Family Centre Framework - CFISfis.ceredigion.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Family-Centre... ·...

CEREDIGION FAMILY CENTRE NETWORK

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THE CEREDIGION FAMILY CENTRE NETWORK

FRAMEWORK FOR PRACTICE


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“Our vision is to develop at a local level the skills and nurturing capacity of families, parents and carers so that the well-being and life chances of their

children are enhanced.”

This vision is an attempt to encapsulate the commitment of the centres to deliver a

high quality service that is relevant and available at a time when it is needed.

Turning this vision into reality is an exciting challenge requiring effective ways of

thinking, working and building relationships – and that is what this framework aims to

achieve.

Background to Centre Development Jig-So Children’s Centre in Cardigan was established in 1992. It operates from

rented accommodation owned by the Youth Service. The project was initially run by

volunteers and workers paid on a sessional basis by Social Services. However, it

then became an independent charity and thus now employs its own staff who provide

the daily running of the centre under the supervision of Trustees and an advisory

Management Committee. A Dad’s club runs every Saturday from the centre.

Penparcau Family Centre was established in 1995 and the venue comprises of two

council houses on Heol Tyn y Fron, Penparcau. It is funded and managed by

Ceredigion Social Services Department. In 2004 the Local Authority took over the

centre and Ceredigion Social Services department took ownership of the house in

2007. It began as a result of a partnership between Dyfed County Council,

Ceredigion District Council, the St Davids Diocesan Council for Social Responsibility

and the Catholic Children and Care Society Wales. A toy library is also run from the

venue.

Clwb Clonc, Llandysul Family Centre opened in 2000 to meet the needs of families

living on the Beeches estate, Llandysul, but now caters for those from a wider area. It

is an independent charity governed by a constitution with trustees and a

management committee. The Local Authority, along with Social Services and the

Children’s Society worked in partnership to develop the provision which is situated in

a Ceredigion County Council owned property. The centre is also registered with Care

and Social Services Inspectorate Wales and run an After School Club and Play

Scheme.


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Lampeter Family Centre began in March 2001 as a result of a multiagency group

meeting to develop parenting provision in Lampeter. Local members of the

community were recruited to form a Management Committee that became

constituted and gained a charitable status. The vision was to develop a service for

pre-school children and with the help and support of Plant Dewi, a toy library was

opened in January 2002, which led onto a family centre being finally opened in

February 2003.

In September 2007, a Parent and Toddler group was established in Borth, with a long

term aim of developing it into a Family Centre. The centre runs from a Youth Hostel

building and operates for one day a week and is managed by a Management

Committee.

Five of the centres cater for the needs of their local area, and three of them cross

over the borders into Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire. A number of families are

from multicultural backgrounds.

Development of the Network Four of the centres operate outside the boundaries of agencies such as Social

Services, Health, Education, and Childcare, although they do provide a supportive

service for these agencies. The fourth is a Social Services provision. In order to

ensure that the objectives of the centres were being consistently delivered, a

supportive network was established. This provided collectively an opportunity for

networking and sharing a practice that provides a preventative and supportive

service for other professional groups. The network was established in 2003 and a

Cymorth evaluation highlighted a need to formalise the group in 2007. The first task

of the group was to develop a framework for practice. .

The Framework The framework sets out to:

• Establish the meaning of family support and the main aims and ethos of the

centres

• Identify the centres’ position and referral paths within Ceredigion’s strategic

network of family support

• Provide structure for the delivery of a consistent outcome practice which does

not restrict innovative work


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• Provide a safe quality service

• Provide a means by which progress towards the achievement of aims is

measured

• Provide practical examples of activities to meet good practice.

What is Family Support? Family support is a broad term covering a range of support networks and facilities for

parents and carers and children and young people. The key priority is to adopt a

holistic approach that responds to the needs of all the family, especially their

emotional well-being, in order to enhance their capacity to cope with the challenges

of family life and help children and young people reach their full potential. Family

support services can be provided by the statutory, voluntary and private sectors. It is

important to recognise that specific service delivery will only be fully effective in a

policy environment that challenges poverty, isolation and family breakdown.

(Ceredigion Family Support Strategy, 2006)

The Audit Commission defines family support as “Any activity or service provided

either by statutory agencies or by community groups or individuals, aimed at

providing advice and support to parents to help them bringing up their children.”

(Audit Commission 1994)

The Research and Practice Briefings: Children and Families No.11 identifies, from

key studies and overviews of evidence regarding family support, some common

characteristics that underpin effective family support services. These include:

Intervening early before problems become entrenched

Targeted support within a framework of universal services

A clear rationale for how the service will help

Building on strengths as well as tackling weaknesses

An integrated, whole-family approach that looks at the range of services a family

might need rather than addressing one problem or difficulty in isolation.

The Aims of Centres in Ceredigion The centres provide families and young children with a non-threatening, open access

service that is of a low-key, preventative nature and has the flexibility to provide

intervention work in response to need. The 'family centre approach' is based on the

concept of working in partnership with family members and empowering both parents


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and children. The Welsh Assembly Government’s seven core aims crosscut the

practice delivered through group work, discussion sessions, formal and informal

training.

1. Have a flying start in life

2. Have a comprehensive range of education and learning opportunities

3. Enjoy the best possible health free from abuse, victimisation and exploitation

4. Have access to play, leisure, sporting and cultural activities

5. Are listened to, treated with respect, and have their race and cultural identity

recognised

6. Have a safe home and a community which supports physical and emotional

well-being

7. Are not disadvantaged by poverty.

The Position of Centre Provision within Ceredigion’s Strategic Network of Family Support Services The centre services have an integral role to play within the various tiers of family

support in the county. The centres offer targeted support signposting parents across

the first two tiers and referring on to higher tiers at times of need. Agencies

positioned throughout the tiers signpost parents that are in need of additional

support.

The triangle below, adapted from the framework outlined by Hardiker, provides a

clear illustration of the different levels at which families may need support and the

pathways to access services.

Level 3

Level 2

Level 1

LEVEL 1: The lowest tier and most commonly experienced needs are met by

universal services i.e. the services that are available to all families such as education,

healthcare, early years, leisure, and community projects. The families self refer.

UNIVERSAL

VULNERABLE

CHILDREN IN NEED


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Standard statutory provision has been increasingly supported in recent years by

successful initiatives under the umbrella of the voluntary sector such as parenting

programmes, Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin, playgroups, after-school clubs, youth drop-in

centres, health visitors, Citizens Advice Bureau, Genesis, CIS etc. New initiatives

such as the Flying start, TWF, Book Start and Family Programmes also come under

level 1 and are extremely successful.

LEVEL 2: The middle tier illustrates times when children and young people are

vulnerable and need more help than the universal services can offer. These tend to

be targeted services where there is usually a higher presence of risk factors.

Referral by self/agency. The Cymorth programme provides excellent examples of

joined-up targeted services. Some of the other agencies seen in this tier include

Speech and Language therapy, Home Start, Care Society, Women’s Aid, Welsh

Dyslexic Project etc.

LEVEL 3: The highest tier relates to more complex needs and offers specialist

services to children and their families at a high level of need. This could be during a

period of crisis or it could be long-term and involves referral from an agency. Whilst

the majority of provision for families in crisis stems from the statutory sector,

important areas of support can be or are already being provided by multi-agency

partnerships, and can also be seen in Level 2, including Home Start and the

Ceredigion Domestic Abuse Forum as well as voluntary sector organisations such as

Women’s Aid which provides a place of refuge for female parents and their children.

Social Services play an important role in this, the higher level.

Delivery of Family Centre Work

• Linking policies, plans and strategies with need:

The UN convention on the Rights of the Child,

The Children Act,

The All Wales Child Protection Procedures,

The National Service Framework for Children,

Young People and Maternity Services,

Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales,

Tackling Child Poverty – Taking Action.

• The Wales Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need links to the

evaluation process.


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• The Welsh Assembly Government’s Desirable Outcomes for Children, The

Foundation Stage and the New Child Health Programme influence practice.

• The Welsh Assembly Government’s 7 core aims are central to the practice.

• The centre practice dovetails into the Ceredigion Health and Well-being

Strategy and the Ceredigion Children and Young People’s Plan.

• The Flying Start plan and the Ceredigion Family Support Strategy are vital to

the centre’s provision.

Underlying principles of Centre Work

• Parents/carers are paramount to the well-being of their children and the

service provided by the centres fully acknowledges and nurtures this.

• Parents are respected and engaged as partners in change, valuing their

experiences, their gifts and their capacities as parents. Three of the centres

are user led e.g. parents sitting on Management Committees and User Group

meetings are held.

• Parents have equality and access to the support of the centres regardless of

age, gender, race, personal circumstances, disability and sexual orientation,

class, culture, beliefs and life styles, and are therefore completely socially

inclusive.

• Parents strengths are built upon to empower and develop their capacity.

• Parents are encouraged to take an active part in promoting the work of the

centre’s using their strengths and skills in order to develop a sense of

ownership and to foster community links.

• The welfare of the child is paramount.

• The centre’s are part of a wider multiagency team in each area,

Objectives To support parents in caring for their children by:

• Working in partnership with parents to improve their communication with their

children and enhance their parenting skills.

• Helping parents recognise the importance of the early years in a child’s

development and support the central role parents play as primary educators

of their children, the home being the centre of good nurture.

• Promoting positive life styles.

• Reducing stress within families by improving the coping and problem solving

skills of parents thereby empowering families to resolve their own difficulties.


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• Helping families to provide positive childhood memories for their children and

enhance the pleasure of family life.

• Promoting and actively encouraging equality of opportunity within society.

• Promoting a sense of belonging for all families and the acceptance of

difference.

• Developing parents’ strengths and emotional well-being, increasing

confidence, self-esteem and motivation that may be transferred to their

children thereby enhancing their development.

• Ensuring parents have access to appropriate information and advice.

The Setting The centres aim to provide homely, relaxed, non-threatening, non-judgemental

settings where parents feel welcome and learning becomes possible. The staff work

in partnership with parents, outside agencies and the community in order to

safeguard children, ensure that their needs are met and that the quality of life for the

family is improved.

Working on their own or in partnership the family centres provide:

• Non-formal activities and structured programmes

• Group work and individual work

• Experiences and opportunities

• Off-base activities

• Outreach

Through the Family Centre Network and the Framework for Practice, it is envisaged

that improved standards and better coordination will be apparent in each setting and

parental and child involvement within the service will ensure that each is designed to

fulfil the needs of the community it serves.

Beneficial Outcomes for users

• Improved social and support networks

• Improved skills in positive parenting/relationships

• Improved knowledge of child development

• Improved life skills

• Improved resilience (building / developing / empowering)

• Improved relationships with peer and social groups


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• Improved social skills

• Increased access to community resources and services

• Increased opportunity to participate

• Reduction of any stigma associated with the asking for and receiving of help

• Improved communication between parent and child

Each centre will achieve this through their activities.

Activities Activities vary from centre to centre. The following examples of activities give a broad

picture of what is on offer:

• Parents are able to attend the centres on an open access basis where they

are encouraged to enjoy their children and join in discussions with other

parents, carers and qualified staff that help cope with every day difficulties

that can cause concern to parents

• Formal and informal training sessions that develop skills such as taster

interest sessions and assertiveness training

• Play together sessions stressing the importance of play in educating children

• Lunch clubs promoting cooking on a budget and providing a chance to

socialise, develop cooking skills and basic skills.

• Social activities to encourage social skills and communication

• Trips to broaden horizons

• Workshops providing information on life style

• Fathers’ groups allowing fathers time to come together to discuss fatherhood

• Teenage parents support groups

• Lone parents support groups

• Childcare courses and advice to support parents

• One to one support for families experiencing difficulties such as domestic

violence, debt, budgeting and housing crises

• A variety of child-centred initiatives, such as toy libraries, family fun days and

play schemes

• The availability of practical resources, information, and food cooperatives

• Signposting families to other professional agencies

• Community participation by joining in with events, fun days, carnivals etc

where parents are encouraged to take part in the decision making processes


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• To utilise centre facilities for the benefit of the most vulnerable families who

are in need of specialist services.

The Staff The Centre Coordinators and Managers should hold a professional qualification

and/or display a broad skill mix, offering extensive experience from a wide range of

disciplines. The Play Workers should be qualified to NVQ Level 3 in Childcare or

working towards a qualification. Each member of staff is CRB checked.

Sessional/Supply workers can also be employed by each Family Centre.

Example Job Descriptions and Person Specifications are attached for both

Coordinator and Play Worker posts along with an Application Form (Appendix 1).

Each member of staff at the centres should be offered regular supervision sessions

and annual appraisals with the format of the sessions being similar to the example

attached (Appendix 2).

The 7 Core Aims in Action

CORE AIM OBJECTIVE OUTCOME ACTIVITY

EXAMPLES

DELIVERY

1.Have a

flying start in life

Working in

partnership

with parents to

improve their

communication

with their

children and

enhance their

parenting

skills.

Improved

child/parent

relationship

Informal Drop in

sessions

Parenting

programmes

Development of

skills

Behaviour

management

Baby massage

Centre Staff

Centre Staff,

Cymorth

Health visitor

Fact Team

Flying Start

Health

visitors/

Qualified

practitioner


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Dads groups

Teenage parent

groups

Centre staff

Plant Dewi

Health Team

2.Have a

comprehensive

range of

education and

learning

opportunities

Helping

parents

recognise the

importance of

the early years

in a child’s

development

and support

the central role

parents play

as primary

educators of

their children,

the home

being the

centre of good

nurture.

Parents

increased

knowledge

of childcare.

Increased

basic skills

Children will

be able to

make

informed

choices

Children will

be better

prepared for

school

Informal drop in

sessions

Health Visitor drop

in

TWF. Language

and play, number

and play courses

Child development

Implementation of

the High Scope

principles

throughout the

setting

Preparation for

school sessions

Activities that

provide social

interaction Parent

and Child & Ti a Fi

Play/craft sessions

Centre staff

Health

Visitor

Language

and Play

Coordinator

Centre staff

PPA

External

trainers

Trained

centre staff

Centre staff

Cymorth

Health Team

Centre staff

MYM

PPA

Centre staff

Flying Start

Centre staff


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Learning through

themed sessions

Computers for

children sessions

Small World

Theatre

Centre staff

3.Enjoy the

best possible

health free

from abuse,

victimisation

and

exploitation

Promoting

positive life

styles

Families will

have

improved

lifestyles

Informal

discussions in drop

in session

Luncheon club,

food cooperatives

Cooking on a

budget, diet and

healthy eating.

Baby weaning

Anti bullying

session

Domestic violence

Counselling

Health awareness

sessions

Antenatal, Postnatal

Breast feeding

groups

Home safety

sessions

Drop in sessions by

community wardens

and community

Centre staff

Centre staff

Health

visitors

External

trainers

Centre Staff

Professional

counsellors

External

trainers

Health

professionals

Centre Staff

Fire service

Community

wardens,

community


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Children will

be able to

make

informed

choices

police

Advice

sessions/awareness

raising relating to

Smoking, drugs

alcohol

Formal and informal

training

Assertiveness,

Confidence building

Resilience work

Anger management

Behaviour

Management

Preparation for

school sessions

Immunisations

Sleep issues

Minor Ailments

police

External

trainers

Centre Staff

Centre staff,

External

trainers

Cymorth

Health Team

Centre staff

MYM

PPA

Flying Start

Health Team

4.Have access

to play, leisure,

sporting and

cultural

activities

Helping

families to

provide

positive

childhood

memories for

their children

and enhance

the pleasure of

family life

Positive

shared

family

experiences

Increased

take up of

exercise

Outside play

Play time

Together sessions

Summer play

scheme

Toy library

Family fun days

Reading together

sessions

Celebrations of

Centre staff

External

Agencies

Flying Start


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birthdays and

festivals

Trips

Public Library links

Cymorth

funding

Public

Library

Flying Start

5.Are listened to, treated with respect, and have their race and cultural identity recognised

Promoting and

actively

encouraging

equality of

opportunity

within society.

Promoting a

sense of

belonging for

all families and

the

acceptance of

difference

Improved

social and

support

networks

Integration

of isolated

families

Increased

support for

bilingual

development

Centre to all

sessions by all staff

and external

agencies

Parent Network

Outreach work

New user group

Drop in sessions

Discussion groups

Play sessions

Centre staff

External

agencies

Plant Dewi

Centre staff

Centre staff

Centre staff

TWF

6.Have a safe

home and a

community

which supports

physical and

emotional well-

being

Developing

parents’

strengths and

emotional well

being

increasing

confidence,

self-esteem

and motivation

Improved

Emotional

Health

Emotional health

training

Cooking on a

budget, diet and

healthy eating.

Baby weaning

Cymorth

CHAMS

Flying Start

Centre Staff

Health

visitors

External

trainers


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that may be

transferred to

their children

thereby

enhancing

their

development

Anti bullying

session

Domestic violence

Centre Staff

7.Are not

disadvantaged

by poverty

Ensuring

parents have

access to

appropriate

information

and advice.

Increased

accessing of

community

resources

and services

Information and

advice sessions

Information library

Signposting families

to other

professional

agencies

Benefits

Uptake of work

Centre staff

Job centre

plus

Citizens

advice

bureau

Centre staff

Partnership

working with

other

agencies

Citizens

Advice

Bureau

Genesis 2

Quality assurance A quality assurance system developed specially for the voluntary sector is in place in

all family centres. The PQASSO (Appendix 3) quality areas include:

• Planning for quality

• Governance

• Management

• User centred service

• Staff and volunteers

• Training and development

• Managing money


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• Managing resources

• Managing activities

• Networking and partnerships

• Monitoring and evaluation

Monitoring and evaluation June Statham’s research into evaluating family support states that UK studies that

have attempted to assess quantifiable outcomes for children using standardized

measures have generally been unable to find clear evidence to demonstrate the

effectiveness of family support services, despite the fact that parents often perceive

them as supportive and feel that they have been helped. Statham suggests that this

may reflect the difficulty of evaluating family support services rather than the failings

of the services themselves. There is much anecdotal evidence for the effectiveness

of family centres but little hard evidence of their ability to improve outcomes for

families. However, they are popular with parents and appear able to deliver support

services in a non-stigmatising way. They can also have an important signposting

function, directing families to other sources of support.

Evaluation perspectives Within this framework evaluating family centres can be undertaken from different

perspectives, for example:

• The Family Centre programme evaluation: Evaluating the whole family centre

service

• The Family Centre service monitoring and review: Gathering data to monitor

and review what is happening Individual Centre focussed evaluation:

• Evaluating the local family support service

The Family Centre Programme evaluation The Family Centre Programme evaluation focuses on the impact of the family centre

service as a whole and ask questions like:

• What is the impact of the service?

• Is the family centre programme achieving its outcomes?

• Are the outcomes the right outcomes?

• Has the service programme been implemented as planned?

• How could the programme be improved?

Implementation


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• This evaluation often involves a consultant with specific terms of reference.

• The family centres are part of the Cymorth programme and therefore are part

of their evaluation.

The Family Centre service monitoring and review The Family Centre service monitoring and review focuses on the service the centres

collectively provide and answers questions about what is happening in the centres

such as:

• How many people are using the service?

• Are they in the target group?

• How much service is being provided?

Implementation

• Service level agreements with conditions for service providers to provide

service data.

• Services level agreements in place with conditions to provide data to the

Cymorth programme.

Individual Family Centre focussed evaluation

Individual Centre focussed evaluation includes:

• Periodic external evaluations

• Internal ongoing evaluation.

• Periodic external evaluations:

• One off external evaluation of the services at a particular location rather than

the programme as a whole.

Typical questions are:

• Is the service achieving its aims and objectives?

• Is the service well run?

• How could the service be improved?

• How many people are using the service?

• Are they in the target group?

• How much service is being provided?

Implementation

An external evaluation by a funding body with specific terms of reference.

• External evaluations take place on an ad hoc basis carried out by funding

bodies.

• Internal ongoing evaluation of service providers.


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• Developed and undertaken by service provider.

• Each family centre needs to be able to answer questions such as: Do we

know what we need to know, whether or not we are providing a quality

service and how we could improve the quality of our service.

Specific questions include:

• What is the profile of our local community?

• Who requests what information and services?

• What services have been provided?

• To whom?

• Did the service make a difference? In whose eyes? How do we know?

• What are the user views of the services?

• How can the service be improved?

• Is the service provision working collaboratively with other agencies?

• What is the community perception of the service?

• What community consultation work and interagency collaboration is

undertaken?

Implementation

Each Centre needs to put in place a wide range of strategies to ensure they can

answer the above questions. Strategies include:

• An organisational manual

• Supervision of staff

• User feedback mechanisms

• Staff feedback mechanisms

Informal ongoing discussion with users of the service.

• Independent interviews with clients. Having a person outside the programme

interview users about such questions as whether they are getting the support

they want.

Focus groups.

• Having an independent person facilitate a focus group about the service. The

group could discuss such questions as: What do people most like about the

service? What do they least like? What could be improved?

Case studies.

• Statistical data provides useful summary data about such things as what

services are provided and what are clients views about these services.


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However this type of collated data does not provide insight into what

difference the service is making in people’s lives. To understand this one

needs to get clients to tell their stories and have these stories written up as

case studies.

Peer review.

• Family workers working with each other to review their work Profile of the

service within the community. Contacting other services for feedback on how

they see the service.

Links with agencies, literature and reflection.

• Strategies could include: hearing what others are doing; reading about

approaches to evaluation; reading about results from evaluation studies and

social research; reflecting on the findings and their implications for the local

programme; and attending relevant conferences and staff training.

Implementation

• Ongoing evaluation strategies in place

• Plant Dewi are able to offer this support through the Ceredigion Family Centre

Network.

• Family Centre Network provides the opportunity for information exchange,

and training.

• For more general methods of monitoring and evaluation, the attached Monthly

Monitoring (Appendix 4) form may be used, and adapted if needed.

Within the Ceredigion Family Centre Network, both external and internal evaluation is

carried out on a regular basis. Funding bodies ensure that they gain feedback from

the centres either throughout the year or at end of year and Cymorth requires

quarterly reports to be submitted give figures and evidence of the work. Less

frequent evaluation also takes places within Cymorth Ceredigion, for example the

recent Strategic Review that took place to monitor all projects receiving money from

the programme.

Internal evaluation is vital in each individual Family Centre but staff must ensure that

mechanisms are in place to monitor and evaluate the service holistically.

Policies and Procedures


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Centres have policy files in place that are available for all staff, beneficiaries and

external agencies to see. Some policies such as those listed below are universal and

may be adapted for each setting, and others are local to each setting.

• Equal Opportunities

• Child Protection

• Welsh Language

• Confidentiality

• Health and Safety

• Complaints and Complements

• Fire drill and equipment check

• Environmental

“Our vision is to develop at a local level the skills and nurturing capacity of families, parents and carers so that the well-being and life chances of their

children are enhanced.”

Sue Fletcher / Catrin Evans Plant Dewi (on behalf of and in consultation with the Ceredigion Family Centres)

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