The Springfield Project is developing a new Children's Centre for Springfield. Click on the links below to find out more. History In 2003 the Project was approached by Birmingham City Council to consider entering into a partnership to deliver extended services to the community under the umbrella of a Children's Centre. Unfortunately, timescales proved to be unrealistic and we were not able to proceed within Phase & of their build programme. However, towards the end of 2005 we were one more approached by Birmingham City Council for inclusion in Phase 2 of their Children's Centre build programme. A period of consultation with the staff, stakeholders and Church fellowship was undertaken to ensure that the partnership proposal was the right direction for the Project to take. Material from these consultation sessions was fed into a proposal which was discussed by the Project Management Committee and St. Christopher's PCC in June 2006. Subsequently, in July 2006, a formal recommendation was made to the PCC to proceed with partnership arrangements with Birmingham City Council via funding and the provision of a purpose-built building for the delivery of dedicated children's and families' services to the community. With the approval of this recommendation, a new chapter in our journey began. The Project view the new part of our journey as an opportunity, not only to achieve sustainability for existing services, but to extend these services into a truly holistic provision for the community. The Children's Centre, whilst a significant part of our future, represents just one part of our vision. Return to top What is a Children's Centre? Children's Centres are an exciting new initiative as the next stage in the ongoing development of Sure Start Programmes. Children's Centres are the Government's key to the development of ‘joined-up' services for children and their families. This means bringing together education, care, health and family support services under one roof. It is hoped that this integrated approach will provide holistic support for children's development and support to families with young children. The Government also hope that this initiative will facilitate the return to work of those parents who are currently unemployed. Our new building will enable voluntary and statutory sectors to come together sharing expertise on both sides to deliver better quality services to our community. Initially, our core services will be targeted at children under 5 and their families, but it is anticipated that in time we will develop our services to include disabled children and young people, and older adults. The delivery of all our child-centered services, including Family Support, is and will be focussed around the Five Outcomes as identified within the Every Child Matters framework (Children Act 2004): Be healthy Stay Safe Enjoy and achieve Make a positive contribution Achieve economic well-being
Every Children's Centre has to deliver the services set out in the Children's Centre Core Offer. The Springfield Project is already delivering some of these services, but will expand and develop over time to deliver all of them. Many more new Centres are being planned by the local authority. To view information about all current Children's Centres in the area select the Area Site link top right of the page. Springfield Children's Centre has a designated catchment area. To find out if you live within this area, click here. Return to top The Core Offer for Children's Centres Early education integrated with day care: - Early education integrated with day care for babies and children until they reach school age
- Day care suitable for working parents, 5 days a week, 48 weeks a year, 10 hours a day
- Nursery places will be open to all, not just families in the immediate area, to provide the best educational outcomes for all children (admission and fee policies will be determined locally).
- Support for childminders, who may also offer wrap around care
- Early identification of children with special needs and disabilities with inclusive services and support for their families
Family support and parental outreach: - Visits to all children in the catchment area within two months of birth
- Access to specialist services
- Parenting support and information as well as specific support for families in need and ‘hard to reach' families
- Providing information and advice on parenting skills at significant transition points for the family (e.g. pre birth, early days, settling into childcare)
- Increasing parents' understanding of their child's development
- Increasing the involvement of fathers
Child and family health services: - Ante-natal advice and support for parents
- Information and guidance on breast feeding, hygiene, nutrition and safety
- Identification, support and care for those suffering from maternal depression, ante-natally and post-natally
- Speech and language and other specialist support
- Smoking cessation interventions
Links with schools and Children's Information Services (CIS): - Links to local schools,, extended schools and out of school activities (holiday play schemes, before/after school play & learning)
- Information to parents/carers about CIS.
Links with Jobcentre Plus: - Linking in with local arrangements (e.g. via the local authority's service level agreement) for collaboration with jobcentre Plus Childcare Partnership managers
- Encouragement and support for parents who wish to consider training and employment. Children's centres can also offer parents help with accessing training, work, advice and information and may well offer a range of other services, including:
- Effective links with further and higher education institutions, and local training providers
- Training for parents, including English as an Additional Language where relevant, Basic Skills, or parenting classes
- Specialist services for children with disabilities
- Benefits advice, including maternity benefits
- Childcare and other services for older children
Return to top
|
