Flying Start in Carmarthenshire

Flying Start is a new Welsh Assembly Government initiative aimed at providing intensive support services to 0-3 year old children and their families. The focus of the programme is on promoting language, cognitive, social and emotional skills, physical development and the early identification of high needs. This is to be achieved through the delivery of four service strand areas: high quality centre based free childcare for 2-3 year olds, increased Health Visitor input, Parenting programmes in homes and groups, Basic Skill programmes including; extension of the Books for Babies and Language and Play schemes.

The programme, which is pan-Wales, is currently being developed in all Local Authorities in Wales and targets the most deprived areas. Within Carmarthenshire we have identified the following eight catchment areas to receive Flying Start services: Betws, Bigyn, Carway, Felinfoel, Morfa, Llwynhendy, Lakefield/Copperworks, Richmond Park (Carmarthen).

This is a heavily monitored and prescribed programme from the Assembly and will follow the developmental milestones of the children receiving intensive services. Implementation of the Flying Start programme is currently being lead by, the Carmarthenshire Children’s Partnership, on behalf of Carmarthenshire County Council.

The FSHV will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team based in Unit 7, Llanelli Industrial Park, Llangennech. There will be a phased approach to commencing the FS programme to reflect the recruitment process. The key members of staff already recruited and in post are:

• Nia McIntosh, Flying Start Coordinator
• Liz Wilson, Flying Start Health Visitor Team Leader
• Sian Lewis, Early Years Teacher
• Helen Patient, Basic Skills Officer
• Helena Burke, Parenting Officer
• Alex Eynon, Parenting Officer
• Paola Perkins, Performance and Monitoring Officer
• Emyr Davies, Finance / Admin Officer
• Laura Davies, Admin Officer
• Amanda Thomas, Health Visitor
• Meg Davies, Health Visitor
• Julie Cudd, Health Visitor
• Caroline Jenkins, Health Visitor
• Georgina Abbley, Health Visitor
• Karen Thomas, Health visitor
• Gwyneth Davies, Health Visitor
• Helen Davies, Midwife
• Clare Price, Speech & Language Therapist
• Elonwy Williams, Support Officer
• Nicola Jenkins, Support Officer
• Emma Kearney, Support Officer

Flying Start Team Contact Telephone Number: 01554 821589; fax number: 01554 821674

Strand 1 – Childcare

The largest part of the Flying Start service, with the objectives being to deliver free part time childcare places for 12.5 hours per week for all children aged between 2-3 years (from the term following their second birthday to the term in which they celebrate their third birthday, for 2.5 hrs per day), for 42 weeks of the year with some additional provision being made for exceptional circumstances. Within the prescribed geographic areas, childcare is a universal provision available to all families regardless of income and assessed need (eligibility will be confirmed by postcode).

Flying Start has commissioned childcare from a range of private and voluntary providers. We aim to establish a total of 237 new childcare places for the Flying Start programme by the end of March 2008. Childcare has been commissioned from the following providers within the geographic catchment areas:

• Bigyn – St Paul’s Family Centre and Myrtle House Day Nursery
• Betws – Cylch Meithrin y Felin, Ysgol Betws
• Carway – Cylch Meithrin Carway, Primary School
• Felinfoel – Cylch Meithrin, Community Education Centre
• Morfa – Jellitots playgroup (CYCA), Morfa Junior School
• Llwynhendy – Integrated Childrens Centre
• Lakefield-Copperworks – CYCA Teddybears Nursery
• Richmond Park – Argel Family Centre, Ty Ni and Ty Hapus Family Centres

Strand 2 - Health Visiting

The role of the Health Visitor is central to the Flying Start programme and the caseload ratio has been specified by the Welsh Assembly Government as 1 Health Visitor to 110 families. In Carmarthenshire this team of 8 experienced practitioners will offer, in addition to the Universal Child Health Programme, additional assessment and health facilitating programmes for the infant/child/parent and community. Health visitors will also be trained in:

• 'Neonatal Behaviour Assessment Screening' (NBAS).
• Solihull Approach
• Webster Stratton Incredible Years Parenting Programme

Telephone number: 01554 820916; Fax: 01554 820774

Midwife - will focus on education, advocacy and parenting skills and support service, in particular for teenage mothers and young parents, will also give advice on contraception, sexual health and will work closely with the generic Midwifery teams ensuring the engagement of the vulnerable and hard to reach client groups. Speech and Language Therapy - the specific details of this post are still being developed.

Strand 3 - Parenting programmes

A range of parenting programmes are delivered within Carmarthenshire and delivered by local providers already working within the county, such as NCH, Surestart Mentoring schemes, Family Centres, and partly through 1:1 support offered by Flying Start Health Visitors, such as Handling Children’s Behaviour, Webster Stratton Incredible Years programmes and local programmes such as Stepping Stones.

Strand 4 - Basic skills programmes

This service strand promotes the following three elements: Language and Play (LAP), Numbers and Play (NAP) and a ‘Books for Babies’ Scheme. Parents attend along with children to learn how to interact, play and stimulate their child’s development through use of words, phrases, songs and rhymes.

© August 2008