Jane Held

The Narrowing the Gap Programme has tried to answer fundamental question? What is it, if applied universally and pursued relentlessly, would make a significant impact on the outcomes of vulnerable groups of children and young people?

NtG is;  A 2 year programme, hosted by the LGA, supported by IDeA, funded by DCSF.  Focussing on 3-13 years (with additional work on 0-3 years).  Across all 5 outcomes  Staying Safe  Enjoying and achieving  Being healthy  Making a positive contribution  Economic well-being

Includes:  Children from poorer socio-economic groups (including white ‘working class’ boys)  Children in Care  Children with disabilities  Children with SEN  Children excluded from school  Children with poor records of attendance at school  Children from different ethnic minority backgrounds  Young Offenders  Young Carers  Children at risk from significant harm  Children living with ‘vulnerable’ adults

 Identified the critical ‘must-do’s’ for ‘narrowing the gap’ (for vulnerable children, young people and families).  Drawing on lessons learnt from; - research - data - expertise across children’s sector - practice on the ground Worked with 100+ Local Authorities and their Children’s Trust partners

5 themes (key lines of enquiry)  How to create and sustain the right links between schools, children’s centres and Children’s Services.  How to engage and support parents and carers in helping their children to succeed.  How to use the new systems and process brought into being by Every Child Matters to orientate services more towards prevention and early intervention.

Why do it?  5 years on from ‘Every Child Matters’. We need to tell the story more clearly – successes and challenges.  Despite 10 years of sustained investment in public services – the ‘gap’ remains steep and wide. Essential social and economic imperative. Cost of : individuals not doing : communities it is high : the nation

 Need for real practical evidence about ‘what makes the difference’ to vulnerable groups of children, young people and their families.  Strong ‘sense of moral purpose’ – help build on commitment of Local Government as leaders of their communities. At heart of local social and economic regeneration

What are the challenges?

Poverty (and social class) matters: Despite all efforts, UK has one of the strongest links between circumstances into which a child is born (socio-economic group) and their adult outcomes. The lower the social economic group, the higher the risk of poor outcomes. ‘Poor’ circumstances, leading to poor qualifications, transmits poverty across generations.

and it starts early! 0 22 months 4 years10 years5 years6 years Low SEG Low cog at 22 m. Low SEG High cog at 22 m. High SEG Low cog at 22 m. High SEG High cog at 22 m. (Reducing Inequalities - NCB 07)

Health matters: Infant mortality falling –  But incidence of ‘low birth weight’ high (11% of total) compared to other developed countries - correlates directly with social class and gives rise to poor health, development and educational attainment.

Mental Health declining – (13% years old boys) and (10% year old girls) clinically diagnosed mental disorders. Children living in lone parent families most vulnerable (19% compared to 9%) as well as those in poorer families (21% compared to 6%). 54% children with emotional disorders come from households with gross incomes under £300 per week

Poor mental health also directly correlates with: - poor record of school attendance - being excluded from school - in public care (‘looked after’) - poor record of school attendance - being excluded from school - in public care (‘looked after’)

Schools matter: Attainment has risen all round. Teachers recently qualified are best ever (Ofsted). Class sizes down, absenteeism down, post-16 participation up. 98% 3 and 4 year olds accessing early years education and quality improving.

But: Performance gap between advantaged and more disadvantaged pupils, little changed in 10 years. Those who do least well – poorer white boys, mixed race and black Caribbean boys, Irish travellers.

Crime matters:  Minority of offenders commit majority of offences (7% year olds for 83% offences)  Significant links: - ‘poor’ background - poor attendance / excluded from school - being in public care - not in education, training or employment (NEETs) 15% compared to 5% - ‘poor’ background - poor attendance / excluded from school - being in public care - not in education, training or employment (NEETs) 15% compared to 5%

Final guidance – published 31 st October  Moving towards early intervention and prevention (so that fewer children fall behind the rest)  Engaging and supporting parents and carers in helping their children to succeed.  What children’s centres and early years settings can do to ‘narrow the gap’.  What schools can do to ‘narrow the gap’  Links between children’s centres, schools and extended services to ‘narrow the gap’.

NtG Pack  Summary of research and data  Self evaluation tools for each theme  Top 12 Golden Threads  Key messages for local, regional and national Government  114 case studies of effective local practice Our year 1 Conclusions

And then - year 2 Leadership – –Across whole system –Distributive model –From billions to pence Governance – –Across whole system –Anyone responsible for the governance of an organisation or system

Top 12 Golden Threads The critical building blocks - each supported by Case Studies from across the country

You can do it! (Expect the best) -creating a culture of high aspirations -and giving children and parents access to a trusted (dependable) adult (e.g. mentor / health visitor)

From good to great – ‘passion with purpose’ -having transformational leadership in place, political and professional (local and national) -a clear vision communicated well. Planning and processes to back it up and deliver results, including the use of ‘Outcomes Based Accountability’.

‘It takes a community to raise a child’ -regenerating local communities (housing, play, safe streets) -open accessible local services -Council’s/PCT’s employ local people -bring together all capital funds including BSF

Together with parents (“you know your child, we know about children’s services, together we can do better”) - working in real partnership with parents and families and building on their strengths - ‘doing with, not doing unto’

Through the voice and eyes of the child -ensuring children’s views are listened to and their participation supported -making all services more family centred, with adult services more sensitive to their clients as parents and alert to the needs of children -‘Think Family’

Holding onto the baton -ensuring as much stability and continuity as possible, in relationships between trusted adults, with children and parents -managing those transitions that are unavoidable with care

‘Learning to learn’ -making the building of children’s resilience a major policy objective -ensuring education benefits the most vulnerable or disadvantaged, encouraging their participation and giving them lots of supplementary and ‘catch-up’ support

‘Cornflakes to Canoeing’ - extended schools -taking active steps to make extended services available to disadvantaged or vulnerable children and their families within, and beyond, the school

Unite to succeed – ‘sanity not vanity’ -deepening the integration of services, systems and processes -focus on early intervention/prevention -locally based, multi-disciplinary teams

‘Shape up and keep fit’ -re-shaping the workforce and ensuring it is appropriately trained, supported and celebrated!

Culture not structure -ensuring structures and processes underpinned by a culture of co-operation and high aspiration for all children (and all services) -driven by leaders who ‘walk the talk’

‘Prove it’ – making change happen -right performance management systems in place nationally/locally; with a clear focus on improving outcomes of vulnerable groups -shared approaches to this across services, including Health -underpinned by shared data

And finally We will never narrow the gap unless we focus on the workforce They are the agents of change and the people who make the difference They need to be knowledgeable, confident and use what works They also need to know that narrowing the gap is a central part of the job Simple truths and common sense

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