Learning from Sure Start : Working with Young Children and Their Families

by Weinberger, Jo; Pickstone, Caroline; Hannon, Peter

• ISBN13: 9780335216383
• ISBN10: 0335216382
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-07-01
• Publisher: Open University Press
• More Book Details
• Purchase Benefits

Summary

"...an easy-to-read evaluation of a trailblazer local programme... packed with helpful information such as pointers for the future, pie charts and parents' stories (not translated into dry 'research' speak)... It renewed my passion and reminded me why I got involved in Sure Start in the first place" Nursery World "This book demonstrates the key strength of Sure Start, its breadth of vision... It shows how with the right effort, statutory and voluntary organisations can work side by side. It also shows how important it is to engage local people in finding solutions, blending professional and community support to strengthen both... Learning from Sure Start is a significant contribution to the evidence base on what works for young children and families." Naomi Eisenstadt, Director, Sure Start Unit Sure Start, an exciting initiative in early childhood care and education with families in the UK, has been developing new forms of community-focused early interventions, with the aim of having all children 'ready to flourish' when they start school. This book, the first of its kind, is the result of a close collaboration between one local programme and a university over a five year period. The contributors all have first hand experience as practitioners or researchers in the Sure Start programme at Foxhill & Parson Cross in Sheffield, which has provided a wide range of new services. Contributors: Describe various services within health, education and social welfare Examine implications of the development of inter-agency theory and practice for planning and delivery of services for children Evaluate methods that were employed Identify what worked and what didn't Indicate lessons that can be drawn from experience This is indispensable reading for students of early childhood and early years practitioners, policy makers, and researchers.

Table of Contents

Foreword: Naomi Eisenstadt, Director of Sure Start, Department for Education & Skills

Contributors

List of abbreviations

Part One: Introduction

1 Why we should learn from Sure Start
Peter Hannon & Linda Fox

2 Listening to families: a survey of parents' views
Jo Weinberger

Part Two: Improving and emotional development

3 Family Support
Jo Weinberger

4 Connecting with our kids parenting programme
Margaret Drake with Jo Weinberger and Peter Hannon

5 Meeting the needs of teenage parents
Deborah Crofts

Part Three: Improving health

6 Low birth weight - exploring the contribution of nutrition
Fiona Ford

7 Supporting breast feeding mothers
Sue Battersby

8 The impact of Sure Start on health visiting
Ann Rowe

9 Child Safety Scheme
Robin Carlisle

Part Four: Improving childrens ability to learn

10 Quality of play and learning opportunities
Simon Martinez

11 Community teaching in a Sure Start context
Jackie Marsh and Jan Forde

12 Screening and language development
Caroline Pickstone

13 Media, popular culture and young children
Jackie Marsh

14 A dialogic reading intervention programme for parents and preschoolers
Anne Morgan

Part Five: Strengthening families and communities

15 Community involvement
Helen Lomas & Peter Hannon

16 The Young Families Advice Service
Imogen Hale

17 Community research
Jo Weinberger

Part Six: What have we learned? What do we need to know?

18 Bringing it together: the role of the programme manager
Linda Fox, programme manager, talks to the editors

19 Looking to the future
Peter Hannon,Caroline Pickstone, Jo Weinberger & Linda Fox

Appendices

Appendix 1 List of Sure Start services

Appendix 2 Interview schedule for survey of parents of 4-year-olds, condensed version

Index