May Activity Blog

Great news…..on the 30 April the Children's Trust board agreed the five objectives of the Parenting Strategy:

Objective 1: To enhance communication with and access to information for parents
Objective 2: To improve parents' access to services
Objective 3: To deliver the ECM outcomes in partnership with parents
Objective 4: To improve joint working between 'parenting' services and ensure that there is a clear continuum of support which is well organised and co-ordinated
Objective 5: To enhance services to support parents in their parenting role, especially as children enter the teenage years and make the transition to adulthood

The sorts of information / support that paretns would like to be able to access or access more of included: Events they can go to as a whole family (62%) School holiday activities (61%) Advice on managing chidlren's behaviour (45%) Events for children and teenagers out of school hours (45%) Parenting Strategy Consultation March 2009

This means that they have agreed that over the next two years all their organisations and services will take action to address these key objectives. We have started to compose an action plan to detail what the key activity will be, and a lot of the action plan will, like the strategy, be determined by what parents have told us.

We have also worked with senior managers to establish a Implementation and Monitoriting Structure whereby the Parenting Strategy can be implemented and monitored and whereby the Children's Trust will receive regular updates on progress. It will also be important that we work with each of the Distrust Children's Trusts and how they each take the objectives forward specifically for their district.

Can I take this opportunity to say a big, big thank you to parents out there who contributed to the development of the strategy; as I reported in my March blog just under 2000 voices of Staffordshire parents were collected - I am so pleased that you have managed to find a route to have your say. I also want to say another big, big thank you to some other key people who have made this strategy possible they have been involved in thinking and writing the strategy and in collecting and analysing data. These thanks go out to:

Members of the parenting Strategy group
Chrissy Marston - senior administrator
The Staffordshire Adult & Community Learning Service
Staffordshire Community & Learning Partnerships 
Busy Mummies (Burton on Trent)
The Staffordshire Youth Offending Service
Staffordshire Young Carers' Project
Home-start (Tamworth, Stafford and Leek) 
Staffordshire Parent Partnership
Staffordshire Foster Carers' Network
Staffordshire County Council Chief Executives Office
Alcohol & Drug Services In Staffordshire
Staffordshire Children's Centres - Stafford (x2); Staffordshire Moorlands (Biddulph & Leek); South Staffs (Landywood and Wombourne); Tamworth (x2);  Cannock (Cannock Chase Early Years and Bridgtown); Newcastle Under Lyne (Newcastle and Clayton); Lichfield; East Staffs (Burton on Trent and Winshill)
West Midlands NCPTA  
Staffordshire Police

So other than the strategy what has been happening. I am continuing to meet and talk to parents and represent their views at meetings. Currently I go to the following groups and meetings to put forward the parents view:

• Children Trust and Children's Trust Executive Group
• Integrated Service Development (ISD)
• Carers Programme Board (adult services)
• Building Schools for the Future - parent and young person consultation and  Social Think Tank
• Family Intervention Programme monitoring group
• Regular input into the Community and Learning Partnership meetings
• Children's Palliative Care
• South Staffs PCT Patient 
• Engagement group
• Adolescent Health Strategy
• Aiming High
• District Chairs & Leads
• Children's Trust Board
• Community Engagement Network
• Corporate Engagement Network
• District Implementation team/Network
• District Trust Boards
• Early Intervention Conference Planning
• Senior Manager Action group for Early Intervention
• Family/Parent Week
• Government Office for the West Midlands - Parent Commissioner Network
• Integrated Youth Support Service
• Managers Forum
• Narrowing the Gap

You told us that you liked services that listened to you, treated you as an individual and included you in making decisions. Parenting Strategy Consultation March 2009

• Objective 1 - To enhance communication with and access to information for parents
• Objective 2 - To improve parents' access to services
• Objective 3 - To deliver the ECM outcomes in partnership with parents
• Objective 4 - To improve joint working between 'parenting' services and ensure   that there is a clear continuum of support which is well organised and co-ordinated
• Objective 5 - To enhance services to support parents in their parenting role, especially as children enter the teenage years and make the transition to adulthood
• Parents Strategy Steering Group
• Parent Support Workers
• Think Family (including Parenting Experts and Parenting Early Intervention Programme)

Family week 19 - 25 October 2009 is fast approaching there are number of activities taking place across the county, check out your local Children's centres and schools who are likely to have details about what is happening in your area - I will of course be trying to get out and about to meet and talk to more parents.

What else……we are working with Jigsaw to create a DVD on what parents consider needs to be developed to enhance the School Improvement Division's Inclusion policy for schools - there will be consultation opportunities available for parents - but I have passed over the relevant information from the aiming high events and the parenting strategy consultation - so your views will be forwarded!

The Aiming High for children with learning difficulties and disabilities consultation events that took place between January and February have really helped the Aiming High Board compile what they are going to do - the team working on this have really taken note of what parents have said and are addressing all the key areas (there is a quick link on the children's trust page for more information on this).

I have managed to attend a number of events for parents and was very impressed with a recent transitions event for parents with children who have Down's syndrome and ASD. Once again it was great to talk to parents and hear their views and the trials and tribulation of their children making the transition to adulthood and moving from the care of children's to adult services.

See you next month

Charlotte

 

Last Modified: 19/06/2009 12:23:01
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