ElingInfant School, School Road, Eling, Totton, Southampton. SO40 9HX

Tel: 02380 668 683

Children’s Centre – Centre Coordinator

Closing Date:6th April 2010

Interview dates: 13th April 2010

Contents

Welcome to The Harbour Children’s Centre

About our Children’s Centres

About Hampshire County Council

Political Structure

Summary Role Profile

Person Specification

Benefits

Salary

Pay And Benefits Project

Benefits

About Hampshire

IMPORTANT INFORMATION – PLEASE READ

Unfortunately, due to the nature of this role, we’re unable to accept CV’s for this post. Please only submit application forms ensuring that all sections are complete especially sections 3, 4 & 5.

Therefore, please only submit application forms detailing a full history in chronological order since leaving secondary education. Please include periods of any post-secondary education / training, part time and voluntary work as well as full time employment, with start and end dates.

Please provide explanations for periods not in employment or education / training and reasons for leaving employment.

If you are not currently working with children but have done so in the past it is important that a reference is obtained from the employer by whom you were most recently employed working with children. Please provide contact details.

Employment references will not be accepted from relatives or people writing solely in the capacity of friends.

In order to avoid any delay to the process please ensure you provide full information as above. Please use additional sheets / attachments, if required.

Dear Candidate

Thank you for expressing an interest in our vacancy to cover maternity leave for our Children’s Centre coordinator. We are one of Hampshire’s Sure Start graduated children’s centres. As a school managed centre we are seeking someone to help secure our whole site vision to serve our children and families at ElingSchool and develop what we offer to the communities of Totton South, Central and Marchwood.

As a thriving school and children’s centre with parent and community partnership at the core of our work, we are passionate about improving outcomes for all young children in the area. Our Children Centre Coordinator is a key figure in realising our vision for seamless services which meet the needs of families, engage with vulnerable groups and improve outcomes for children. Close partnership working with staff on site and reaching out to the voluntary and independent sector, as well as communicating effectively to all professionals involved will be key to the success of our centre.

Our established close links with extended services in the area is a key delivery mechanism for meeting the standards in the Quality and Performance Framework and demonstrates achievements against the Every Child Matters Agenda.

We reach a range of families and their needs are varied. You will share our commitment to the provision of integrated early childhood services and improving the outcomes of young children and reducing inequalities.

Of course, this way of working can be complex and demanding. Hence our need for a professional who is committed to being part of this exciting challenge and play a real role in the opportunity to turn around the life chances of the children and families we serve.

Beverly Smith

Headteacher

About our Children’s Centres

Sure Start Children’s Centres are designed to become, over time, universal access points for integrated services for children and their parents at the heart of their local authorities. They will give parents and children access to the services they need – either on site, or through referral to more specialised services.

The Government's long term vision is that there will be a Sure Start Children’s Centre in every community in England so that all families/ carers, not just those in the most disadvantaged areas, have access to high quality, integrated services.

All of our children’s centres are open five days per week and 48 weeks per year. Full core offer centres are open a minimum of 10 hours a day, and graduated offer centres a minimum of 7.4 hours a day.

The services provided in each centre are different in order to meet the individual requirements of the local communities that they serve.

Full core offer children’s centre

Sure Start Children’s Centres in the most disadvantaged areas will offer the following services as a minimum:

  • centres will be open 10 hours a day, 5 days a week, 48 weeks a year
  • good quality early learning combined with full day care provision for children
  • good quality teacher input to lead the development of learning within the centre
  • child and family health services, including ante-natal services
  • parental outreach
  • family support services
  • a base for a childminder network
  • support for children and parents/carers with special needs, and
  • effective links with Jobcentre Plus to support parents/carers who wish to consider training or employment.

Graduated offer children’s centre

In more advantaged areas, we have flexibility in which services are provided to meet local need. All graduated model Sure Start Children’s Centres will have to provide a minimum range of services including:

  • centres will be open 7.4 hours a day, 5 days a week, 48 weeks a year
  • appropriate support and outreach services to parents/carers and children who have been identified as in need of them
  • information and advice to parents/carers on a range of subjects, including: local childcare, looking after babies and young children, local early years provision (childcare and early learning) education services for 3 & 4 year olds
  • support to childminders
  • drop-in sessions and other activities for children and carers at the centre
  • links to Jobcentre Plus services.

Services will be developed and delivered in partnership with a range organisations across the public, private and voluntary sectors. Children’s centres will include parents and carers in decisions every step of the way to ensure that they are truly meeting the needs of each individual community. Local consultation will take place on a regular basis with families/carers and the local community.

Useful links/documents

  • Hampshire Children’s Centre and Notional Catchment Areas – can be obtained by visiting-
  • Sure Start Children’s Centres – can be obtained by visiting -
  • Children’s centres web pages
  • Sure Start web pages
  • Adult and Family Learning Service web pages
  • Parent Development web pages
  • Extended Schools web pages
  • Early Education and Childcare Unit web pages
  • Children and Young Peoples Plan (CYPP) -
  • Microsite

About HampshireCounty Council

Hampshire County Council has been rated a Four Star authority in the CPA (Comprehensive Performance Assessment) Tougher Test and had been noted for its ‘strong record of improvement in its priority areas and in improving services for residents’. This is a great achievement and places us in a select group of top performing councils nationwide.

The Council has a strong track record and, for the last three years, has achieved ‘Excellent’ – the highest of five – in the CPA rankings. Last year the criteria were much harder and have left some other authorities faring less well than in previous years. However, Hampshire has managed to maintain its high standards and the auditors judged that the Council ‘achieves or strives for high performance and value for money in all its services’.

There are many areas where progress has been made, but specific examples picked out by the auditor include:

Educational achievement and social care for both adults and children

Cultural services, particularly library facilities and improving visitor numbers

Appointment of Accredited Community Safety Officers tackling low-level anti-social behaviour

Importantly, the auditor felt the Council was improving well and ‘well placed to continue to improve the way it works and what it achieves’.

The County Council is currently undergoing a full CPA assessment.

Work to provide information for the CPA is very important for the Council. Our classification, and any freedoms granted, affect how we can deliver services to our community and how the authority’s performance is viewed. Our excellent rating has opened up exciting opportunities for us to take a real lead in dialogue with central Government about key issues, particularly through the Innovation Forum. This group of excellent and Four Star authorities has joined together to develop new ways of working across all public services. Our result means we can continue to have a strong and respected voice at national level.

You can access further CPA information on Hampshire County Council by visiting searching under the Council's name.

Aims, Vision and Corporate Objectives

Our business is quite simply about providing Hampshire residents with the right services, in the right place, at the right time, whilst providing good value for money.

However, people and places, along with their needs and expectations, are constantly changing. As a County Council, it is vital we keep pace with these changes, remain focused and continually evolve and improve our business to be in the best possible shape to deliver today and plan for and invest in the future.

It is our responsibility to lead for Hampshire. We provide services for all residents and through that diverse range of services, work with partners, work in communities and by regularly asking our residents what improvements they want and what their priorities are, we know there are certain areas that need more work. In moving with the times, we’ve responded and reviewed the focus for our organisation. Developed from and replacing our old six aims, we now have a set of three priorities:

  • Hampshire safer and more secure for all
  • Maximising wellbeing
  • Enhancing our quality of place.

Looking after Hampshire, our job is to ensure the county is safe and secure and to work towards enhancing the County’s quality of place. Looking out for our residents, we want to work with them to feel safe and secure and maximise their wellbeing. Our aim is to lead and work in partnership with other organisations to remove barriers and improve choices whilst encouraging people to make their own decisions on the way they access services.

Looking after Hampshire, Looking out for you.

Political Structure

Hampshire is a two tier area for local government and has very active Parish and Town councils in most areas. At the County Council elections in 2005 65.61% of the electorate voted.

There are 11 District Councils of which eight are Conservative controlled and one is Liberal Democrat. No political group has overall control in the other two. Also within the geographical area of Hampshire are the Unitary cities of Southampton and Portsmouth, both with no overall control, the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority, which is a Conservative controlled combined authority for Hampshire, Southampton and Portsmouth, and the Hampshire Police Authority which covers the two cities and the Isle of Wight as well as Hampshire.

Good working links have been developed with the district and unitary authorities through the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Local Government Association and with the parish and town councils through the Hampshire Association of Parish and Town Councils. This working relationship has been held up as an example of best practice by the Government Office for the South East for managing a complex political structure and reflecting the geographical remit of other public sector bodies such as health, particularly in relation to the development of community strategies and the Supporting People initiative. This network has also helped in the development of Local Strategic Partnerships and the preparation of community strategies. The regional context is also becoming ever more important.

Hampshire County Council has 78 elected members. The County Council is Conservative controlled:

Conservative - 46 Liberal Democrat - 28 Labour - 4

The County Council introduced a Cabinet with Leader structure in September 2001. There are 10 Cabinet members. The Leader of the Council is responsible for the Policy and Resources portfolio and is Cabinet chairman. The portfolios of the other nine members of the Executive are:

Children’s Services (2 members)

Performance, Efficiency and Communications

Community Development and External affairs

Economic Development

Environment

Recreation and Heritage

Adult Social Care

Human Resources

There are five select committees with the role of cross-cutting policy development and scrutiny to advise the Executive. They all operate along the lines of a Parliamentary Select Committee and investigate areas for improvement based on corporate priorities. There is also a Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The County Council also has a Standards Committee, a Governance Committee, a Regulatory Committee and an Employment Committee. There is also a sub-structure of subject and area based advisory panels.

out operating arrangements in more detail.

Links of interest:

Corporate Structure

The County Council is currently organised into the following main departments:

  • Chief Executive's (including Human Resources)
  • Adult Services
  • Children’s Services
  • Environment
  • Recreation and Heritage
  • Property, Business and Regulatory Services
  • CountyTreasurer's (including IT Services)

There is a Corporate Management Team, comprising the eight Chief Officers for the main departments and led by the Chief Executive. The County Council has strong international links and runs an office in Brussels, as part of South East England House, in partnership with West Sussex and the Isle of Wight. The Council is also a member of the voluntary regional assembly for the south-east (SEERA) and plays a full part in the key national local government groupings, such as the County Councils Network (CCN) and the Local Government association (LGA).

The size and complexity of the County Council poses challenges, while providing opportunities not open to smaller organisations. The Council has met the challenge of managing internal communications and delivering efficient operations by balancing central co-ordination and control with an empowering, devolved structure for delivering front-line services. The council capitalises on opportunities for economies of scale and for developing expertise and intellectual capacity in different specialisms. The evidence for this is in the number of individuals and other organisations who approach the Council for support, advice and information.

The County Council’s budgeted gross revenue spending in 2006/07 is over £1.5 billion. It employs over 38,000 people, including part time staff, most of whom work on the front line providing services.

The County Council is a relatively low spending authority, with a Formula Spending Share (FSS) per head in the lowest quartile of comparable county councils. Its budgeted spending in excess of FSS in 2005/06 is below the median for such county councils. The council tax for 2005/06 is at the lowest quartile, despite its percentage increase in grant for 2005/06 also being in the lowest quartile.

The County Council’s budget strategy balances service needs against national and local priorities whilst recognising the impact that large council tax increases have on those whose incomes are fixed or rising slowly, such as pensioners.

Summary Role Profile

Department: Children’s Services

Section: Education & Inclusion

Role Title:Children’s Centre – Centre Coordinator

Reports To: Headteacher of the School

Role Purpose:

  • To Manage and develop the centre as a hub for integrated services
  • Response to the identified needs of the wider community
  • To ensure resources are deployed in order to promote the development of high quality integrated services for all local children and their families
  • To work proactively with other agencies in the area with regard to the provision of joined up services for children and families

Accountabilities:

Programme Management

  • Be responsible for planning the most effective service delivery and co-ordinate the centre’s outreach programme to reflect local need.
  • Work closely with other service providers to develop a cohesive range of high quality services to be made available from the centre
  • Promote the multi-agency/multi-professional nature of the Centre’s work and to support and facilitate effective joint working across all sectors
  • Ensure the integration of the Children’s Centre programme with other relevant initiatives and organizations, including the Extended Schools Programme, Jobcentre Plus and Children’s Information Service.
  • Ensure that the centre becomes an integral part of the community in which it is located.
  • To be responsible for ensuring that parents and the local community are fully involved and consulted with in all aspects of the centre from development through to practice.
  • Ensure the facilitation of outreach sessions/services and liaise with agencies to co-ordinate the resources (staffing, building and equipment) necessary for these.
  • Ensure standards are set for the delivery of high quality services from both the centre staff and other organisations working as part of the centre delivery
  • Formulate, in consultation with the Partnership Board, the overall aims and objectives of the centre and policies for their implementation.
  • In consultation with the Partnership Board devise and implement a delivery plan.
  • Demonstrate the Centre’s values, principles and visions in every day practice.
  • Work with partner agencies to develop early intervention strategies to reduce family breakdown and prevent social exclusion.
  • Develop and maintain a current knowledge of contemporary issues and developments in public health, childcare and early years education and use such knowledge to develop innovative and creative practice.
  • Liaise with families, users and organizations in the area, offering them facilities, support and opportunities to take part in the development of the centre.
  • Actively encourage linking and clustering of children’s centre provision and services locally to make best use of resources and specialisms and ensure services are not duplicated unnecessarily.
  • Extend and promote adult education and family learning opportunities for community members , individuals and families to develop their skills base, enhance self confidence and promote the well being and education of children in the home.
  • Develop and promote training opportunities for parents, in partnership with childcare providers and volunteers in the work of the Children’s Centre, where appropriate
  • Ensure that the Centre works in a seamless manner with the local schools to ensure the best use of resources and to provide continuity for individual children and their families

Staff Management