Nurtured Outcome Group

Action Plan

2016 - 2017

Approved August 2016 by Nurtured Outcome Group

NURTURED OUTCOME GROUP

Action Plan2016 – 2017

Introduction

Welcome to the Nurtured Outcome Group Action Plan 2016-17.

The Nurtured Outcome Group leads and co-ordinates the development and delivery of the annual local Early Years Action Plan. It represents a co-ordinated, inclusive, comprehensive and democratic governance system for early learning and childcare, out of school care and playin Aberdeen. Implementation and delivery is focussed on universal services and includes a priority emphasis on early intervention, prevention and improving outcomes for all children and their families.

This Action Plan will drive the work of the Nurtured Outcome Group and allow development officers to deliver on the targets set out in the plan. These targets relate to the elements of transformational change within the National Early Years Framework, Building the Ambition and the Early Years Collaborative. The Nurtured Outcome Group has led on the implementation of Early Years Change Fund priorities in the city over the past four years and drives forward the Early Years Collaborative improvement methodology.

Our high level prioritiesare to:

  • Ensure that consistently high quality, affordable, accessible early learning and childcare services are available to meet the changing needs of families in the city;
  • Identify gaps in provision;
  • Expand, develop and support the childcare workforce;
  • Continue to promote equality and inclusion across all services;
  • Promote better outcomes for children, young people and families;
  • Promote cross-sector investment in learning through play; and
  • Ensure that accessible, comprehensive, up-to-date information on all services for children and young people is available to parents and professionals.

The priorities are influenced by the development of national and local priorities relating to the Early Years Change Fund and the work related to the Early Years Collaborative as well as taking account of all priorities identified within the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014.

A greater focus, in recent years, has been placed upon areas where, evidence suggests, the greatest impact for vulnerable children and families need to be achieved. The Early Years Collaborative improvement methodology offers an evidence based delivery model for effective, efficient and multi-agency working. Early learning and childcare services are now given the priority focus they deserve. A single consistent approach is required to maximise their impact on all children and families in Aberdeen.

Policy Context

Children’s Rights

Aberdeen City Council adopted the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1996 and this continues to be the over arching rights framework for children in the city. This was further reinforced at national level via the introduction of Part 1 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014. The Aberdeen Integrated Children’s Service Plan incorporates the principles of the framework and sets out a joint vision for children and young people in the city.

‘We are working towards the day when every child and young person in Aberdeen enjoys being young and at the same time feels safe, nurtured, healthy, active, included, respected and responsible. We will do this by coming together as workers, parents and carers to make sure every child and young person achieves their full potential and is supported to participate in decisions that affect them.’

The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 received Royal Assent on 27th March 2014. It included provisions that:

  • Increased the amount and flexibility of free Early Learning and Childcare from 475 to a minimum of 600 hours per year (from August 2014),for 3 and 4 year olds, and 15% of Scotland’s most vulnerable 2 year olds. From August 2015 this extended to 27% of the most vulnerable 2 year olds.
  • Provided free school lunches to all children in primary 1 – 3 (from January 2015).
  • Ensured better permanence planning for looked after children by giving all 16 year olds in care the right to stay in care until the age of 21 from 2015; extend the support available to young people leaving care for longer (up to the age of 26), and support the parenting role of kinship carers.
  • Enshrined elements of the Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) approach in law, ensuring that there is a single planning approach for children who need additional support from services, Government policies which identified Scotland’s commitment to investing in early years’ services and early intervention strategies.

Early Years Framework

The Scottish Government worked with a wide range of partners to develop the National Early Years Framework demonstrating a new approach to policy delivery. The Early Years Framework has had universal political approval. The Government agreed that there could be flexibility in the way the policy is delivered locally, but made it clear that implementation must be undertaken in partnership with other public, voluntary and private sector partners. Our local Action Plan has been developed jointly with a range of strategic planning and operational service partners to ensure that it addresses local needs and demonstrates our joint commitment to deliver the Early YearsFramework in Aberdeen.

The National Early Years Framework identifies the key principles of early intervention as:

  • ensuring all children have the same outcomes and opportunities;
  • identifying those at risk of not achieving those outcomes and to take action to prevent risks materialising;
  • taking quick and effective action where risks have materialised and finally;
  • the importance of working with and building the capacity of parents, families and communities to develop their own solutions using accessible high quality public and voluntary services as required.

The National Early Years Framework was launched in December 2008. The policy priorities contained within it were developed in response to education, health, justice and economic research evidence that concluded that the way to improve the long term outcomes for children, society and the economy is to make investment in the early years of children’s lives. Where children need additional supports, these should be identified early and delivered quickly. The definition of early years is pre-birth to 8 but also beyond that and up to 16 depending on the service or early intervention needs of a child.

The framework sets out the vision for early years as:

  • that children should be valued and provided for within communities;
  • the importance of strong sensitive nurturing relationships with parents or carers;
  • their right to a high quality of life and access to play;
  • the need to put children at the heart of service delivery; and
  • that, irrespectiveof circumstances, all children should experience positive outcomes.

The National Early Years Framework makes it clear that the primary responsibility for children’s development must rest with their parents or carers who should be supported within their communities to generate their own solutions and have the appropriate resources and support from services to act on them. This may signal the need for a significant cultural change in practice in some service areas and emphasise the importance of having high quality services and appropriately skilled and qualified staff to deliver the national policy ambitions which will demonstrate continuous improvement of outcomes for all our children.

“All young children have the right to high quality relationships, environments and services: Play, Learning, Social Relationships and Emotional and Physical Wellbeing” (Early Years Framework, December2008)

Poverty

The Early Years Framework and the related national social policies Equally Well, the health inequalities framework and Achieving Our Potential, the anti-poverty framework are seen as the key tools for promoting the transformational change necessary to reduce inequalities, improve outcomes for children and families and ultimately contribute to improving the economic prosperity of families and communities. Ministers have made it clear that the early years agenda has to be taken forward using a cross-sectoral, multi-agency delivery model using the Getting it Right for Every Child framework.

“We have a duty to ensure that public service is respectful, person centred and preserves the dignity of people living in poverty, avoiding stigma and understanding the challenges of living on a low income” (Shifting the Curve – Naomi Eisenstadt, January 2016)

Getting it Right for Every Child

Getting It Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) has its roots in the UNCRC but is also informed by evidence and builds on the experiences of practitioners, children and families. It sets out how all services and agencies need to co-ordinate their approach to joint work with children and families to provide responses that are appropriate, proportionate and timely.

While the core components of Getting it Right for Every Child reflect and build on existing good practice across the city, it is also recognised that developments of this breadth and magnitude necessitate a long-term commitment to changes in systems, practices and professional cultures. The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 puts key elements of GIRFEC into statute.

“No matter where they live or whatever their needs, children and young people and their families should always know where they can find help, what support might be available and whether that help is right for them” GIRFEC – 10 Core Components

Early Years Collaborative

The priorities introduced by the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 have been further emphasised by the introduction of the Early Years Collaborative methodology. Cross-sectoral and partnership approaches will be key to improving life chances, choices and positive longer term outcomes for children, families and communities.

The establishment of the Early Years Collaborative introduced a new improvement methodology across Scotland. It recommends the introduction of initially small scale tests in order to allow the introduction of much larger scale systemic changes, leading to more effective allocation of resources and more effective and efficient delivery of services to children, young people and families.

Continuous Improvement based on Evidence

Increasingly and consistently, evidence shows that giving children the best start in lifeoffering the highest quality of health, learning and play experiences andimproves outcomes for children that will have a lifelong impactupon them as adults. These experiences enable children to become active citizens who can make significant contributions to society and participate fully in their own lives and those of their communities.

Evidence also shows that the economic return on early years investment is significantly higher than at other stages and that the quality of the child’s relationships with parent or carer and experiences within the home are also critical factors which positively influence a child’s physical and mental health and educational attainment. This indicates that investment in early intervention and preventative spend will deliver the maximum positive impact on the lives of children, their families and communities.

“We all must make good use of evidence to draw conclusions about the quality of what we provide and identify effective approaches to improvement”(How Good is our Early Learning and Childcare, November 2015 and subsequently updated)

Self Evaluation

The process of self evaluation for the Nurtured Outcome Group begins at the annual Planning Day held in January, and continues throughout the year. Strategies to address quality improvement and promote self-assessment are identified within the local Action Plan.

The annual planning cycle is in place to ensure that all services (early learning and childcare, and play resourced by the Nurtured Outcome Group) are effectively monitored and evaluated. The planning and development of all early learning and childcare services are based on strategic planning information and intelligence to accurately meet the changing needs of children and families across the city.

Monitoring and evaluation of settings, funded by the Nurtured Outcome Group and the associated work of development officers, help to ensure that quality continues to develop in all childcare settings. Inspection outcomes from registered daycare provision are monitored to give an accurate picture over a full year. Development officer input forms an integral part of pre and post inspection processes designed to support settings to improve quality.

A key element within this whole process involves settings and staff within them developing their existing awareness of the quality of service provided to children and families. The work of all the development officers in all areas of work concentrates on the development of self-awareness, self-assessment and self-evaluation.

Aberdeen City Council’s Family Information Service (FIS) sits at the heart of Children’s Services. The role of the service is to provide information and advice on all services for children, young people and families not only for parents and carers but for professionals also. The service provides a monitoring and intelligence service to the local authority, reporting gaps in service provision and trends in the demand for services. FIS also carries out a number of annual projects on behalf of the Nurtured Outcome Group.

Workforce Development and Expansion

Staff at all levels and in the widest variety of roles in early years,childcare and play provision require to demonstrate competence, and observe conduct standards as laid down by the Scottish Social Services Council. Access to a wide range of qualifications and training opportunities will enhance the overall experience of working in the sector and the quality of service offered to children and families. In order to ensure services are of the highest standard, the Nurtured Outcome Group encourages new people to make working with children, in any of the related professions, a career of choice. We support existing staff by offering training and continuous professional development. The focus on promoting secure parent/ carer/ child attachment influences all training and continuous professional development and contributes to a more confident workforce with a consistent understanding of the significance of positive attachments.

“Improved training and higher qualifications benefit the workforce and in the longer term, the economy. The workforce must be “fit for purpose”, and its purpose is to improve children’s wellbeing and learning outcomes.” An Independent Review of the Scottish Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Workforce and Out of School Care (OSC) Workforce. Professor Iram Siraj, APRIL 2015

Play for All

Aberdeen City’s vision for play is to develop high quality, innovative, and inclusive services in partnership with the community, children and young people and all agencies involved in the delivery of play. We will make a commitment to see, hear, listen and respond to children who play in our communities and to encouraging healthy community activity with active and positive contributions from all generations. We recognise that play is central to the health and wellbeing of our children. Access to high quality play opportunities leads to the development of confident young people better able to lead their own learning, fully participate in their own communities and make a full and active contribution to society.

“Children’s play is crucial to Scotland’s wellbeing; socially, economically and environmentally. Our people are our greatest resource and the early years of life set the pattern for future development”. (Play Strategy for Scotland, October 2013)

Expansion of Flexible Early Learning and Childcare

In June 2015, the Commission for Childcare Reform produced an aspirational document “Scotland’s Childcare Challenge”. This report concluded that high quality childcare is good for children, families and the economy. Further to this, it outlines the challenge facing childcare in Scotland –To ensure that when parents need to use childcare in order to work or study, they can access high quality, affordable, flexible, provision and be confident it is meeting the needs of their child. The longer term aspirations of the Commission report are to :

“Establish an entitlement to access 50 hours per week of affordable, flexible childcare and/ or free education costing no more than 10% of household income” (Commission for Childcare Reform Report,June 2015).

The Scottish Government has committed to a major expansion of Early Learning and Childcare to 1140 hours whilst also seeking the delivery of the flexibility and choice needed by parents. This will be a major change project for all partners.

From May 2016, the Government expansion programme has been set out inthree stages: