17 June 2010
Early Intervention – Urgent Call for Evidence of Effective Local Practice
This follows our call at the beginning of the year in response to which we received
an encouraging number and range of submissions. This latest call for evidence is
particularly important and urgent, since it is intended to garner evidence of priority
areas needed to present a more complete picture of how the whole system works, as
the basis for a substantive statement to the new Ministerial Team by mid-July.
In order for the evidence to form the basis of a substantive statement to Ministers,
we need to receive the submissions no later than Tuesday 29th June,
if at all possible. This will enable the submissions to go through the C4EO validation
process before an analysis is undertaken alongside other key strands of work, including
a rapid review of international experience and evidence currently in progress. We
will be running workshops at the ADCS Conference on the 8th and 9th July which will
provide an opportunity to share the emerging findings and seek feedback before a
substantive statement is submitted to Ministers in mid-July. Beyond this, the learning
from the effective practice examples will be disseminated widely to inform and promote
improvement in local services, as is characteristic of the C4EO approach.
We recognise this timeline is very tight, but know that you will understand the
importance of this work in the current climate. Please complete
the online template/submission form which can be downloaded from the C4EO
website. This enables you to describe the practice and tell us why you believe it
is successful.
C4EO’s latest call for evidence is particularly important and urgent, since it is
intended to garner evidence of priority areas needed to present a more complete
picture of how the whole system works, as the basis for a substantive statement
to the new Ministerial Team by mid-July.
Priority areas
There are five priority areas on which evidence of effective local practice is now
sought:
- Early identification – how children and young people in need of
intervention can be identified at an earlier stage i.e. pre-common assessment framework
stage
- 0-3 years – in recognition that what happens during these early
years (starting in the womb) has lifelong effects on many aspects of health and
well-being – from obesity, heart disease and mental health, to educational achievement
and economic status
- Promoting parental access, capacity and engagement to strengthen families
and communities – including relationship support and reducing parenting
stress, outreach work, peer and volunteer support and parents/carers supporting
each other and being co-creators in the design and delivery of intervention programmes
- Interrelationship between universal, targeted and specialist services
– how universal services (particularly schools) identify children and young people
with additional needs and signpost families to access more intensive and tailored
support through targeted and specialist services provided in universal settings
- Workforce development – up skilling the workforce through the knowledge
and use of evidence-based interventions to enable them to work with children and
families at an earlier stage.
As with the earlier call for evidence, the practice examples should focus on children,
young people and families who are vulnerable and may have needs that need to be
addressed to prevent problems escalating and requiring complex interventions later
on. Similarly, submissions need to include evidence of the interventions having
a positive impact and leading to significantly improved outcomes for children, young
people and their families. Evidence of effective early intervention in the above
priority areas will complement existing work being undertaken in relation to children
on the edge of care and broader family intervention.
How do I submit an example of effective practice?
Please complete the online template/submission form. This enables you to describe
the practice and tell us why you believe it is successful. We really want examples
where there is good evidence and some documentation on how and why the practice
has worked to improve outcomes, so the more that you can tell us about this, the
better. Also, if you have it, do send us any other substantiating evidence such
as an internal or external review, assessment or evaluation report. We do not, however,
need lots of detailed paperwork. Please do not be put off if you do not have this;
just complete the form as fully as possible.
If you have any queries or need support filling in the template, please do not hesitate
to contact Monica
Hetherington and the C4EO team at NFER on 01753 574123.
Next steps
In order for the evidence to form the basis of a substantive statement to Ministers,
we need to receive the submissions no later than Tuesday 29th June,
if at all possible. This will enable the submissions to go through the C4EO validation
process before an analysis is undertaken alongside other key strands of work, including
a rapid review of international experience and evidence currently in progress. We
will be running workshops at the ADCS Conference on the 8th and 9th July which will
provide an opportunity to share the emerging findings and seek feedback before a
substantive statement is submitted to Ministers in mid-July. Beyond this, the learning
from the effective practice examples will be disseminated widely to inform and promote
improvement in local services, as is characteristic of the C4EO approach.
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