Contents
1Introduction & Background
2Assets in Langworthy
2.1List of mapped physical assets
2.2Additional Assets
2.3What families really value about local assets
2.4Barriers to accessing assets
3Voluntary sector organisation profiles in Langworthy
3.1Home-Start Trafford and Salford
3.2Salford Women’s Centre
3.3Unlimited Potential
1Introduction & Background
A partnership of public sector agencies from across Greater Manchester, with support and representation from local voluntary and private sector leads, is developing a New Delivery Model and business case for Greater Manchester’s early years services.
This partnership are also, with The Children’s Society (TCS) as lead, developing a stage 2 bid and development plan for the Big Lottery Fund’s Fulfilling Lives: A Better Start programme. The purpose of the bid is to provide a Better Start in life for children from pre-birth to three years old with a particular focus on communication and language, social and emotional development and nutrition.
The rationale behind the Better Start programme has been heavily influenced by the work of the Dartington Social Research Unit, appointed by the Big Lottery Fund, to support the Stage 2 process in 15 shortlisted areas, including Greater Manchester. Dartington Social Research Unit’s work emphasises evidenced based interventions[1], preventative work, and the need for change to be community driven:
“Effective partnerships benefit significantly from the involvement of community representatives. This is not just a 'nice to have'. There is now robust evidence showing that the authentic involvement of the community increases the impact of services on child outcomes[2].”
The bid, if successful, would fund intensive delivery in five wards and inform learning across Greater Manchester.
In order to inform the bid and support wider knowledge development, TCS contracted Greater Manchester Centre for Voluntary Organisation (GMCVO), in partnership with our local members and networks, and with the support of partner agencies, to profile assets in the five bid wards.
The aim of this work, with the support of local public and voluntary sector partners, has been to identify and better understand what:
- parents and relevant community networks value in their community
- local additional assets and resources could support positive change for the benefit of parents and their children
- local additional assets and resources could support the Early Years New Delivery Model.
In doing this, this work aims to build on and complement the findings of the community engagement work carried out by The Innovation Unit,with support and coordinationfrom GMCVO, and the Wellbeing Profile findings.
Looking ahead, and to put this work in context: How can communities play a bigger role in delivering‘a better start’? How can we mobilise community driven change?
The Five Bid Wards
This work has focused on five wards that were chosen in line with The Big Lottery Fund’s criteria. These five wards are therefore the wards (one per Greater Manchester local authority in order to maximise local public, voluntary and private sector engagement and potential) that had the highest percentages of ‘child poverty’, ‘low birth weight births’, ‘obese children (Year 6)’ and the lowest percentage of ‘child development at age 5’.
This asset profiling exercise, therefore, has sought to build a picture of the strengths and resources that lie within the five ‘bid wards’:
Coldhurst (Oldham)
Farnworth (Bolton)
Langworthy (Salford)
Milkstone and Deeplish (Rochdale)
Moss Side (Manchester).
This report is about the ward of Langworthy in Salford.
GMCVO’s approach to mapping assets
In order to gather as much useful information and local knowledge regarding assets, while working to tight bid timelines, a multi-layered approach was used. We felt that this would better bring out the different aspects of each place. Alongside insight gained through the engagement events held by The Innovation Unit and supported by GMCVO, there were five routes to identifying local assets.
Firstly, identification by parents and families of key local assets and resources for them and their children. This approach was central to our work and, to do this, we appointed Community Asset Investigators from each ward. Each investigator worked in one ward only (December 2013/January 2014) and was selected on the basis of their active involvement, via locally rooted community organisations, in the early years worlds of their respective ward. It was very important, in the selection criteria, that Community Asset Investigators were connected into local community networks. Investigators took a variety of approaches, including holding workshops with parents and families, and talking one-to-one with parents in their ward. The format of these conversations was open-ended but guided by the three areas, defined by A Better Start and identified by Dartington as critical to having abetter start in life: language development, social and emotional development, and nutrition.
In Langworthy, the role of ‘Community Asset Investigator’ was carried out by Seedley and Langworthy Trust (SALT). SALT engaged with parents across the Langworthy area who have children up to 3 years old to gather their views on the 0-3 year provision in the area.
The information was gathered by:
- Discussions with relevant organisations.
- Discussions with parents in the area using SALT services.
- Contacting parents via social networks, e.g. Facebook and Twitter.
SALT sought responses on 4 key areas:-
- Which services are most used
- Why do parents use some provisions but not others?
- What are the key barriers to engaging with the services?
- Do they feel there are any gaps in the service provision?
Secondly, an online survey was circulated to front line workers operating in each area. The survey was kept deliberately short and again was focused on identifying assets linked to the wellbeing of families with young children.
Thirdly, desk-based research was conducted to complement community-led identification of assets and resources.
Fourthly, we carried out interviews with voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (Voluntary Sector / VCSE) organisations supporting families in each of the wards, some of whom are profiled here or in the ward-level reports. This provided more detail on the assets that families value in their area, including how:
- individual, local organisations currently contribute to a better start and
- the nature of their assets (e.g. their volunteer base, income streams, established links and relationships within a particular community).
Fifthly, analysis of the scale of resources drawn down into the wards by Voluntary Sector groups. These findings were based on research carried out by the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research which was published in a series of State of the Sector reports which included: Greater Manchester (Sheffield Hallam University: May 2013) and seven local authority areas in Greater Manchester. There were individual reports on four of the five bid ward authority areas (Bolton, Manchester, Oldham, and Salford).[3] The State of the Sector reports, besides drawing on the latest available sector data, incorporated survey responses from 1,403 VCSE groups from across Greater Manchester.
Through a strong emphasis on community-led identification of assets and resources, this multi-layered approachhas sought to find out about the buildings, spaces, services, existing and potential voluntary sector activity, and any other potential assets like informal support networks or key individuals in each of the five wards that currently contribute to a better start in life.
This asset profiling exercise has sought to build a picture of the strengths and resources that lie within the Langworthycommunity, and identify gaps where new approaches may be needed to enhance the ability of the community to build on its strengths. What you will see here is not an exhaustive analysis of the ward’s assets, but rather a ‘profile’ that presents clear messages about what works and what the key assets are. This document provides a ‘snapshot’ at this given time, with potential for further investigation to build a more detailed picture.
Through a mixture of techniques, from online surveys to face to face interviews we have begun to paint a picture of the Langworthy community.
2Assets in Langworthy
We know from the statistical data that in Langworthy, 48% of children live in poverty and 42% are eligible to receive free childcare at the age oftwo. On almost all measures of readiness for school, the ward is below national averages with marked differences in physical, personal, social and emotional development. Numbers of young mothers (aged 15-17) are well above national averages.
Langworthy is a densely populated area of Salford, with a high proportion of Victorian terraced housing characterised by small yards. The urban environment is largely flat but there are significant road and rail boundaries isolating it from surrounding areas. The shopping centre is run down, and there is a lack of quality green spaces, besides a few small Victorian parks. Major regeneration initiatives have created a disorganised streetscape, and there is a lack of good quality retail and shopping areas. It suffers from its proximity to Manchester, yet without easy pedestrianaccess to the amenities this might otherwise offer.
Langworthy has been extensively regenerated over many years, though this has not turned the area around as much as would be hoped. It does enjoy some prominent multi-agency buildings, such as the Cornerstone Centre. Over 50 buildings, places and services have been identified that support children and families. Also important is that the area lacks adequate green space and has limited pedestrian access to high quality local shops, and there is a considerable turnover in population. The Ordsall and Langworthy Area Committee’s Community priorities 2013 list the following as of concern to residents: Smoking and alcohol related illness, obesity and emotional well-being are priorities in both wards. The rate of teenage pregnancies continues to be above average. Alcohol consumption is connected to a range of health issues and to crime and domestic violence. New housing in the area and the affect of MediaCityUK has led to an emphasis on the need for new and existing communities to integrate.
As with the other bid wards, Langworthy has a significant number of identified problems. The focus of this work, however, is to identify what does work, for parents of young children, and what stops those things from working better.
What you will see here is not an exhaustive analysis of the ward’s assets but a ‘snapshot’ at this given time, with potential for further investigation to build a more detailed picture.
Langworthy, Salford - link to online, interactive maphere
NB – This map is a work in progress and serves an illustrative purpose – please report any inaccuracies to GMCVO.
The map above is illustrative of the physical assets that have been identified through GMCVO’s work. They range from the obvious, such as Langworthy Children’s Centre, to the more obscure like galleries and social venues. Whilst physical assets are important, it must be remembered that they are only locations where activities take place, and there will be many other assets, alongside those identified here, such as small corner shops, cafés and childminding networks that will also be valued by, and valuable to, parents of young children.
The full list, to date, of identified local assets is below.
2.1List of mapped physical assets
Children’s CentresBelvedere Children's Centre
Langworthy Cornerstone Children's Centre
Health facility
Cornerstone Medical Practice
Dr C Lyburn and Dr N A Finegan
Langworthy Cornerstone Health Facility
Langworthy Medical Practice
Pendleton Gateway
Salford Medical Practice
The Sorrel Group Practice
Community
Langworthy Cornerstone
Life Centre
Pro-Contact
Salford Women’s Centre
Salford Youth Service
Start in Salford
The Seedley and Langworthy Trust
Windsor Youth Centre
Faith Building
Mount Chapel Church
Saint James Catholic Church
Salford All Saints Team
Salford Elim Church
Salford Spiritualist Church
St James R C Church
St Lukes Church
St Paul's Church
St Thomas Church
The Advent Centre
Outdoor play
Buile Hill Park
Chimney Pot Park (Langworthy Park)
Clarendon Park
Indoor Play
Emmanuel Church and Centre
Daycare
Belvedere Nursery
Buddies Fun 4 all Nursery
Kids Kapers Day Nursery
Scallywags Pre School Nursery (St Lukes)
Sonshine Nursery
Schools and education
Buile Hill High School
Holy Family Catholic Primary School
Lark Hill Community Primary School
Pendleton Gateway Library
St Paul's Church of England Primary School
St Pauls CoE Primary School
University of Salford
Willow Tree Primary School
Other
Boots The Chemist
Fit City Clarendon
Langworthy Station
Pendelton Police Station
Salford Credit Union
Salford Crescent Station
Salford Foundation
Salford Gallery and Museum
Salford Homeless Project
Salford Shopping Centre
The Lowry, Salford Quays
Unlimited Potential
2.2Additional Assets
Listed below are assets identified that are not plotted onto the map. This is because they:
- have no single location
- are situated outside of the map area (but have been recognised as an asset valued by those living/working in the ward)
- are a person/people
Additonal Assets
After schools clubs at Lark Hill School & St Pauls CoE Primary School
BookStart packs for babies and 2 year olds
Child Action North West ‘pathway workers’ – supporting families in relation to financial health and barriers to employment
Health walks in Buile Hill Park
Home-Start Trafford and Salford (see 5.1 for further details)
Post-Natal Depression Support Group
Salford Young Dad’s Project
2.3What families really value about local assets
Families are grateful to see the same faces week after week and to build a rapport with staff and volunteers. Parents can expect a friendly welcome and know they will be recognised - this eases the anxiety that parents have reported in relation to ‘being passed from pillar to post’.
Support being available, as and when families need it, rather than having to wait for an appointment. This is particularly the case for families who are ‘just coping’.
Parents value the opportunity to talk to other people who are ‘in the same boat’ (post natal depression support group at Salford Women’s Centre and Breastmate Group at Children’s Centre).
Being able to have a cup of tea at a church playgroupis important. Parents value the informal nature of these playgroups.
The development of the Salford Quays area in recent years has made it more attractive as a place where families want to spend time, not just in relation to the formal activities on offer (e.g. family workshops at the Lowry), but also as a pleasant environment to walk around with their children, feeding the ducks and the geese.
Affordability: The low cost toy library at Langworthy Cornerstone and the donation system in operation at the Breastmate group enables families on low incomes to take advantage of this provision. As discovered through speaking with local parents, cost is often a barrier, especially for families with several children.
Safety: As reported, there is a perceived problem in Langworthy regarding inappropriate behaviour, particularly by older children, in parks that can make families less likely to make use of these facilities. Families at the Cornerstone value feeling safe and secure in the building.
The ability to access services for children of different ages in one place.
Children’s Centre: Parents value seeing huge improvements in their children’s language and social skills. Parents also said they value their children being able to take part in activities that would be challenging to do at home – such as ‘messy play’.
Crèche facilities that enable parents to spend time on their own activities – a real strength of a venue such as the Cornerstone.
Also in relation to the Cornerstone, parents value services being co-located in one building. One parent valued not having to wait with a baby in a dull waiting room trying to keep her entertained.
2.4Barriers to accessing assets
The general consensus from the feedback SALT received was that whilst there are some 0-3 activities provided they are not sufficient for the numbers needing to use them and they are not geared to accommodate multiple children of different age ranges. The range of facilities is limited compared to those available to children over 4 years of age.
The activities on offer prove too costly for low income families and for families with more than one child who wishes to attend the activities together. Most activities are not offered at times that enable working parents, who may be able to afford them, to engage with them.
0-3 nursery and childcare provision is costly, even when subsidised and both low and low-mid income families prefer not to use the service rather than struggle to meet the costs.
It was interesting to note that the Children’s Centres are used by many parents from outside of the Langworthy area. Whilst it isn’t clear why this may be the case it suggests the need to promote the services more strongly to Langworthy parents.
There are not many services around Dance or similar activities for 0-3 year olds. It was found that only the Langworthy Cornerstone offers this facility and this is fully booked. One parent explained they have been on the waiting list for this service for 6 months and by the time they have a place their child will be too old for that group and will have to try to join other groups for older children.
Some provision is not suitable for a family with children in different age groups. If the facility has an age barrier then it may fit one of their children but not the others which then mean that they need child care for the remaining children. This then may incur additional costs or prevent them from being able to engage.