1998 Early Years Development Plan
SECTION M - INFORMATION SERVICES
Current Provision
A. Avon Parents Network (APN)
 | established in 1991 |
| provides `one stop shop= information
for parents, carers and professionals working with children |
| service agreement with Bristol City and South Gloucestershire Councils |
| operates a database |
| provides information through helpline and leaflets |
| helpline open 11.00am - 3.00pm Monday - Friday |
| 9,997 enquiries last year, demand continuing to grow |
| holds information on all registered day care provided by Social Services |
| information on registered childminders provided by Social Services Under Eights
team |
| also holds information on |
 | unregistered provision e.g. toddler groups
|
| family support provision
|
| health support provision
|
| provision which addresses needs of black or disabled children
|
| sometimes utilises sponsorship, private sector or advertising income from private
sector |
| play activity leaflets are produced in eight languages |
| leaflets distributed through existing groups representing ethnic minorities |
| has strong links with the Care Forum and City Council Services |
| specifically asks providers about their services for disabled children |
B. Connections
C. The Bristol Children=s and Young People=s
Services Network (CHYPS)
| a network which links organisations working within the city from a range of
sectors |
| unfunded |
| three areas of interest-early years |
| children=s play
|
| young people
|
| contributes views to the Play Panel, Early Years Sub-Committee etc |
| uses own newsletter and Scrapstore=s
newsletter to provide information to member organisations |
| not providing direct service to parents |
| has involved children in meetings/conferences |
D. Private Sector Group
| private sector recently begun meeting as a group |
| includes private nurseries and playgroups registered under the Children Act |
| private schools registered by the DfEE |
| information for parents provided by individual settings not as a group |
| I.S.I.S. national information service covering independent schools |
E. Social Services Under Eights Team
| provides second stage advice for parents wanting more information |
| about choosing a childminder
|
| about the registration process
|
| in relation to disabled children
|
| also provides information to childminders/prospective childminders on training
resources etc. |
| initial enquiries from parents re. childcare are referred to APN |
F. Leisure Services
| information systems strategy is being developed with use of the website |
| libraries hold general information for parents e.g. books on childcare |
| branch libraries hold local information (i.e. within one mile) on children=s services, toddler groups, after school clubs,
parent support groups, schools etc |
| requests for information on childminders is referred to APN |
| Leisure Services also disseminate information through other Council Offices and
the media giving details of availability of leaflets in other languages |
G. Education Department
| provides information to parents on schools, nursery schools and class provision
and on special educational needs |
| has worked with ASupportive Parents for
Special Children@ in designing leaflets about
SEN, including the Early Years |
| other information produced as required e.g. on vouchers |
| gives details of availability of leaflets in other languages |
| is involving children in School Councils |
H. Social Services Inspection Unit
| registers and inspects all group day care provision for children according to the
Children Act |
| provides information to providers on registration requirements |
| prepares a newsletter on adult and children=s
services |
| collects information from all registered providers on the provision for disabled
children and equal opportunities policy |
| has inspectors who can sign |
| seeks feedback from parents on early years services by asking them in person and
through questionnaires |
| exploring the possibility of a questionnaire for children |
| requires every registered setting to make a commitment to working with children
with special needs |
I. Social Services : general
| range of leaflets produced for parents, carers, other users and prospective
providers |
| leaflets relating to children=s day
care provision have just been updated |
| gives details of availability of leaflets in other languages |
J. Information Technology services
| Bristol has ADigital City@ on the Internet |
| WESTEC (Western Training & Enterprise Council) had a TAP database in
libraries giving information about early years provision |
| DIS (Disability Information Service) project at the Care Forum provides a
database of local, regional and national health and social care services for disabled
children and their parents/carers |
| other voluntary and statutory organisations e.g. Social Services, GPs can hold
copies of the DIS database. |
Issues
A. Equalities
| APN helpline is English speaking only. |
| Inspection Unit has found that providers are not able to meet the needs of French
and Chinese families. |
| Libraries have found that the demand for mother tongue books has declined. |
| Research needs to be done to identify the barriers preventing information
reaching minority ethnic women in particular. |
| Important that parents of disabled children receive information on mainstream
services and are not automatically channelled into specialist provision. |
B. Involvement of parents/carers, children and
young people in designing appropriate information services
| Health needs to be involved in the information strategy as it has contact with
all parents of young children. |
| More use could be made of schools for the dissemination of information as
families often use schools as a source of information for their community. |
| Need to ask parents/carers for feedback on early years services. |
C. Networking/Partnerships
| A number of organisations hold data bases/mailing lists for relevant
organisations but these are not necessarily shared or combined. |
| Can be difficulties in updating information held on IT databases and gaining
permission to provide the information. |
D. Exchange of Good Practice
| Information services need to include the exchange and sharing of good practice
between providers and between sectors. |
E. Quality/quantity of information
| The receipt of too much information can be overwhelming, information needs to be
targeted and better presented so that the audience can identify the relevant information. |
| There is currently duplication of effort with different organisations providing
information and producing newsletters with overlapping content. |
F. Updating information
| The cost of updating information systems needs to be taken into account at the
planning stage e.g. APN received a better response from providers updating their
information when a free post service was available. |
KEY FINDINGS:
| Information produced in other languages needs to be disseminated through appropriate
groups and those services producing the information need to be more proactive in ensuring
the information reaches the target audience. More attention needs to be given to the
accessibility of information by all potential users.
|
| The use of databases held on information technology could facilitate a more
streamlined and integrated information service across the city but needs to be
complemented by personal advice and information for parents when trying to find a
provision to meet a particular need.
|
| Although there is a wealth of information produced and distributed by various
service providers, much of this information is duplicated and consideration needs to be
given to a co-ordinated system of producing and distributing the information.
|
| The information currently produced does not yet incorporate the sharing of good
practice and exchange of ideas and if a revised information strategy is being developed
this role should be included.
|
| Consideration needs to be given to the distribution of information through services
which already come into contact with most families such as Health and schools.
|
| Opportunities need to be developed for seeking feedback from parents/carers and
young people on the quality of information about early years settings.
|
Forward A:Introduction
B:Background C:Early Years in Bristol D:The Partnership
& Consultation E:Audit of Need & Provision
F: Quality & Inspection G: Curriculum & role of Qualified Teachers H: Training & Staff Development I: Family Support/ Parent Involvement & Under 3's J: SEN K: Integration L: Affordable Childcare M: Information
Services Conclusions Annexes Executive Summary/Action
Plan Supplementary Info
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