Agenda item

Welsh Government Early Years Integration Transformation Programme Pilot Childcare Offer – Joint working Pilot – Blaenau Gwent Pathfinder

To consider the report of the Chief Executive Aneurin Bevan University Health Board.

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the joint report of the Chief Executive Aneurin Bevan University Health Board and Service Manager – Early Years.

 

The Service Manager Early Years provided a comprehensive overview of the progress made to date on the Welsh Government’s new Early Years Integration Transformation Pilot in the Blaenau Gwent Pathfinder area. The Service Manager spoke in detail to the report and outlined the background, progress to date, next steps, budget implications and risk associated with the options for consideration.

 

The Chair thanked the Officer for her informative overview of the report and at this juncture invited questions/ comments/observations from Members.

 

A Member asked if equipment would be provided to families who needed technology in order for virtual home visits to be carried out.

 

It was reported that in most instances contact was made virtually via What’s App as most parents had mobile phones and this allowed video calls as well as voice calls. If an actual home visit was needed full PPE would be required with strict guidance would need to be adhered to and a call would be made ahead of the visit to discuss safety.

 

The Member further asked if there were families of concern outside of Bryn Farm, Brynmawr would they be considered.

 

The Service Manager Early Years advised that the
Bryn Farm area was identified as the highest need in Brynmawr in terms of deprivation and if there was a need to go outside of this area it was expected that generic Health Visitors would support families and if necessary the family could be referred to the outreach element for more intensive support. This would allow the service to be provided as required.

 

A Member raised concerns around the strict areas for the Flying Start Programme where one side of the street could have the service and the other side would not have the same benefits. It was hoped that the new programme would cover the Ward and not particular sections.

 

The Service Manager Early Years referred to the amount of work undertaken to ensure the Flying Start initiative was provided to families in Blaenau Gwent.

 

It was reported that the Team was passionate about the new programme and it was hoped that funding would continue to be provided to ensure its rolled out fully as Blaenau Gwent was one of the most deprived areas in Wales.

 

The Member requested that the Scrutiny Committee be kept informed of the progress to ensure it could be rolled out across Blaenau Gwent.

 

The Service Manager agreed to keep Members informed of progress.

 

A Member requested information on how much funding Blaenau Gwent had received from the Child Development Fund and what was the take up from families.

 

The Service Manager agreed to ascertain the amount of funding and report back to the Committee accordingly.

 

This course of action was AGREED.

 

In response to a question raised in relation to the length of the pilot, the Service Manager advised that there was no end date and no confirmation had been received to ascertain if the pilot would be continued in 2021/2022. The continuation depended on the success of the pilot and feedback from Welsh Government. The Service Manager added that she had recently attended a meeting to ensure funding would be continued.

 

A Member raised concerns around how some services the Council provided relied upon grants and the Member felt it was unfair that the service provided and officers employment relied so heavily on grant funding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Service Manager advised that a number of grants were used in Children’s Services and noted that managing these grants could on occasions be difficult, however, she had drafted a spreadsheet for all the different grants in order to manage them accordingly. The Service Manager advised that a number of the grants came with specific terms and conditions which protected a number of areas. The Service Manager welcomed the grants as it protected many areas of the Team and allowed the good work being undertaken to be continued.

 

The Public Service Board Scrutiny Committee had an overwhelming support for the work undertaken in relation Early Years and hoped that the pilot would be continued and further rolled out across Blaenau Gwent.

 

The Committee AGREED Option 1; namely that the Public Services Board Scrutiny Committee considered the proposed roll-out outlined for 2021 and noted the contents accordingly.

 

Councillor G. Paulsen left the meeting at this juncture.

 

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