Good rating for children’s centre described as “lifeline of support”

A Shropshire Council Sure Start children’s centre has been judged as “good” by Government inspectors, who heard how it provides “a lifeline of support”.

In a report published this month, Ofsted (the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills) said that the Central Shropshire North Area children’s centre “works well to meet the needs of all families, particularly those whose circumstances make them vulnerable”, ensuring that “the services are of consistently good quality”.

The centre has a main base at The Wilfred Owen School, Monkmoor Campus, and covers the north Shrewsbury area.  It is one of 18 children’s centres in 12 clusters in Shropshire which offer a variety of services for families with young children.

Inspectors said: “Those using the centre’s services speak highly of its importance in their lives.  ‘It has been a lifeline of support’ is a typical comment and reflects the effective care, guidance and support given to families.”

Another parent told inspectors the groups had helped them to “develop friends for life”.

Inspectors outlined how centre users, whose “views are sought and used to shape services”, report “a high level of satisfaction with the centre”, enjoying the range of sessions provided such as ‘Stay and Play’ and ‘Bumps to Babes’.

They commended staff and partners for working “skilfully and sensitively to meet the needs of families who frequently face a raft of complex and at times overwhelming issues”, adding that their support “makes a difference to the lives of families”.

The report found that: “Effective partnerships and good levels of information sharing ensure that families’ needs are assessed promptly and support is swiftly put in place.”

It also noted that:

• The centre provides good value for money.
• It provides a warm and welcoming environment to all families.
• The centre is led and managed well.
• Staff are highly committed and motivated.
• Particularly good links exist with social care workers, health workers, and the Education Improvement Service.
• The centre works well with families with children with learning difficulties or disabilities.
• The centre leaders work well to provide services in a range of different venues in the area.

Inspectors outlined how the impact of the centre’s work was illustrated in the following achievements for the area:

• The gap between the lowest achieving 20 per cent of children in Early Years Foundation Stage and others has narrowed from 29.9 per cent in 2009 to 24.7 per cent in 2012.
• The proportion of mothers breastfeeding at six to eight weeks has increased from 34.8 per cent in 2009/10 to 45.3 per cent in 2011/12.
• Some families have improved their economic stability through effective advice from the benefits worker linked to the centre and some have been helped into employment.
• The centre is effective in helping to improve the health of the community.

In looking to the future, the report recognised that the centre had a good capacity to improve, but added that it could use data more effectively to ensure all target groups are identified and increase the number of parents benefitting from adult learning or relevant activities, as well as track their progress.

Ann Hartley, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for health and well-being, said:

“This is another great report for our children’s centres, which highlights how they are having a positive impact on the lives of families.  Children’s centres play an important role in preparing children for school, helping parents in their role and improving health and well-being.

“The staff work incredibly hard and it is wonderful to see how families really value the support the team provides.  Everyone involved with the centre should be extremely proud of the inspectors’ findings.

“This inspection focused on Central Shropshire North Children’s Centre, but acknowledged that this way of working occurs across Shrewsbury and the wider area.  If you are not already benefitting from children’s centre services but think they could help your family, please contact the team to find out more.”

Julie Duncan, Central Shropshire North Area children’s centre manager, said:

“We are very pleased to be able to share the rating of good for the recent Ofsted inspection for Central Shropshire North children’s centre.  We are especially pleased that the inspection judged multi-agency working to be an area of strength for the centre, and that these effective partnerships are working to support families toward a more positive outcome.”

Inspectors visited the centre on 12 and 13 December 2012.

For more information on the Central Shropshire North Area children’s centre and children’s centre services in surrounding areas, contact 01743 452400.

For further details about children’s centre services go to shropshire.gov.uk/childrenscentres.

Further information

Shropshire Council’s Sure Start children’s centres provide a range of services for families with young children including:

• Information and advice to parents and carers
• Parental outreach services
• Family drop-in sessions
• Child and family health
• Links with Jobcentre Plus
• Early learning and childcare
• Childminding
• Family support
• Support for children with additional needs.

For more details about Ofsted, go to www.ofsted.gov.uk.

To read the report in full click here.