Bromley Children Project Working with Communities: Multiagency approaches.

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Bromley Children ProjectWorking with
Communities Multi-agency approaches.

• Family Partnership Conference
• 18th November 2005
• Liz Davis
• 020 8313 4120
• Liz.davis_at_bromley.gov.uk

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Influence and Inspiration

• Building Blocks Research (1995-1996)
• Children whose parents had a drug, alcohol
• or mental health problem were asked
• what was difficult?
• what would help them?

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Children Said

• A sort of family friend.
• Someone to talk to. Someone for us just for us
  -
• separate from Mum.
• Someone not part of the family but like family.

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Parents Said

• Helpful Helpers
• - Helps me make decisions, but doesnt make
  them for us
• - Lets us sort it out
• - She listens, rationalises it, questions me
  and makes me think.
• - Good listener
• - Encourages confidence
• - Respectful
• - Caring and kind
• - Non-judgemental
• - Honest
• - Trustworthy

• Early help
• Someone to listen
• Helpful helpers

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The Mottingham Children Project 1996

• Bromley Social Services and Education.
• For children at primary school and their parents
• In an area of disadvantage
• Early intervention and prevention
• Multi-agency
• Holistic approach to needs

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Aims

• To help parents to help their children
• - be happier and do better at school
• - have improved general and mental health
• - avoid becoming involved in anti-social
  behaviour or
• crime

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Expansion to Bromley Children Project

• 1999 Evaluation evidence of effectiveness because
• - parents had decided all provision
• - participated enthusiastically
• Expansion (LB Bromley funded)
• to 3 other areas of disadvantage (BCP)
• 2002 Addition of Childrens Fund
• Children and young people decided new provision.

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How Families Determine Provision
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Provision
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Where its provided4 Clusters of Primary schools
Primary Schools
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Qualities of Workers

• Workers are
• selected for their
• personal qualities
• and warmth,
• as well as their
• professional
• experience.

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Theory, Training, Supervision and Management

• All workers trained in Family Partnership
  Approach
• Are managed and receive regular supervision and
  support
• - operationally (Bromley Children Project
  manager)
• - clinically (eg Bromley PCT/CAMHS manager)
• - peer group support meetings
• co-ordinate and communicate with each other and
  other agencies through geographic meetings.

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Referral routes

• Self referral by children or parents preferred
• - Family support worker
• - Specialist worker
• Assessment of need
• Individual or group work
• Or referral on for more complex problems
• Some short term work whilst on waiting lists

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Working with Parents

• Family Support Workers/Project Co-ordinators
  organize
• Crèches
• Learning progression routes for parents
• Parenting (individual help and courses)
• Individual help and home visits
• Links children and/or parents/ BCP specialist
  workers or other agencies.
• Community/ social support

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Childrens Mental Health

• Most requested by children and parents
• - Self-esteem and confidence
• - Social skills
• - Dealing with loss of loved ones
• - Anger management
• Groups and/or short term individual help
• Referral on to clinical psychologist or CAMHS
  Tier 2 or 3
• Evidence of effectiveness
• Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire
• 140 children
• 10 week group interventions
• highly significant improvements

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Disability and Special Needs Worker

• Children and parents with disabilities and
  special needs
• Supporting schools with inclusion
• Home visits
• Listening
• Help with form filling
• Access to charities and other services

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Speech and Language Therapists

• Problems leading to learning or behaviour
  difficulties
• Early intervention Reception class and year 1
• Language enrichment groups
• Narrative Therapy
• Involving school staff and parents whenever
  possible

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Dietician

• With Family Support workers and
  parents/children/teachers
• Parent-designed courses (Family Learning funding)
  
• - Eg healthy lunch boxes
• - Feed your family for a fiver
• - Big Cook, Little Cook
• - Fruit kebabs
• - Smoothies
• Parents comments
• When I got fed-up I used to take it out on the
  kids, now I knead soda bread. (Lone Dad of 4)
• Before, I always got take-always or ready-made
  meals, but since the classes I cook real meals.
  (Mum of 3)

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Moving on to Secondary School Project

• Summer schemes and after school sessions
• Related to worries
• Explored through activities identified by
  children
• - Drama
• - Film-making
• - Djing
• - Spray Art murals
• - Ceramics
• - Dance
• - Photography

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Voluntary and Community Groups

• 20 groups commissioned to provide
• therapies and out of school activities for
  children
• From black and minority ethnic and Traveller
  communities
• With disabilities and special needs
• Who are young carers

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Measuring success

• Internal and external evaluations underway
• - London Borough of Bromley
• - University of Greenwich
• Awards
• Local Reviews
• Parents and children
• Partner agencies

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Parents comments

• All of a sudden you realize everyone has the
  same problems.
• You suddenly realize that the kids may by the
  wind-up, but its actually you with the problem
  not them.
• Its a good bridge. Many of us are scared of
  schools.
• I found I didnt really know my child. X helped
  me to understand his way of looking at things.
• X. got me and my ex-husband together in the
  same room to talk about our kid.
• Listening helped my to listen to my children.

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Comments from External Agencies

• Parents became part of the school community and
  now we have very few instances of aggressive
  behaviour from them.
• A number of our refugee families have been
  reached where other formal providers have failed
  to make contact and inspire.
• The bottom-up approach is more empowering for
  parents, and enables them to become more
  confident in their own abilities and less reliant
  on professionals telling what to do every time
  there is a different difficulty.

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The Future

• Childrens Trusts, Childrens Centres, Extended
  schools
• But
• Continuation funding unclear
• Childrens Fund tapering - ends 2008
• Need
• National/Local Government commitment and
  ring-fenced funding for family-centred early
  intervention and prevention.
• Re-think, not recycle, traditional clinic-based
  approaches
• Trust children and parents to design new
  community-based, relevant services that evolve
  genuinely from and for them and their
  communities.