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Thursday 18 October 2018

An update from Welsh Governement - Family Information Service


Family Information Service
Welsh Government Update – September 2018


Issue:

Parenting. Give it Time campaign
Background:


The ‘Parenting. Give it Time’ website provides a wealth of information and support for those raising little ones from tips on managing tricky moments and behaviours such as tantrums to advice on balancing screen time, brain development, work-family balance and the importance of looking after yourself.
Update:
21/09/2018








As part of the ‘Parenting, Give it time’ campaign on 30 October 2017 we announced the four Faces of Parenting in Wales winners, real families who are the new faces of our positive parenting campaign.  Since then, the public has got to know the families, through reading their own accounts of life as parents of young children, as well as through photographs, videos and posts on the campaign’s website. *Update* Three of the families have agreed to continue on and be part of the campaign for 2018-19, we will continue to use the images and blogs of al 4 families. The families will be trying their hand at Vlogging in the New Year and we have been filming them to be in our ‘hub’ films to promote our messages through digital channels. These will be launched at the end of October.

In April 2018 we awarded the contract for the next phase of the campaign to SBW advertising to manage the Media and PR for 2018 to 2021. SBW are assisting us with creating a fresh new look for our Facebook page, with a move towards creating themes for each month and then posts that compliment that theme. *Update* We have developed an advert to promote our key messages which will be launched on October 24th 2018 at an event with the Minister in Swansea. The advert shows a child growing from a baby to the age of 7, we purchased exclusive right to the footage from a Dutch artist who filmed his daughter every day from birth to aged 18. The original film had 17.5 million view on YouTube. Once live we would appreciate your help to promote the advert. 

SBW will also be assisting us with promoting positive parenting techniques during the launch of the legislation.

Contact:



Issue:

Legislation to remove the defence of reasonable punishment
Background:



The First Minister confirmed in his legislative statement in July 2017 that the Welsh Government remained fully committed to removing the defence of reasonable punishment and would consult on proposals in the next 12 months, with a view to introducing legislation in Year 3 of the legislative programme.

Update:
20/09/2018





The Minister for Children and Social Care launched the consultation on legislative proposals to remove the defence of reasonable punishment on Tuesday 9 January. The consultation closed on 2 April and the summary of responses document was published on 6 August. It can be found here….


In his statement of 17 July 2018 the First Minister of Wales reiterated the Welsh Government’s commitment to children’s rights, by introducing a Bill to remove the defence of reasonable punishment, with in year 3 of the legislative timetable [between Sept 2018 and July 2019]. If passed this legislation will prohibit the physical punishment of children by parents and those acting in loco parentis within Wales.
Contact:

Email: TalkParenting@gov.wales / TrafodMaguPlant@llyw.cymru  


Issue:

Play
Background:
Play Sufficiency Assessment progress reports and Action Plans
Local authorities will be asked to submit their progress report on the Play Action Plan for 2017-18 and their Play Action Plan for 2018-19 by 30 June 2018.
Update:
21/09/2018
Wales was the first country to legislate on Play.  “Wales - A Play Friendly Country” is Statutory Guidance to local authorities in assessing for and securing sufficient play opportunities for children in their areas. It supports local authorities in complying with the duty under section 11 Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010, which commenced on 1st July 2014.

Wales - A Play Friendly Country sets out a number of underpinning principles which Welsh Government expects local authorities to work to when responding to their duties to assess and secure sufficient play opportunities:

• Partnership working and collaboration
• Consultation, Participation and Engagement

It refers to the following Matters:

Matter A         Population
Matter B         Providing for diverse needs
Matter C         Space available for children to play
Matter D         Supervised provision
Matter E         Charges for play provision
Matter F         Access to space/provision
Matter G        Securing and Developing the Play Workforce
Matter H         Community Engagement and Participation
Matter I          Play within all relevant policy and implementation agendas

The Play Sufficiency Assessment Toolkit was developed in 2012 by Play Wales and the Welsh Government in conjunction with play providers across Wales as a means of supporting the implementation of the duty.  Local authorities must undertake a Play Sufficiency Assessment every 3 years and work with their partners to secure sufficient play opportunities that meet the needs of families in their areas, including those living in areas of deprivation and with diverse needs.  Welsh Government requires local authorities to develop and review action plans each year to record progress and identify and set out actions to be taken during the following year.

Over the last five years the Welsh Government has provided local authorities with £6.7 million to help them meet their play sufficiency duties.

Local authorities are due to submit their full Play Sufficiency Assessments (PSA) by 31 March 2019.  The PSA toolkit has been updated based on feedback from the local authority PSA leads and will be circulated shortly. 

In May 2018 local authorities were reminded of the requirement to develop a clearly identified play section on their website.  This information should be displayed in a way that supports children and families to know what is available in their local areas. It should also include actions that local authorities propose to take to achieve sufficiency and to improve inclusive play opportunities.    
Contact:

Website:




Issue:

Childcare, Play and Early Years Workforce Plan

Background:



Early Years is one of the five cross cutting priorities of the Prosperity for All: the national strategy published on 19 September. We want children from all backgrounds to have the best start in life.

In December 2017, the WG published its 10 year Childcare, Play and Early Years workforce plan.  The plan will play a vital role in supporting this aim and sets outs its vision to professionalise the sector under 3 key themes.  These being:
·         raising skills and standards;
·         attracting high quality new entrants; and
·         supporting the sector to build its capacity and capability.  

Update:
20/09/2018








Implementation of the plan will initially focus on the actions to be taken in this assembly term and will include support for new and existing businesses, consideration of business rates, the development and delivery of a new suite of qualifications for the sector covering levels 1-5 from September 2019; and a recruitment and retention campaign. 

We have been working with the sector on the development of  business support and skills assistance to ensure we are providing support which will assist to address the challenges and issues faced by the sector in the current economic climate; and to help support the sector in taking up the opportunities offered under the development of the governments free childcare offer. 
Contact:








Issue:

Parents, Childcare & Employment (PaCE)
Background:



PaCE aims to help parents who are out of work improve employment prospects.  It does this by providing access to training and development or job opportunities that might not otherwise have been possible due to childcare commitments.  PaCE helps with the cost of childcare while parents undertake training and development to gain the skills they need to get a job. 

PaCE is a £13.5m programme backed with £8.5m EU funds, aiming to support approximately 8,200 people across Wales and help over 1,600 in to employment over the course of the project.

Update:
20/09/2018








Up to 31st August 2018, PaCE had engaged with 3314 eligible parents and helped 1105 of those in to employment, so just over 30% of people we work with are moving into jobs over 16 hours per week.

Over 43 PaCE advisers are in post across the majority of local authorities in Wales.  They all have access to an array of promotional materials in hard copy and also electronically, including posters, leaflets and flyers, so if you need any PaCE publicity please let us know.

Please contact the PaCE mailbox if you don’t know who your local PaCE contact is, and we’ll help you make contact with them (pace@gov.wales).

Contact:






Issue:

Foundation Phase

Background:



The Foundation Phase (FP) is a flagship policy to provide developmentally appropriate learning/curriculum for 3-7 year olds modelled on Scandinavian approaches. It is the bedrock of the education system and links to education reform set out in Successful Futures; to tackling deprivation and to National Literacy and Numeracy Programmes (and early language development). 
Update:
19/09/2018








Please find enclosed the new Welsh Government guidance for Local Authorities on Foundation Phase provision for three and four year olds in Wales. 

The new guidance documents can also be accessed on the Welsh Government website here.

Contact:






Issue:

ACEs
Background:



As part of the focus on supporting the development of resilient communities, and on improving outcomes for children and young people, Welsh Government is promoting a focus on preventing and mitigating the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).  Welsh Government already funds and supports a number of programmes and interventions which are aimed at preventing ACEs, or intervening early to reduce their impact.  These programmes often also address other key issues in improving outcomes for children, for example neglect, early attachment and bonding, or poverty.

Alongside this, the Cabinet Secretaries for Communities and Children and for Education have contributed £400,000 to the setting up of the ACE Support hub, the aim of which is to enable ACE informed professionals and organisations, and develop an ACE aware society.  Public Health Wales is also contributing to the setting up and running of the ACE Support hub. 

Update:
19/09/2018




Work around raising public services awareness of, and action to tackle ACEs is continuing. A task and finish group has been established to review the Flying Start Programme through and ACE and Children’s Rights lens, with a view to developing a toolkit which can be used by the Welsh Government and others to review their own policies and programmes to make them ACE informed.  The task and finish group is due to meet for a second time next month, with a view to completing its task by next spring.

Welsh Government officials are working with the ACE Support Hub to support the development of ACE informed public services which can help to tackle ACEs and break the intergenerational cycle of ACEs. It is also working with other partners as part of the Early Action Together project, which is funded by central government via the Police Transformation Fund, to transform the policing of vulnerability by adopting an ACE and trauma informed approach.
Contact:




Issue:

Children First
Background:


In October 2016, the former Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children, invited organisations to develop “children’s zones for Wales, collaborating seamlessly to improve children’s and young people’s outcomes”.

This approach - now called Children First in Wales – aims to enable organisations to come together:
      around a specific place
      to work collaboratively for the children and young people in that place
      to reduce the inequalities these children face compared with children and young people in more socially advantaged areas

It is an approach, facilitated and enabled by Welsh Government, rather than a new funded programme.  The following five proposals have been selected to pioneer the approach.

Proposer/ anchor organisation
Location
Caerphilly County Borough Council
Lansbury Park and Fochriw
Carmarthenshire County Council
Glanymor and Tyisha (Llanelli)
Cwm Taf Public Service Board
Gurnos and Ferndale/ Tylorstown
Gwynedd Council
Maesgeirchen (outskirts of Bangor)
Newport City Council
Bettws and Pillgwenlly


Update:
19/09/2018


Work to develop Children First Pioneer areas is continuing. The Welsh Government has offered each Pioneer area seed funding of up to £20,000 to help them to take forward the development of their Children Community. The funding is being used for a variety of purposes in the different areas including to bring in additional staffing resources, to engage external expertise, to develop resources and for community engagement activities. The Welsh Government has also supported areas to develop their ‘Theory of Change’ models by  facilitating individual workshops, which have been attended by the partner organisations in each area.  On Friday, 21st September, there was a joint meeting held between the Pioneer and non-Pioneer areas, which was also attended by representatives of the Wallsend (Newcastle) Children’s Community, who were able to share their own experiences of developing a children’s community.
Contact:




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