ITEM CH6
CHILDREN’S SERVICES SCRUTINY COMMITTEE 9 DECEMBER 2008
BRIEFING NOTE - HOMESTART
1. Introduction
This paper sets out the context to recent discussions and correspondence about Homestart contracts with Oxfordshire County Council.
2. Background
Homestart is a national voluntary sector organisation that provides befriending support to families with young children via locally run volunteer schemes. In Oxfordshire there are three Homestart schemes that the council has contracted with to provide family support services on its behalf – Oxford City and Bicester, South Oxon, and Banbury and Chipping Norton. The Banbury and Chipping Norton scheme was also funded by the PCT from April 2002 until March 2006.
3. Central contracts with Homestart
These are: Banbury and Chipping Norton, from 1.4.06 – 31.3.09, with a contract value of £33,113 in 08-09 Oxford City and Bicester, from 1.4.05 – 31.3.08, plus a one year grant with a value of £39,162 in 08-09 South Oxon, 1.4.05 – 31.3.08, plus a one year grant with a value of £33,113 in 08-09
Each contract is for work with approximately 30 families each year. One year contracts in 2008-09 included the requirement for Home-Start to develop links with Children’s Centres in their areas, in order to familiarise staff, families and other Children’s Centre users with the Home-Start services; to strengthen collaborative working; and to encourage families to access relevant early learning, health and family support services available through their local centre.
4. The development of Children’s Centres
Since 2006 a network of Children’s Centres has been developing across the country to deliver improved Every Child Matters outcomes for the youngest children. They are intended to be the means by which integrated services are delivered to all under 5’s with a particular focus on the most vulnerable. In Oxfordshire we are developing 45 Children’s Centres plus a rural mobile project, working in partnership with the health service, schools, and voluntary sector partners. Each Children's Centre is advised by, and draws upon, the knowledge and expertise of local professionals, partners, parents and community members and their representatives. Children’s centres are mandated to make contact with all families with children under 5, providing family support services including outreach.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families charges the Local Authority with deciding upon the best, most cost effective way of distributing resources to meet local needs, and strongly encourages the delegation of revenue funding to local Children’s centre managers so that decisions about resource allocation can be made locally. This accords with CYP&F moves towards locality/area based co-ordination of integrated services in response to national policy direction. Since April 2008 Children’s Centres in Oxfordshire have been in receipt of formula based funding which includes an allocation for outreach work. As a whole delegated formula budgets rise from just over £5.4 million in April 2008 to an indicative figure of approximately £8.8 million in April 2010. For many centres the formula allocation represents a significant increase in funding over a 3 year period and for others a more modest increase on previous funding levels.
5. Commissioning decisions and local take up
Under EU contracting rules it would not be possible to just continue with current funding arrangements for Homestart, and it would be inappropriate for the Local Authority to centrally commission specific aspects of family support for particular areas of the county when there are now local Children’s centres with delegated budgets charged with making decisions about local family support provision.
In accordance with OCC protocols Homestart were given renewed notice of the ending of the current contract period at the beginning of October 2008, although we have been working with Homestart and local centres to support the development of local commissioning since the delegation of funding via formula budgets. Analysis of locally commissioned contracts shows that in the current year this has resulted in nine centres contracting with Homestart (Oxford City and Bicester £28,000, South Oxon £7,000 and Banbury and Chipping Norton £0). As centres are developing from a range of starting points (some centres have structures set up already to deliver a range of family support activities and some are setting up from scratch) their desire and capacity to externally commission work varies. Some centre heads will choose to provide outreach via their own teams as they consider this gives better value. In a few of the old family centres funding allocations under the formula are at the level of existing funding and in these centres managers are reorganising existing staff and resources to deliver the new service specification and would be unlikely to prioritise commissioning Homestart over delivering services in house.
6. Transition arrangements
Developing a Children’s Centre is a long term, complex undertaking and budget increases to support the development are incremental. Under the terms of their service specification all Children’s Centres are developing outreach and family support services to families with children under 5, including those who need a home based intervention. This is often a precursor to accessing centre based activities. Health visitors are key partners in the delivery of services and the referral link that is being embedded is helping to ensure that families’ needs are identified early and support put in place. In order to give time for budget increases to take effect, new procedures to bed down, and local commissioning decisions to be taken, OCC gave one year grants at full contract value for the two Homestart contracts that ended in March 2008 and has offered each of the three schemes a grant of £10,000 for 2009-10.
7. Monitoring the impact of Children’s Centre services
Children’s centres are charged with reaching out to and supporting the most vulnerable families and are required to report on this as a major part of the annual performance management cycle.
Amanda Smith Assistant Head of Service, Children and Families
28 November 2008
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