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CHAPTER EIGHT: GOOD PRACTICE AND LESSONS LEARNED
Table 8.1: Summary of Key Points
- The timescale available for the pilot was not sufficient for childcare gaps to be addressed through the development of additional provision. Correspondingly, the relationship between the availability of childcare and the effect of this on lone parents moving into work, remains to be tested.
- It is important that prior research ( e.g. mapping and gapping exercises) is undertaken in order that delivery of the pilot reflects local need and so that pilot baselines can be established from which to monitor progress.
- Staffing and the adequacy of resources emerge as important as does the need for multi-agency partnership and collaboration.
- Given (mis)perceptions of limited childcare availability, it is critical that ongoing and diverse attempts are made to reach lone parents and raise their awareness. For attitudes towards formal childcare to be changed, more needs to be done to raise awareness of the benefits of high quality early years education and childcare. This cannot be achieved in the short-term.
- Not all lone parents are the same and different types of intervention may therefore be required.
- There are many issues relating to developing sufficient childcare in order to provide a virtual childcare guarantee. To do this is likely to require a trade off between supply-side issues and issues of demand.
- Given that preferences for part-time working and employment around school hours are common amongst lone parents, it may be prudent to negotiate local agreements and more family friendly policies with local employers.
- Sustainability of childcare is a key issue. Attempts to develop an exit strategy to sustain provision once pilot monies come to an end need to be addressed early.
- Outcomes in terms of entry to employment cannot be adequately assessed in the absence of detailed monitoring information (at the start and end point). Data protection issues need to be considered up front so that parents can be tracked and interventions followed up accordingly.
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Introduction
8.1 In this section, we pull together the evidence from preceding sections to highlight good practice and lessons learned. This is in order that the lessons learned from delivering the pilots can be used to inform the future development of similar programmes and initiatives designed to address issues of work and childcare. Themes emerging from the research are explored under the following headings:
- Time
- Pre-delivery planning and set up
- Partnership and collaboration
- Awareness-raising marketing and referral
- Identification and solutions
- Issues in developing childcare
- Employment issues
- Sustainability
- Monitoring and tracking.
Time
8.2 A key lesson from the pilot is the time needed for set up and delivery. Greater time is required for scoping, planning, staff recruitment, partnership development and delivery. In particular, the experience of the pilot shows that the duration of the pilot needs to better reflect the time investment required up front for initial planning and set up. The timescale was not sufficient for childcare to be developed and for lone parents to take up the programme in order for the hypothesis to be tested (that childcare is the main barrier to work). Newly established childcare in Fife was not in place long enough for an assessment of the effects to be made. This issue has been recognised and further funding has been provided by the Scottish Executive to continue the extended hours provision in Fife.
Pre-delivery planning and set up
Understanding Needs
8.3 Both areas undertook background research to identify the lone parent population in their area and to identify key childcare needs/gaps. It is important that research is undertaken to 'map and gap' childcare provision, identify labour market opportunities and establish the target population in order to tailor the pilot's delivery and approach to local circumstances. This should then be used to inform and develop the project plan. Identified needs could also be quantified in order to establish a baseline from which progress and outcomes ( e.g. childcare places, lone parents in employment/unemployment) can be assessed.
Staffing
8.4 It is important that there is sufficient resource/staffing for co-ordination both within the Local Authority and Jobcentre Plus. Progress of the pilots was not helped by the high turnover of Jobcentre Plus Childcare Partnership managers. A clear overall pilot lead should be identified who can dedicate sufficient time to the pilot in order to maintain momentum and ensure key players are involved and active.
Partnership and collaboration
8.5 Given the finding that lone parents are not a homogeneous group and often have diverse and multiple barriers to work, it is important that a partnership approach to delivery is undertaken. This should involve close collaboration with a range of organisations that have access to the target group e.g. Jobcentre Plus, Children's Information Service, schools, health visitors, early years practitioners, youth workers, voluntary organisations, colleges and the Inland Revenue (who can provide advice on tax credits).
8.6 It is important that all partners have a clear sense of purpose and clarity regarding their role in delivery. Partners benefit from meetings at key milestones to discuss progress and priorities for action that can then be cascaded within their organisation. Feedback from the evaluation suggests that Jobcentre Plus advisors benefit from continual information/updates on the progress of new childcare being implemented so that they can inform parents once childcare becomes established. Ongoing information is important given the degree of staff turnover within Jobcentre Plus.
Awareness-raising, marketing and referral
8.7 Given the finding that a (mis)perception exists amongst lone parents that there is limited childcare in their area, it is important to raise awareness of what is available on a continual basis.
8.8 Multiple strategies to raise awareness, market the pilot and promote referral should be employed. As was the experience in the pilot, this could include distributing leaflets, school bag drops, holding events (such as open days), taster sessions and referral via other agencies such as Social Work and voluntary groups. Referrals should be promoted from a range of sources through a partnership with Jobcentre Plus and other agencies, for example, outreach work. Potentially, lone parents could be informed as to what is available to them via the CIS. However, currently this is not considered possible because the CIS is not permitted to question parents on their status. A potential solution would be for the CIS to draw attention to a range of initiatives available for different target groups when individuals contact them with queries.
8.9 Nevertheless, evidence from the evaluation of Sure Start Local Programmes 16 in England suggests that hard to reach groups, such as lone parents, often do not take up services/programmes (designed to assist them) until they start to see the benefits emerging for those who have accessed them. Word of mouth is therefore an important marketing strategy for lone parents. This may imply a greater time duration for some lone parents to be attracted. Lone parents using childcare in the area, or who are successfully balancing parenting, childcare and work, could be used as champions for other lone parents.
Childcare as both a push and pull factor
8.10 It should be recognised that childcare can act as a 'push' or 'pull' into work. Therefore, strategies should be employed not only to promote available childcare once lone parents have found work (pull) but also to try out childcare before employment in order that the experience may act as the 'push' into work.
Identification and Solutions
8.11 Not all lone parents are the same. The evidence from the evaluation suggests that different types of lone parents may require different types of intervention or support to address the barriers they face. It may therefore be beneficial to market and/or deliver the pilot in different ways for different types of lone parents. In particular, the learning from the pilot suggests that some lone parents have a deep-seated preference for parental or informal childcare. This suggests that additional strategies may be required to change such parents' attitudes towards formal childcare or that an alternative approach may be required.
8.12 It is important that parents are provided with information and evidence on the benefits of good quality formal childcare if lone parents' attitudes towards childcare are to be affected.
Issues in developing Childcare
8.13 Issues in developing the supply of childcare to meet demands were detailed in Section Four. A key lesson learned is that what is commercially viable may well not match parental preferences. In developing childcare to meet the needs of (lone) parents there may well be a trade off required.
Employment issues
8.14 The findings from the pilot suggest that many lone parents have a preference to work part-time and during school hours. For some, there is also concern regarding the flexibility of employers and the suitability of local labour market opportunities. Therefore, in scoping the pilot and assessing need, it may be prudent to develop local agreements with employers and to promote more parent-friendly working practices.
Sustainability
8.15 The issue of ongoing sustainability should be addressed from the outset. It is important to develop an exit strategy so that the innovative provision set up in response to the pilot does not simply stop because pilot monies have come to an end. This is important since the provision developed is not only of potential benefit to lone parents but parents overall.
Monitoring and Tracking
8.16 It has proved difficult to assess rates of entry into work because of limitations in the monitoring information collected. It is important that monitoring information:
- can track lone parents and assess moves into work
- that baselines (in terms of childcare places, proportion of lone parents on Income Support etc.) be identified at the outset
- outlines the interventions accessed by lone parents in order that any moves into work, or otherwise, can be attributed to the pilot as opposed to other interventions that may be in place.
8.17 Issues of data protection should be considered early. This is in order to track lone parents and for the purposes of evaluation. This could be achieved through the collation of parental contact details with a statement to 'opt out' of their contact details being passed to a third party.
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