Intro- What is the Childrens Fund

TAMESIDE CHILDREN’S FUND EVALUATION 2005 July 2005 Contents Page Executive Summary Section 1 Introduction and Background Section 2 Tameside Section 3 Evaluation2005 Section 4 The Projects Section 5 Qualitative Information Section 6 Conclusion Appendix 3 6 9 11 22 33 35 2 Section 1 What is the Children’s Fund? Introduction and Background The Children‟s Fund was launched in November 2000 as part of the Government‟s commitment to tackle disadvantage among children and young people aged 5-13. The programme aims to identify children and young people at risk of social exclusion at an early stage and make sure they receive the help and support they need to achieve their potential. The Children‟s Fund has 3 underlying principles:  Prevention – to address the gap in preventative services for children and young people at risk of social exclusion, by providing increased and better coordinated preventative services for 5-13 year olds and their families Partnership – to take responsibility at local level for the delivery of the Children‟s Fund plan, involving partners from the statutory and voluntary sectors, community and faith groups and ensuring that the views of children and young people are represented Participation – the voices of children and young people are at the heart of the Children‟s Fund, with children and young people being involved in the design, operation and evaluation of the programme.   The original outcomes of the Children‟s Fund were that children would grow up:       Healthy Emotionally secure and confident Having succeeded at school Having stayed out of trouble Living in a safe place Having the opportunity to succeed in achieving their dreams The specific objectives of the Children‟s Fund are:        To promote attendance in school by 5-13 year olds To achieve improved educational performance among 5-13 year olds To ensure fewer young people aged 10-13 commit crime and fewer children aged 5-13 are victims of crime To reduce child health inequalities To ensure children, young people and their families feel the services are accessible To develop services which are experienced as effective To involve families in building the community‟s capacity to sustain the programme and thereby create pathways out of poverty1 There are radical changes taking place in local government which should dramatically improve the services offered to children, young people and their families. The objectives of the Children‟s Fund link in with these changes. 1 Taken from www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/strategy/childrensfund.htm 3 Every Child Matters & The Children Act The death of Victoria Climbie exposed many weaknesses in statutory services. The resulting Green Paper of September 2003 – Every Child Matters – recognised that children are failed by the system when, although they are known to a number of services, nothing is done to help them. The paper notes that too often children experience difficulties at home or at school but receive too little too late, once problems have reached crisis point. The Green Paper outlined the way forward for preventative services that support every child to develop their full potential. A new direction was set out for children‟s services to ensure that agencies work more closely together in the best interest of the child. Highlighted areas include developing the following areas:      Full service extended schools Increasing mental health provision Keeping young people out of custody Tackling homelessness Supporting parents and carers The Children Act, passed in November 2004, provides the legal framework for these reforms to go ahead and requires all agencies involved with children and young people to cooperate, with local authorities taking the lead. By 2008, all local authority children‟s services must have established integrated working at all levels, from planning through to delivery, ensuring that everyone shares the same vision for children and young people. A new local governing body (most commonly, although not exclusively known as the Children‟s Trust) will operate to make sure that the plans are realised. Children’s Fund to-date – is it working? National Evaluation The National Evaluation of the Children‟s Fund (NCEF) was commissioned in December 2002. It aims to evaluate what works in prevention and partnership working and why. Key learning points to-date are summarized in a Research Brief2: For Policy Makers 1 2 Time It is important to recognise that projects take time to develop. Reviewing activity and identifying learning points is vital. Moving from Intervention to Prevention There are political pressures around the allocation of funding – prevention has historically not been allocated the high amounts of funding given to high level intervention (usually at „crisis‟ points). Change and Uncertainty It is extremely difficult to maintain and sustain a project when there are uncertainties about its future 3 2 National Evaluation of the Children‟s Fund - Summary of Key Learning Points (November 2004) 4 Children‟s Fund Planners 1 Different Voices, Extended Understandings By bringing in different viewpoints, this can enrich what is available. By different services coming together, children‟s resilience can be built. The child‟s voice is crucial in this Partnerships are Important for Learning The Children‟s Fund has enabled organisations and individuals to work in a different, more coherent way and be able to help children in a more holistic way Flexibility Services need to respond flexibly and holistically to real life situations (e.g. not excluding siblings from services because they are the wrong age). Trust is crucial, to have working relationships based on a common aim and not on a service level agreement. 2 3 Key Learning Points for Decision Makers 1 Risk can bring Rewards Practitioners working in mainstream agencies have not been rewarded for innovative working or taking more time with children in order to work collaboratively with them; this needs to be encouraged Outcomes and Measuring Success The focus on prevention makes it difficult to „demonstrate evidence of the non-occurrence of negative outcomes‟. The concept of trajectory may be a more useful concept than outcome in the case of preventative initiatives with children and this needs to be accepted by decision-makers when they fund projects. Learning It is vital to learn from outcomes as an ongoing process. There has been a tendency to chop and change funding initiatives. This has led to a loss of understanding about what has worked and a loss of continuity, as projects fold through loss of funding and others are set up with new funding, often to do similar work. 2 3 Painting the new Children’s Fund logo designed by children 5 Section 2 Tameside As shown, there are complex changes taking place in how children‟s services are set up and delivered and the Children‟s Fund has been seen as a key part of steering the change. How has this process been implemented in Tameside? Tameside Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership In Tameside, a new Director of Children‟s Services was appointed in April 2005 to oversee the changes. Work already underway includes:3   Changing geographical boundaries, so that health visitors, school nurses and social workers are all working together in the same areas Six secondary schools in Tameside have bid to become extended schools, which will focus on supporting study and out of hours learning. The aim for extended schools is to offer a full range of services including sports, counselling, and health promotion that the whole community can use Supporting the principles behind Tameside Children‟s Fund and looking at how best practice can be used to influence future work  The Strategic Partnerships have drawn up indicators which provide a guide to all groups working with Children and young people to ensure that everyone is working consistently to the same aims. 4 The Children‟s Fund is therefore an integral part of innovation – it represents the opportunity to show real partnership working and has identified and uses the vital ingredients in successful work with children and their families to change lives, bring about social inclusion and prevent future problems. The Area Tameside lies on the Eastern edge of Greater Manchester, bordering with Derbyshire. It covers 40 square miles and contains 89,981 household and 151 schools. Tameside originated in the 1970s, when 9 separate towns were joined together as a single borough. Traditionally a textile manufacturing area, the borough now focuses heavily on industries that are predicted to decline such as metal, light engineering, clothing and food with little resource in the service sectors that are expanding elsewhere. The problem of accessing work is compounded by lack of affordable childcare and transport provision. Consequently, Tameside has the lowest waged economy in Greater Manchester.5 Tameside is divided into 19 wards, shown below. It is ranked 53rd out of 354 in the 1998 National Index of Local Deprivation. The map shows the level of deprivation across the area – Ashton St Peters and Hyde Godley are amongst the most deprived 10% in England. The indices of deprivation, constructed by Oxford University for the DETR (Department of the Environment, Transport and the regions) is made up of the following 6 indices: 3 For more information, see www.tameside.gov.uk/cypp/everychild.htm See Appendix 1 for the Full list of themes and outcomes taken from www.tameside.gov.uk 4 5 6       Income - households claiming income related benefits Employment – unemployment related benefit claimants and people in New Deal options or government supported training who are not in work Health – comparative mortality ratios, people receiving health/disability related benefits, proportion of low birth rates and ratio of limiting long-term illnesses Education, skills and training – Adults with no qualifications; young people who are not in full-time education or have not successfully applied for higher education; primary school performance data; absenteeism and children with English as a second language Housing – Homeless or over-crowded households, poor private sector housing Geographical access to services – access to a post office, food shops, GP and primary schools Ward Index of Multiple Deprivation 2000 MOSSLEY Mossley Ashton Hurst Ashton Waterloo Droylsden West Droylsden East ASHTON Ashton St Michaels Stalybridge North DROYLSDEN AUDENSHAW Audenshaw Ashton St Peters STALYBRIDGE Stalybridge South Dukinfield Stalybridge Dukinfield DUKINFIELD Denton North East Hyde Newton LONGDENDAL E Longdendale Denton West HYDE Denton South Hyde Godley DENTON Hyde Werneth Ward in worst 10% in England Ward in worst 20% but not worst 10% Ward in worst 25% but not in 20% Remaining wards Tameside‟s resident population on census day was 213,045 with 0-14 year olds accounting for 20% 7 Tameside Children’s Fund 2004 The first year‟s evaluation focused on the set-up of projects. Already, themes were emerging around effective practice. Key pointers for success appeared to include:  Partnerships and networking – building a network of support and understanding of a child so that services offered are relevant, timely and coherent. This would avoid the child falling through the gaps in services, outlined in Every Child Matters Working with the family as well as the child, recognising that the child doesn‟t exist in isolation from his/her environment Dedicated workers who demonstrate that they value the child and help them to identify and realise their choices. Workers being flexible and responsive to need – e.g. being able to deal with a child in trouble immediately. Working in an organisation that understands this approach and supports workers is important to success – e.g. letting a child be taken out of a lesson to deal with emotional issues Listening to children – picking up on issues early on and then doing something about it. Research6 shows that services often know about problems and issues but don‟t do anything about it; only a crisis prompts action, by which time a considerable amount of damage has been done to the child, the family and society     The 2004 evaluation concluded that „recognising what is happening with children, listening to them, working out what to do together and then adults carrying out their promises seem to be simple but key factors in success of projects.‟ This evaluation will examine if this is still the case and show where this has made a difference to children‟s lives in Tameside. Activities at Jubilee Gardens resource centre for children with disabilities and their families 6 For a incisive example of this, see Appendix 1 to the 2004 evaluation, reproduced with permission of the Audit Commission 8 Section 3 Evaluation 2005 Outcomes to be measured have changed slightly from original Children‟s Fund model, since the principles outlined in „Every Child Matters‟ have been adopted. These are: Be Healthy Stay Safe Enjoy and Achieve Make a Positive Contribution Achieve Economic Wellbeing The Evaluation Methodology In a similar way to our last evaluation, the process contains the following sources of evidence. The original evaluation brief was to write reports that were jargon-free and easy to understand, both by professionals and lay people. The spirit of this was carried out in our methodology. Project Visits and Interviews During the complete set of project visits (all of which were made by researchers at the Trust), the following groups were targeted for feedback: Project Workers – to give an update on project development, milestones in success, barriers to success and hopes for the future Partner Professionals - to examine if the project was perceived to be making a difference (e.g. teachers in schools were interviewed to gather views on the success of the learning mentors) Parents – it has been possible to interview far more parents than last year – perhaps an indicator of how far projects have come in connecting with carers Children and Young People – their views on what has made a difference to their lives was key The themes from the interviews will be examined in more detail in Section five, with links made to success indicators where possible. 9 Project Monitoring and Evaluation Projects send a quarterly return to the Children‟s Fund. As previously, evaluators were keen not to add to the burden of paperwork by requiring yet more forms to be filled in, so used these returns wherever possible to add to site visit findings. Many projects use their own feedback forms and evaluation documents with young people and carers – these too were incorporated into findings. The quarterly returns were used to analyse the statistical elements of this report. Measurable Targets Some projects have clearly defined targets as measures of success. Others are more fluid – using individual case studies to highlight a tangible difference made to a child‟s life (e.g. starting to communicate more, getting to school). The evaluators have tried wherever possible to show hard outcomes where these have been provided (see the Volunteer Reading Scheme), but have also recognised that stories can speak much more loudly than figures. The holistic approach of projects has also been taken into account – a project may view itself in one particular category (health, for example), but have a knock on effect in another area (e.g. a young person‟s emotional wellbeing is improved and they will do better at school). Evaluators are beginning to examine base-line data in Tameside to try and piece together the Children‟s Fund impact on areas such as crime, health and education. Early indicators will be highlighted on page 23. There are limitations to this, since it cannot be clear whether there is a direct link between, for example, the Healthy Eating Project and an improvement in health across the area. The Children‟s Fund was also not required to set specific targets (e.g. lower truancy rates in school x by y amount). However, case studies from projects can be used to look at where there has been an impact in individual cases. Where a project has been able to measure its performance statistically, this will be reported in the evaluation. Musicians and Singers celebrating the recording Session of „Tameside as One Voice‟ 10 Section 4 Coverage The Projects There are 24 projects in total that have received funding for the year 2004/2005 and the coverage of the projects is as follows: Project Name Traveller, Refugee, Asylum Seeker Support Team The Water Adventure Centre Inclusion Project Hurst Community Association - Youth Club TMBC Education SEN/CAMH‟S Our Kids Eyes (OKE) Support Group Volunteer Reading Help - Tameside TMBC Education - Learning Mentors Jubilee Garden Saturday Club TAVYO (Tameside Association of Voluntary Youth Organisations) Barnardo's - Hyde/Ashton Family Support GM Fire Service - Tameside Young Firefighter Cadet Scheme Tameside Sports Development Unit - Pathways Into Sport New Charter Housing - Gibson Terrace Play & Learning Project Tameside Women's Project Youth Offending Team - Focus on Families Hyde Bangladesh Welfare Association Off The Record - RU 10-13 TMBC Social Services - School Links Scheme Young Carers Participation Project Community Dental Service - Good Food/Good Health DAAT (Drug & Alcohol Team) - Tier 2 Drugs Worker Sure Start Hattersley - Activity Team 5-13's TMBC Sport and Youth Service - Junior Award Coverage Authority-wide Authority-wide Area-Based Authority-wide Authority-wide Authority-wide Authority-wide Area-Based Authority-wide Area-Based Area-Based Authority-wide Area-Based Authority-wide Authority-wide Area-Based Authority-wide Area-Based Authority-wide Authority-wide Area-Based Authority-wide Area-Based Authority-wide Brief Outline of Projects Traveller, Refugee, Asylum Seeker Support Team The project provides one-to-one work with refugee and asylum seeker children to help them integrate into school life. The project worker and child put together an „all about me‟ book and present it to the rest of the class to develop an understanding of the culture and background of the child. Water Adventure Inclusion Project Provides canoeing and other activities for children at the weekends. The project aims to increase self-esteem and confidence and help children have fun. Hurst Junior Youth Club Project set up in an area where there were local concerns about youth nuisance. The club has converted an area in the basement into a space for children and young people. 11 SEN/CAMHS Project Looking at promoting good emotional health in schools – working alongside Learning Mentors and Family Support Workers Our Kids’ Eyes (OKE) Provides a parent-led support group for parents and children with disabilities. The group take part in a wide range of social activities for parents, children and their siblings. Volunteer Reading Help Trains volunteers to go into local primary schools to support children in literacy and numeracy, also improving their confidence and self-esteem. Jubilee Garden Saturday Club Provides a club for children with disabilities and their siblings. TAVYO Provides local assistance with CRB checks, child protection and first aid training to voluntary groups working with 5-13s. Barnardo’s Family Support Provides out of school activities for older children of families with whom Sure Start are working. Family support is provided through helping parents undertake training and gain employment in the childcare field. GM Fire Service Young Cadet Scheme Delivers training about fire safety and the work of fire officers. Volunteers in the Fire Service give up their free time to work with cadets Pathways into Sport Sports activities after school, weekends and during school holidays. Close working relationship with Learning Mentors, who provide referrals to the project. Aims to increase children's sense of confidence and achievement. Gibson Terrace Play and Learning Project After school, weekend and holiday activities for children living in a homeless families unit. Works in partnership with the Children‟s Library Service and local schools. Tameside Women’s Project Provides a therapeutic service and play activities for children who have witnessed domestic violence and are living with mothers in a local refuge. The project helps to settle children into a new environment and provides an outreach service to those who have found new accommodation. 12 Youth Offending Team – Focus on Families Provides support to parents of offenders and works with siblings of young offenders who may be drawn into offending behaviour. Parenting courses are offered to parents, with children offered diversionary activities such as other Children‟s Fund projects and therapeutic support if necessary. Hyde Bangladesh Welfare Association Provides out of school and learning activities for children and support to parents. Aims to improve the academic achievement of Bangladeshi children using the project and gain the trust and support of parents in widening the scope of activities that children take part in. Off The Record Provides a counselling service for 10-13 year olds. Project works in schools, and youth clubs as well as from its base in Hyde. Close links with Learning Mentors, Family Support and SEN/CAMHS workers. Social Services School Links Scheme Provides preventative family support for young people and their families. Close partnership with Learning Mentors and SEN/CAMHS workers to ensure that children are happy and achieving. Young Carers Provides social activities, homework support and opportunities to have fun in a social environment away from the pressures of caring for a family member. Participation Project Provides opportunities for children to be involved in the decision-making process about their local community and schools and use creative ways to express their views on the world. Community Dental Service – Good Food, Good Health Promotes healthy eating and dental care. Healthy cooking sessions and „smoothie‟ sessions provided in schools and community centres to explore the tastes and benefits of fruit and vegetables. Drug and Alcohol Team – Tier 2 Drug Worker Provides drug and alcohol education in schools, youth services and with young offenders. Sure Start Hattersley Works in partnership with Sure Start and Neighbourhood Renewal Fund to provide activities for children and young people after school, at weekends and during holidays. 13 TMBC Sport and Youth Service – Junior Award Provides junior youth activities in areas identified as having a youth nuisance problem. Young people taking part can work towards a junior award, a youth version of a Duke of Edinburgh course. The allocation of funding is shown comparing 2003/2004 with 2004/2005. In 2004/2005 thirty five per cent of funds are allocated to area based projects. Project Name Traveller, Refugee, Asylum Seeker Support Team The Water Adventure Centre Inclusion Project Hurst Community Association - Youth Club TMBC Education SEN/CAMH‟S Our Kids Eyes (OKE) Support Group Volunteer Reading Help - Tameside TMBC Education - Learning Mentors MENCAP Jubilee Garden Saturday Club TAVYO (Tameside Association of Voluntary Youth Organisations) Barnardo's - Hyde/Ashton Family Support GM Fire Service - Tameside Young Firefighter Cadet Scheme Tameside Sports Development Unit - Pathways Into Sport New Charter Housing - Gibson Terrace Play & Learning Project Tameside Women's Project Youth Offending Team - Focus on Families Attendance Hyde Bangladesh Welfare Association Off The Record - RU 10-13 TMBC Social Services - School Links Scheme Young Carers Participation Project Community Dental Service - Good Food/Good Health DAAT (Drug & Alcohol Team) - Tier 2 Drugs Worker Sure Start Hattersley - Activity Team 5-13's TMBC Sport and Youth Service - Junior Award TOTAL Funding 2003/2004 £20,000.00 £30,000.00 £32,796.00 £120,255.00 £24,785.00 £28,633.00 £315,000.00 £30,457.00 £63,493.00 £115,000.00 £60,069.00 £37,000.00 £62,710.00 £31,526.00 £46,425.00 £46,100.00 £39,042.00 £75,894.00 £28,800.00 £30,000.00 £21,870.00 £44,189.00 £32,000.00 £56,674.00 £1,392,718 Funding 2004/2005 £12,000.00 £18,000.00 £16,000.00 £49,785.00 £14,104.00 £14,470.00 £160,000.00 £16,000.00 £18,000.00 £52,954.00 £9,869.00 £22,298.00 £35,200.00 £14,708.00 £24,016.00 £27,120.00 £24,281.00 £50,000.00 £19,200.00 £89,439.00 £14,978.00 £29,130.00 £22,726.00 £29,161.00 £783,439 % Change -40% -40% -51% -59% -43% -49% -49% -47% -72% -54% -83% -40% -44% -53% -48% -41% -38% -34% -33% 198% * -31% -34% -29% -48% -43% *NB This figure is irregular because the staff costs for 2003/2004 were included in the partnership central costs and not attributed directly to the participation project. The decreases in funding are largely due to the cuts in funding to the Children‟s Fund, which caused a huge amount of disruption last year (see the 2004 evaluation for more details). Although the Fire Service saw its funding drop by 83%, this was largely due to year one being a contribution to building/capital costs not needed in future years. The large drop in funding for TAVYO was again reflective of the weight of funding being around setting up systems in year one. However, with an average of 43% less funding it is clear that this would have a considerable impact in the ability to deliver services. This will be discussed in more detail later in the report. 14 Tameside Children‟s Fund categorises the projects according to the Every Child Matters Framework and a diagram of this can be found at Appendix 1. Using this framework the funding allocated to each project can be gathered under the ECM headings as follows: % Funding According to ECM Framework 11% 16% 9% Stay Safe Enjoy & Achieve Be Healthy Economic Wellbeing 24% 40% Positive Contribution The lead provider for seven of the projects is either a local education service or a local authority service, while seven more projects are headed up by a local voluntary organisation. National voluntary organisations have responsibility for four of the projects. Many of the projects are delivered across several sites, 67% of which belong to the service provider. Seven projects are delivered at home which represents some 30% of the total delivery. Where Service is Delivered 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 e ce nt re Sc ho ol sp ac e Pr ov id er s Pu bl ic Yo ut h 15 O th er c om m un ity sp ac e H om O th er si te Project Objectives Each project was asked to rank priorities from a given list and it was intended that these priorities would be ranked 1 to 8. However many projects did not prioritise in such a way and instead gave equal value to a number of different priorities. To reflect this, the following table lists the priorities and the number of projects that ranked it as number 1. Priority School Attendance School Attainment Crime Reduction Health Improvement General Accessibility Equity of Access User Satisfaction Capacity Building Number of Projects that ranked this top 8 6 7 14 4 9 9 6 58% of projects gave a ranking of 1 to health improvement, which corresponds with the Health and Happiness goal of Every Child Matters. If school attendance and attainment are taken together to represent the ECM goal of learning, then 58% of projects have this as a target. The Tameside Children‟s Fund plan 2005-2008 categorises each Children‟s Fund project according to the framework of Every Child Matters. The chart at appendix 1 illustrates the connections between the projects and the goals of every child matters. Young Carers Project logo designed by young carer 16 Target Backgrounds Eighteen of the projects stated that they targeted young people from a specific background with the majority indicating that they targeted more than one group. The table below and the corresponding graph illustrate this. The greatest emphasis is on children with behavioural difficulties, self esteem problems and those living in poverty. The next categories receiving attention could be linked in the sense that they are behavioural symptoms of the circumstances of poverty and families in stress, so they include anti social behaviour and high rates of truancy and non-attendance at school. Target Backgrounds 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Anti social/Criminal Domestic Violence Disabled Children Service Provided While projects highlighted health improvement as an objective and targeted children experiencing behavioural difficulties, low self esteem and poverty, the approach widely taken is to engage children in activities including play schemes; arts and crafts and sports, as well as organising trips and away days. A significant number of projects offered information and signposting while the support for health education directly relates to the target of improving health. 17 Families in stress Minority Ethnic Mental Health High rates of High rates of Substance abuse Refugee/Asylum Children living in Self esteem Children from Young Carers Children going Transferring Behavioural Homeless Learning Bullying Service Provided 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 Music/Dance/Drama Information & signposting 0 Trips/away days Arts & Crafts Mediation/advocacy Club provision/Play Mentoring/role models Facilities provision Media production Health education Family therapy Parent education Participation/engagement Education support Home-school Child therapy Environment ICT How these services are utilised to respond to the issues or circumstances of the children are agreed following and according to the views of the worker, the child and the parent where appropriate. As the child is treated individually, any of these services or combination of services could be found to be the “best fit” and as discussed further in this report, whilst the provision itself is important, the culture of support and value in giving it appears to be key. Demographics According to the 2001 census the population of 5-14 year olds in Tameside is 29,790 of which there are 15,209 males and 14,592 females. During 2004 10,521 children had an initial contact with a children‟s fund project and 9,766 were regularly supported. This latter figure will have an element of double counting because children receiving support over more than one quarter will be counted in the return for each quarter. However 9,766 children represents 33% of the 5-14 population and is an increase of 12% on the previous year. This level of support is being achieved by a smaller number of projects than in 2003, twenty four as compared to thirty four, and indicates that the projects are no longer dealing with issues resulting from a new service being set up and developed but are now in the business of delivering a well-used and well-regarded service. Changes are represented in the tables below: 18 Additional language Sports Other Children Supported by Gender and age 1000 800 600 400 200 0 11 12 13 14 5 10 6 7 8 9 to to to 5 6 7 8 to 10 11 12 13 9 to 14 < to to to to > Male Female Age Groups Male Female Total % <5 5-6 6-7 7-8 8-9 9-10 10-11 11-12 12-13 13-14 14> years Years Years Years Years Years Years Years Years Years YearsTotal 103 286 328 605 713 916 979 745 491 205 140 5511 94 243 254 479 560 652 653 595 392 163 170 4255 197 529 582 1084 1273 1568 1632 1340 883 368 310 9766 2% 5% 6% 11% 13% 16% 17% 14% 9% 4% 3% 100% The bar chart above demonstrates a lot of Children‟s Fund activity around the ages of 10 – 12, a time that research has identified as chaotic and unsettling due the transition from primary to secondary education.7 This being case, this high input of provision could be seen as preventing the problems of truancy and other challenging behaviour that may occur as a result of this change. The graph below shows the change in support for different ages between 2003 and 2004 Children Supported 2003 & 2004 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 5 11 12 13 < 14 6 7 8 9 10 to to to 5 6 7 8 9 to 10 11 12 13 to 14 to to to to > 2003 2004 Age Groups 7 National Foundation for Educational Research has shown that 40 per cent of pupils lose motivation and make no progress in the year after transfer to secondary school. (1999) 19 The table below shows the ethnicity of the 5-14 year old population in Tameside as a whole alongside corresponding figures for the ethnicity of children attending Children‟s Fund projects. Ethnicity White Asian Black Chinese Mixed Attending Tameside CF Projects 5-14 years 89% 92.3% 6% 5.3% 1.2% 0.2% 0.1% 0.4% 2.5% 1.8% There has been a significant increase in the number of Asian children attending projects from 2.5% in 2003 to 6% in 2004. The bulk of this increase can be attributed to two projects, the Hyde Bangladesh Welfare Association and TMBC Education Learning Mentors project, which between them account for 74% of the figure reported for Asian children. The number of children receiving support under the SEN Code of practice is 488 a considerable decrease on 2003 when the figure stood at 611, but the number of children attending with a Statement of Special needs has increased from 231 to 411. 186 young people with disabilities attended projects and 75% of this figure is contributed by two projects MENCAP – Jubilee Garden Saturday club and Our Kids Eyes. It could be argued that the representation of both children from ethnic minorities and those with disabilities should be further mainstreamed because any specialist needs are currently being met by specialist projects. Measurable Targets Education, Tameside Children and Young People‟s Strategic Partnership and the Police have been approached to examine baseline data around education, health and crime. Although figures are not complete, some interesting findings are presented here: SATs Results SATS results for 2003 and 2004 were compared looking for evidence of improvement. 15 areas accommodate area based projects and the six areas that have more than one project running are listed at the top of the table, starting with the area with the most projects.8 8 Information supplied by Tameside Education 20 Area Hyde Godley Longdendale Ashton St Michael‟s Ashton Hurst Ashton St Peter‟s Hyde Werneth Denton North East Denton South Denton West Droylesden East Dukinfield Hyde Newton Mossley Stalybridge North Stalybridge South No of area based Children’s Fund projects 4 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 % of schools with improved SATs 75% Data Incomplete 50% Data Incomplete 33% 67% 60% 67% 33% 67% No Improvement 50% 67% 50% 50% It is interesting to note that the area with the highest concentration of Children‟s Fund projects, Hyde Godley, has had by far the highest percentage of schools with improved SATs. On average, the improvement across areas where the Children‟s Fund is a factor and where figures are known is 55%. Juvenile Nuisance Juvenile nuisance figures for 3 years have been provided by GMP. Unfortunately, the impact hoped for does not seem to have materialised. There are many reasons for the fluctuations in figures provided, not least the current worries around the visibility of young people and antisocial behaviour, which has led to increased reporting of nuisance. The next evaluation will seek to look at the stories behind these statistics. Every Child Matters Children‟s Services are currently drawing up a wealth of data around the outcome targets for Every Child Matters. Although figures are not yet publicly available, some interesting figures are emerging. It must be noted that no direct correlation can be made between the presence of Children‟s Fund projects and improvements in these areas. It is probable that the presence of Children‟s Fund is assisting in these improvements, particularly where the principle aims of the projects fit the outcome targets for Every Child Matters: Absences from school – many of the Children‟s Fund projects, particularly those based in schools, have an aim to reduce absences in school. In primary schools, authorised absences have dropped by 6% between 2003/04 and unauthorised absences have dropped by 3%. Partnership working – the number of social workers employed or working closely with multi-disciplinary CAMHS teams is expected to rise by 57% between 2003/04 and 2004/05. These figures will be further examined in the evaluation for 2006, which will have seen the Children‟s Fund projects running for 3 years. 21 SECTION 5 QUALITATIVE INFORMATION What do the interviews and case studies tell us? Themes emerging from interviews Projects are clearly working across the areas outlined in the outcomes framework of Every Child Matters, indeed it is difficult to separate out projects with specific distinct areas; rather they cross-over and impact holistically. For example, it is clear to see from the OKE project that although it is concerned with young people being able to enjoy and achieve in an environment where their disabilities are not a barrier to access, there have been new opportunities for the carers in the group, who have increased in confidence; developed new skills and are managing the project – increasing economic well-being. There is already well-documented evidence of how projects are keyed into the 5 framework themes. 9This section of the evaluation will give some evidence of how interviewees and evaluators saw that projects are meeting these targets. It will also outline the themes emerging from the interviews with children, project workers, teachers and carers. In terms of evaluative process, what service users can tell us about the projects is the main evidence of whether anything positive is happening their views of how the projects were developing and how they were making a difference to their lives and their children‟s lives are critical evidence. Many people spoke of how services were changing as a result of projects being around – this link to the developing Children‟s Trust agenda will also be examined. Names of those interviewed have been changed to protect confidentiality. Outcomes Framework of Every Child Matters Some examples of how a difference is being made to children‟s lives: Stay Safe The Junior Fire Cadets Scheme aims to work specifically with young people referred to them by schools, YOTs and other Children‟s Fund Projects. Young people are often in danger of getting into trouble, either with the law or of other risky behaviours. The difference made to children by being involved in the scheme was noted by themselves, as well as the project leaders: „the kids are more disciplined, they gel better and work together as a team‟ „I was getting in trouble before and I‟m not now – I chucked stones at windows. I‟ve learned not to do it now, I was bored before‟ (boy aged 13) „when I was at home, I played playstation and got into trouble. I‟m here now‟ (boy aged 12) 9 See the 2004 evaluation of the fund, plus the Tameside Children‟s fund Plan 2005-2008 22 Gibson Terrace, working with families who have become homeless, did have problems with the community and local businesses, who complained to the police about the behaviour of children and young people. Since the children-focused project began, showing them the vast array of possibilities in terms of community activities and the childrens‟ capabilities, relationships with the local community have become much more positive: „school hasn‟t been a priority for parents and therefore not for their children. Libraries have also been viewed as dusty places, with librarians being seen as „old spinsters‟, so we‟re getting new groups of young people to change these views – they‟re going into libraries for the first time…there are links with Learning Mentors in schools, teachers have reported improvements in behaviour and attitude‟ (library worker) Tameside YOT works with children who may have started getting into trouble, or who have siblings who are in trouble. Work with parents as well as children is seen as a key feature of this: „The primary school couldn‟t handle John because of his behaviour. He was abusive and aggressive towards his teachers. Jo put John in touch with (sports worker), so he picks him up to play football now. Two years ago I was at rock bottom, now I‟m really proud of him…I‟ve achieved things I never thought I‟d do‟ (mum) „I‟ve got to thank Jo. She took me to Preston to see this lady who helped me with my anger and my problems‟ (John) Enjoy and Achieve The school based projects (e.g. Volunteer Reading Help and Learning Mentors) have the achievement of the children at the heart of the projects. Measurement of children‟s academic achievements and improvements as a result of the projects is present – the Volunteer Reading Help scheme reports perceived improvements of 80100% in children‟s attitudes to reading, performance in reading and confidence in reading as a result of the project. Children and parents were very clear as to whether they felt different as a result of the projects being there: „I came because I didn‟t like reading before. Now it‟s alright‟ „I was a bit naughty, now I like drawing‟ (children working with reading volunteer) „their confidence is up, they‟re doing well in class. They‟ve joined a friendship group to talk about stuff, emotions, how they‟re feeling. We‟ve got a brand new start, more settled, they‟ve made new friends (were on their own before)‟ (grandmother for 3 young children working with learning mentor) Activity-based projects, such as OKE, Water Adventure and Pathways into Sport, give the opportunity for children to get involved with exciting things that they haven‟t done before, with improved confidence and achievement as a result. Pathways into Sport has a scoring system for measuring confidence, achievement 23 and self-worth before and after the project – this improvement is fed back to schools: „it‟s a good thing to do on a Sunday, see loads of different people and make friends‟ (boy aged 13) „I can get away from home and I‟ve got something to do. Sometimes I miss it but I‟ve started coming a lot now. I like the games they have here and I can enjoy myself without my sister‟ (boy aged 10) „Paul has changed since we joined last July. His confidence has grown (he wasn‟t communicating at all before). He feels confident about going to other parents for help…he‟s been in school plays, he speaks up about what he wants now. We couldn‟t take Paul to places like this on a normal day. It would be too risky. But here, the kids look after him and help him out‟ (parents at OKE) A common feature of projects, exemplified by Young Carers is the recognition that young people looking after parents or other relatives in the home need extra help in order to access services that other children enjoy. For many children, this is their best current opportunity to feel that they can be like other children: „I‟ve been to Alton Towers, I‟ve done lots of things, I like it. I‟ve been coming for a couple of years cos my mum looks after my gran who had a stroke.‟ (Katie) „mum and dad were together, then they split up. Dad can‟t come to the house any more. It‟s just me and mum at home – she doesn‟t go out.‟ (boy aged 7) „you can do fun things and make friends‟ (from children‟s evaluation form) Be Healthy Good health is perceived through physical health and emotional well-being and again, the different strands of the Children‟s Fund do intertwine. For example, although the TRASST project aims to help asylum seeker children settle in school and achieve their potential, the emotional health and confidence of children using the project is a key step in achieving this: „I drew pictures of my flat and the swimming baths. I couldn‟t go swimming, so Mrs X got me a costume that I could wear. I showed my book to my family, they liked it and I got a certificate. I liked making the book, I liked drawing a picture of a lion‟. (girl, aged 9) „Ilie has settled down a lot; he‟s not as boisterous as he was. Michelle having the time to spend with him has made a difference – he‟s got some of the extra attention he needed. Without Michelle it would have taken him longer to settle; I haven‟t the time needed for one-toone attention and that‟s what he needed. In fact, that‟s what he still needs‟.(teacher at primary school) 24 This combination of outcomes can be seen in Off The Record, which is working to provide training to other children to act as peer mentors for good emotional health, as well as its core aim to provide counselling support for young people. One hundred and fifty-five children have been directly helped since the start of the project, with outcomes such as improved school attendance and prevention of school exclusion as well as equipping children with skills to cope with bullying, losing parents and cutting down on drinking and smoking. The Good Food, Good Health Project aims to improve dental health and promote healthy lifestyles, including the promotion of 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day. This type of health promotion in a „fun‟ way is part of Tameside‟s overall strategy in reducing obesity and improving dental health. The project reports that 97% of schools worked with have fruit in school, as a result of the project working with breakfast clubs, for example. The project has also educated parents about contents of packed lunches and notes a change from fizzy drinks and chocolate bars to fruit, yoghurt and cheese sandwiches. Health promotion has many links to other areas – a growing body of research shows the links between diet, behaviour and achievement10. Economic Wellbeing Two projects have economic wellbeing as their main aim – TAVYO and Barnardo's, although many other projects are also working towards this in their work with parents. The Family Support Service is a volunteer befriending service, providing shortterm family support in practical and emotional issues. A case study of a young mother shows how the project can evidence its success: Holly was pregnant when she first came on the programme – she was depressed, fleeing domestic violence and there were drug and alcohol issues. She was scared to get an appointment or help on her own and needed someone to talk to and take her to appointments. She worked one-to-one with a family support worker who showed her how to get information from the internet; helped her with confidence-building; took her to aquanatal classes; showed her where the shops were and got her on a parenting course. Holly is positive about the future and has grown in confidence and gained friends. As she says: „I had not gone for a walk to the park before. This service should be provided to everyone‟ other comments from project users: „I feel more confident; I‟ve started going out and I can make phone calls…‟ 10 Diet, ADHD, and Behaviour: A Quarter-Century Review," by Michael F. Jacobson and David Schardt, Center for Science in the Public Interest, September l999 25 The project has 28 volunteers who have been trained to work with parents. Their skills have enabled them to increase the skills of parents in areas such as parenting, confidence and life skills. The volunteers‟ increased skills have enabled them to find employment. Community capacity building of this sort was an original aim of the Children‟s Fund. Bangladeshi Welfare Association has built on its involvement with parents – linking with Sure Start to run a parenting course and running English courses, attended by up to 40 parents. Schools work with the project to set up parent meetings, which has a knock-on effect of removing barriers – as the project describes it, „more parents are getting involved and understand what their children need. They are also accessing help for themselves. Improving the skills of workers who have contact with children has the double effect of improving children‟s lives and also the capacity of the voluntary community. TAVYO, through improving the number of CRB checks and access to training for volunteers in areas such as child protection and first aid is hoping to achieve this, although still at an early stage. Make a Positive Contribution The opportunity for children and their families to be involved in the decision-making process was a key feature of the Children‟s Fund, to steer towards joint ownership of what was happening, rather than feeling that „professionals‟ or „experts‟ have more control and say over what happens. NCH has 2 workers based in Tameside who run the Participation and Information Project, which aims to both set up projects involving children as key players and to encourage participation of this nature in other projects. The Tameside Children‟s Fund Plan 2005-2008 gives a comprehensive overview of how children have contributed to the planning process. Twenty-eight children aged 10 and 11 looked at continuation funding bids and ranked them in order of importance to them. Crime prevention, anti-racist work and drugs education all ranked highly. It was also clear that children are able to consider the needs of others. The project has also been instrumental in the Extended Schools Project – children playing an active role in deciding which types of activities would be helpful to them and others (e.g. breakfast clubs, school dentists). The project also works with children in schools to develop inclusive school councils. Perhaps the greatest evidence of participation comes from projects which are not run by professionals. OKE is a good example of how children and parents can be powerful in changing services as well as changing their lives: „professionals assume that we‟re stupid, they talk down to us and are really patronising. Here you can talk to people , pool ideas, have a good moan about things. I had to push to get Tom into special school, you get good at fighting. They‟ve started to listen now‟ (parent at OKE) 26 Other themes emerging from interviews In last year‟s evaluation, themes emerged from interviews which clearly demonstrated the qualities necessary for projects to make a difference to children‟s lives. A project can have a clear aim and demonstrate which outcomes it wishes to achieve, but the evidence of success is strongly stated by how a project has worked – its ethos and methodology. In 2004, themes across 4 areas were identified:     Agencies working together Quality of adults working in the projects Advocacy skills and commitment Culture of projects, including flexibility The development of these themes has continued to be regarded as crucial by the users of projects and provides a blueprint for the development of future children‟s services. Partnership Working The Children Act, the national evaluation of the Children‟s Fund and plans for extended schools all promote the idea of partnership working. Why do it?    shared vision – it makes sense to have the same approach and targets for children across agencies an ability to share expertise, ideas, information and resources across agencies more accurately reflects the real world. Seeing the child as a whole – health, well-being, education work as a whole in terms of a child‟s life, so why would services be divided? Ease of access to help for children and families  The success for projects in Tameside Children‟s Fund last year was the ability to begin to break down barriers between organisations that affect effective working and begin to look at the total needs of children and families. Many schools visited for the evaluation were putting this into practice. The introduction of Learning Mentors, CAHMS input and Social Services Family Support Workers in school was providing a link to a whole service approach, often through regular inclusion meetings: „it‟s given the ability of a key agency to really work with other agencies in the same building – it‟s breaking down barriers‟ (CAHMS manager) Links with other Children‟s Fund projects meant that children and families were accessing activities they normally would not have considered or known about: The Pathways into Sport project, for example, is working closely with Learning Mentors, the Fire Cadet scheme and Tameside YOT to ensure that children identified as needing extra help and attention can receive it in a network of provision. Close and trusting relationships between professionals is essential to ensure that a child perceives this as something coherent, rather than being passed from one professional to another. 27 Where links to other partners or agencies were not in evidence, projects appeared to be more isolated and lacking in vision: „we need to network better with other groups because there does seem to be some overlap and we seem to be doing very similar day trips…there needs to be more co-ordination between the two…we are sort of self-sufficient. I don‟t mind linking with others but unless it‟s another project coming to link in with us, it‟s very difficult really‟. (Jubilee Gardens) Projects also thought about how they could allow for easier access to their services by linking in with other agencies and partners. Branching Out, for example, is discussing its work with other agencies such as the local drop-in education centre, to provide non-stigmatising access. Crucial to partnership work is the idea of beginning to share working practices and knowledge – other research shows that the breaking down of professional barriers and cultures is key in developing work.11 One of the main thrusts behind Every Child Matters was to get away from fragmented services towards sharing support for a child. A weakness of current operations and the rationale of Children‟s Trusts is to join up services, to move away from the referring and passing on culture, which often led to children dropping through the gaps and not getting sustained support. Parents The aspiration of working with parents as well as children has developed. This has been particularly realised in schools, where Family Support Workers and Learning Mentors have time to work with parents as well as children. Parenting programmes have been used in several projects, with parents reporting successes: „I‟ve learned so much that has helped me have a better relationship with my daughter and shown me ways to deal with my children‟s difficult behaviour‟ (mum, Barnardo's Project) „since I started the programme, I don‟t shout all the time. Sometimes I ignore them and that does help. I would definitely recommend it to my family and friends.‟ Enabling parents to volunteer in projects, or train for particular aspects of work, are key in improving the economic wellbeing of families, as mentioned earlier in the evaluation. Some projects found it very hard to engage parents and recognised that this was an area for future development in order to break the cycle of social exclusion. Gibson Terrace, for example, had started to introduce life skills and education classes for parents, without much uptake. Parents were also encouraged to participate in the work being undertaken with their children, although this wasn‟t always successful. Project workers saw that they would have to persevere to get classes up and running. The skill of a project and its workers is crucial here – to be patient, persistent and not give up on children or adults. 11 see examples of this in YJT Evaluation of national e2e pilot, 2005 and YJT Connexions Evaluation 2005 28 Quality of Workers – What makes the difference? Parents and children were keen to express their views on the difference a particular worker had made to their lives. The quality of the worker, or so called „x‟ factor is being recognised as the quality which enables change to happen. This factor has featured as a crucial element of other research into new projects: “This is not something tangible such as the design of a programme or the location of a project base; but the essentially intangible and clearly very important components of service provision which invariably relate to the values and integrity which workers bring to the pilot. These „things‟ are noted by young people as having someone to talk to, being treated respectfully, not having judgements made about them or being treated “like kids”.”12 Often the support from these workers was compared favourably with past experiences of services, showing characteristics they hadn‟t experienced before: a) b) c) d) e) f) g) Increased time and attention Working to the child‟s agenda – being child centred Giving chances Being a friend, not a professional Showing care Developing trust Being flexible „Lorraine has helped me a lot. We talk about what makes me happy, angry, sad. She‟s very kind and understands as well. I used to be a bit naughty at home – she‟s helped me change. If Lorraine hadn‟t been here I would have had a big problem with my anger. She‟s like a friend.‟ (Martin, aged 10) „Maureen gave me a mobile number to call when I‟ve had problems – she‟s given me good advice when I‟ve been stuck. She‟s the first one I‟d turn to if I had problems. Everyone else says „my hands are tied, I can‟t do anything‟ but she says she‟ll be there, she means it‟. (grandparent) „Nicki thinks the world of her‟ (mum) „We don‟t know what we‟d have done without her these last 12 months, she‟s like a mother figure (because my mother‟s useless).‟ (mum and step-dad) „I like seeing Mr T, he‟s brilliant. I got a poem in the newsletter‟ (girl working with volunteer reading project) „I was completely alone – she brought everything together for me, found phone numbers, found out where I could get help from if she 12 Youth Justice Trust (2004) The Learning Alliance National E2E Offender pilot: Final Evaluation Report 29 couldn‟t provide it. learning mentor) She‟s been a diamond‟ (carer, talking about „Theresa is good, kind, fabulous, the best in the world‟ (boy working with family support worker) Barriers and Problems As the National Evaluation shows, it is important to learn from what may not be going well, or how things could be improved upon. There were several themes which emerged during interviews: Age of Children Many projects reported that they had found it difficult to work with an artificial cut off point for children. It was thought to sometimes create a boundary which doesn‟t exist in the real world – this had led to problems with families not understanding why projects could work with some siblings but not others. Projects mentioning this included the Fire Cadets, Junior Award Scheme, Gibson Terrace and the Water Adventure Project. The flexibility of funding and projects can help to overcome this – it becomes a difficulty when „rules‟ are applied rigidly and the perception is that the rigidity prevents work being carried out. Staff Changes There had been lots of movement in staff working on projects. This had left gaps between people leaving and new ones taking up post, leading to inertia or lost opportunities. Often knowledge had been lost, with no handover taking place. New workers were starting from scratch, often not understanding the original remit of the project. This led to:     Not understanding whether targets existed and whether they were meeting them Staff leaving and new staff not taking up monitoring responsibilities New staff having to invest time in picking up networks previously developed and learning ways of working previously set up Impetus being lost The CAHMS project had numerous difficulties in recruiting staff into post in the first place, which meant that the partner agencies envisaged in the original application (education and social services) developed relationships and ways of working in schools without them. The project had done some excellent work, but had felt a sense of „catching up‟ with agencies who had already established working relationships. Funding The first evaluation took place at a time when projects were unsure whether or not they would continue to be funded. This contributed to the problems in retaining staff mentioned above. Although projects now have a clear idea of their funding until 2008, this is on a sliding scale. Evaluators asked how this had affected projects: 30     transport – less able to provide funding for transport, so not as easy for children to access projects. The suitability of transport and transport providers was mentioned by a few projects as being crucial to a project‟s success. less activities for children – smaller summer programmes, for example cut in staff time worries about future funding leading to loss of staff Sustainability Linked to cuts in funding, projects were asked about sustainability. Many were looking to the developments in Children‟s Trusts to continue funding after 2008. Some projects were being mainstreamed before 2008, e.g. the Fire Cadet Scheme. The Children‟s Fund was seen as being the catalyst for change to happen in the mainstream Fire Service: „the Children‟s Fund has put everything in its place, like this building. We wouldn‟t have been able to do this without the Children‟s Fund money‟. (fire officer) Other projects recognised that the ethos of the project would be sustainable through other means, e.g. by leaving skills with mainstream staff: „TRASST does a lot of INSET training and race awareness training for professionals across Tameside…at network meetings we are often approached by other workers who want to work with asylum seekers‟ (TRASST worker) Many had been more successful than they could have first envisaged, which meant that already slim resources were stretched further. This was certainly the case with Gibson Terrace, where work with children had expanded to other sites. This was a double-edged sword – the success of the approach had led project leaders to be worried about funding levels and spreading resources too thinly. A difficulty for the majority of projects was the instability of long term funding. Having to think about finding funds from another sources detracted from current work: „there‟s always that worry, hopefully by the time the Children‟s Fund money goes we will have secured some money….we can‟t stop what we‟re doing so well‟ (Water Adventure) „there are always struggles in looking for ongoing funding – lots of funding which only comes in for „new‟ projects, or there are small pots of money for a short amount of time – our work should be possible from mainstream mental health funding‟ (Off the Record) Impact on Mainstream Services The ability for Children‟s Fund projects to have an impact on mainstream services, in terms of freshness of approach and way of working, was seen to be an important 31 part of the initiative. In some ways, the coming of the Children‟s Trusts, or Children‟s Trust arrangements, have recognised the need for mainstream services to change their approach. The qualities of individual workers outlined above need to be replicated by services and agencies if the Children‟s Trusts are to be of use to children and their families. The impact on schools has been one of the greatest achievements of the Children‟s Fund. Many teachers spoke of the ability of workers to actually make a difference to the children who would otherwise have been lost – due to the lack of time, attention and advocacy: „the learning mentor and link worker are vital – they are the link to parents. Both parents and children will talk to them on a one-to-one basis about their anxieties. Karen is respected by parents and children, so they tell her things that they wouldn‟t tell teachers. The whole ethos of the school should be about being a caring community – parents need to think that the school can help them too‟. (head teacher, primary school) „she‟s very child-centred, the children don‟t feel threatened. Jo gives the children space to calm down and think through why they‟re feeling like they do, then they can settle in class. She supports the staff too. We rely on her so much, I don‟t know what we‟d do without her. We were crying out for someone to do this work. She‟s asked to attend review meetings, because she knows all the families so well. She‟s got them into Gibson and other centres when they‟ve ended up homeless, taken them to the doctors, it‟s above and beyond the call of duty, but parents really appreciate it…the atmosphere of the school has changed. The emotional health of the school has improved.‟ (teacher, primary school). „Linda is really valued – it‟s definitely enabled some young people to stay in school‟ (deputy head teacher, secondary school). Where workers had worked with the whole school, they had been able to impact on the school ethos and atmosphere. How the school related to children and parents had changed as a result – seeing pastoral care as an essential part of school life which contributed to academic achievement, rather than a „bolt on‟ for a few problem children. 32 Section 6 Conclusion So, is Tameside Children‟s Fund meeting its objectives? National objectives are highlighted, with Tameside‟s achievements noted. As noted previously, it is difficult to demonstrate evidence of the non-occurrence of negative outcomes. However, most projects were aware that children were beginning to follow different courses in life than would have otherwise been expected:  to promote attendance in school by 5-13 year olds most projects had anecdotal evidence of how their work had led to children going back to school if previously excluded, or increased attendance of children who‟s attendance at school was chaotic  to achieve improved educational performance among 5-13 year olds some projects set up to improve this had clear evidence that this had happened  to ensure fewer young people aged 10-13 commit crime and fewer children aged 5-13 are victims of crime there was evidence from young people themselves that if they had not been involved with projects, the likelihood was that they would have been getting into trouble or indulging in risky behaviours  to reduce child health inequalities by ensuring that children and their parents are accessing services (a key feature of Children‟s Fund projects) and educating through preventative work, projects focusing on health are making a difference. Having a space for children to be heard is making a crucial difference in terms of mental health   to ensure children, young people and their families feel the services are accessible (a) to develop services which are experienced as effective (b) The 2 objectives (a) and (b) which seem to make a difference are the ones which talk about the value placed upon them by children and parents. It is clear from the interviews with children and parents that they value what is being provided for them, particularly if it is planned with them. The project staff should be singled out for praise here – interviewees often could not express their thanks enough for the care and time given by workers. Anecdotal feedback, together with continued attendance, provide evidence of accessibility  to involve families in building the community‟s capacity to sustain the programme and thereby create pathways out of poverty Most projects had realised that their work could be more effective if they worked with parents as well as children, to develop parents‟ skills and confidence in making changes. Most projects focused on developing parents‟ skills for themselves and their families, rather than in an attempt to use volunteers to keep the projects running when funding stopped. It is clear that Tameside Children‟s Fund is meeting all of these objectives, although there are no specific targets to be met. The evaluation shows that a large percentage of children in Tameside are accessing services which ensure that they are more likely to be in school, are more likely to achieve and be happy at school, are taking part in activities which keep them diverted from crime and risky behaviours. It is clear that the manner in which a project is delivered has the greatest impact on whether it will achieve. This echoes some of the findings of the National Evaluation, which notes that: 33   partnerships and networks are crucial. By different services coming together and involving the child as a partner, children‟s resilience can be built organisations and individuals, if allowed to work in a more coherent, creative, flexible and holistic way, can help children more effectively In Tameside, work which makes a difference seems to have these features:    partnerships seen as a way of removing barriers and pooling expertise, rather than creating more paperwork and hurdles involving children and families in work have committed organisations and staff who want to make a difference and have the skills and patience to keep going until this happens – this is seen as their responsibility, rather than the one chance opportunity and responsibility for the child 34 Appendix STAY SAFE ENJOY & ACHIEVE BE HEALTHY ECONOMIC WELLBEING MAKE A POSITIVE CONTRIBUTION rst Junior Hurst Junior Youth Club Jubilee Gardens Off the Record Barnardo‟s NCH Participation Information TRASST Hattersley 5-13‟s Learning Mentors Fire Cadets Junior Awards Scheme SEN CAHMS TAVYO Good Food Good Health Pathways into Sport Women‟s Project Homeless Families Young Carers Family Support Service OKE YOT DAAT Tier 2 Drugs Worker Water Adventure Centre Hyde Bangladesh Welfare Volunteer Reading Help 35 Hurst Cross Youth Club – trip to the lakes Tameside Children’s Fund Evaluation 2005 36