The report of the Strategic Director, Children’s Services, (Document “O”) provides an overview of the progress made within the Keighley area on Family Hub Prevention and Early Help Services and progress on our district-wide Family Hubs Start for Life delivery plan.

Members are requested to note Document “O” and provide comments as necessary and to make recommendations which support the implementation of local services and plans.

(Elke Crunden -  01535 61 8005/Zoe Crosby - 01274 438149)

The report of the Strategic Director, Children’s Services, (Document “O”) provided an overview of the progress made within the Keighley area on Family Hub Prevention and Early Help Services and progress on district-wide Family Hubs Start for Life delivery plan.

Members were advised that Prevention and Early Help was targeted to early life and to prevent issues from occurring later.  Work was conducted with other agencies to work with families.

The Government had introduced the Start for Life agenda to target 0 to 5 year olds and included midwives; play; mental health and early years’ initiatives.  The work linked to family hubs which not only conducted with young children but included families and considered the bigger picture. The programme was a three-year project and had already provided a good offer to parents.

It was explained that Supporting Families was the name for the previous ‘troubled families’ programme.  The report revealed ten headline outcomes contained in the outcomes framework for Supporting Families. At least three of the outcomes, one of which must be getting a good education and children being in schools, must be evidence to receive payment.  It was reported that the target of three would be increased next year and additional money received would be reinvested in the services.

In relation to the Family Hub initiative it was explained that the Keighley Rainbow was the main hub in the area although the service was committed to providing services in the town centre. Work, including play and learn sessions and open sessions for families with children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) was also being undertaken at Keighley Library.  It was explained that the families had requested SEN sessions weekly but these were currently held only once per month.  Participation had been good and parents, particularly those with children who were home educated, had been delighted to see their children being able to interact with others.  A six- month pilot of the scheme was being conducted and if successful it would be rolled out across the district.

Provision at Keighley Rainbow included a Breastfed Together group; an Incommunities Job Club; on site nursery and youth provision.  Significant building work was being carried out including to create a confidential area for computer access and play gardens.  Services available at Strong Close included midwife clinics and speech and language sessions which were provided in additional to other speech services. 

Families would be directed to the family hubs and Members were advised of a link to gain further information which would be circulated after the meeting.

Teams of Navigators would be commencing in May/June together with Key Workers who would spend time with families to understand their needs. 

Members raised a number of issues to which the following responses were provided:

·           Details of the Navigators in the area would be shared once people were in post.

·           The play garden at the Rainbow Centre, whilst not yet built, would when completed, be open for all the community and not just when the Rainbow centre was open. A system would be put in place to allow families to be able to access the space outside of normal office hours.

·           The vision of hubs was to be open every evening and at weekends.

·           Provision was targeted differently in areas and took deprivation into account.

·           The Rainbow Centre was located on the Braithwaite/Guardhouse Estate.

·           It was recognised that the Rainbow Centre was not accessible to all and attempts were being made to access premises closer to the town centre. Empty retail units were being considered but none had yet been identified as suitable.

·           Work was conducted with young carers and the Young Carers Commission provided activities for children who were carers. 

·           It was hoped to reduce waiting lists for key workers by asking schools to refer pupils much earlier than they presently did and work was undertaken with schools to prevent escalation of issues.

·           The service worked to support families with children and young people up to the age of 19 years (25 SEND)

·           Provision for tube fed children was complicated and the service had been told that social services must support those children.

·           Schools did offer provision for children who were fed by tube outside of school but it was not known what was available for children who were not attending school.

A Member referred to the UK having the lowest rate of breastfeeding compared to Europe and the USA and welcomed the initiatives discussed.  He was advised that a lot of funds were being put into that area.  The numbers at the Breastfed Together group had been low but were improving and the group met once per fortnight. 

A Member representing the Keighley Central Ward, acknowledging the need to provide services in the town centre, referred to a number of community centres serving the Asian community and of many empty properties in the town centre and urged the service to consider providing a presence in the town centre. In response it was explained that officers in the Council’s Estates Department were aware of such properties and were investigating the age and condition of available buildings.

The issue of delays to constituents for an ADHD diagnosis was raised and it was explained that health services were looking at children with neuro diverse conditions in an attempt to get those children into services quickly.

A problem with apprentices selecting the wrong courses was discussed and it was suggested that the provision of multi-disciplinary projects would provide young people with an opportunity to sample all areas of work they were considering.

Resolved –

1.    That the report be noted.

2.    That the Strategic Director, Children’s Services, be requested to provide an additional presentation on the Prevention and Early Help Services and Local Family Start for Life Delivery Plan to a future meeting.

Action: Strategic Director, Children’s Services