Sparc, Babysparc and ICAN  Background  The materials  Evaluation  Discussion Di Pollitt and Janet Philpott Panel, Presentation to Scrutiny

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The Context National and local evidence indicating concerns about:  Poor social skills and emotional difficulties at school entry  Limited communication skills  Growing mental health issues for older pupils  Inconsistent standards in child care  Increase in levels of unusual physical development

The Emotional Literacy Curriculum “Students who are anxious, angry or depressed don’t learn; people in these states do not take in information efficiently or deal with it well… when emotions overwhelm concentration,what is being swamped is the mental capacity cognitive scientists call ‘working memory’, the ability to hold in mind all information relevant to the task in hand” Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence

Neural Development  Significant brain development occurs in the first three years  Neural pathways form the foundations for intelligence, social behaviour and personality  Development is based on the simplest of everyday activities

Sparc  Supporting  Positive  Attention and  Reciprocal  Communication

Sparc Aims  To promote social and emotional development, 0-6 years  To promote the inclusion of all children  To facilitate partnership working in developing the ECM agenda

Sparc Aims  To engage local people and professionals in promoting emotional health  To build the confidence and skills of local people  To facilitate the flow of information (parents/carers individual settings/schools)

Structure

Getting to Know You

Sparc Evaluation  Supports transition into nursery, through developing early concepts  Produces greater insight into child’s development, by increasing parental involvement in learning  Engages fathers  Is likely to be most effective when delivered through a home visiting service

Sparc Evaluation (2)  Initial evaluation extremely positive: broad and specific areas (see leaflet)  Identified the need for a separate ‘Baby’ pack

Babysparc  Arose from discussion with teenage parents  Addresses issues connected with physical as well as emotional development  Promotes further partnership working between agencies

Babysparc Aims  To promote early development of babies aged 0-6 months, as active learners  To help parents understand their baby’s needs  To establish firm foundations for later skill development

BabySparc Aims  To develop successful motor outcomes and prevent the onset of unusual development  To support parents as partners in children’s learning

ICAN  Focuses on skilling up the workforce, and monitoring standards  3 Levels: Supportive, Enhanced and Specialist  Establishes accredited core standards across Children’s Centres

ICAN  Aims to raise levels of communication, language and learning for children under 5  Improves social and emotional literacy  Increases the resilience of children

The Way Forward  Further develop the use of Babysparc/Sparc in home visiting, tailored to individual need  Trial Babysparc in the neo-natal unit, James Cook (350 children per annum)  Deliver the ICAN partnership agreement with Children’s Centres