Case study
Sure Start Birchills & North Walsall Children’s Centre

Some 400 children and their families living in the Walsall area are benefiting from services provided by the Sure Start Birchills & North Walsall Children’s Centre. There’s a huge range on offer including a 60-place daycare nursery aimed mainly at working parents, plus activities that encourage families to have fun and learn together. Although open to everyone within the reach area, the focus is on reaching vulnerable families, those that don’t usually get involved with mainstream services. These families are best reached by those Centre Manager Hilary Hastings (pictured below) calls “our community champions”, local parents who spread the word and encourage others to try the Centres out for themselves.

Once these parents are through the door, they are encouraged to stay by a simple incentive scheme: a sticker is awarded for each activity attended, an entire card of stickers adds up to a £5 gift token. Activities on offer include parenting classes, creative play and health clinics, to name but a few. The overall aim is to ensure that all children, regardless of their family background, are ready to learn when they start school. “We are trying to narrow the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged children,” says Hastings.

The Centre has two specialist areas of focus: helping victims of domestic violence in the area and working with children with disabilities. The 40 staff are trained to spot problems early so practical care packages can be put together to meet families’ needs.

Looking ahead, an extension to the building has recently been completed to enable Birchills to meet the needs of more of the 1,200 families living within the catchment area.

Together for Children, the partnership supporting the delivery of Sure Start Centres  which includes Serco, 4Children, ContinYou and PA Consulting, is setting up a network for Centre managers to ensure best practice is shared with others around the country.

Anna Ronay is editor of Ethos