Inclusion

Contact a Family – new service for Sure Start Children's Centres

Contact a Family, the national charity that offers support and information to families with disabled children, is launching a new subscription service for Sure Start Children's Centres.

The Children's Centre Subscription Service offers a wealth of resources and other support to help Sure Start Centres in their work with disabled children and their families. The service includes a Parents' Starter Pack, with handbooks and fact sheets for parents, a termly magazine, advice for parents who want to start their own support group. There's also a Resource for Professionals, including CD or web-access to CaF's unique Directory of Specific Conditions, a quarterly bulletin for Sure Start Centre staff, a dedicated helpline, discounts on consultancy and workshops, and promotion of your Sure Start Centre on the CaF website.

The Children's Centre Subscription Service costs £450 per year – less than half the price of buying the resources separately. For more information, see www.cafamily.org.uk or contact Pauline Shelley 020 7608 8771 pauline.shelley@cafamily.org.u k.

Feasibility Study for a National Centre for Early Intervention

We have a firm commitment to ensuring that early intervention is central to future policy development in supporting young disabled children. However the financial implications of agreeing to fund a National Centre for some years are significant.

Government will be reviewing all of its expenditure as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007, which commences in the coming months. The Feasibility Study report will be discussed as part of the Spending Review and considered alongside other priorities. Ministers have therefore asked that a detailed business appraisal is undertaken, outlining options for how such a centre might be funded and the benefits and costs of each model.

A final decision about any Government funding towards a National Centre for Early Intervention will therefore depend on the outcome of these deliberations.

The report can be downloaded here.

Funding for inclusion 2006-08

Sure Start funding arrangements from April 2006 were announced on 8 December 2005 when all Local Authorities received a letter giving them their allocations and brief guidance on its use. To help support the inclusion of disabled children, those with SEN and those from ethnic minority groups, the following arrangements were reaffirmed.

• There is no change in the funding arrangements for Area SENCOs salaries. These continue to be funded via the Dedicated Schools Grant (formerly EFS) as outlined in the Sure Start guidance for 2004-06.
• 'The overall Sure Start Grant allocation includes provision to support the inclusion of all children in all early years and childcare settings and services to promote full access, participation and achievement.
• LAs are expected to support all settings with any activities that will enable them to ensure the inclusion of children from disadvantaged and excluded groups such as disabled children and those with special educational needs, children from black and other ethnic minority groups and children from socially excluded families such as those who are homeless or with a parent who is disabled or has mental illness, is abusing drugs or alcohol, in prison or experiencing domestic violence.

Activities to facilitate inclusive practice could include providing training, advice and information; giving funding for adaptations, equipment or resources; promoting early intervention and successful school entry planning; supporting multi-agency working and partnership working with parents; adopting the Early Support Programme approaches and tools (see www.earlysupport.org.uk ) or providing additional staff or services e.g. therapy and transport. NOTE: The funding made available through Dedicated Schools Grant to deliver the free offer to 3 and 4 year olds also includes funding for inclusion, including staff to support inclusion such as Area SENCOs. These items are therefore ineligible spend for the Main Revenue - General Sure Start Grant.

LAs should enable effective working relationships between early years and childcare inclusion teams and LA and school-based inclusion teams that promote ethnic minority, refugee and asylum seeker achievement and those that support disabled children and children with special educational needs. Improving educational outcomes for these groups of children should be prioritised. Early years inclusion workers should have the same access to expert advice and support as school-based staff. LAs should ensure that practice in all early years and childcare settings contributes explicitly to achievement of the five Every Child Matters outcomes so that all children, including those from disadvantaged groups, can be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and, over time, achieve economic well being.'

(Quotation from General Sure Start grant allocations 2006/07 and 2007/08, letter 8 Dec 2005, page 8)

A good example of a continence policy

The Council for Disabled Children has been working with one local authority to develop a policy on continence, an issue of key interest and importance particularly - but not exclusively - where disabled children are concerned. The Sure Start, Extended Schools and Childcare Group is pleased to share this policy with all local authorities, childcare and early education settings so that this good practice is available to all.
Download the policy here.