1. Working with other Professionals in Early Intervention: a UK Perspective.
Wendy Messenger
Professor Chris Robertson
University of Worcester, United Kingdom

2. The UK National Policy Context 1997 - 2009
Addressing issues of social disadvantage and inequality – ‘narrowing the gap’.
Educational under-achievement
Poor health and well-being.
Enabling parents back to work.
Protecting all children

3. The National Policy Context
Reform and modernisation of children’s services
Integrated
multi-professional
teams co-located where
possible
Earlier intervention rather than at crisis point
Children, parents/carers involved in service design and delivery
Information sharing

4. Children do not distinguish their needs based on which agencies run their services DfES 2004:20

5. Multi agency working
More than one agency working together to meet the needs of the child and family.
Integrated working
Focuses on enabling and encouraging professionals to work together to adopt common processes to deliver front line services coordinated and built around the needs of children and young people.
McKiness 2007

6. Sure Start Children’s Centres
Outreach, Community services
Family support
Children's Centre Services
Must be offered in the 30% most disadvantaged areas. In all other areas services may vary to reflect local need. A children’s centre in every neighbourhood by (3,500)
Outreach
Visits to all families within 2 months of birth
Activities to raise community awareness
Referring and sign-posting
Mentoring services
Early Years Provision
Integrated early learning for 0 – 5
Childcare places – disadvantaged the priority
Support for child minders
Early ID of children with Special Needs
Links to local schools
Family Support
Information about services and activities available in the area
Support and advice on parenting
Access to targeted services
Child and family health services
Antenatal advice
Health promotion programme – smoking , healthy eating etc
Info on breast feeding
Parental Involvement
Consultation and information sharing on services they need
Ensuring parents have a voice including fathers
Links with Job Centre Plus
Encouraging and supporting parents back to work
Child and family health services
Early years childcare and education provision
Links with Jobcentre Plus, extended schools
Parental involvement

7. Which Professionals may be involved?
Early Years worker
Teacher
Speech and language therapist
Family Support worker
Health Visitor
Midwife
Community development worker
Social worker
Substance misuse worker
GP, psychologist, psychiatrist……

8. Is it working? Progress so far….

9. National Evaluation of the Sure Start (NESS) programme 2003 - 2008
Sure Start Children’s Centres that were particularly successful in meeting the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities showed evidence of:
joined up services which led to quicker and more appropriate responses for families and the development of a preventative approach
increased availability of play and childcare facilities and additional sessions to give extra developmental opportunities
high quality respite for parents
increased availability for family and home support
increased access to specialist health services, particularly
speech and language therapy and mental health outreach

10. National Evaluation of the Sure Start programme 2003 - 2008
Partnership working can be a challenge and that while progress is being made there is still a long way to go.
Programmes that had good multi-agency working had multi disciplinary staff training and meetings.
Professionals could find their identities threatened by changes in their traditional roles and responsibilities.
Sustaining the commitment to multi-agency working was dependent on strong leadership and a shared long term vision of the benefits of joint working.
Roles and responsibilities need to be agreed and understood and protocols for responding to need shared.

11. National Audit Office (NAO) Report 2006 Sure Start Children’s Centres
Benefits (staff)
Partnership working with other organisations.
Teamwork with other professionals.
Having all services in one place has meant services have become more accessible.
Challenges
Multi-agency/multi-disciplinary working with different organisations and different professionals to deliver a seamless service.

12. Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) Report 2009
Children with SEN gained from the services provided by children’s centres. They benefited from the close working of health visitors, midwives, family support workers, speech and language therapists, teachers and others.
Parents with children with developmental delay, learning difficulties and severe disabilities gained much from the effective integration of services.
Parents had access to a range of health professionals who frequently operated surgeries at the centres.
The idea of a children’s centre as a ‘one stop shop’ is still a very important factor for parents who value face to face contact with a range of professionals.

13. Barriers to inter-professional working
Communication and language
Culture differences in working practices and pay and conditions
Status
Trust
Risk
Lack of clarity of role

14. Overcoming the barriers
Improving communication
Clarity of job roles
Shared training
Shared skills and knowledge as well as retaining a specialism

15. Qualities Knowledge Skills
A willingness to engage with others in joint ventures and training
Resourcefulness
Knowledge
Skills
Role responsibility
Listening
Information sharing
Compromise
Leaders/managers, early years workers, health workers family support workers, community workers, social workers, teachers etc.
Supporting transitions
Child safeguarding
Relationship building
Ability to shed pre-conceived ideas and a willingness to share expertise
Child development
Negotiation
A willingness to evolve with the culture of the team
Procedures
Ability to see the vision and purpose of the work
High emotional intelligence
Messenger 2009 (forthcoming)

16. References
DfES (2004) Five year Strategy for Children and Learners: maintaining excellent progress. DfES Publications: Nottingham
DfES (2008) The Sure Start Journey. A Summary of Evidence.
DfES (2005) The Common Core of Knowledge and Skills for the Children’s Workforce.
McInness, K. (2007) A Practitioner’s Guide to interagency working in Children’ Centres: a review of the literature. Barnardo’s Policy and research unit.

17. Messenger,W. in Canning, N. , Reed,, M
Messenger,W. in Canning, N., Reed,, M. (forthcoming) in Reflective Practice in Early Years. London: Sage.
Ofsted (2009) The Impact of Integrated Services on Children and their Families in Sure Start Children’s Centres.
National Audit Office (2006) Sure Start Children’s Centres.