Martin Swain Head of Children and Families Programmes Welsh Assembly Government

1. The Welsh Assembly Government's approach to supporting disadvantaged families, including key policies such as childcare, play, parenting and basic skills Martin Swain Head of Children and Families Programmes Welsh Assembly Government

2. Child poverty factors • Numerous factors have a strong association with severe child poverty, such as; • Living in a household where no adult works • Having at least one parent with a disability • Living in a lone parent household • Living in a large family • Living in a family from an ethnic minority background • Living in a family where mothers do not have any educational qualifications, etc.

3. Outcomes for disadvantaged children • Young people from poorer families do less well in school than young people from richer families, and are more likely to engage in antisocial behaviour as teenagers. • Developmental, behavioural and educational outcomes are poorer for children living in poverty. • Young people from poorer backgrounds can often; • Have a lower belief in their own ability • Be less likely to enjoy school or find it worthwhile • Have lower future aspirations

4. Family support priorities • We are focused on tackling child poverty. • Family support is key, and we have identified the following initial priorities:- • Affordable childcare • Parental skills • Parenting support • Basic skills • Health support • Play • Information for parents

5. Challenges • The need for a mechanism to co-ordinate anti-poverty interventions which integrates support from the relevant agencies. • Clear pathways for family support and clear progression between interventions. • Targeted support tailored to specific family circumstances.

6. Integrated Children’s Centres • We will be working closely with ICCs to establish their role as a community centre focus to support services. • ICCs are able to provide a hub between other services such as school provision, Communities First, and local community centres.

7. The need to be proactive • We cannot simply rely on disadvantaged families seeking assistance. • There needs to be a programme that actively seeks out disadvantaged children, ensuring that nobody slips through the net. • Utilising networks, where possible, to ensure take-up of existing interventions.

8. Shared Planning for Better Outcomes • The importance of planning for preventative intervention is highlighted in Shared Planning for Better Outcomes, which states; • “The earlier an intervention can be made, the greater is the likelihood of its success. Not only is this better for the individual child or young person but it should result in earlier identification of potential problems and help to reduce more expensive interventions at a later stage.“

9. Cymorth • Cymorth – the Children and Youth Support Fund aims to provide a network of targeted support for children and young people within a framework of universal provision, in order to improve the life chances of children and young people from disadvantaged families. • The overall aim of Cymorth is to use partnership working and targeted investment to impact positively, in the medium term, on the indicators of well being for children and young people.

10. Cymorth preventative support • Good quality childcare can help to:- • reduce child poverty • promote social inclusion • build stronger communities • reduce crime and disorder • Cymorth supports projects which deal with all these issues. Early preventative work can assist children, young people and their families, catching them before they require crisis intervention.

11. Cymorth family support theme • One of the six themes under Cymorth is ‘Family Support’, aiming to ensure that families have access to support that fosters positive relationships between parents and children. • The types of activity under this theme would be targeted parenting programmes, family conferencing, parent-toddler and single parents’ groups.

12. Value of secure family relationships • Research shows that children who enjoy warm, secure, affectionate relationships with at least one primary caregiver are more likely to thrive and prove resilient in face of later difficulties, than those who do not. • The way that parents and other caregivers treat children, interact with them and respond to their physical and emotional needs can exert an influence on their wellbeing and behaviour that endures through childhood, adolescence and on into adult life.

13. Importance of good parenting • Good parenting and strong family relationships are key factors in providing children with the best start in life. • The quality of parenting during the early years has an impact on outcomes for children.

14. Parenting programmes • Parenting programmes have been identified to:- • Prevent the development of mental health problems • Be effective in changing parenting practices • Prevent behavioural problems such as school truancy • Reduce crime • Improve aspects of maternal psychosocial health, including anxiety, depression and self-esteem. • Engagement of parents in parenting programmes also has the wider benefit of making parents feel less isolated, more able to ask for support, and more involved in their local community. • This is where projects like The Incredible Years can make all the difference to families in Wales.

15. Flying Start • Flying Start is aimed at improving outcomes for children in areas of significant deprivation, and supports more than 16,000 children across Wales. • The programme provides targeted investment for children up to the age of three in the most deprived communities in Wales, and aims to improve life chances for these children.

16. The Flying Start support package • Local discretion determines the balance between the different elements which include:- • Quality part-time childcare for 2 year olds (from the first term following their second birthday to the first term following their third birthday); • Enhanced levels of health visiting (with a maximum ratio of 1 health visitor to 110 children); • Parenting programmes; • Basic skills.

17. Flying Start parenting activity • Flying Start parenting activity recognises that parents are in almost all cases the first and most important external influence on the way their infants and young children develop. • A greater concentration of resources targeted at vulnerable children and families assists in combating the effects of social and economic disadvantage.

18. Genesis Cymru Wales 2 • Genesis Wales 2 comprises 2 European Structural Funded programmes that cover both the Convergence and Regional Competitiveness & Employment areas of Wales under the Priority ‘Increasing employment and tackling economic inactivity’. • The main objective of Genesis Wales 2 is to help those individuals who are classed as furthest away from the economic market and support them towards employment.

19. Genesis support package • The different types of support provided by the project are:- • Parenting Support • Provision of taster courses/taster childcare sessions • Mentoring support • Activities including acquiring new skills, building their confidence and qualifications • Support to address specific needs • Support for individuals requiring counselling • Support individuals to source other funding options or where none is available, provide financial support for the funding of appropriate travel costs, equipment and childcare. • Activities to train or start work/self employment • Support for new childcare provision.

20. Genesis target groups • The primary target groups for the project are;- • 80 % female lone parents. • Economically inactive or unemployed • And for the Convergence area only – employed individuals who have a work limiting condition for example post-natal depression. • Individuals could also be supported if they are classed as furthest away from the economic market and fall under the following categories:- • NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) • BME (Black and Ethnic Minorities) • Older Participants.

21. Basic skills • Improving learning and skills can provide a key route out of poverty. • It is recognised that far too many people are excluded from full participation in society as a result of limited knowledge of financial matters. • The Welsh Assembly Government has worked with partners across Wales to embed financial education in the curriculum applied in all maintained schools from September 2008.

22. ‘Bookstart’ and ‘Language and Play’ • The Bookstart programme is funded through the basic skills strategy and as a result all children receive a book bag and early years pack at 9 and 18 months respectively. • The Language and Play programme is designed to support the parents of 0-3 year old children to develop the language and communication skills of their children. The emphasis is on learning through engagement in language rich play experiences. • Bookstart and Language and Play contribute to the aims and ambitions of the Foundation Phase and are the stepping stones towards ensuring that more children are ready for learning when they enter fulltime education.

23. Family Learning Programmes • Family Learning Programmes, delivered as part of the Basic Skills Strategy, is one of the longest established basic skills support programmes in Wales. • Family Learning Programmes supports parents to help raise levels of literacy and numeracy amongst them and their children. • There are three types of courses within the programme: workshops for parents and children - to engage parents in their children’s learning; short courses to give parents the knowledge and confidence to support their children’s learning; and longer courses which have a three strand approach – children withdrawn for additional help, parents developing their own basic skills, and joint sessions where parents and children work together.

24. Play Policy Implementation Plan • Through Play children and young people can lead healthy lifestyles. Our Play Implementation Plan recognised the importance of nutrition and exercise in a child’s development. The Plan also highlighted the research evidence that play freely chosen by children, provides good exercise. • Children need a caring, stimulating environment, safe and secure where they can be happy and valued as individuals. We know that play is an important part of a child’s life and through this we can promote their development, learning, creativity and independence.

25. Children & Families (Wales) Measure • The Children & Families (Wales) Measure will give local authorities new powers to provide or secure provision of parenting support services, in respect of which we may issue guidance. • Also, for the first time, local authorities would be required to set specific objectives in relation to parenting support. • This reinforces that local authority activity in relation to parenting should be undertaken in the context of their overall child poverty duties and objectives.

26. Children & Families (Wales) Measure contd… • By making legislative provision for Cymorth – one of the Assembly Government’s main levers for tackling child poverty – we are ensuring that important parenting and health support services will continue to be available to those most in need. • Local authorities will also be required to assess sufficiency of play opportunities in their areas both in terms of quality and quantity and to use that assessment to meet a new duty to secure play opportunities in its area, so far is reasonably practicable. • It is the intention that guidance will set ‘play’ (including recreation) firmly in the context of the Play Policy Implementation Plan and will reflect Wales’ particular approach to play encompassed by both the Play Policy and implementation plan.

27. Conclusion • Tackling disadvantage requires an inclusive and holistic approach, which cuts across Welsh Assembly Government portfolios and across the work of its partners. • Joining up policies and delivering programmes in a more integrated way will be how we ensure it is the children and families that need our help most, are those that get that help.