The Southwark At Home Childcare Service (AHCS)

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The SouthwarkAt Home Childcare Service (AHCS)
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Introduction and background

• The At Home Childcare Service (AHCS) is an
  initiative which was
• designed to provide quality out of hours
  childcare provision within the
• childs home (where possible). Initially
  supported by the Cross
• River Partnership using London Development Agency
  (LDA) funding,
• this project ran within the London Boroughs of
  Southwark, Lambeth
• and the Queenstown Ward of Wandsworth during
  2006-2008.
• Information on the demand for childcare, was
  gathered by the then
• EYDCP Southwark Children First, childcare audit
  in 2003, which clearly
• stated the need for an increase in affordable,
  accessible and quality
• childcare, which supported parents who were
  working outside the
• regular core hours of 8am-6pm in the borough.

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What families used the At Home Childcare Service?

• The criteria which was set by the LDA was that
  families who
• accessed the service must have been
• working unsociable hours or shift work.
• accessing training or education so that they
  could progress into employment.
• Were in employment and or training and required
  respite and/or child care if they had a child
  with a special need or disability.

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What was the childcare providers role?

• The service supported childcare providers
• through the Sure Start Approval Scheme (2005) to
• deliver registered childcare in the childs own
• home to
• be responsible for those in their care at all
  times, supporting their care, learning and
  developmental needs.
• undertake tasks agreed with the parents/carers
  in advance.
• be available for flexible working hours.
• take part in continuous professional development.
• implement the policies and procedures set out by
  the service.
• help evaluate the service.

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Who were we looking for? The childcare
providers person specification

• The requirement for childcare providers to
• become part of the AHCS was that they had
• experience in early years and childcare
• a non-judgemental approach to families using the
  service, but who would follow up concerns in
  relation to safeguarding where necessary.
• the ability to provide a wide range of activities
  for children of all ages.
• an understanding of health and safety issues,
  including how to conduct risk assessments, (inc.
  the childs home).
• the ability to establish good working relations
  with children, families and other professionals.
• good communication skills.

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What was the role of the Local Authority?

• Under the requirements of the SLA with the LDA
• all three LAs were monitored against the
• following
• Business support offered and taken up
• The increase in registered childcare provision
• The number of parents accessing childcare who
  entered employment or education
• Level 2 and 3 training provided
• Ethnicity, age and disability of childcare
  providers and parents

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How has the project evolved?
Supporting isolated families through an
out-of-hours home based childcare service
Due to the success of the LDA project, Southwark
Childrens Services mainstreamed the Service when
the funding came to an end in March 2008. As the
Service was previously managed within the
childminding development team, this function was
retained, recognising the close links between
registered childcare in the childs own home to
registered childminding. This integration
allowed for the Local Authority to feel confident
there was an element of round the clock
registered home-based childcare available to
families who needed it in the borough and as such
has been included in the boroughs Childcare
Sufficiency Audit.
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The At Home Childcare Service in 2010

• The AHCS focuses on registered childminders
  seeking
• additional work outside of their main
  childminding hours (8am-
• 6pm), mainly early morning, evening, overnight
  and week-ends to
• become childcare providers on the Service.
• We also recruit childcare providers for the
  Service from other
• early years and education settings in the borough
  from the
• PVI and maintained sector, including Pre-schools,
  schools
• and after school/holiday clubs. We have found
  that practitioners
• who work part time want to supplement their
  income and are happy
• to work out side of their settings to provided
  childcare in the
• childs own home.

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The role of the co-ordinator

• Childcare provider support
• Recruitment
• Identify training needs
• Allocate training and regular information updates
• Brokerage
• Mediation
• Family support
• Link between health and social care
• Risk assessment i.e. social care referrals
• Brokerage
• Mediation

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Recruitment on to the Service

• All potential childcare providers must attend an
  informal interview
• conducted by the AHCS co-ordinator. The purpose
  of this meeting is to
• ascertain the practitioners experience,
  qualifications and training needs.
• Training is provided free of charge through the
  Southwark childminding
• training directory.
• Following this, every childcare provider must
  attend a work brief that
• provides them with an opportunity to meet other
  childcare providers on the Service
• informs them how the themes and principles of the
  Early Years Foundation Stage can be implemented
  into care provided in the childs own home.
• discusses current issues and the various
  childcare requests from families and
  organisations such as social care

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Criteria for families accessing the Service 2010

• Essentially the only main criteria that now
  exists is
• that the families must reside in Southwark.
• Some of the patterns that have emerged over the
  last 18 months
• are that the Service is sought out for families
  who have experienced
• difficulty in finding appropriate childcare that
  meets their families
• needs because they
• work unsociable hours
• Need respite care because their child or they
  themselves have a disability or additional need
• May be a family in crisis who may be at threat of
  becoming isolated and are in need of childcare
  support

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Case Studies

• Family A
• Mother recently experienced a complex
  multiple birth. Father
• works long hours. The couple are new
  arrivals to the country and have no extended
  family support their older child has additional
  needs. The mother was identified as needing
  additional support with caring for her children
  and was referred to the AHCS by her health
  visitor and family social worker.
• Family B
• Isolated single mother with mental health
  issues with two children under 5, one of whom
  has additional needs. Mother needed childcare so
  she could attend psychotherapy sessions. She was
  referred to the AHCS by her psychologist.

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Case Studies

• Family C
• Single parent mother of one child who worked an
  overnight shift
• every fifth week for that week (10pm-8am) was
  matched to a
• childcare provider who had the availability to
  provide the child
• care in the childs own home. This contract
  lasted for a year.
• Family D
• Single parent mother of 5 children working a
  variety of shifts where
• the earliest start time was 4pm and the latest
  finishing time
• midnight. These shifts included evenings and week
  ends. This
• contract lasted for 18 months.