value so that it is contestable and comparable.
HOW WILL WE KNOW THINGS ARE IMPROVING? WHAT WILL WE MEASURE?
26
INDICATOR GROUP B
 Percentage of families living in temporary accommodation
 Percentage of children living in non working households
WHAT IS CURRENTLY HAPPENING IN ESSEX?
In relation to Temporary Accommodation the figures below demonstrate the national picture based on an aggregated report for 2013 – Quarter 1 through 4. The total number of
children includes children up to the age of 16 including expected children. This report is based on a return to government called the P1E which is a homelessness return
completed on a quarterly basis by Districts. This records homeless households that are in some form of temporary accommodation (including Bed and Breakfast, Hostels,
Local Authority Housing, Private Lease and Temporary Accommodation in another Local Authority area.
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
76,030
79,680
78,690
80,950
Homelessness - Statutory homeless
The plateauing figures for the number of households deemed
to be Homeless under the statutory definition are seen in the
graph. These figures are an indication of the trend in relation to
homelessness which is aligned to the requirement placed upon
District, Borough and City Councils to identify temporary
accommodation. This may be through crisis intervention where
families are placed in nightly accommodation or bed and breakfast
or may be a longer term solution where families are housed in local
housing stock. In both case the insecurity of tenure has a significant
impact on the health and development of our children and the health
and wellbeing of the wider family as recognised in the
Health and Wellbeing Strategy.
Number of households living in temporary accommodation in Essex
(LGA 2014) Then number of households living in temporary
accommodation - A simple count of households living in temporary
accommodation provided under the homelessness legislation
Number per 1,000 households
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Time period
England
EOE projected
England projected
Essex
East of England
Essex projected
The data (for Q3 of 2013 dated 30th September 2013 ) highlighted only 14 families in Essex were in bed and breakfast for more than six weeks at the point of recording.
These are incidents where the period of review requires that families reside in Bed and Breakfast beyond the statutory six week period. Research identifies that the
greater the exposure to this form of accommodation the more likely it is to have an adverse impact on family stability, child development and attainment.
27
Families with Children living in Bed and Breakfast (DCLG 2013)
Families with children in Bed and Breakfast accommodation for more than 6 weeks, excluding those pending review, by local authority.
In Qtr. 3 of 2013 the number of households living in temporary accommodation in Essex was 1,017 compared with 1480 in Quarter 3 of 2008 Local Government Association
(2014)
As set out in the Economic Growth Strategy, the strain on home finances for families is increasingly becoming a priority issue in Essex. Currently 46% of Essex residents are
concerned about their own financial situation, with one in five Essex residents worried about redundancy or unemployment.
Worklessness contributes towards a sense of disempowerment that means individuals and families are unable to make decisions that impact on their lives. This has a serious
impact on the stability and security of families and a detrimental impact on the emotional and physical health of individuals.
Worklessness in Essex this increased in 2012 (7.2) compared to 2011 (6.7). By contrast, East of England authorities showed general improvement in 2012, compared to a period
of decline in 2011. Between July 2012 and June 2013 Harlow (9.8%), Tendring (9%) and Basildon (8.9%) had the highest unemployment rates of all the Essex districts.
Unemployment hotspots in parts of the county are also worst affected by youth unemployment.
2012 Data from the Office of National Statistics
identifies the percentage of children living in workless
households in Essex as 12.8% against a national
average figure of 14.9%
There has been a decrease in the proportion (and number) of Workless households for households with dependent children and children under 16 between 2008 and 2011.
This is approximately 6,800 fewer households, a decrease of 20.4%, for children under 16 years and 6,900 fewer dependent children or a decrease of 18.9%. What is changing
in Essex (2013)
What is Changing in Essex 2013
Report on population and demographic trends of children, young people and families
28
The number of children living in households where nobody works is reducing across Essex.
This decrease in workless households for those with ‘dependent children’ (Red) and in
households with ‘children under 16‘ (Blue) has also been coupled with a decrease in the
number of Mixed households and an increase in the number of Working households. This
is different from ‘all households’ (Green) which shows a decrease in the number of
working households since 2008.
Concerns have been raised over Universal credit in relation to reducing the incentives for
second earners therefore in the future we may observe an increase in workless / mixed
households. What is Changing in Essex (2013)
The following documents also provide key information for further analysis against these indicators
Office of National Statistics - Workless Households for Regions across the UK (2012)
Local Authority and ward level statistics for most major benefits relating to worklessness
The Essex CC figure below exclude Southend and Thurrock. The Essex figure in bold include figures for both Unitary Authorities.
When looking at these figures
Harlow has the highest number of
workless households at 22.1% of their
households, followed by Tendring
who have 21.7 then Basildon who
have 19.1%.
Figures are rounded to the nearest
1,000 and the table shows grey areas
as being less reliable due to sample
size.
Workless Households for regions
across the UK in 2012 – Households by
combined economic activity – Office of
National Statistics Sept 13 extracted
from Department of Communities and
Local Government Report (March 2014)
.
HOW DO WE DEFINE THE PERCENTAGE
OF FAMILIES LIVING IN TEMPORARY ACCOMMODATION?
29
The Housing Act 1996 and Homelessness Act 2002 refer to use of temporary accommodation as follows:a) Where there is a legal homeless duty and the accommodation solution would reasonably be expected to last for 6 months or less.
b) A family with children as part of the household who are likely to be ‘owed a homelessness duty’ can be housed for 6 weeks in temporary solutions – This is usually
bed and breakfast, hotel or similar shared arrangement specifically and is referred to B and B style accommodation. Provision is seen as being reasonable whilst
investigations and decision making takes place regarding a statutory homeless duty. This should not be for longer than six weeks.
The definition used to determine successful homelessness Intervention or Homelessness Relief is accommodation secured for a period of at least six months – Department
Communities and Local Government – Recording Homelessness Prevention and Relief at E10 of the P1E Quarterly Return
Families who are homeless and housed in temporary accommodation is an increasing number nationally. The most recent figures issued by the Government (December 2013)
show that the total number of homeless households in temporary accommodation (of all types, including B&B) increased by 8% on the same date in 2012 (11%) in London.
Shelter’s June 2004 report, Living in Limbo, which was based on a survey of more than 400 homeless households living in temporary accommodation in England, found that
living in temporary accommodation has a “devastating’ impact on the health, education and job opportunities of the homeless”. The authors estimated that temporary housing
was costing the taxpayer over £500 million each year through higher rents and additional housing benefit costs, additional take up of out-of-work benefits, out-of-school
provision for children, take up of sickness benefits and visits to the GP due to health problems (See Outcome 2 Strategy for an explanation of the relationship between health
and worklessness).
Shelter, reported that over 80,000 (80,950) children across Britain were living in temporary accommodation on Christmas day 2013
accommodation - England (2013)
Homeless households in temporary
In November 2012 the National Housing Federation (NHF) published Homeless Bound? a study of homelessness in London, the south east and east of England. The report
highlighted a 60% increase in the number of children and pregnant women living in B&Bs with over a third in B&Bs for longer than the six-week limit – representing a 200%
increase over two years. The NHF called on the Government to monitor the full amount of time that children spend in B&Bs beyond the six week limit.
Living in Bed and Breakfast accommodation for children often means living in cramped conditions, perhaps sharing a single room with their whole family. It means having to
share a bathroom with strangers and eating unhealthy food prepared with inadequate cooking facilities. It means playing in damp, squalid rooms that lack proper fire escapes,
furniture or facilities. This accommodation potentially exposes children to a greater safeguarding risk as a result of the multiple occupancy nature and shared facilities. These
are risks to development health and the safety of children that need to be eliminated. For District, Borough and City Councils, bed and breakfast accommodation is expensive,
costing them up to twice as much as other forms of temporary accommodation. Not only does this impact directly on the housing benefit bill and housing authorities’ it has a
long term impact on the general funds administered by the ECC as it drains limited resources away from other services vital to the development of children such as education
and social services. Assured tenancy represents the lowest cost to the District Authorities and represents the best situation for families.
Essex Refuge Network
Children across Essex will be housed in refuge accommodation on a temporary basis where there is a need for emergency accommodation, advice and help for women
suffering domestic violence, and their children. Actions in the previous section seek to improve the developmental opportunities for children in refuge accommodation who
may be removed from regular early childhood education. It is important to consider the impact of this temporary move and the unfamiliar surroundings on the child’s ability to
thrive and the impact of transition from the family home, to refuge accommodation and then into safe accommodation elsewhere.
HOW DO WE DEFINE THE PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN LIVING IN NON WORKING HOUSEHOLDS?
30
The Office of National Statistics define worklessness as the unemployed and economically inactive. The unemployed population ‘are people who are without a job, want a job,
have actively sought work in the last four weeks and are available to start work in the next two weeks or are out of work, have found a job and are waiting to start it in the next
two weeks’. The economically inactive population are ‘those without a job who have not actively sought work in the last four weeks, and/or are not available to start work in the
next two weeks’ (Publication Hub 2009a; 2009b). The definition will consider households containing no adult in work excluding students and those where the household head
is over retirement age.
Workless households are defined as a household where no-one aged 16 or over is in employment. These members may be unemployed or inactive. Inactive members may be
unavailable to work because of family commitments, retirement or study, or unable to work through sickness/ disability.
A working household is a household that contains at least one person aged 16 to 64, where all individuals aged 16 and over are in employment.
A mixed household is a household that contains at least one person aged 16 to 64, where at least one person aged 16 and over is in employment and at least one other is either
unemployed or inactive.
In terms of families we define this as either of the above definitions where there is one or more child between the ages of 0-16 (25 for children with additional needs)
Worklessness forms one of the criteria against which families are assessed prior to engagement through the Essex Family Solutions, early help programme. A relationship with
the Department of Work and Pensions allows for data sharing to take place but only in relation to families who have been referred to the programmes based on other triggers.
WHAT WE KNOW?
31
Research has highlighted the negative impact of temporary, and especially B&B, accommodation on homeless families with children particularly in terms of space and
conditions. For this reason it is vital that a child exposure to such tenure arrangements is limited and that support is made available to identify the causes of homelessness
and counter the impact of accommodation arrangements, even when restricted to the six week period.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Reduced educational development as a result of disruption in schooling from moving to and from new areas, making keeping links with school difficult
Issues in relation to routine and problems with lateness and poor attendance
The lack of available space in which to study
Social isolation from friends
Behavioural problems such as aggression, bed-wetting and over-activity
Reduced communication skills
Increased likelihood of accident caused by the lack of space i.e. limited cooking facilities
Children are twice as likely to be admitted to hospital
Admission rates are higher for accidents and infectious diseases (See Commissioning Strategy for Outcome 2 )
Research shows that parental worklessness is significantly associated with poorer academic attainment of young children in primary school and poorer educational
achievement (GCSE point scores) of adolescents. Worklessness along with housing is one of a number of multi-dimensional risk factors that increase the risk of poor outcomes
for our most vulnerable children. Persistent parental worklessness was related to a number of other socio-economic disadvantages, lack of qualifications, being a single
parent, ethnic minority status, living in social housing, family instability, and having a long-term limiting illness. Every Child Journal -The impact of family
worklessness on children’s education (2013)
The risks for children’s development from living in a workless household tend to be higher when they are younger, although there are relatively few studies examining the
association between parental worklessness and education outcomes during the early years. Despite this we know that the research foundations of the Sure Start Local
Programmes and subsequent Children’s Centre Initiatives nationally were in part based on the profound consequences of long term unemployment not just for the children but
for their families, communities, and for society at large. SSLPs not only aimed to enhance health and well-being during the early years, but to increase the chances that children
would enter school ready to learn, be academically successful in school, socially successful in their communities and occupationally successful when adult.
WHERE WE NEED TO KNOW MORE
In addition to the social, emotional and developmental impact of temporary accommodation on children and the impact on long term family stability there is a significant
financial costs attributed to short term crisis intervention in relation to accommodation. Working with partners across Essex there is an opportunity to develop a understanding
of the financial costs to District, Borough and City Councils as well as the wider global costs on health, social care and education. In doing this we can better determine the cost
benefit of early intervention in order to reduce or prevent homelessness through an ‘invest to save’ model.
In most communities in Essex there is a severe shortage of affordable housing (Economic Growth Strategy) . Commissioners will benefit from a pan Essex review of housing
related issues, looking at current and forecasted pressures on private, rental and social housing stocks alongside the impact on family finances and health as well as the
macro impacts on economic growth.
Using the ethnographic model commissioners will work alongside children and families to develop a clearer understanding of the impact of worklessness and insecurity of
tenure on the lives of families so that support is designed by families and has lasting application and impact on improving outcomes.
WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE?
32
Indicator
What success looks like
Percentage of families living in temporary accommodation
If we can reduce the number of families being placed in temporary
accommodation we will reduce the negative impacts on family
stability and child development leading to improvement in the overall
life chances of children in Essex.
Successful intervention will encourage and support the right social,
emotional and cognitive foundations for learning and readiness for
school.
We will aim to intervene early and reduce statutory homelessness.
Reduce the economic costs of homelessness on Education, Health
and Social Care services.
Work to a minimum standard of accommodation where temporary
accommodation can not be avoided.
Establish common use of Tenant and Landlord Charter to create
transparency for vulnerable families.
Percentage of children living in non working households
If we can work to bring about a reduction in the number of children
living in workless households we are more likely to break the cycle of
generational worklessness and support children to be motivated to
learn and inspired to work and contribute to society.
We will aim to reduce unemployment rates in Essex.
Reduce unemployment amongst the most vulnerable sub groups
Increase the number of adults in training.
Reduce the number of Teenagers not in Education, Employment or
Training (NEET).
Increase opportunities for apprenticeships.
Support families with access to back to work benefits advice.
WHAT ARE THE IMPORTANT ISSUES?
33
WORKLESS HOUSEHOLDS
There is a significant overlap between the reduction in the number of workless household and the drive of the Local Authority to expand Economic Growth on a pan Essex basis.
Families with children represent a subsection of the wider Essex population including the workless population and have specific requirements in relation to employment based
on their need for flexibility as carers. Emphasis on developing sustainable economic growth across Essex is based on Essex County Council working with key partners including
District, Borough and City Councils, HM Government, Higher Education Institutions and the South East Local Enterprise Partnership. The focus of this work will be driven
through the Commissioning Strategy for ‘Sustainable Economic Growth for Communities and Business’ . By drawing together the Local Authority approach to addressing Child
Poverty in partnership with locality stakeholders the two strategies will be aligned to improve the outcomes and future aspirations of children in Essex through the continued
reduction in workless families.
TEMPORARY ACCOMMODATION
The issue of homelessness is not restricted to those who are not in work.
A significant problem exist where families work yet through a
combination of benefit entitlement and income are still unable to meet
their monthly financial obligations. It is too easy to see this problem as
one of inability or unwillingness to work.
Success for Essex County Council will be based on a more robust
relationship with District, Borough and City Councils that enables the
scale and geography of the issue to be better understood. This will be
largely based on the availability of housing stock in areas where
homelessness is a persistent issue and the relative buoyancy of the local
rental market. Private landlords are unwilling or unlikely to work with
District Authorities where the benefit cap exceed average district rents
fearing that they are less likely to get what they are owed and they are
likely to have more stable tenant wanting the properties.
Viewing this issue as one that cuts across commissioning for People and
Place will enable Essex County Council to explore opportunities to
counter the destabilising impact that temporary accommodation has on
families. Looking across the strategic commissioning for Health,
Education and Lifelong learning, Community Safety and Economic Growth
there is a local infrastructure that could be utilised. This includes
libraries, health centres and children’s centres, that could offer out
of hours support for these vulnerable families through drop-ins,
workshops, learning sessions and support groups, all potentially
contributing the stability, familiarity and routine that families need.
There exists the potential to utilise school and Early Years premises as
community hubs offering as wrap around care and support through
Breakfast Clubs, Afterschool clubs and homework clubs to support
family stability.
Fig.4 What Success might look like from an Essex County Council Perspective
WHAT ARE THE IMPORTANT ISSUES?
34
Figure 5 seeks to convey what success might look like from the
perspective of a parent in Essex where a joined up relationship between
the Local Authority, District Borough and City Councils and Voluntary
Sector agencies has developed early help support for families on the
margins of homelessness. Working closely with landlords through
assurance and bond schemes, guarantees can be put in place to prevent
families from being evicted when they face financial crisis. This provides
the time and opportunity for organisations to provide support in relation
to debt, money management, benefit support and employment or
training.
Whilst understanding the issue and working with District Authorities to
improve the options for Temporary Accommodation, successful
intervention needs to be realistic and based on providing the highest
level of support for children and families made vulnerable by their
accommodation and insecurity of tenure.
We will not always be able to keep families out of crisis and there will
continue to be a need to use temporary accommodation where no
preventative intervention has been possible or the needs of the family
have not been disclosed.
Through the use of targeted interventions undertaken by Children’s
Centres and Early Help teams and the use of Shared Family Assessments
we can mitigate, where possible, the negative impact on a child of any
period in temporary accommodation.
Working with District, Boroughs and City Housing Leads will enable these
families to be referred at the earliest stage.
Through the use of ethnographic research we will be able to develop a
clearer understanding of the chain of events or the multiple factors that
converge to place a family in homelessness and requiring the need for
crisis intervention. By working with families to build a shared
understanding of the triggers we will be in a position to identify some of
the early warning signs and will know the right questions to ask families
in order that we can intervene as early as possible.
Fig.5 What success might look like for a parent in Essex
WHO DO WE NEED TO WORK WITH?
35
The focus on partners has been kept purposefully broad and is not an exhaustive list.
Essex Community Partners
Parents and Carers / Foster Carers
Families have a significant role to play in communicating their story through ethnographic opportunities. Through
meaningful, in-depth interviews, case studies we can build a picture that informs commissioning and supports the decisions
about ‘what, how, where and when’. From consultation with service users, with real families we can ensure activity is codesigned with parents and carers through a strength based model.
District / Borough / City Councils
- Have a local duty in relation to Housing Services / Benefits and Revenues Services / Economic Development Services.
- Local Strategic Partnerships will adopt strategic plans to address economic disadvantage at a micro level.
- Locality work to identify and address Child Poverty across Essex
- Engagement with Planning Authorities and Regeneration services in relation to sustainability and sufficiency
Voluntary and Community Sector
Groups
-Non statutory nature of services and local knowledge open doors to families.
-Key safeguarding responsibility
- Working with Family Support organisations and Women’s Refuge Networks
Social Housing Providers
- Networks of social housing providers in Essex
- Provide key sector based expertise in relation to the impact of welfare reforms on tenants and rent arrears linked to
manageable and unmanageable debt
Health Partners
Clinical Commissioning Groups
- Working proactively with District/Borough and City Councils in order to apply early intervention which will reduce the
demand for health services as a result of (supporting the local District Councils to reduce demand on health services)
- Developing Early Intervention and support in relation to Drug and Alcohol misuse and Domestic abuse.
NHS Provider services
- Working with 0-5 Healthy Child Teams , particularly Health Visitors to identify transient families and children who remain
within Essex. Did Not Attend Rates used (3xDNA for safeguarding).
Health Visitors - MECSH / FNP
- 0-5 Healthy Child Programme delivered through Health Visitors (Commissioned by NHS England until 2015) and transition
into 5-19 Healthy Child Programme
-Delivery of the MECSH programme to support parents in transition, mental health , child health, raising aspirations and
improving relationships.
-MECSH works alongside Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) a programme of co-ordinated and intensive support for young and
first time parents where delivered
Hospital Trusts
- Monitor A&E referral rates for non accidental admission
36
Early Childhood Education and
Care Partners
Schools
- Movement between schools and non attendance reflective of family movement, instability and an effect of temporary
accommodation related issues.
Children's Centre Service Providers
- Deliver a broad range of universal and targeted provision for families with a child under the age of 5; Back to work
training, Adult Learning and Family Learning.
- An integral part of the Free Early Education Entitlement (FEEE) offer for two year olds working specifically with vulnerable
families.
Clear safeguarding responsibilities. Home support for vulnerable families.
PVI Sector Providers / Childminders
and Maintained Nursery Provision
- Number of children accessing Free Early Education Entitlement for two year olds.
- Quality and workforce development
Essex Partners
ECC Commissioners
- Consider the accumulative impact on children in relation to drugs, alcohol, worklessness, domestic abuse,
accommodation
- Essex County Council Place commissioners
Family Solutions Teams
- Front facing ECC resource working with vulnerable families who take a holistic approach to the needs of the family and
work with partners to address them. These teams will have a knowledge and understanding of families across the County
and will be able to identify areas for specific focus.
Essex Safeguarding Children Board
(ESCB)
- Aims to keep children and young people in the county safe from harm, particularly those who are most vulnerable, and
tries to ensure that they feel secure, well cared for, and able to reach their full potential.
Locality Children’s Partnership
Boards
- Working in a multi-agency forum to assess local needs, identify joint priorities and develop solutions that lead to better
outcomes for children.
Emergency Services
Working together to identify trends in demands based on geographic areas and resources allocated to repeat demands
where intervention can take place up stream.
National Partners
JobCentrePlus
-
-Provision of expert support in relation to related benefits
-Access to training, CV writing and transport to support interviews and return to work
WHAT ARE WE DOING TO SUPPORT CHILDREN IN ESSEX?
37
Actions have been ragged according to the time period for delivery. Actions ragged Green are already underway. Actions ragged Amber will commence within 3 to 6 months
and actions ragged Red will be delivered within 6 to 12 months.
Data Gathering
DG.1
Consider the County wide collection of data relating to temporary accommodation and mandate District, Borough and City Council Housing
Departments to share P1E Homelessness Intervention returns in order for them to be aggregated up to give a pan Essex picture on a quarterly
basis.
DG.2
Refresh the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment Chapter on Homelessness to consider the broader ramifications of temporary accommodation and
form the baseline for future strategic monitoring. Research the causes of homelessness and the scale / impact of temporary accommodation
across Essex.
DG.3
Establish data sharing protocols with Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), local Community and Voluntary Services (CVS) and Citizens Advice
Bureau to facilitate access to quarterly data on the level and distribution of homelessness across Essex.
Strategy
S.1
Develop a strategic, multi-agency approach to reducing Child Poverty
S.2
Encourage improvement in the quality of temporary accommodation used by District, Borough and City Councils.
S.3
Establish agreement with District, Borough and City Councils to collect and share ethnographic evidence and family voices.
S.4
As part of a pan Essex information gathering exercise in order to better understand housing related issues (Economic Growth Strategy) Work with
District, Borough and City Councils to fully understand the impact of temporary accommodation and unsecured tenancy on family stability and
child development. Create an Essex wide ‘Code of Practice’ for temporary accommodation based on minimum standards of accommodation.
S.5
Using existing platforms, work to target parenting support to families in Temporary Accommodation to deliver advice and early help in relation to
routines, boundaries, sleeping and behaviour
S.6
Work with ECC Early Years workforce to understand and prioritise the needs of vulnerable children through triage meetings
38
People
Commissioning
PC.1
Task Children’s Centre Service Providers and broader early years workforce (Health Visitors) to identify and support families living in temporary
accommodation working directly with Local Housing Officers to identify families in need of one to one home support. This will need to be aligned
to the further re-shaping of Children’s Centres and the opportunity to deliver contractual savings.
PC.2
Create a keyworker relationship for children entering temporary accommodation based on a community link extended by Early Years provision or
Children’s Centre providers to maintain an external influence on that child’s development.
PC.3
Work with Women’s Refuge Network to develop effective transition tools.
PC.4
Through existing Children’s Centre networks, mandate provision of targeted parenting support through evidence based programmes to directly
support vulnerable families particularly those in workless households and temporary accommodation.
PC.5
Identify opportunities to support the stability of families in temporary accommodation through use of community library facilities and wrap
around care provided through schools.
PC.6
Create employer led initiatives such as those delivered through group Training Associations which enable employers to commission the delivery of skills
provision.
PC.7
Work with District, Borough and City Councils to determine the areas in Essex where low rental stock or high demand for rental properties
(commuter areas) makes availability of short term accommodation difficult.
PC.8
Research with Districts, Borough and City Councils opportunities to attract the right landlords for rental through consideration of Guarantor,
Bond Schemes, Advance Deposit and 2 months secure rent bonds which ensure payment to cover costs should tenants leave or find themselves
in short term difficulty with benefits.
PC.9
Undertake research to understand the causes of Statutory Homelessness across Essex. Fully define the cohort of residents and identify early
through pre-defined characteristics. Broker situation with existing landlords, negotiating benefits and understanding issues through an advocacy
role preventing crisis management and associated costs.
PC.10
Work with Local Housing providers both statutory and social to understand the impact of monthly Universal Credit payments. Weekly payments
alongside ability to budget effectively is increasing use of pay day loans, increasing both manageable and unmanageable debt and leading to
Increasing small level arrears.
PC.11
Encourage District Authorities to refresh Tenants Charters / Landlords Charters across Essex with specific aim of improving conditions within
temporary accommodation
PC.12
Identify the scale of temporary Bed &Breakfast usage for Essex and develop appropriate cost analysis to determine whether an ‘invest to save’
approach to early intervention could be developed.
39
NHS Clinical
Commissioning
Groups / Provider
Services
N.1
Develop the appropriate understanding to ensure referrals are made to social care, children’s centres and parenting services. Make the
connections between children attending clinics for enuresis and family stability where worklessness or temporary accommodation are
contributory factors.
N.2
Develop integrated practice responsive to persistent Do Not Attend (DNA) for hospital, allied therapy and Community Health appointments,
utilise Family Nurse Partnership in North and South Essex to provide engagement between 0-24 months. Integration offers opportunities to
identify cashable efficiencies that may support the funding gap that the Local Authority faces.
RISKS AND MITIGATIONS
40
- RISKS ARE EVENTS OR ACTIONS THAT MAY PREVENT US FROM ACHIEVING THE OUTCOME
- MITIGATION IS THE ACTION WE WILL TAKE TO REDUCE THE IMPACT OF THE RISKS IDENTIFIED
Risk management is the process of ascertaining what might go wrong, what the potential consequences may be, what could trigger the occurrence and deciding how best to
minimise the risk materialising. If it does go wrong, as some things inevitably will, proactive risk management will ensure the impact is kept to a minimum.
To structure and formalise the risk management arrangements Essex County Council has developed a systematic and logical process of managing risk within a comprehensive
framework to ensure it is managed effectively, efficiently and coherently. A risk register is in place for each Commissioning Strategy. Risks, and their mitigating actions, have
been identified, assigned ownership and are reviewed and updated regularly.
To ensure the risk management framework remains fit for purpose, we continually seek to review and improve our risk management methodology and embrace new initiatives
and industry practices that suit the needs of our organisation. We adapt to our changing operating environment and economic conditions and have a risk framework with
sufficient flexibility to cope with these changes.
Statement of Commitment (taken from the ECC Risk Management Strategy 2014 – 2017)
Essex County Council is committed to adopting best practice in its management of risk to ensure retained risk is of an acceptable
and tolerable level in order to maximise opportunities and demonstrate it has made full consideration of the implications of risk
to the delivery and achievement of outcomes.
The Council is clear that the responsibility for managing risk belongs to everyone and that there needs to be an appropriate level
of understanding of the nature of risk by all stakeholders.
As a corporate body, the Council is obligated to protect its material assets and to minimise its losses and liabilities. It
recognises the need to equip its workforce with the skills and expertise to manage risk on its behalf and provides the necessary
resources to ensure this can be delivered.
The Council’s risk management objectives are a long term commitment, inherent to good governance practices and fully
supported by the leaders of the Council and its Members.
Joanna Killian – Chief Executive
WHAT ARE THE COSTS OF THE ACTIONS PROPOSED?
41
Early Years Attainment
The Early Years strategy is formulated on the principles of intervening early in order to reduce the longer term financial costs of acute and targeted interventions. As such
emphasis will be placed on addressing the needs of children and families upstream through integrated assessments with health and investment in the development of the
early years workforce.
Spend on Early Years services in 2015/16 is £66.3m and is made up of £13.3m of funding from ECCs revenue budget and a further £53.0m through the ring fenced Dedicated
Schools Grant (DSG). It should be noted that confirmation of the DSG budget will not be confirmed by the Department for Education (DfE) until December 2015. As such these
figures are subject to change.
The material areas of spend within the DSG budgets for 2015/16 are :
- £40.1m of payments for free early education entitlement (FEEE) for 3 and 4 years old to settings in the private and voluntary sectors
- £8.6m of payments for free early education entitlement (FEEE) for 2 years olds to settings across all sectors
- £1.2m FEEE Early Years Support Costs (generally staff costs)
- £1.1m - Quality Assurance and Sufficiency Team
- £1.3m Area co-ordination of Special Education Need provision
- £0.7m Pre-School Special Educational Needs Costs
The majority of the 2015/16 non-DSG budget relates to the provision of Children’s Centres across the County where contracts have recently been re-negotiated as part of the
first stage of transformation of Children Centre’s. Therefore the 2015/16 budget has been aligned against agreed activities. For the Commissioning Strategy to contain actions
that will deliver new ways of providing early years services this will need to be remain within the existing budget constraints.
The Council’s Medium Term Resource Strategy currently has a funding gap of approximately £30m for 2016/17 and it is expected that Commissioning Strategies will identify
ways in which this gap can be closed. The actions highlighted within this Strategy for Outcome 1 – Children in Essex get the Best Start in Life need to be viewed against this
financial backdrop and will need to be prioritised so as to ensure that the reducing financial envelope is used most effectively to deliver the best possible outcomes.
The DSG is allocated by Government and funding is largely based on numbers of 2, 3 and 4 years old within Essex. Any exercises to transform the delivery of DSG funded
services will need to ensure that these revised services are in line with the Schools Regulations that underpin the use of DSG funding. On the non-DSG budgets ,the impact of
reduced funding would be approximately £1.3m if there was a 10% reduction and £2.6m should there be a 20% reduction.
As the strategy is developed, it will need to address areas of existing work that can be de-commissioned or reduced in a way in that minimises impact on outcomes. Both
reviewing options to partially or fully decommission services as well as looking at new ways of delivering successful outcomes will require innovative solutions and new ways of
working. The key actions currently within the Strategy that will seek to explore financial savings in 2015/16 and 2016/17 are:
a) Children’s Centre reconfiguration; and
b) the future commissioning of the health visiting services and the potential consolidation with 5-19 healthy child programme
These actions are in the early stages of development and currently it is too early to identify the extent to the savings these pieces of work may deliver.
WHAT ARE THE COSTS OF THE ACTIONS PROPOSED?
42
Early Years Capital Programme
The 2015/16 budget for the expansion of 2 year old places in Essex is £2.6m. This programme allocates Department for Education (DfE) capital funding provided to increase
capacity for the most disadvantaged 2 year olds. The programme allocates funding via a grant regime to create the right type of provision across the private, voluntary,
independent and maintained sector to meet local needs.
Alleviating Child Poverty
The Council does not currently have direct budgets in place to support children and their families in temporary accommodation. Therefore any additional funding required to
deliver direct support would have to be seen in the context of the Council’s funding gap that needs to be closed from 2016/17 onwards.
Many of the actions against this indicator are influential activities rather than ones that require a sustainable investment. It is assumed that these activities will be able to be
contained within existing budgets and how we seek to influence stakeholders will depend on budgets available as the Council seeks to identify ways in which it can close its
funding gap.
This report has been prepared by
Essex County Council’s Place/People Commissioning and STC
functions
If you have any questions on this report please contact Lead
Commissioner
By email at:
[email protected]
Or by telephone on:
01245 123456
Or by post at:
Essex County Council,
PO Box 11, County Hall, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 1QH