Pembury Children s Community Impact Report April March 2016

Transcription

1 Pembury Children s Community Impact Report April March 2016

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3 Contents 04 Introduction 04 The changing Pembury estate 05 The Children s Community approach 06 Our achievements April 2015 March Early years 2. Secondary school and transition to adulthood 3. Support for parents 4. Feedback from Pembury families 12 A new community centre 13 Engaging the community 14 The future

4 Introduction The changing Pembury estate The Pembury Children s Community is an ambitious 10-year programme led by Peabody, Hackney Council and Save the Children. It aims to significantly improve the lives of the 900 children and young people living on and around the Pembury estate in Hackney, providing joined-up and sustained support across the different parts of their lives. Our 10-year vision, initially set out by Peabody and Hackney Council, is that: Pembury, a beacon in Hackney, will be a vibrant and aspirational place to live, because it is: Safe and attractive A community that is ambitious A place where children achieve and are surrounded by positive role models In 2013, longstanding employment and youth work initiatives on the estate were strengthened, new pilot projects started and local partnerships built, leading to the formal launch of the Children s Community programme in This report highlights our impact from April 2015 to March There has been a high level of investment in the estate in recent years, including improvements to residents homes and physical surroundings, the completion of 268 new homes (bringing the estate total to over 1,500 homes) and a large new community centre, which opened in October Peabody have done a great job, blocked up all the alleys, and cleaned up the whole estate. Made it brighter and more presentable Pembury parent Pembury is now a popular estate that has a strong sense of community. In a survey, the majority of residents (74%) felt that Pembury is becoming a better place to live and 85% were very positive or positive about being part of the Pembury community 1. On the whole, over the past five years, do you think that the Pembury estate has got better or worse to live in or have things not changed much? Got better Not changed much Got worse Not lived here that long No opinion/ don t know 1.0% 2.7% 12.7% 9.1% 74.5% How positive do you feel about being part of the Pembury community? Very positive Positive Neither positive nor negative Negative Very negative 27.0% 4.3% 0.9% 9.5% 58.3% These percentages are based on surveys with 110 people between July 2015 and January 2016 These percentages are based on surveys with 115 people between July 2015 and January Based on surveys conducted by Peabody with 117 participants in Children s Community programmes in Peabody Pembury Children s Community Impact Report April March 2016

5 The Children s Community approach The Children s Community model brings together a wide range of partners to ensure co-ordinated early intervention in all aspects of children s lives, from cradle to career. Pembury is one of four pilot Children s Communities in the UK that are being championed by Save the Children and evaluated by the University of Manchester. In Hackney, the Children s Community brings together Hackney Council, Peabody, schools, health services and the voluntary sector. Together, we want to connect both children and their parents to the existing network of services in the borough, as well as bringing services closer to the community when appropriate and exploring where improvements can be made. Alongside this, we are working to build the capacity of individuals and the community to help themselves and support one another, drawing on the many talents and resourcefulness of Pembury residents. We launched the Children s Community with Pembury residents in July 2015 with a fun day attended by over 450 residents. Children s Community partner organisations came together with local residents to plan the event and residents ran stalls to fundraise for their groups, including Pembury Inspire, an informal parents group, a Pembury young mums group, Pembury over 50s group and Bright Learning, a group that runs homework clubs and stay and play sessions on the estate. People have a really stereotypical idea of this area, but they are wrong. I love the sense of community. Pembury Youth Club member T-shirt making workshop at the Children s Community launch in July 2015 Peabody Pembury Children s Community Impact Report April March

6 Our achievements [The breakfast and after-school club] allows me to go to work and my children have improved academically. They are learning new skills, more independent, knowledgeable [I feel very positive about living on the Pembury estate because] they really take care of children, there is lots happening Breakfast and after-school club parent Pembury Children s Community s achievements between April 2015 and March 2016 are summarised below under our three workstreams: 1. Early years and primary school 2. Secondary school and transition to adulthood 3. Support for parents 1. Early years and primary school Consultation with parents on the estate highlighted gaps in services for families, particularly childcare. The Children s Community partnership has supported Pembury Pre-School to expand their childcare offer and carried out joint outreach to engage vulnerable families with their local Children s Centre. Peabody have supported a volunteer-led family literacy project and Hackney Playbus have established a new group offering peer to peer support and professional advice for new and expectant parents. A volunteer-led community initiative, Bright Learning, ran homework clubs for children aged eight and above on the estate for four days a week during term time. Pembury Pre-School: breakfast and after-school clubs impact on families Number of parents Based on surveys in June 2015 with 11 parents who have children enrolled at Pembury Pre-School s breakfast and/or after-school club 6 Peabody Pembury Children s Community Impact Report April March 2016

7 The early years baby group has helped me in making friends in the local area, it s different to the early years centres, it s an intimate group to discuss personal issues, where I m heard and I m listened to Now I play and do more games with my baby. Pembury early years baby group parent participant Reading from the Start, Peabody s family literacy project has provided a free book every month to 158 children on the estate aged under five years. Seventy-eight children have attended two or more reading group sessions run on the estate. Pembury Pre-School has established well-attended breakfast and after school clubs for 53 Pembury children and increased daytime places from 23 in to 41 in , benefiting 66 children. In October 2015, Brook Children s Centre relocated their family services into the new Pembury Community Centre, offering sessions four days a week, attended by a total of 95 children under five over six months. Peabody successfully fundraised for a holiday playscheme for younger children on the estate, attended by over 30 children aged five to 11 in February and March Clara is a mother of two with limited English. Peabody s parent adviser encouraged Clara to take the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) assessment and accompanied her to her first ESOL class at the Brook Children s Centre and helped settle her children into the crèche. The adviser helped her to get a childcare place for her two-year-old at Pembury Pre-School and went with her to the parents evening at the primary school to discuss her six-year-old s progress. Clara s son attended the homework club on the Pembury estate four days a week and the adviser passed on feedback from his teacher to the homework club mentors. Clara has now improved her English and become confident enough to talk to the teachers and nursery staff and her six-year-old is progressing at school. A family enjoying activities at a Reading from the Start event A family at the Children s Community launch in July 2015 Peabody Pembury Children s Community Impact Report April March

8 Our achievements 2. Secondary school and transition to adulthood A range of organisations have come together to provide a comprehensive offer for Pembury young people. Peabody is working with Mossbourne Academy and Stormont House, the schools closest to the estate, to ensure students in their final years of education are offered the best possible opportunities to succeed in their careers and everyday lives. Partnerships between Peabody, Hackney Council for Voluntary Service, Talent Match and Bootstrap have continued and led to employability events, business enterprise bootcamps and apprenticeship fairs. Young people have accessed a range of quality apprenticeship, employment and training opportunities through a wide network of providers, including Hackney Ways into Work, A New Direction and Young London Working. The Pembury Pass project for 16 to 24 year olds has provided 29 young people with intensive one to one support and coaching in Five have completed work experience placements, 10 have taken part in training programmes or secured college/university places and 13 have progressed into apprenticeships or employment. Pembury Youth Club has grown and an average of 90 young people attend each week. Estate-based school holiday provision has expanded with more than 100 five to 18 year olds taking part every half-term. Pembury young people successfully bid for 8,000 from the Youth Opportunity Fund, enabling them to organise their own activities, events and residentials. Forty-three young women have been supported through the Threads fashion project to improve their self-esteem, increase skills and confidence and work towards an accreditation. Terry (far left) at the British Ambassador s residence in Paris Terry was referred to Pembury Pass from Mossbourne Academy as he was at risk of being excluded from school. Outside school, he was getting involved with the wrong crowd and engaging in risky behaviours. Terry was interested in IT and technology and was accompanied to digital skills workshops where he created his own webpage. He also wanted to do more in his community and he completed the Peabody Young Ambassadors programme, achieving a Level 2 Young Ambassador s award. From there, he joined Peabody s Youth Board, including taking part in a trip to meet the British Ambassador in Paris. Threads fashion project Feedback from Terry s teachers is that his behaviour at school has markedly improved and they are happier with his progress. 8 Peabody Pembury Children s Community Impact Report April March 2016

9 I gained invaluable confidence and ideas from this course. It s helped me to become a better parent and look at better ways of dealing with problems which come up Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities course participant 3. Support for parents Overall the Children s Community has supported more than 200 local parents from April 2015 to March Many of the parents we are working with are out of work for a range of reasons; including limited English, low confidence levels, limited work experience, and are unable to take up learning or volunteering options without available childcare. In addition to increasing childcare provision on the estate, there have been four main strands to our work with parents: offering support and coaching to parents to address the barriers preventing them moving into education, employment and volunteering an estate-based employment service and increased access to adult education and volunteering opportunities on Pembury providing two 12-week parent training programmes, run jointly by Linden Children s Centre and Peabody creating opportunities for parents to meet other parents, expand their networks and support one another, including initiatives led by dads A family at the Children s Community launch in July 2015 Emmanuel is a single father who has custody of his son. Unemployed for over 10 years, he was struggling to get on top of his rent arrears. We helped him to apply for a Peabody hardship fund to get furniture and curtains for his flat. Emmanuel was also referred to Peabody s Revenues Officer to help him to begin clearing his arrears. Emmanuel wanted to get back into work and was helped to get a job with Groundwork, we also offered welfare benefits advice to ensure he was better off financially. The parent advisor also helped him apply for a place at secondary school for his son. Emmanuel is now working for Groundwork. His job, which he loves, fits with his childcare responsibilities, he is better off financially, and says that both he and his son are happier. [The parent advisor] has helped me tremendously with furniture, rent and helping me to find work. She has been the only person who has helped me since I ve had custody of my son six years ago. The team helped me find work so I am financially better off; I also now know what I am entitled to. Me and my son are both happier, our lives are better, I ve got a job right on my doorstep that I love and I m not sitting at home depressed anymore. Peabody Pembury Children s Community Impact Report April March

10 Our achievements I feel like I am a part of a big family Parents coffee morning participant Since April 2015, Peabody has helped over 65 parents address the barriers they face in moving into education, training and work and supported 81 local people into jobs Together, Peabody and Hackney Learning Trust brought adult education assessments and courses onto the estate, supporting 22 parents to enrol on literacy, numeracy, IT and ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) courses 45% of the 24 parents that completed the Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities course said that it had improved how they felt about their relationship with their child and 69% thought it had a positive impact on their child s self-esteem. Marlene is a single parent of a 10-year old and three-year-old twins with severe autism. Working with the London Borough of Hackney s Family Support Worker, the estate parent advisor worked to tackle the family s rent arrears, address the damp in their flat, apply for a bigger property and access more than 800 of additional benefits they were entitled to each month. The parent advisor accompanied Marlene to a meeting with council, health and school staff focusing on her 10-year-old s behaviour in the classroom this is now gradually improving and Marlene is improving her confidence. At least 75 parents have attended a coffee morning on the estate, offering peer to peer support and the chance for jointly planned activities, with parents reporting increased confidence, improved knowledge and new friendships. Pembury Inspire parents group selling their crafts DJ workshop at the Children s Community launch in July Peabody Pembury Children s Community Impact Report April March 2016

11 4. Feedback from Pembury families Peabody conducted surveys with 117 participants in Children s Community initiatives in The majority (66%) of participants said that the Children s Community had enabled them to make new friends, 56% said it had increased their confidence, 56% thought it had given them more opportunity 2, 50% felt they had increased their skills and 39% increased their knowledge of initiatives within the Children s Community. If it wasn t for the community centre and the pre-school, I d still be at home feeling depressed. Now I have much better prospects and feel that my life is getting better. I ve lived in Hackney all of my life and Pembury used to have a negative reputation but my experience has been nothing but positive Pembury Pathways participant Volunteers at the Children s Community launch in July such as volunteering opportunities, work placements, the opportunity to enrol on courses or work, taken them to places they would not otherwise go, involvement in the youth board or supported them with various applications including UCAS applications. Peabody Pembury Children s Community Impact Report April March

12 A new community centre October 2015 saw the opening of the brand new Pembury Community Centre as a resource for Pembury residents and the local community. The centre has become a vibrant hub offering a diverse programme of activities for residents of all ages. It offers a café, health hub, fitness classes, First Steps psychology service, Children s Centre sessions, youth club, employability support, parenting programmes, cookery classes, homework clubs and social activities. There has been an average of 252 visits to the community a week in the first six months, the centre has provided jobs for four local residents and volunteering opportunities for 16 residents. Youth Club has done a lot for me, I ve had a rough time, at the youth centre I am comfortable Pembury Youth Club member The youth centre is another home for young people. It just brings a lot of peace and calmness within young people. Pembury Youth Club member The Youth Club has let me experience things I have never imagined Pembury Youth Club member Pembury Community Centre. 12 Peabody Pembury Children s Community Impact Report April March 2016

13 Engaging the community The work of the Children s Community is based on the priorities of Pembury families. For example, Peabody consulted with over 10% of households on the estate to gather views about the new Pembury Community Centre and conducted surveys with 113 of the children and parents who participated in Children s Community programmes this year. Further work was done by the Linden Children s Centre and Pembury Pre-School to help us understand young children s views of where they live and consultations have also focused on fathers to hear their views. In 2015, Peabody commissioned the Innovation Unit to conduct ethnographic research with a broadly representative sample of nine families on the estate. This research sought to understand families experiences of living on Pembury and helped them to explain the challenges they faced, the support they were receiving, their social networks and their hopes for the future. Taken together, this work has given us a rich source of ideas to inform our plans for and beyond. We re now establishing a steering group made up of local residents of all ages to help us take these plans forward. Ethnographic research with Pembury families Peabody Pembury Children s Community Impact Report April March

14 The future The Children s Community is already making a difference on Pembury, growing the confidence and skills of Pembury families and helping residents access opportunities in Hackney and across the capital. Moving forward, we will build on this success and continue to grow our local partnership, working with residents, as well as learning from other Children s Communities in the UK, so that we can have the greatest positive impact on children and young people s lives. Having fun at the Children s Community launch in July Peabody Pembury Children s Community Impact Report April March 2016

15 Peabody Pembury Children s Community Impact Report April March

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