Community Health

International Baccalaureate Misc

Francie Williams Community health and wellbeing P06179349

Contents Page

Page 2 Introduction

Page 2 What is health

Page 2+3 What is wellbeing

Page 3+4 What is community

Page 4 What is health community

Page 4 About my interview

Page 4 My community worker

Page 4 Identify her role in the community

Page 4+5 community support service

Page 5+6 How the project improved the community

Page 6 Aims and objectives

Page 6 Partnership working

Page 7 Conclusion

Page 8 References

Appendixes

Appendix 1 Questions and answers of community worker

Appendix 2 Her job description

Appendix 3 Safe guarding children

Appendix 4 Rainbow house

Appendix 5 Kellogg’s education extra award

Appendix 6 Whishing well project

Appendix 7 Lincolnshire project

Appendix 8 Parenting and family support

Appendix 9 Section 17 of the children act

Appendix 10 Five outcomes for children

Appendix 11 Excellence in Crewe

Appendix 12 Youth inclusion support panel YISP

Appendix 13 Police public protection unit

Appendix 14 Gay community information

Appendix 15 Birmingham Jewish community

Appendix 16 Respect action plan

Introduction

This is my report on what a healthy community is and how my professional helps her community to be a better place to live and work in. The sections cover: What is health

What is wellbeing

What is a community

What makes it healthy,

my interview, my community worker, the community support project, aims and objectives, partnership working and conclusion.

What is health?

Health isn't just an absence of disease but also an abundance of vitality. Real health gives you peak physical and mental performance. With high levels of energy, emotional balance and a sharp mind, your body has the ability to fight off disease and illness and you don't suffer from preventable diseases. Your healthy body allows you to enjoy a long and healthy lifespan, and achieve your full potential, rather than the shorter lifespan ending in many years of pain, disability and ill health which are common.

[Health is the extent to which an individual or group is able] to realise aspirations, to satisfy needs and to change or cope with the environment. Health is, therefore, seen as a resource of everyday life, not the object of living. Health is a positive concept emphasising social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities. (WHO, 1986)

The World Health Organisation defined health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (WHO, 1946). As well as emphasising health in a positive sense, this definition is significant in stressing mental as well as physical aspects of health, and social as well as individual well-being. It has however been criticised for being Utopian, whereas it should perhaps be viewed as an ideal towards which health care and other social actions may be orientated (Twaddle, 1974)

What is wellbeing?

These are all the facilities that make our community a better place and are needed for a sense of well-being:

Fundamental services, gas, electricity, water, sewage

Travel networks, roads and rail

Hospitals, police stations, fire stations

Rural awareness, city awareness

Education and employment opportunities

Leisure facilities, parks, swimming pools

Access to shops, post offices, banks etc.

New people eager to join the community

The only definition I could find on wellbeing is being comfortable, healthy and happy. The services listed above make us feel comfortable and we are happy if all the services interact with each other to draw the community together and to encourage visitors.

What is a community?

Community as a term is often used in discussions about health and health care. The most commonly used definitions include their geographical location, or the cultural and social mix living within the named community. Other communities may be defined by their use of social networks or systems of contact; or by people recognising an area high in potential resources such as groups using local people skills and local knowledge.

Geography

An area within a town or city may be defined as a community, e.g. the Earlsfield estate, and have specific police and social work teams assigned to it. The assumption is that people living within a particular geographic area will experience the same problems and have the same concerns. In this age of private house ownership it does not necessarily mean that the whole of the community will be of the same socio-economic background.

Culture

The Jewish community is a unique community which evolves around culture. There is an example of a local Jewish community which is based in Birmingham. This provides an education for the children of the Jewish community. They also have local amenities which are provided just for them. See appendix 15.

Social stratification

Definition of this type of community is based on social stratification in some form or another, e.g. the gay community. These particular communities share information and knowledge to each others’ mutual support, evidenced by:

Bi Weekly Newspaper The Pink Paper
Monthly Magazine Gay Times
Various Phone Helplines Nottinghamshire & Nottingham Lesbian and Gay switchboard being the nearest See Appendix 14

In brief a community is a group of people with the same views and values as each other. There are lots of different types of community but in this report I am going to discuss a geographic community.

What is a healthy community?

A healthy community is a place where people want to live now and in the future. Without new people coming into the community it will not continue to flourish; services may disappear and jobs will then become fewer, less people will shop in the community and finally people will leave, breaking-up the community.

For a community to remain stable it has to continue to grow, with a good infrastructure in place, and people will want to not only live there but also to visit and spend money there. If people do not use the infrastructure it can become unstable and collapse. Services will then become scarce and people will stop visiting, which could break- up the community.

About my interview

I drew up a list of questions to discuss her role and her responsibilities to the community she works with. I conducted my interview via email firstly because she is not based within my local community and secondly I am dyslexic and find it easier to work with written answers.

See Appendix 1 -Questionnaire.

My community worker

She is a social worker employed by the NSPCC in Crewe Cheshire. Her post is funded by her employer and is a permanent post. See Appendix 2 for full job description.

Identify her role in the community

develop our community support service for hard to reach families
hold caseloads of families under stress
one-to-one work with children and adults
to provide safeguarding children training for other professionals see appendix 3

The community support service

Rainbow House was set up in 1996, in three ex council houses in Smith Grove one of the most deprived areas of Crewe. See Appendix 4 for some of the services provided at Rainbow House.

Achievements of the breakfast club in the first year

it won a Kellogg’s extra education award see Appendix 5
commendations from the NHS for the healthy eating programme it provides

This project has now been taken into 2 other deprived areas of Crewe where it is called Wishing Well

run by Women's Aid
it's available in 13 different locations
Wishing Well has its own aims and objectives see Appendix 6

The NSPCC also has a project in Lincolnshire which offers the same service as Rainbow House see Appendix 7. All of its projects are based around providing parenting and family support see Appendix 8.

How the project improved the community

The breakfast club has specifically helped change the community's prospects in four key areas of life.

To find early-morning jobs-getting parents off benefits and out of poverty. Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary says “we must employ skills of the private, voluntary and social enterprise sectors to create opportunities for parents who are struggling to get back into work.”
Healthy breakfast and a good start to their day- improves children’s concentration in school. Children who eat breakfast do better in school and are more likely to participate in physical activities. Children who don't eat breakfast are less able to learn at school, get less iron in their diet and are more likely to have a higher body mass index, which is a sign they may be over weight.
Discourages children from truanting-improving their education and helping them gain meaningful employment. Chris Keates, the General Secretary of the NASUWT, the union representing teachers and headteachers, said “that parents who allow their children to play truant were denying them access to an education and a decent future.”
Curtailing antisocial behaviour-improving the crime rate. ‘Respect’ is a campaign to encourage respect in communities, including stamping out antisocial behaviour, by:

supporting or challenging antisocial households
tackling truancy and antisocial behaviour in school
providing activities of the younger people
strengthening local communities
stronger measures to tackle antisocial behaviour

‘Respect’ has its own website and action plan. See appendix 16

Aims and objectives

The aim of the project is to improve the health and well-being in deprived areas of Crewe. It has five key objectives

provide a programme of multi-activity
improve and develop personal skills
reduce levels of family stress
improve general health and well-being
improve community relationships

I think these are really important areas to be concentrated on and by improving these areas the project will help the general wider community.

In her role as a social worker she has guidelines to follow.

Section 17 of the Children’s Act see Appendix 9
five outcomes to children which were decided on after the death of Victoria Climbie see Appendix 10

Partnership working

Health

The Healthy Living Centre

Health visitors

Midwives

Speech and language therapists

The Cheshire domestic abuse partnerships

Well being

Sure start

Local government play and support workers

Local schools

Excellence in Crewe see appendix 11

Women's Aid

Community

The County Council

Youth inclusion support panel see appendix 12

Local authority child protection social workers

Police public protection unit three appendix 13

These are all the workers that she works in partnership with, within her role based at the project and in her job as a social worker. Some of them cover several areas of expertise. To aid the community the most important part of their involvement is to make sure that there is active communication between them all.

Conclusion

The reason that this project is as successful as it is, is because the people who were first involved in the project were from the local area. Once the project was up and running it then started to rely on volunteers either from the local community or from previous service users. This showed other service users how they could improve their own prospects. It showed my interviewee, that by tackling these areas of people's lives, she could help improve their general health and well-being; which impacted on the wider community making it a better place to ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

Conclusion

References

Baggott, R (1994). Health and Health care in Britain. 3rd ed. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

Naidoo, J and Wills, J (1994). Health promotion. London: Bailliere Tindall.

Naidoo, J and Wills, J (2001). Health studies an Introduction. Hampshire: Palgrave.

Respect. (2008).Action plan. Available: http://www.respect.gov.uk/article.aspx?id=9058. Last accessed 17 January 2008.

Gavin, Mary L.MD. (2007). Ready, Set, Breakfast. Available: http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/food/breakfast.html. Last accessed 17 January 2008.

BBC 2008. (2006). Government misses poverty target. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4788270.stm. Last accessed 16 January 2008.

Alexandra Frean, Education Editor. (2006). Parents of under-12s face fines as truancy hits record high. Available: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2369738,00.html. Last accessed 16 January 2008.

APPENDIXES

Appendix 1

Questions for Community Worker

What is your job title?

NSPCC Children’s Services Practitioner-Social Worker

What qualifications did you need for this post?

Social Work Qualification

What is your role?

To develop community support services for hard to reach families in partnership with other agencies/to hold a caseload of families under stress/ 1-1 work with children and adults/to provide safeguarding training

Who are you employed by?

NSPCC

Is the post funded by your employer?

Yes

Is it a permanent job?

Yes

Where are you based?

In Crewe in Cheshire. The project is based in 3 local authority houses in an area of high and multiple deprivations with hard to reach families.

Have you received any training whilst in post?

Yes including Domestic Abuse Training, Safeguarding Children, Post Qualifying Training and the Practice Teachers’ Award.

What other jobs have you done?

NNEB/Social Work Assistant/Project Development Co-ordinator

Do you have any government targets to work towards?

Yes, Every Child Matters- 5 Outcomes for Children

Do you have a specific remit?

Yes, to work with families where children are identified as ‘in need’ (Section 17 Children’s Act 1989)

What other professionals do you work with?

The County Council Children’s’ Centre, formerly Sure Start? Health Visitors/ Midwives/ YISP/ Local Government Play and Sports Development Workers/ Local Authority Child Protection Social Workers/ Home start/ Police Public Protection Unit/ Local schools Speech and Language Therapists/ Excellence in Crewe/ Cheshire Domestic Abuse Partnership/ Women’s Aid/ The Healthy Living Centre.

Which different types of communities do you work with?

With hard to reach groups; e.g. Teenage Parents/ Male Carers/ Those living in areas of high deprivation such as Unemployed, poor housing, debt, crime/ survivors of childhood or adult traumas/ those living with or affected by domestic abuse/ lone parents

Are there any barriers (within those communities or within the workplace) that you have had to overcome?

Yes, within the community there was a degree of suspicion and mistrust of the NSPCC agency intervention particularly from those families who had had negative experiences previously.

How does your job help the local community?

It enables vulnerable families and children to access services on their doorstep and to be supported earlier, thus hopefully preventing statutory interventions.

How does it affect the well-being of the local community?

The local community is much more empowered and more able to support those families in need.

How does your job help the health of the local community?

These activities help the local community to improve their emotional well being/self esteem and consequently this improves their physical health

Appendix 2

National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC)

Job Description

Job title: Children’s Services Practitioner (CSP) level 3 (social worker)

Grade: CSP Level 3

Date: February 2005

PURPOSE

To provide child protection or preventative services to children, families, carers or adults. You will be working in an inter-agency context where activities will be complex and where you will be required to take considerable responsibility and work autonomously.

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1.0 Deliver services

1.1 Fully engage with a range of different service users taking into account their needs, rights and current situation.

1.2 Plan programmes of work to meet the needs of individual service users adhering to effective safeguarding practice.

1.3 Involve service users in planning, decision making and evaluation and to promote the participation of Children and Young People.

1.4 Provide direct services (on an individual or group work basis) for Children and/or their families and/or carers and adults.

1.5 Deliver services in line with equal opportunity practices. Pay due and professional attention to issues of diversity.

1.6 Contribute to evaluation of services in order to support models of good practice.

1.7 Deliver services consistent with team and activity plans.

2.0 Working within NSPCC policy, procedures and standards

2.1 Maintain professional practice standards in line with the “NSPCC Principles, Standards and Procedures” documents.

2.2 Comply with other relevant policies and procedures e.g. Health and Safety Policy.

3.0 Representing the NSPCC and promoting the work of the team

3.1 Work with fundraising staff to promote the work of the team and the NSPCC to various audiences including supporters, fundraisers and volunteers.

3.2 Attend meetings or external groups as directed by the Children’s Services Manager or Area Children’s Services Manager.

3.3 Provide professional advice in answer to internal and external enquiries.

4.0 Work in partnership with staff from other organisations

4.1 Develop and maintain professional working relationships with staff from other agencies.

4.2 Work alongside staff from other agencies or departments to deliver effective services.

5.0 Contribute to personal and team development

5.1 Actively participate in team meetings, briefings and training events.

5.2 Contribute to the development of learning materials or other resources.

5.3 Take responsibility for developing your own and others professional knowledge and skills.

5.4 Critically appraise and comment on the work of others to aid their development.

6.0 Contribute to the development of best practice and service development, taking a lead role as required

6.1 Take the initiative in identifying opportunities to develop service activities.

6.2 Take a lead role in developing and using Best Practice in the light of legal and other changes.

6.3 Contribute to service development, taking a lead role as required by line management.

6.4 Contribute to policy development within the Organisation and in the wider child protection network.

7.0 Undertake responsibilities in directly supporting the work of others in delivering all the services of the team

7.1 Provide advice/support to other staff/volunteers working as part of the service.

7.2 Supervise students, NVQ candidates and volunteers in line with agency policy.

8.0 Any other duties that may be required that are commensurate with the grade and nature of the post

PERSON SPECIFICATION

SCYP

Children’s Services Practioner – Level 3 (social worker)

Skills and Abilities – Evidence of:

1. DipSW or equivalent social work qualification.

2. Proven ability to plan appropriate programmes of direct work and evaluate their effectiveness.

3. Proven ability to engage with service users, involving them in planning, decision making and evaluation whilst adhering to effective safeguarding practice.

4. Proven ability to identify risk and initiate child protection intervention.

5. Evidence of knowledge of up to date child protection best practice, research and legislation.

6. Evidence of a child centred approach and an understanding of children’s rights, needs and best interests.

7. Evidence of ability to work in an equal opportunity and anti-oppressive framework.

8. Ability to work on own initiative and as part of a team, often in a multi disciplinary setting.

9. Effective written and verbal communication skills, including report writing.

10. Proven ability to effectively manage time, priorities and resources.

11. Ability to effectively represent the NSPCC externally to other child protection agencies and to supporters.

12. Ability to promote the development of colleagues, including training and supervising volunteers.

13. A full current driving licence and access to a car for business purposes. Where a

disability may preclude someone from holding a driving licence, the ability to undertake business travel throughout the relevant area must be demonstrated.

Appendix 3

The is the key statutory mechanism for agreeing how the relevant organisations in each local area will cooperate to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in Cheshire and for ensuring the effectiveness of what they do. Our aim is to work together so that children in Cheshire can be safe from abuse or harm at home and within our community. This site provides information for the public, children, parents, carers and professionals.

Appendix 4

Rainbow House Project, Crewe
Rainbow House offers a range of services to support local families in an area of high disadvantage. These include individual work with families, after-school clubs, breakfast clubs and a weekly drop-in support group for parents. The project works jointly with workers from Women's Aid to provide a therapeutic drop-in group for women and children who have suffered domestic abuse. Three day intensive workshops are especially available for parents and children under stress.

Group work parenting sessions are held to help improve parenting skills and develop self-esteem. Volunteer mentors from the local community who have benefited from the project themselves are involved.

Appendix 5

The Breakfast Club Awards 2000 was sponsored by Kellogg’s in association with Education Extra. The scheme granted awards totalling £55,000 to 58 Breakfast Clubs around the UK. 8 awards of £2,500 were given in recognition of ‘excellence’ for clubs demonstrating best practice, 20 ‘expansion’ awards of £1,000 were given for schools looking to develop existing clubs and 30 awards of £500 were made to new clubs.

The scheme was launched by Jacqui Smith MP, Parliamentary under Secretary of State for School Standards. Over 800 applications were received for Breakfast Club Awards funding. The judging panel included representatives from:

• The Department for Education and Employment.

• Education Extra - the charity that supports Out of School Hours Learning.

• New Policy Institute.

• Kellogg’s - The sponsors of the Breakfast Club Awards Scheme.

The National Breakfast Clubs Awards Week took place between the 19th and 23rd June 2000. The 58 winning schools celebrated their success during ‘National Breakfast Club Awards Celebration Week’ and each school held its own Award presentation ceremony.

The Breakfast Club Awards 2001 were similar in scope and scale. The 2002 awards scheme is launched alongside the publication of this report.

Further information is available at .

Breakfast Club plus Awards 2007

Application deadline now passed.

The 2007 Breakfast Club plus Awards will offer national recognition to best practice clubs throughout the UK.

Categories and guidelines

This year there are five award categories:

community involvement
nutrition
achieving sustainability
added value activities
Improving emotional health and wellbeing.

We are looking for clubs that can demonstrate innovation or great practice in each of these areas.

You can enter your club for only one category – so please choose carefully what you think your club excels in.

Awards

One national winner in each category - £1,500 each

Two runners up in each category - £650 each

Two highly commended in each category will also receive free subscription to Schools ETC magazine for one year. ?

Judging process

The final date for entries was 30 November 2007. Winners will be announced on 31 January 2008. All winning schools will be contacted on or before this date to confirm their prize. Full details about the judging process can be found in the guidelines and entry form terms and conditions.

Download the (Word file, 71 KB)

For more information please email or call on 0208 709 9900.

Background to the awards

In association with Kellogg's ContinYou has run a national Breakfast Club plus Award scheme since 1999. Award winners have helped inform national research and policy development. These awards are one way we can celebrate the achievements and benefits of breakfast clubs and we hope the winners offer inspiration to others.

Breakfast Club Plus awards are recognised and supported by Education Guardian.

Appendix 6

Appendix 7

Lincolnshire North

Grimsby Family Support Project
Works with children and their families who are affected by parental drug misuse and/ or domestic violence. The team also runs parenting groups and offers video home guidance to promote positive parenting in the local area. The majority of referrals come from social services.

Sure Start Grimsby
Works with families of children under 4 years of age. Provides therapy to children to help them to recover from abuse and to deal with issues such as bullying and sexual exploitation. The project also offers direct work with Looked After children who need assistance in the transition between placements and rehabilitation. Referrals from parents/ carers and children are accepted.

Appendix 8

Parenting and Family Support

Journalist briefing, September 2006

The NSPCC has 38 parenting and family support projects spread across England, Wales and Northern Ireland that help parents cope with the pressures of bringing up children.

The NSPCC's parenting and family support projects focus on early intervention with families and can help parents avoid losing it by giving them someone to turn to in times of difficulty and by offering alternative ways to manage their child's behaviour.

Services available to families include positive parenting sessions, behaviour management programmes, drop in support, and one to one advice clinics for parents who need extra support. Some projects also offer support and services in response to domestic violence and substance misuse. Many services operate in partnership with other key agencies, such as health, social services, education, Sure Start and Children's Fund.

Several projects run innovative volunteer programmes where local volunteers are trained and supported to go out into their communities and give struggling families that extra helping hand. Parents who have benefited from help often go on to become helpers for other parents.

The work undertaken by volunteers is varied and ranges from providing practical support through to adult company and listening. The aim is to reduce stress and isolation, help build self-confidence and keep depression at bay.

There are over 100 volunteers providing this support.

Many parenting and family support projects are located in disadvantaged areas where there is very little other support available. Others are tightly focused on the needs of the neighbourhoods and communities in which they are based. Examples of these targeted services include the Family Alcohol project in London which supports youngsters in Camden and Islington who are affected by a parent's alcohol misuse and also the Catterick and Ashdown family centres which work specifically with military communities.

Parenting and family support services are one of the most popular services with people asking the NSPCC for help. There was an increase of just over 40 per cent in the number of families these projects worked with in 2003/2004 (source: SCYP Annual Statistics 2003/2004).

Parenting and family support projects help thousands of families every year. The majority of these families access parenting and family support projects directly, with most of them making their first contact by dropping into a service.

Mothers are most likely to seek help, followed by children and then professionals. Social workers and health visitors are the professionals most likely to access NSPCC parenting and family support projects.

Parenting resources:
The NSPCC has produced a new guide to help parents to cope calmly with the stresses of family life. 'Keeping your cool' is designed to help parents recognise and handle difficult situations that trigger stress and anger.

'Keeping your cool' outlines typical scenarios which can be anger flashpoints. The booklet offers advice on how to deal with these situations or, if possible, avoid them altogether. For a free sample copy telephone 0800 801 837 or visit the 'Keeping your cool pages.

Brochures available to download on our publication pages include:

Not Naughty but Normal
Advice on bringing up toddlers, with a focus on how challenging behaviour is a normal expression of their changing needs as they develop.
Encouraging Better Behaviour
A practical guide to positive parenting.
Handle with Care
Advice on holding and handling your baby safely.
Behave Yourself
A practical guide to encouraging better behaviour in children.
Listening to Children
How to communicate more effectively with children.

Project summaries:

Grimsby Project

The Grimsby team carries out family support work in partnership with the local Sure Start and Children's Fund initiatives.

They offer an innovative Video Interaction Guidance service in the local Sure Start area. This involves filming parents interacting with their children and building confidence in their parenting skills by feeding back what they do well. Weekly drop-in sessions for parents who need advice and a parenting group run alongside this.

Their Children's Fund work involves supporting children whose parents misuse drugs. Youngsters attend a group called 'FEDUP'.

Scarborough and Selby Family Support projects
These projects provide a number of support services to families. These include drop in sessions, parenting groups and working with children who have experienced domestic abuse or substance misuse in their families. They aim to provide these services in a non stigmatising and supportive environment.

Ashdown Family Centre, Wiltshire
Provides family support services to young children and their families in Tidworth, an army garrison town with a population that is largely made up of young soldiers with young families. Tidworth has been strongly affected by the war in Iraq and by deployment of troops there.

Almond Tree Project, Catterick, North Yorkshire
Provides support to families at the Catterick garrison who are isolated from extended family and can also be separated for long spells through partners being posted abroad. A range of services are offered including drop-in sessions, play sessions, a crèche facility and school holiday and after school activities.

Hayle Family Support Service, Cornwall
Offers a wide range of services to families aimed at encouraging positive parenting. Work includes drop-in advice sessions for parents, positive parenting groups, play groups and home visiting. The project also has a domestic violence programme, working with children who have witnessed or suffered violence in the home.

Surukhia/ New Links Family Support Team, Coventry
Volunteers are central to the work carried out by this project. They provide an outreach befriending service to parents of children under 12 years old.

North Swindon Family Centre
A community family support service that provides a range of services to local families, with a particular emphasis on involving fathers in their children's lives. There is a weekly drop-in group for dads, a father's fun day and individual support for fathers.

Play and Learn Scheme (PALS)
PALS is a home based play service for families with babies and toddlers. Play workers visit with carefully selected toys and together with parents create fun play opportunities that promote interaction, boost the parents? confidence and support the child's development. This project reaches many children and parents in the remote areas of East Kent.

Rainbow House Project, Crewe

Family Alcohol Service
The Family Alcohol Service (a partnership between the NSPCC and Alcohol Recovery Project) provides therapeutic and family support services to families in Camden and Islington where a parent has alcohol misuse problems.

Appendix 9

Provision of services for children in need, their families and others

(1) It shall be the general duty of every local authority (in addition to the other duties imposed on them by this Part)—

(a) to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need; and

(b) so far as is consistent with that duty, to promote the upbringing of such children by their families,

by providing a range and level of services appropriate to those children’s needs.

(2) For the purpose principally of facilitating the discharge of their general duty under this section, every local authority shall have the specific duties and powers set out in Part 1 of Schedule 2.

(3) Any service provided by an authority in the exercise of functions conferred on them by this section may be provided for the family of a particular child in need or for any member of his family, if it is provided with a view to safeguarding or promoting the child’s welfare.

(4) The Secretary of State may by order amend any provision of Part I of Schedule 2 or add any further duty or power to those for the time being mentioned there.

(5) Every local authority—

(a) shall facilitate the provision by others (including in particular voluntary organisations) of services which the authority have power to provide by virtue of this section, or section 18, 20, 23 or 24; and

(b) may make such arrangements as they see fit for any person to act on their behalf in the provision of any such service.

(6) The services provided by a local authority in the exercise of functions conferred on them by this section may include giving assistance in kind or, in exceptional circumstances, in cash.

(7) Assistance may be unconditional or subject to conditions as to the repayment of the assistance or of its value (in whole or in part).

(8) Before giving any assistance or imposing any conditions, a local authority shall have regard to the means of the child concerned and of each of his parents.

(9) No person shall be liable to make any repayment of assistance or of its value at any time when he is in receipt of income support or family credit under the [1986 c. 50.] Social Security Act 1986.

(10) For the purposes of this Part a child shall be taken to be in need if—

(a) he is unlikely to achieve or maintain, or to have the opportunity of achieving or maintaining, a reasonable standard of health or development without the provision for him of services by a local authority under this Part;

(b) his health or development is likely to be significantly impaired, or further impaired, without the provision for him of such services; or

and “family”, in relation to such a child, includes any person who has parental responsibility for the child and any other person with whom he has been living.

(11) For the purposes of this Part, a child is disabled if he is blind, deaf or dumb or suffers from mental disorder of any kind or is substantially and permanently handicapped by illness, injury or congenital deformity or such other disability as may be prescribed; and in this Part—

“development” means physical, intellectual, emotional, social or behavioural development; and
“health” means physical or mental health.

Appendix 10

Children Act 2004 - guidance

The Children Act 2004 provides the legal underpinning for Every Child Matters: Change for Children programme. A series of documents have been published which provide guidance under the act to support local authorities and their partners in implementing new statutory duties. An of these and other guidance supporting the Every Child Matters programme has been published.

Inter-Agency Cooperation to Improve the Well-being of Children: Children's Trusts

This guidance on the duty to cooperate (section 10 of the act), provides the underpinning framework for children's trusts. Well-being is the term used in the act to define the five Every Child Matters outcomes:

Be healthy
Stay safe
Enjoy and achieve
Make a positive contribution
Achieve economic well-being

Appendix 11

Excellence in Crewe Partnership - Developing for the future

The Excellence in Crewe Partnership (EiCP) is an initiative to inspire, motivate and develop the young people of Crewe. It presents an exciting opportunity for the town to work together to create partnerships that make a real difference to young people’s lives.

The EiCP is an Education Improvement Partnership of 20 schools, dedicated to raising standards and the aspirations of all the young people attending school.

The role of the EiCP is to provide additional support to the partnership schools and their wider community, so maximising the potential of all the young people living in Crewe.

The partnership aim to do this by developing young people and their families within their communities to improve their:

Confidence and self-belief
Learning and communication skills
Motivation and aspiration

By providing:

Positive role models
Support and encouragement to remove barriers to learning
New opportunities and experiences
Recognition and celebration of achievement

Appendix 12

What is the YISP?

The YISP is an early intervention and crime prevention service aimed at children young people and their families who live in Crewe and Nantwich.

It is a voluntary programme for children and young people who are at risk of offending or antisocial behaviour.

The main work of the YISP is to identify key needs and risks and put together a programme of support and resources that will help the child and family to reduce the risk factors and increase resilience (protective factors).

One of the main reasons the YISP has been introduced is to meet some of the recommendations made by Lord Lamning after Victoria Climbie died so tragically. Part of that recommendation was to ensure that vulnerable young people have one lead person coordinating a multi-agency support package. This ensures vulnerable children receive support from one point of contact and that there is effective communication between agencies and professionals.

The key aim is to make sure that children are not lost in the multi-agency “system”, and that they have a lead professional advocating and supporting them through the complex process of getting help from various agencies at the same time.

Crewe and Nantwich YISP has only a 4.5% re-offending rate for those young people who have engaged with the programme (National re-offending rate currently stands at 47%).

Appendix 13

Public Protection Unit

Three Public Protection Units (PPUs) exist under the new Force structure - one for each area - Western, Eastern and Northern.

Their areas of business are:

Registered sex offenders and dangerous persons
Child protection
Family unit
Domestic violence
Vulnerable adult abuse
Video interviewing of vulnerable witness
Mental health

In short, they strive to protect vulnerable children and adults and monitor people who pose a risk to the public, such as registered sex offenders.

The units identify individuals or families that need help from, or intervention by, partner agencies. It also reviews and assesses reports on people who have gone missing from home, again to identify information or intelligence for intervention by a partner agency such as Social Services.

This partnership working is the key to success for PPUs. Systems such as Multi-Agency Public Arrangements, which see police staff and officers work side-by-side with other agencies, have been developed and improved to ensure people at risk continue to be identified and protected.

Demand on police teams working in areas covered by the PPUs is greater than ever, not just here in Cheshire but nationwide. Lots of new systems have been researched and implemented following the publication of inquiries such as those following the Soham and Victoria Climbie tragedies, and these systems need constant review to ensure everything that can be done is being done to protect members of the public, especially the vulnerable members of our communities.

Cheshire has recognised this ever-increasing demand by allocating 50% more staff to PPUs. Each unit is led and managed by a dedicated Detective Inspector and an increased number of sergeants, providing improved capability for close supervision of officers dealing with sensitive and challenging enquiries.

A strategic PPU based at headquarters in Winsford supports the three area PPUs, taking the lead on changes to legislation and providing force policy and guidance to the area units. The strategic unit will also co-ordinate the meeting structure with partner agencies.

Appendix 14

Appendix 15

BIRMINGHAM JEWISH COMMUNITIES

HISTORY AND REALITY

by Arthur Chesses

The Birmingham Jewish community is reputed to be one of the oldest in the provinces. From as early as 1730, the special manufacturing industries that were springing up all over the City attracted its first Jewish settlers. Indeed, Birmingham became something of a centre for Jewish pedlars, who would travel the surrounding countryside in order to earn their meagre livings.

The first recorded synagogue was in a district known as the Froggery, which roughly covered an area around Station Street and New Street Station. The synagogue was extended in 1791, 1809 and again in 1827. The "Singers Hill" synagogue, which is still in operation, was opened in 1856. According to public records, nearly one hundred Jewish families had made their homes in Birmingham's fashionable Edgbaston suburb by the end of 1871.

In the late 19th century, conditions in central Europe and Russia led to an influx of Jews into the West. Many of these refugees made their new homes in Birmingham and the Jewish population of the city increased once again. Some however, finding the anglicised style of services at Singers Hill uncomfortable, formed their own breakaway minyanim and congregations. These eventually led to the creation of the two other orthodox congregations in Birmingham; the Central Synagogue and the New Synagogue. They were in turn followed by the Liberal Synagogue, formed in the late thirties.

A thriving Centre

Between the two Great Wars, Birmingham thrived as a provincial Jewish centre. A number of Jewish grocery stores and delicatessens had founded sturdy businesses, as had everything from the many Jewish-run fish-and-chip shops to the dozens of Jewish backstreet tailoring workshops, who supplied hand-made suits to retail tailors across the city.

There existed a Jewish area comprising Holloway Head, Hurst Street, Sherlock Street, Ashley Street and Benacre Street. In 1934 the Hebrew School, which had previously formed part of the Singers Hill complex, was moved to a purpose-built site in St. Lukes Road. Side by side with this close ghetto-like existence in the Jewish area, the Jewish residents of Edgbaston and Moseley were also increasing. Families prospered, and as they became more affluent, actively sought these areas' more suburban lifestyle.

Much of this embryonic vibrance was ripped apart, however, by the advent of the 1939-1945 war. During this time, the communal life of the closely-knit Jewish area was shattered through bombing. Sadly, the subsequent redevelopment of the damaged sites left little room for the old Jewish area to reform.

Transformation

Many of the refugees who had fled from Nazi and other persecution had become a part of the Birmingham community in the late thirties. But by the fifties and sixties, a gradual transformation had taken hold, and more and more families began moving out into the suburbs. In this way, the city's Jewish population became spread more thinly across the overall population of 1.25 million people now living in Birmingham.

The emergence of a number of families in Solihull saw the development of the Solihull and District Hebrew Congregation together with their own synagogue and Cheder in Monastery Drive. The Central Synagogue moved to a new site on Pershore Road; while the New Synagogue moved to Park Road, Moseley and the Progressive Synagogue established itself in Sheepecote Street.

The Hebrew School also found a new home, this time in Alcester Road, Moseley, where it became the King David School, now operating as a primary school only. But the Jewish population in the late sixties decreased from an estimated ten thousand to six thousand, although its many institutions and societies were still in operation, vibrant and dynamic as ever.

These included two Homes for the Aged and later a warden controlled project in Rake Way. Also, a Lubavitch Centre was set up in Willows Road. Along with the Youth Centre and many social and educational groups, the community was (and indeed, still is) well catered for in all its various religious and social needs.

Decline

The eighties saw a further decline in the Jewish population of Birmingham. Several families made aliya (emigrated to Israel) and others moved to the more densely populated Jewish centres of Manchester and London. In an attempt to realistically assess Birmingham's Jewish population, a census was organised. The results confirmed what many had suspected and feared for some time; a figure emerged of no more than 3,000 Jews who were still resident in the Birmingham area. Steady consideration was given to synagogue amalgamation from the early nineties, but progress was slow and even the most committed could not bring too much enthusiasm to the job of downgrading or dismantling synagogues to which they had belonged all their lives.

In 1993 a newly erected Home for the Elderly was officially opened by the Princess of Wales. This project had been planned by the Welfare Board, who had spent some time considering a development where sheltered accommodation could parallel a scheme for a residential care home, all on the same site.

The fall in numbers also made itself evident though difficulties in maintaining quorate daily minyanim. A new emphasis was also placed on the necessity of stimulating youth within the community. 1994 saw the retirement of Rabbi Mordechai Singer as the Rav of the Central Synagogue, and the appointment of Rabbi Chaim Rapoport, as his successor. After three years Rabbi Rapoport moved on to another positon. Appointed in 1998, Rabbi Adam Hill has been the Rabbi since this time.

Future

A Birmingham Jewish Education Board was formed with a view to the future education of the young. An unprecedented debate was held in the Birmingham City Council chambers, once again discussing and attempting to make headway on a synagogue amalgamation plan. At the same time, the Progressive Synagogue held an induction ceremony for Rabbi Dr Margaret Jacobi, its first female rabbi.

In 1995, a merger of the Birmingham Hebrew Congregation and the New Synagogue took place. Since then, serious merger talks have taken place between Singers Hill and the Central Synagogue with both councils looking seriously to the local community's future. To this end, a series of co-organised events including the "sharing" of weekly minyanim between the two synagogues, have taken place. These events have greatly re-enforced the community's strong sense of togetherness, and continue to be an important and developing aspect of the community's life.

Thankfully, Birmingham Jewry has never lost any of its incredible vibrant energy. When twinned with its extensive resources and its ongoing commitment to a closely meshed community, these assets can be hoped and expected to strengthen and maintain it for many happy years to come.

Appendix 16

Respect Action Plan builds on our current drive to tackle anti-social behaviour and reclaim communities for the law-abiding majority.

It also explains why we need to deepen our approach by tackling the underlying causes of anti-social behaviour, intervening early where problems occur and broadening our efforts to address other areas of poor behaviour.

In summary, the Respect Action Plan has six main strands:

Supporting families.
A new approach to the most challenging families
Improving behaviour and attendance in schools
Activities for children and young people
Strengthening communities
Effective enforcement and community justice

Supporting families

Parents have a critical role in helping their children develop good values and behaviour. Conversely, poor parenting increases the risks of involvement in anti-social behaviour. We will develop parenting services nationally and focus help on those parents who need it most. We will expand national parenting provision and establish a new National Parenting Academy for front line staff. We will legislate to increase the circumstances, and organisations that can apply for a parenting order, where a child’s behaviour requires it.

A new approach to the most challenging families

We will take a new approach to tackle the behaviour of ‘problem families’ by challenging them to accept support to change their behaviour, backed up by enforcement measures. In 2006, a network of intensive family support schemes will be launched that target these challenging families. We will make additional investment available for parenting programmes as part of a coordinated approach across children’s and adult services in these areas. We will, across government, improve the way public services respond to problem families’ in the longer term.

Improving behaviour and attendance in schools

The values and behaviour that support respect foster a positive environment where teachers can teach and children can learn. We will legislate to ensure parents take responsibility for their child’s behaviour in the classroom and when they are excluded from school. We will also improve provision for suspended and excluded pupils.

Tackling poor attendance and behaviour in schools is particularly important since truancy and exclusion have been proven to lead to anti-social behaviour. We will extend targeted action against truancy and place a new duty on local authorities to identify children missing school and support them back into education.

Activities for children and young people

We know that about seven out of ten parents and young people think that young people commit crimes because there is not enough for them to do. That’s why we want to expand the role of sport, constructive activities and volunteering as positive routes to nurture a culture of respect amongst young people, particularly those from deprived backgrounds. Specifically, we will develop Britain’s first national youth volunteering service, establish a sports champion mentoring programme and continue to support existing mentoring projects. We will also expand the Youth Opportunity Fund and pilot Youth Opportunity Cards in a number of areas.

Strengthening communities

Respect cannot be built by central government or local services. Strong communities are an essential part of making that happen. However, services can create the opportunity for those to develop. If people are too scared to go out, or the see that those in authority don't confront problems how can we expect them to have the confidence to do so, or to access the support that could help them change their lives. The Respect programme aims to make local government, housing and policing more accountable to local people - empowering them to take control of their community.

Effective enforcement and community justice

We will continue our drive to ensure effective, swift and proportionate responses and sanctions by further extending the menu of powers available to local communities to deal rapidly and effectively with ‘low level’ anti-social behaviour. We will also broaden the range of people able to use existing powers. We will strengthen the powers available for frontline agencies as well as streamlining the case management of Anti-social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) within the courts. We plan to roll out a national ‘community payback’ scheme of visible and constructive punishment for offenders.