Reminder - Question Time at Early Years and Childcare Service
The deadline for questions to be submitted in the first Question Time at Early Years and Childcare Service is tomorrow at 5.00pm
To post a question* please click on the comments button on this message or alternatively send an email to info@gatesheadearlyyears.org
The management team at the Early Years and Childcare Service will be happy to answer all questions submitted.
All questions will be answered and posted on this weblog by Friday 9 February.
* please note that this forum should not be used to ask questions regarding salaries and personal issues. Please raise these with line managers in the first instance.
Comments
The following questions have been posted. Replies will be posted on this weblog by Friday 9 February 2007.
1.Is the intention that the Sure Start Children's Centres will gradually deplete in numbers until they have a skeleton staff by March 2008? Centres such as Blaydon/Winlaton have seen a large drop in numbers, and generally speaking, staff who leave seem to no longer be replaced or are replaced by part time posts. Will the Parent outreach workers supersede the current family support staff within the centres, and how will one person cope with an area covering Leam Lane, Wardley, Bill Quay, Pelaw, Heworth, Windy Nook and Whitehills?
2.It seems as though the original plans for the Flagship Children's Centre have altered a lot, would it be possible for an update to be circulated regarding who (which teams) are now going to be based in the Centre and the services that will be offered there?
3.Will the service be moving more towards an area based approach in the near future? And will jobs be refocused to fit in with the new structure?
4.What are the possibilities of focus groups being ran which will feed into the development of the next service plan?
Posted by: Editor | February 5, 2007 3:25 PM
The questions posted have all been answered -
1. When the SSLP were set up the budgets were on a taper and after 10 years there would be no staff funded from SSLP budgets.
When Children's Centres were introduced these plans were abandoned and budgets were cut and Children's Centres based on the premise that staff and activities would be mainstreamed. At present the service do not know the level of funding after 2008 but there will be funding.
The service is looking at area planning in line with other Council developments.
There is no intention to replace the Family Support staff with Parent Outreach Workers.
2. The original ethos of the Flagship remains constant but funding meant staff will be relocated elsewhere. Until the PCT define those staff the service cannot answer that question but from a Children's Centre perspective there will be Family Support Staff, Health Visitors, Parent Outreach Worker, Info/Admin. It is agreed an update would be useful and one will be circulated once the situation is clarified.
3. It is anticipated that the Early Years and Childcare Service will develop on area lines but some jobs will remain borough wide. The service will need to look at all jobs to ensure they fit with new plans. As yet the precise nature of area work is unclear.
4. The service thinks it is a good idea and the more staff that are involved in service planning the better.
Posted by: Editor | February 8, 2007 9:35 AM