Sparc, Babysparc and ICAN

Background The materials Evaluation Discussion

Di Pollitt and Janet PhilpottPanel, 17.10.07

Presentation to Scrutiny

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The Context

National and local evidence indicating concerns about:

Poor social skills and emotional difficulties at school entry

Limited communication skills Growing mental health issues for older

pupils Inconsistent standards in child care Increase in levels of unusual physical

development

The Emotional Literacy Curriculum

“Students who are anxious, angry or depresseddon’t learn; people in these states do not take ininformation efficiently or deal with it well… whenemotions overwhelm concentration,what is beingswamped is the mental capacity cognitive scientistscall ‘working memory’, the ability to hold in mind allinformation relevant to the task in hand”

Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence

Neural Development

Significant brain development occurs in the first three years

Neural pathways form the foundations for intelligence, social behaviour and personality

Development is based on the simplest of everyday activities

Sparc

Supporting Positive Attention and Reciprocal Communication

Sparc Aims

To promote social and emotional development, 0-6 years

To promote the inclusion of all children

To facilitate partnership working in developing the ECM agenda

Sparc Aims

To engage local people and professionals in promoting emotional health

To build the confidence and skills of local people

To facilitate the flow of information (parents/carers individual settings/schools)

Structure

Getting to Know You

Getting to Know You

Sparc Evaluation

Supports transition into nursery, through developing early concepts

Produces greater insight into child’s development, by increasing parental involvement in learning

Engages fathers Is likely to be most effective when

delivered through a home visiting service

Sparc Evaluation (2)

Initial evaluation extremely positive: broad and specific areas (see leaflet)

Identified the need for a separate ‘Baby’ pack

Babysparc

Arose from discussion with teenage parents

Addresses issues connected with physical as well as emotional development

Promotes further partnership working between agencies

Babysparc Aims

To promote early development of babies aged 0-6 months, as active learners

To help parents understand their baby’s needs

To establish firm foundations for later skill development

BabySparc Aims

To develop successful motor outcomes and prevent the onset of unusual development

To support parents as partners in children’s learning

ICAN

Focuses on skilling up the workforce, and monitoring standards

3 Levels: Supportive, Enhanced and Specialist

Establishes accredited core standards across Children’s Centres

ICAN

Aims to raise levels of communication, language and learning for children under 5

Improves social and emotional literacy

Increases the resilience of children

The Way Forward

Further develop the use of Babysparc/Sparc in home visiting, tailored to individual need

Trial Babysparc in the neo-natal unit, James Cook (350 children per annum)

Deliver the ICAN partnership agreement with Children’s Centres