Evaluating Sure Start Bridgwater

Lynnette Chapman

Evaluation Officer

lchapman@somerset.nhs.uk

Sure Start Bridgwater

• Trailblazer - Aut 2000

• Urban

• 2 areas - Hamp and Eastover

• 640 children under 4

• Evaluation started - Jan 2001

• Nature of evaluation post

• Collaborative approach

Evaluation planning

• What have we done?

• What approach have we taken?

• What we plan to do next and why

• How the next stage of the evaluation will work.

Evaluation outline

• Number of stages to the evaluation

• Collecting baseline info

• Specifying need

• Developing services

• Themed evaluation

Collecting baseline info

• Community questionnaire

• Longitudinal

• Measure change

• Startpoint data

Specifying need• Eastover Childcare and Community

Questionnaire– Courses – Childcare needs

• Community questionnaire– Focusing resources - e.g. Eastover/Hamp

Developing services

• Fine tune services

• Home-Start drop in groups

• Mobile Library Van

• Staff satisfaction survey

The approach

• Action research

• Feed user views back to the service

• Usable feedback/non threatening

• Ownership of evaluation

• Working with other agencies

• Avoid over surveying

• Share and gain access to additional information

Themed evaluation

• Why themed evaluation?

• Emphasis change

• ‘How is this service performing?’

• ‘How is this service helping to contribute to Sure Start aims?’

• Manageable

• Focus evaluation back to aims of the programme

Themed evaluation

• Objective 1: Improving social and emotional development

• Objective 2: Improving health• Objective 3: Improving children’s ability to

learn• Objective 4: Strengthening families and

communities

Themed evaluation

• Will run each theme concurrently

• Build up evidence base over time

• Feed in completed evaluation data

Working with providers

• Have reviews with providers

• Link provider and objective

• May impact on more than one objective

• List providers by theme

Themed evaluation - an example

Monitoring data

Visits to Info Officer

Children re-registered on CPR

Uptake of counselling service

No families seen by first contact visitors

PND data

Parent care worker - case study of impact the work has had on parents and children using the service

In depth study of the innovative approach of the work of the Health Visitor and Midwife. The effectiveness of providing a non caseload HV/MW for parents, what this means for working practices.

Childminding network

How is the network being used?

Parents use of the network for respite.

Impact of the work with the women’s refuge

Complementary therapies

Art group

Easy access to Health Visitor

In depth interviews with Home-Start users to look at how the service is able to support them and their children.

Impact of the Male project worker

Improving social and emotional

development

Themed evaluation - an example

Monitoring data

No of pre school children needing dental attention via Sure Start dentist and hygienist.

No of smoke alarms, stair gates, safety equipment fitted.

Hospital admissions data

Smoking, breast feeding data

Pregnancy Pals group- impact on smoking and breast feeding, levels of guidance and support.

In depth study of the work of the Occupational Therapist. How parents/children have benefited from the service.

Commissioning of a nutritional guide. How is this used by staff to advise Sure Start families..

Impact of the multi disciplinary training on breast feeding

In depth interviews with those involved with the Horticultural worker, the impact it has had for them.

Improving health

Themed evaluation - an example

Monitoring data

Books issued through the Sure Start mobile library

New members joining the library at van.

Toy library - issues

No of childcare places

Speech and lang data

Advisory staff, Early years teacher, Portage, Ed. Psychologist. In depth look at the impact for staff and children in early years settings, benefits and outcomes.

New building works, e.g. new playgroup venue for Greenfields and new play areas in the community - new learning outcomes?

Documentary evidence - before and after.

What has the impact of the changes to the library services had, change of location for mobile library, greater involvement in children’s venues.

Childminding network - study to help disseminate good practice.

Improving children’s ability to

learn

Evaluation of the speech and language project

Themed evaluation - an example

Monitoring data

No’s accessing training courses

No of children living in households where no one is working

No’s accessing services of the credit union

Documentary evidence through photos of the children’s festival

Case study of the impact of the Forest School’s work with children and families

In depth interviews with Home-Start users to look at how the service is able to support them and their children.

Parent forum - what involvement in the forum has meant for parents

Strengthening families and communities

Impact of the community café in providing a central focal point for Eastover

Impact of the employment worker

Impact of the horticulture worker

Summary of approach

• Baseline

• Specifying need

• Developing services

• Themed evaluation

Conclusion

• Scope for many different themes

• Working closely with providers/ programme manager to ensure evaluation is integral part of working

• Timing the start of your evaluation