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Dept for Education and Skills

Answer

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the effects of the Sure Start programme in (a) Whitmore Reans and (b) Dunstall, Wolverhampton. [216227] Margaret Hodge: One Sure Start programme serves both the Whitmore Reans and Dunstall areas. It was approved in 2001 and supports around 870 young local children and their families. It delivers a wide range of services to support local families including family support in partnership with the Primary Care Trust (PCT); a support group for single parents; the provision of healthy eating advice to families, provision of safety equipment on a loan basis to families at a subsidised rate; a toy library; a cre¬che; play and stay as well as play groups; additional home visits by qualified midwife and health visitors and early assessment and referral for children with development delay. Since opening, this programme has helped to improve the quality of life for local families. For example it works closely with the smoking cessation programme run by the PCT and all staff have received training in ways to support parents and families who may want to give up smoking. All staff have been trained to be able to identify children with delayed language development and either apply strategies recommended by therapists or refer the families for specialist help. Local health visitors report back to the local programme on all women identified with post natal depression--so that support can be offered. Programme Monitoring shows that the programme has seen 700 of the 870 children in their catchment area since the programme opened (81 per cent.). The programme has strong parental participation both on the management board, which has six parent representatives with a parent vice chair and in activities where parents act as volunteers. It has a volunteer policy which aims to match skills gaps within the programme to the skills of the parents within the catchment area. This is used as a stepping stone to further training and ultimately employment. Volunteer parents can access all the training available to the programme staff.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

216227; 431 c546W;431 c542W

Session

2004-05

Subjects

Wolverhampton Sure Start programme

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk