The Sure Start Initiative in Ensuring Childrens Optimal Development - Essay Example

The Sure Start Initiative in Ensuring Children’s Optimal Development Children are considered blessings from God. The birth of a child is celebrated by the whole family and community. The saying “It takes a village to raise a child” is true in most situations. A child can be viewed as a symbol of a new chance at having to mold another human being into someone whose potentials are optimally realized. Children hold a very special place in society. Parents and advocacy groups strive hard to work for their benefit. With the overriding belief that they are tomorrow’s leaders who will inherit and rule the earth, they are to be regarded with due care and respect. The United Nations International Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is dedicated to promoting children’s rights all over the world. Sprung from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations has proclaimed that childhood is entitled to special care and assistance. It recognizes that the child is entitled to a quality of life that promotes his or her well-being in order to grow up maximizing his or her potentials as an individual. It considers “that the child should be fully prepared to live an individual life in society, and brought up in the spirit of the ideals proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations, and in particular in the spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality and solidarity” (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, (1989). The UK is signatory in the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child. Every five years, the UK government is required to report to the UN Commission on its progress in implementing the convention in the country. It is expected that all government departments hold responsibility to promote the convention and the five key outcomes set out in Every Child Matters. This document provides the vehicle for the delivery of the convention in the country. It widens the scope of government involvement in children’s development and challenges all those involved with children to develop effective practices in promoting positive developmental outcomes for all. Inspectors of children’s services will be looking for evidence that “Children and young people, parents and carers are involved in identifying their needs and designing services” and “Children and young people contribute to performance management and their views are listened to” (Ofsted, 2004). The Children Act 1989 covers the following: “reforms the law relating to children; makes provision for local authority services for children in need and others; amends the law with respect to children’s homes, community home, voluntary homes and voluntary organizations; makes provision with respect to fostering, child minding and day care for young children and adoption and for connected purposes.” (DfEs Children Act and Reports, 1989; 2004). This act is further polished with Children Act 2004 and provides a wider strategy for improving children’s lives. “The overall aim is to encourage integrated planning, commissioning and delivery of services as well as improve multi-disciplinary working, remove duplication, increase accountability and improve the coordination of individual and joint inspections in local authorities.: (DfEs Children Act and Reports, 1989; 2004). Sure Start is the government’s initiative to deliver programmes that ensure the best start in life for every child. Established in 1999, Sure Start brings together early education, childcare, health and family support services for families with children aged five and under. As the government’s drive to fight child poverty and social exclusion, Sure Start works with parents and future parents, carers and other professionals working with children to promote the physical, intellectual and social development of babies and young children so they are readied for the challenges of school. Sure Start also networks with other service providers from the health, social services and early education sector as well as voluntary, private and community organizations to provide the necessary services for young children and their families. Sure Start Children’s Centres have been built around the country offering high quality integrated Early Years services to local communities. It is foreseen that by 2010, there will be 3,500 children’s centres available to every family so they have easy access to the high quality services and benefits Sure Start provides (Sure Start, 2009). As early as children turn three or four years, they already have free access to part-time (12 ½ hours per week, 38 weeks per year) early education, as there are over 37,000 settings offering free, Government-funded early education in various sectors. Sure Start centres comply with the quality set by the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) to give children the best possible start to their learning journey (Sure Start, 2009). Sure Start upholds guiding principles drawn from best practices in early education and childcare. The organization believes in the following: Working with parents and children Services for everyone Flexible at point of delivery Starting very early Being respectful and transparent Being community driven and professionally coordinated Being outcome driven Although every family should get free access to Sure Start services, it is not the same service for all. Services are customized according to the needs of the families and the locations they are at. Factors such as schedule, transport issues, and care issues for other children in the family are considered so health and support services are availed through a single point of contact. This makes it convenient to the families Sure Start serves. Sure Start advocates very early interventions to support families and children. This includes advise on preparation for parenthood, health in pregnancy, childcare options, etc. This is to prevent any untoward events that may happen and to prepare for a “sure” start in children’s lives. Sure Start believes in customer focus. It aims to provide the ultimate service experience by listening to what the customer needs and delivering the services expected in consultation with the community and professionals they work with. Aiming for better outcomes for children, the government reduces bureaucracy and simplifies funding systems so that initiatives are easily implemented A similar organization in America catering to the needs of families and children exists under the name of Head Start. It is America’s national program promoting school readiness in children through enhancement of social and cognitive development. This is met with the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social and other services to children and their families (Head Start, 2009). Head Start catered to preschool-aged children and their families and Early Head Start catered to babies aged 0-3 and their families. These provided the models for Sure Start, as they had precedence in government-funded services for children and families since 1965 (Early Head Start was initiated in 1994) (Gray & Francis, 2007). Head Start’s objectives were “to enhance children’s social, emotional and cognitive development, to improve parenting and to help parents meet their own goals including economic independence” (Gray & Francis, 2007, p. 656). The social services of Head Start include early education, parent education, health services, pregnancy care and advise, case management and peer support. Funding comes mainly from the federal government, supplemented by state funding. Both Head Start and Early Head Start are widely considered to be successful, as evidenced by longitudinal studies of adults who availed of these services as young children. Head Start is committed to ensuring the wellness of children and their families. It commissions the Child Health and Development Services to collaborate with families, staff and health professionals to identify child health and developmental concerns. In doing so, children and families are provided with an ongoing source of accessible care to meet basic health needs. In terms of education, the Education and Early Childhood Development sector are commissioned “to provide all children with a safe, nurturing, engaging, enjoyable and secure learning environment, in order to help them gain the awareness, skills, and confidence necessary to succeed in their present environment, and to deal with later responsibilities in school and in life” (Head Start, 2009, para.2). Head Start schools treat each child with respect and acknowledge diversity. The programs offered support the total growth and development of children including their physical, social, emotional and cognitive areas. Parents are enjoined in Head Start programs as they make progress toward their educational, literacy and employment goals. Like Sure Start, Head Start also networks with various agencies in pursuit of the delivery of comprehensive child development services to economically disadvantaged children and their families. Special focus is on helping very young children in developing early reading and math skills to prepare them for success in school. Both organizations ascribe to the belief that supporting children in their earliest years will give them more chances of success in developing their optimum potentials. Gray and Francis (2007) distinguish Sure Start interventions from others by noting that it is area-based rather than being targeted at specific groups of children and parents. This means that all children living in a Sure Start Local Programmes (SSLP) area are eligible to avail of its services. Another distinction is that SSLPs have been granted considerable latitude regarding the combinations of services they provide and the ways they provide it. In contrast, many US interventions follow a centrally designed programme model which practitioners faithfully adhere to (NESS 2005). Sure Start’s approach is intended for more flexible implementation responsive to local needs and priorities. However, quality control of satellite programmes may be challenging. In view of providing children with high quality education, the training of teachers and staff is given priority in both Sure Start and Head Start organizations. Sure Start services adhere to standards set by the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). This may serve as the measure of quality control for SSLPs. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is a resource for early childhood care and education practitioners to support the needs of young children under their care. It sets standards for learning, development and care for children up to five years of age. EYFS provides a wide variety of information on child development to help practitioners understand how children grow and what they need to help them optimize their potentials. The use of this resource will effectively enable early childhood settings to meet the key outcomes outlined in Every Child Matters and to ensure that high quality service is provided to the children. Caring for all children regardless of age involves many considerations. One is to see each child at his or her own developmental level and create activities and opportunities appropriate to their particular levels. The child needs to develop holistically, meaning each developmental area is given attention to so growth and development as a whole person ensues. The specific areas of learning and development, as identified in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) are: Personal, social and emotional development; Communication, language and literacy; Problem-solving, reasoning and numeracy; Knowledge and understanding of the world; Physical development and Creative development (EYFS, 2007) These are all linked together, as in development in one area affects the others. The practitioner needs careful planning and implementation of activities so that children under their care grow in all areas. The EFYS works around four essential themes namely: A unique child; positive relationships; enabling environments and learning and development. Sure Start may have its own achievements in the dissemination of their services and fulfillment of their goals, but they have yet to learn much in terms of experience, being only on its 11th year. Head Start, spanning over 40 years have much to teach its protégé organization. The fact that the UK government is bent on expanding Sure Start to cover more people in the provision of its service, the US experience may be looked into for some lessons in expansion. The wisdom gained in more than 40 years of service provision by Head Start suggests that large-scale, rapidly expanding early childhood interventions like Sure Start “may face issues around funding and maintenance of quality; balancing fidelity to models with flexibility to local conditions; the potential for conflict between a commitment to parental empowerment and a ‘deficit’ model of the poor and, lastly, around differential impact” (Gray & Francis, 2007, p. 660). With regard to large-scale initiatives, funding is usually an issue in the delivery of quality. Some Head Start programs with inadequate funding have been known to suffer low quality due to its inability to pay qualified staff and purchase quality materials for the children (Gray & Francis, 2007). With an increase in budget for human services, Head Start programs had more liberty to improve its quality of service, and even coming up with stricter standards for practitioners. Sure Start currently enjoy enough funding from the government since it is apparent that the government considers children’s and family development as a priority in the national budget. However, more disadvantaged SSLPs may need more funding than is usually allocated as more basic needs should be met. Maintenance of quality is also a challenge, however, the availability of EYFS as a guide to practitioners gives Sure Start an anchor of strength. Fidelity to a prescribed model may be compromised with the consideration of local cultural factors. For instance, the program should be able to adjust to the prevalent culture of the area Sure Start provides service to. Parental involvement in the programme offers more benefits than disadvantages. Not only are parents given jobs to do, but their presence in the child’s schooling may also be inspirational in the academic performance of their children. More importantly, parents learn more effective parenting skills that help them in rearing their children and help them towards their optimum development. My Personal Perspective I have always believed that early education benefits children well not only for the short term of their development, but for lifelong influences. Barnett and Lamy (n.d.) documented a number of longitudinal studies on the effects of attending preschool on a person’s future success as an adult. People who underwent preschool programs were compared against a control group who did not. Those in programs were adjudged to have better, more successful lives in general – had more motivation to finish school and take further studies, got employed in better jobs, etc. Schulman & Barnett (n.d.) specifically studied its effects on personal responsibility and social behavior. Perhaps, positive experiences derived from early experiences in school contribute to long-term positive social personalities. However, Schulman & Barnett as well as Herzenberg, Price and Bradley (2005) lament the deterioration of the availability of high quality early childhood education. One major factor is the professional training and qualification of teachers of very young children. The shortage of well-trained, credible teachers who possess the right personal qualities necessary for preschool teachers is becoming widespread. Government funds simply cannot provide the proper training for them, much less, the salaries and benefits they need. Hence, it is a sad reality that many children miss out on the benefits of quality care and education. More basic than education, health of children all over the world, is likewise at risk, as reported by UNICEF (2008) in its report on the State of the World’s Children 2009. My readings have impressed upon me a sorry future for today’s young children if people will not move to make it better for them. The existence of Sure Start and Head Start has given me enough hope that there are efforts from the government and private sectors to upgrade the quality of lives of children to give them the right start in life. The provision of the needed services for their health and education as well as for their family’s welfare indeed goes a long way in increasing their chances of success in the future. What is inspiring is their well-laid plans to help out disadvantaged families not only in terms of the services they need but also of equipping them with skills to better their lives. Lilian Katz’ (2003) report on “What is Basic To All Our Children” discuss ways for people to cooperate in delivering quality early childhood programs to children worldwide. Katz advises the bottom-up perspective, meaning children’s perspectives and experiences must be taken in consideration. What are the concepts and skills they need to learn relative to their life stages? What kind of environment would they thrive best? How do they learn best? Instead of always complying with what adults around them believe in when it comes to their own welfare. I am aware that Sure Start, in their desire to provide the best are looking into these and collaborating with EYFS to ensure that these are met. Children’s best interests are on top of their priorities. As an individual, I believe, if we desire a better quality of education and life for our children, we must begin with ourselves. Aspiring educators should thoroughly study what it entails to be a great teacher of young children. For instance, if play is the most natural thing for them, then how do we use play as a learning avenue for them to gain skills they need to learn? How can we make learning more fun instead of a drudgery? How can we inspire them to be lifelong learners? Of course, it would greatly help if people at the top of the ladder believe in the same things idealistic teachers do. Government has the power to influence schools and administrators in implementing developmentally appropriate practices in education. Once they are in, they can become strong allies. Volunteerism is also a strong asset of Sure Start. Dedicated teachers may offer their services to train younger and less experienced teachers. It may take a whole nationwide campaign to awaken everyone’s awareness of the issues involved. Likewise government funding should prioritize education, as it is indeed a legacy we leave to the future citizens of the land. Sure Start’s initiatives indeed help children to fulfill their potentials. Providing high quality services to address health, education and family needs ensures young children’s optimal development. Empowering their parents to nurture and care for them and raising them to be successful individuals not only in terms of knowledge and skills but also of character is a noble task. With Sure Start, the saying “It takes a village to raise a child”, is translated into reality. References Barnett, W.S. & Lamy, C.E. (n.d.), “Estimated Impacts of Number of Years of Preschool Attendance on Vocabulary, Literacy and Math Skills at Kindergarten Entry” DfEs Children Act and Reports, (1989; 2004) information retrieved on February 8, 2010 from http://dfes.gov.uk/publications/childrenactreport/#1989 and http://dfes.gov.uk/publications/childrenactreport/#2004 Gray, R. and Francis, E. (2007) The implications of US experiences with early childhood interventions for the UK Sure Start Programme. Child Care, Health and Development, Vol. 33 , No.6, pp.655–663 Head Start (2009) Information retrieved on February 7, 2010 from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/index.html Herzenberg, S., Price, M. & Bradley, D.(2005), “Losing Ground in Early Childhood Education Declining Workforce Qualifications in an Expanding Industry, 1979-2004” Katz, L. (2003) “What Is Basic To All Our Children: A Contemporary Perspective”, Paper presented at the OMEP World Council and Conference, Kucadaci, Turkey, October 5-11, 2003. National Evaluation of Sure Start (NESS) (2005) Early Impacts of Sure Start Local Programmes on Children and Families. Retrieved on February 8, 2010 from http://www.ness.bbk.ac.uk. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, (1989) Convention on the Rights of the Child, Geneva, Switzerland. Ofsted. (2004). Every child matters: Inspection of children’s services: Key judgments and evidence. Retrieved February 7, 2010 from www.ofsted.gov.uk/everychildconsultation. Schulman, K. & Barnett, W.S. (n.d.), “What Impacts Does Preschool Education Have On Personal Responsibility And Related Social Behavior?” Sure Start (2009) Information retrieved on February 7, 2010 from http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters/earlyyears/surestart/whatsurestartdoes/ The Early Years Foundation Stage, (2007) Effective practice: Play and Exploration © Crown United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) (2008) The State Of The World’s Children 2009: Maternal and Newborn Health Read More