How can children’s centres reach those who need them?

There has been wide and ongoing media coverage of children’s centres in some areas of the country closing, merging or undergoing some quite considerable restructuring.

One thing that I have picked up from local authorities running some of the most successful centres is that they consistently achieve the vital balance between reaching their most vulnerable citizens while meeting the needs of the wider community.

But providing the right services through these centres – and ensuring they are being accessed by those who need them – is rarely a simple task.

Local variations

With patterns of need varying widely from one part of the country to the next, it is essential that authorities have a clear understanding of the issues affecting the local population.

In an area of severe deprivation families can often face multiple difficulties. Children’s centres in these neighbourhoods may have a key role to play in providing services such as one-to-one support for troubled families or outreach programmes for young people struggling with substance abuse.

In other areas the focus might be altogether different, with demand for initiatives such as stay and play sessions for under-fives or support for single parent families taking precedence.

Alongside these local priorities, each council has various nationally applied objectives to meet too. They might be tasked to reach defined groups such as lone fathers, for example, or children who have been placed on a social services protection plan. Having easy access to information on the background and circumstances of children and families is key to identifying what kind of help is needed and where.

Measuring up

The quality and effectiveness of the services provided by children’s centres across the country is regularly scrutinised through inspection. Successful centres are those that can demonstrate that their resources are being used to the best effect in their communities.

By taking steps to show effective engagement with specific groups, whether this is single parent families or those classed as “troubled” under the government programme, local authorities will be better equipped to meet Ofsted’s children’s centres inspection criteria. To achieve a “good” rating in an inspection, a centre needs to provide evidence that it has reached 65 per cent of its most vulnerable citizens.

For an “outstanding” centre, this figure increases to 85 per cent, which may seem a challenging target to meet, but I know of a number of local authorities where all children’s centres have been rated outstanding.

So what have they done to achieve this?

A clearer view

In each case, these authorities took a long, hard look at what their children’s centres were doing and channelled their resources accordingly. This involved a shift in thinking to sharpen the focus on outcomes.

By analysing the data available to them, the authorities could ascertain which families might benefit from accessing particular services offered at the centres. Participation was tracked over time so that the centres could easily demonstrate how many families had been reached, and how often services were being accessed. The data was also used to monitor whether the services were having a positive impact on the children and families most in need.

This insight helps to inform decisions on how and where money needs to be invested to deliver better outcomes.

Sharing information

There are also many opportunities for collaborative working to ensure high-quality, targeted services are delivered within children’s centres.

Indeed, the Ofsted inspection framework encourages centres to work together in cluster groups to provide a better spread and wider reach of services.

It would be great to hear from those of you doing this in your areas. Or perhaps you could share some examples of how your centre is making a real difference to children’s lives.