Case Study: Shortlees Nursery Class and Family Centre, East Ayrshire Council Jacqueline Milliner
Early Years and Early Intervention Framework
Key themes
- Delivering integrated services that meet the holistic needs of children and families.
- Building parenting and family capacity pre and post birth.
- Creating communities that provide a supportive environment for children and families.
Background and Context
Shortlees Nursery and Family Centre is situated within Shortlees Primary School Campus in Kilmarnock. The Family Centre was a recent addition to the Nursery Class in the Campus in November 2007. The nursery class provides places for a maximum of forty eight full time equivalent (FTE) places for children aged three to five years. There are six FTE places in the 0-2 playroom and ten (FTE) places in the 2-3 year old playroom. The Nursery and Family Centre is managed by the Headteacher of Shortlees Primary School and a Depute Manager.
The work of the centre
Within the provision are a number of referred children. There are vulnerable children, including Looked After and Accommodated Children. Two Family Care Workers (FCW) are situated within the wing of the school in which the Nursery and Family Centre is located. They have been in post since November 2007. They support a range of families whose children attend the nursery provision or the early stages of the primary school. The level and duration of engagement and support depends upon the needs of the child and/or family. Families also have access to self-refer.
Impact for parents and families
· Joint visits with other agencies e.g. health visitors to families in their own home to identify areas to support. This provides families with the opportunity to establish relationships with the workers in an environment they feel most comfortable. It also enables the FCW to see family/ child dynamics in a more natural environment.
· Accessing services from other agencies. Some agencies accessed are: police, health visitors, dietician, oral health. Provides families with the chance to meet with other professionals in a comfortable environment, get to know them and learn from their expertise.
· Running a range of courses to support families. These include Healthy Cooking on a Budget, Routines and Boundaries and Health Care and Safety.
· Involve parents in their child's learning through support using Heuristic Play Bags and Fit Ayrshire Babies Programme. Staff will support and model practice to build parent/carer knowledge and confidence.
· FCW seek parents views/ suggestions in informal coffee morning settings/ questionnaires to identify their needs/ interests.
· Parents can access individual support as well as group work.
· FCW support advocacy work with vulnerable families.
· Support for adult literacy.
Outcomes
· Positive feedback from those attending workshops/ courses/ classes. These include parents/ carers highlighting the usefulness of the cookery classes- both healthy on a budget and weaning food.
· Due to trust established between FCW and parents/ carers staff were able to support vulnerable families in terms of health and safety at home and effectively liaising with housing agencies to ensure family maintained appropriate standards to remain in the home.
· FCW working with individual families to support strategies to deal with challenging behaviour/ support play. They ensure parents/ carers are confident about using the strategies by visiting at home, discussing, modelling and providing encouragement.
· The open door policy and location within the Nursery Wing enables FCW with the opportunity to speak to parents/ carers informally on a day to day basis. For those they are working with it enables them to 'touch base' and for others it provides a useful point of contact to discuss any issues.
· Informal support provided for carers/ parents re adult literacy- reading items/ completing forms etc by FCW on their behalf.
· Carers/ parents accessing adult literacy classes following encouragement from FCW.
· Sharing information with a wide range of support agencies and liaising with nursery staff.
Next Steps
The Headteacher has a very clear vision for the Nursery and Family Centre, which is shared by all the staff. She is committed to the ongoing development the provision as a focal point for the community as a resource for parents. She is aware that this requires building relationships and trust between staff and parents to ensure parents feel comfortable accessing support within the school building.
Possible issues/constraints for the case study
There are a number of implications for the successful implementation of this level of support.
· Sustainable funding for family care/ support workers.
· Space within establishment for privacy/ FCW- this can vary greatly between centres/ nursery classes.
· Access to staff for private and voluntary providers- funding required.
· Fewer posts linked with nursery classes- can be within learning communities.
· Joined up practice between early years provisions and schools. Centres/ schools can be linked to a number of primary schools. Would the same FCW sustain their involvement with families regardless of which school they attended to ensure continuity?
· Ongoing training for FCW- providers/ multi-agency approaches.
· Consistency of multi agency links/ access to support services.