Phase 3 Consultation for Children's Centres in Hampshire
Introduction
Consultation on the development of Sure Start Children’s Centres across the county, under phase 3 of the Government initiative, has now closed.
A target of an additional 23 children’s centres has been set by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). The phase 3 children’s centres will be developed to enable access to high quality services for all children under five and their parents.
Consultation stages
The phase 3 strategy stage of consultation covered the period 1 May - 31 July 2008. A summary of the consultation results can be found in the Strategy consultation summary tab.
The phase 3 service development stage of consultation covered the period 1 August - 31 December 2008. A summary of the consultation results can be found in the Service delivery consultation summary tab.
Strategy stage
The phase 3 strategy stage of the consultation programme ran over a three month period from 01 May to 31 July 2008.
This stage of consultation set out the vision for delivering phase 3 of the children’s centre programme within Hampshire, including proposed Notional Catchment Areas, through a briefing paper and supporting questionnaires.
There were two questionnaires made available in electronic format (website, e-form and email) and in hard copy included as part of this consultation stage; one for parents and carers and the second for practitioners and other partners.
The parents and carers questionnaire sought views on:
services local children’s centres should provide;
key priorities for children’s centres in the local area.
The practitioners and other partners questionnaire sought views on:
the proposed strategy, including Notional Catchment Areas, and any other issues of possible concern;
known sites from which a gateway building or outreach service could be delivered;
services which could work in partnership with children’s centres to meet the core offer.
Strategy consultation summary
Analysis of the feedback gathered through the consultation on phase 3 strategy proposals has now been completed. This stage of consultation set out the vision for delivering phase 3 of the children’s centre programme within Hampshire (including proposed Notional Catchment Areas) through a briefing paper, supporting questionnaires and events.
The consultation received over 600 responses from all stakeholders and provided some valuable suggestions for amending the proposed strategy. The consultation summary paper has been structured to show exactly how these suggestions have been used to update the strategy proposal from the original draft version.
The Executive Lead Member for Children’s Services (Education) granted final approval of the strategy on 16 October 2008.
Service development phase
Questions from the parents and carers version of this consultation will assist individual children’s centres in developing services specifically to meet the needs of their local communities, whilst delivering the children’s centre’s core offer.
Service development consultation summary
A summary of the results of the consultation is available here.
Contact
Children's Centre Services
Children's Services Department
The Castle
Winchester SO23 8UG
Tel: 01962 847291