1. Brighter Futures Partnership delivery in Dacorum Working together better to help parents into employment 27 March 2013

2. 1.The issues for Dacorum 2.The Brighter Futures project 3.Lessons from the project evaluation 4.What we learned from working in partnership 5.Outcomes and next steps

3. Child poverty in Dacorum The average proportion of children living in poverty across the UK in 2010 was 20.6% 26 wards in Hertfordshire had higher levels of child poverty than this Within Dacorum, Adeyfield East, Adeyfield West, Grovehill, Hemel Hempstead Town Centre, Highfield and Woodhall Farm all had higher than average levels of child poverty Poverty not evenly distributed but ‘pepperpotted’ within wards

4. Child poverty in Woodhall Farm

5. The Brighter Futures project A partnership between Jobcentre Plus, West Herts College and Dacorum Borough Council Funded by Hertfordshire County Council’s Child Poverty Strategic Objective Group, the Skills Funding Agency, and Hertfordshire Adult and Family Learning Service

6. What was on offer? Two courses, each of three half days over three weeks Timed to fall outside school hours Aimed to support parents to access further work and training opportunities Information from Dacorum Borough Council and JobCentre Plus on welfare reform and changes to the benefits system Held in a community location with funding for childcare and transport

7. 25 attendees over the two courses Targeted at parents living in the worst affected areas Referrals from JobCentre Plus advisers and through targeted mailings from Dacorum Borough Council Evaluation through survey and focus group to learn more from the project

8. Lessons from the project evaluation Importance of location Importance of childcare Need for flexibility within existing support Importance of personal development and experience of training opportunities

9. Benefits of partnership working Different referral routes Identifying and combining resources Providing a holistic service

10. Outcomes and next steps One person in work, one interviewing, one enrolled on an apprenticeship 95% of attendees reported greater confidence in applying for jobs 95% of attendees said the skills they had gained would help them find work 95% of attendees reported better understanding of upcoming changes to benefits and how this would affect them 9 attendees said they would like to go on to volunteer 6 attendees said they would like a work taster 16 attendees said they would like to access more training

11. Next steps for us Use this course and delivery model as a gateway Bring in more services and information Look at different partnership models and what they can bring/who they can reach Follow up – 15 attendees were willing to be contacted again to assess the longer-term impact of the course

12. Any questions?