Two-year-olds: Building links - Reach out

Networking', 'buddying' and 'partnership working' could all become familiar phrases for early years practitioners. That's because, according to experts, building links - formal and informal, within the sector and with other professionals - will be an important part of the programme of funded places for two-year-olds.

As well as bringing benefits to the children, parents and practitioners involved, it could, when seen alongside the two-year-old Progress Check, usher in a more integrated way of working for the early years sector.

'It is essential that partnerships are formed for the two-year-old offer,' says James Hempsall, director of Hempsall's, which is supporting the rollout of the programme in partnership with Mott MacDonald. 'We see this as beneficial for two reasons: meeting children's additional needs, and delivering a joined-up service.

'Being part of a partnership of professionals offering a team around the child to meet their needs and supporting a family is an amazing opportunity for the early years sector.

'For joining up services, settings need to link with their local children's centre, school and other settings so that children's transition is supported, new provision is complementary to existing services and everyone's sustainability is assured.'

Lack of time and money and, importantly for the early years sector, the shortage of health visitors all stand in the way of rapid progress.

One children's centre manager says, 'My frustration is that working in partnership would benefit everyone but at the moment the structures aren't in place, and we're just trying to get on top of the core of the two-year-old offer. The project is so admin heavy.'

However, some local authorities and children's centres are actively promoting more integrated ways of working.

LINKING TO CHILDREN'S CENTRES

An invaluable partnership for private, voluntary and independent (PVI) settings will be to link with their local children's centre. Julian Grenier, head of Sheringham Nursery School and Children's Centre in London, explains, 'A key role of settings is supporting parents to help their child's development, and a key aim of the two-year-old scheme is helping families out of poverty. Linking with your local children's centre will help families to access all the support and services they need, including advice and training that will help them return to work.'

CASE STUDY: KENSINGTON CHILDREN'S CENTRE, LIVERPOOL

'We're a hub of the community,' explains Irene Ennis, nursery manager at Kensington Children's Centre, which is part of the Life Bank Family and the Centre for Lifelong Learning in Liverpool. 'And what the local authority has organised are outreach Parent Champions, so parents can find out more, and cluster meetings to support settings to learn from each other. Through these clusters, local settings can see what's on offer and what they can tap into.'

A raft of support systems are available at the setting. Its parenting programme includes a Talking Together Group, an Incredible Years course and weekly Tuning into Children sessions with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

There is an extensive adult support and learning programme, from computer groups and 'money matters' sessions to courses run in conjunction with the Adult Learning Services and Liverpool Community College. The centre also delivers courses validated and accredited by Open Awards and City and Guilds.

The children's centre has been able to draw in extra resources through being based in the Life Bank nursery and managed by a local social enterprise, Parks Options, which is part of a wide network of voluntary sector and community organisations.

Its creative art sessions have developed into a weekly therapeutic Arts and Minds course and it has worked in partnership with the Tate Gallery in Liverpool.

Proof of its success and the extent to which it meets local demand is seen in its participation levels. Last year, registration at the centre stood at 97 per cent of all local families with children under five; while 77 per cent of those actually participated in the centre's activities and support programmes, the figure for families in the most deprived lower super output area topped 96 per cent.

Mrs Ennis says, 'With stronger links, I think we could help other settings, especially with special educational needs and speech and language.'

• www.parksoptions.co.uk/kensington_childrens_centre

CASE STUDY: BOSCOMBE CHILDREN'S CENTRE, BOURNEMOUTH

Boscombe Children's Centre is also trying to build stronger links with local PVI settings. Under its Family Links initiative, the centre has put together an information pack outlining its services and two family support workers will be visiting local providers every term to explain the benefits of working more closely together.

It too offers an extensive programme, ranging from SEN Sensory Play sessions and a five-week Two to Talk course, to groups tackling low self-esteem and domestic violence, to a Family Matters drop-in session for families seeking advice on issues such as training, debt and housing.

Centre manager Justine Greenfield says, 'Some settings may not have enough resources or knowledge of which other services are available to signpost parents to in order to meet the family's wider needs. So we're working with settings to offer information and increase their knowledge, as well as being available to take on some of the support work required.

'During our regular visits we can pick up referrals to our family support workers and monitor the progress of individual families through partnership working and sharing of appropriate information.'

• www.boscombechildrenscentre.org

WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP

Identifying and meeting the holistic needs of families is central to the two-year-old programme, and ensuring smooth transitions is part of that goal. Bernadette Duffy, head of Thomas Coram Children's Centre in London, believes transition is a particular issue under the programme. 'With so many two-year-olds coming into the programme,' she says, 'there's no guarantee that they're going to be staying on in the setting for the free entitlement at three and four, so it's really important that they make a successful transfer if they go somewhere else.'

CASE STUDY: PRE-SCHOOL LEARNING ALLIANCE, PORT CLARENCE, STOCKTON-ON-TEES

Pre-school Learning Alliance in Port Clarence and a network of professionals are helping meet the needs of local two-year-olds and ensure their smooth transition to High Clarence Primary School, an 80-place primary school with a 26-place nursery.

The pre-school is in a pocket of Stockton where creating sustainable childcare was difficult and it was created to offer ten places for funded two-year-olds. Dianne Roberts is manager of both the pre-school and 75-place Redhill Children's Nursery and Pre-school, and is working to meet the needs of local families in collaboration with Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council's early years development officer and advisors, is in regular contact with health visitors and social workers, and has close links with the school.

She says, 'We've got a very clear vision of where we're going, and lots of communication. I can speak to the head teacher at the school daily.'

All the professionals have a shared 'tracker', including the children's learning journey along with information about any referrals, keeping everyone informed of the child's needs, support and progress. This, coupled with the pre-school's close links to the school, eases the pre-school children's transition to school.

Nursery staff have the information needed to assess a child's development from day one and, says High Clarence Primary School head teacher Jean Orridge, 'The benefits for me are the children now come in ready to learn. They know the routines, they know the staff, they know the activities that will be going on in nursery.'

Ms Roberts believes the Progress Check will further strengthen working relationships. 'It will be a smoother process as we'll be working off the same information, and with practitioners being able to identify children's individual learning and next steps, it will provide shared learning opportunities as children move in to nursery school,' she says.

PEER-TO-PEER SUPPORT

'Buddying', 'mentoring' or 'peer-to-peer support' has gained momentum under the two-year-old programme as local authorities strive to raise the quality of settings and increase the number of places.

Bernadette Duffy, head of Thomas Coram Children's Centre in London, believes 'newcomers' could benefit from such support - either formal or informal.

'If a setting has never had two-year-olds before, it's really important to work in partnership with settings that have the experience of this age group,' she says. 'It can help to pair up with the local children's centre for support in completing the Progress Check. It's not hard but it can feel daunting when you're doing it for the first time.

Then there are children with additional needs to consider. 'This year, the 20 per cent of two-year-olds were targeted, so professionals have already identified the need and had the conversation with the parent,' she explains. 'It's harder when practitioners build a relationship with a family and find the parent hasn't realised that their child might need help. Another professional can help them to have that conversation.'

CASE STUDY: SOMERSET

One area that has developed a peer-to-peer programme in the early years is Somerset. The approach started over a year ago when the authority moved away from a network of local authority advisers to commissioning heads of good and outstanding schools to support other settings.

Support can be tailored to the specific needs of the settings and among those offering advice is Julia Gaskell, nursery owner and manager of Playaway Nursery.

She says, 'The peer-to-peer programme is about practitioners helping practitioners, so we've been able to look at it from the child and practitioner perspective in order to improve children's outcomes. It's not about somebody coming in and saying "this is how you should do it"; it's about empowering people.'