Key Initiatives Supporting Children and Young People in Swansea

At a Board on the 12th September the Children, Young People and Learning Overview and Scrutiny Board looked at five short progress updates on important key initiatives that are helping to improve the lives of Children and Young People across Swansea.  Councillors looked at:

Restorative Practice

• Schools are continuing to embed restorative approaches in schools and services. 
• Over 1000 staff have now been trained in the targeted areas in Swansea. 
• This month will pilot a new way of delivering introductory training.  If successful this will increase the amount of training that can be delivered, particularly to schools.

Family Learning Signature

Family Learning Signature is an exciting and innovative way of engaging the whole family in understanding about their capacity to learn and support the learning process. The following is planned:

• An Academy event for Heads to be held in October
• The Agent sessions will look at challenges faced to date in terms of getting engagement with families
• Agents made aware of the services available in order to signpost families, or there could be a central resource that ‘advises’ them.  The TAF team ideally placed to carry out this advising role, however this undoubtedly increase the volume of enquiries and needs to be considered. 
• A steering group is being established to support forward planning of the approach.

Team Around the Family (TAF)

Developments and Issues include

• Significant growth in number of TAF initiated since January 2011
• Delivering Swansea wide service now.
• Most assessments come from areas outside of Penderry and Townhill wards
• Recent growth in TAF activity believed to be directly linked to Children & Family Services CCARA team during initial consultation directing practitioners to opt for TAF process as the referral does not meet the C&FS thresholds
• Some practitioners remain dubious of this advice.
• Families not always central to process – some have not seen the completed assessment before it is sent to TAF

Flying Start

1. 1226 children 0-3 benefited from Flying Start services during 2010/11.
2. A total of 305 childcare places have now been established across the Flying Start Programme’s 8 areas which are Clwyd, Blaenymaes, Hafod, Pentrechwyth, Portmead, Seaview, Townhill and Waun Wen.  In September 2011 all the settings will be operational.
3. In August the Welsh Government awarded the Swansea Flying Start Programme a capital Grant of £195,000 in order to expand the number of childcare places available at Blaenymaes and Seaview.  The Capital work will be completed by the end of March 2012 and it is expected that approximately a further 40 childcare places across both areas will be created to ensure that sufficient places are available.
4. During 2010/11 work was undertaken to evaluate the impact of the Flying Start childcare and the results clearly showed a significant difference between the skills the children had entering the setting at 2 and those skills gained by the time they entered the Foundation Phase.  Positive feedback has also been received from the Flying Start schools in respect of children entering the Foundation Phase following Flying Start. 

Four Site Model

Early stages with initiative Board requested further update in April 2012.

Members were pleased with progress being made in relation to these projects and plan to continue to monitor on an ongoing basis.