Respect
What does this mean for Gloucester?
Gloucester has been chosen from a longer list of areas with significant challenges, where more action is needed. They are areas that have a track record of achievement but, more importantly, have shown the commitment and capacity to do much more.
New statistics show that the extra powers that have been made available to clamp down on anti-social behaviour are increasingly being used across the country - powers such as Acceptable Behaviour Contracts, Parenting Orders and ASBOs.
The first wave of 40 Respect Areas who have made a commitment to go even faster and further in tackling anti-social behaviour and its causes. These Respect Areas have earned the right to be exemples of the Respect programme by their strong track record in tackling anti-social behaviour and a willingness and capacity to do more.
The first Respect Areas have signed up to providing:
- Family Intervention Projects that work intensively to challenge and change the behaviour of the most problematic households.
- Parenting programmes for families at risk of/or behaving anti-socially.
- Face the People sessions where the police, local authorities and others can be accountable to their local public.
- Keep up the relentless action to tackle anti-social behaviour by using the full range of tools and powers available.
- Promoting the Respect Housing Management Standard to ensure a consistent, responsive service from landlords for all social housing tenants.
New money is available to back this drive with the Department for Education and Skills making available £6 million in 2007-08 to enable Respect Areas to invest in extra parenting provision to tackle and prevent anti-social behaviour
What is the purpose of the new funding?
The Respect Task Force is providing funding to 77 target areas in England to support parenting provision linked to Anti-Social Behaviour teams. Up to £50,000 per authority will be provided in 2007-08 as well as any salary costs incurred over the remainder of 2006-07. This resource should be sufficient to cover the salary costs of a senior parenting practitioner. The objective of the new post is to ensure staff working to tackle anti-social behaviour are easily able to refer families to parenting programmes.
What are these new practitioners actually going to do?
The funding will be used to employ practitioners who would be able to deliver structured parenting programmes to the parents of families exhibiting anti-social behaviour, or at risk of doing so. They will be more likely to work with parents in group sessions lasting 8-13 weeks although one to one work may be needed in cases where parents' needs are so great that they are unable to attend a parenting group. The new practitioners will deliver parenting support to parents who attend this voluntarily as well as parents on parenting orders.
They should work to increase the awareness of practitioners in anti-social behaviour teams about the value of referring to parenting provision. For example they might regularly discuss cases or check case files to ensure that colleagues are using this provision in all cases where it might be beneficial.
We are also keen that these practitioners work to improve links between anti-social behaviour teams and other services providing parenting support (for example, health services, Youth Offending Teams, Children's Services and new parenting provision linked to Family Intervention Projects) and also contribute to strategic planning and commissioning of parenting services.
Does it have to be a specific post to deliver parenting work or can it be used for other things?
Our preference is for a dedicated post to deliver parenting programmes to households being worked with by anti-social behaviour teams. This is the current gap we have been told about that we are seeking to fill.
Training and supervision
We will be providing the training and supervision needed to make sure these practitioners can deliver the effective programmes that work. DFES are setting up contracts with three training provider organisations to train practitioners in areas in which we are setting up Family Intervention Projects. The 77 new posts will be provided with the training and supervision needed as part of these contracts. Arrangements for accessing this training will be confirmed in the near future.
Training will be available in three programmes. These are Triple P, Incredible Years and Strengthening Families. If areas would prefer their practitioner to use a different programme and wish to make their own arrangements for training and supervision then this will be considered. We would however want to see the case for this and evidence that the alternative programme is effective in tackling anti-social behaviour.
Location of the parenting practitioner
Practitioners should be based in or clearly linked to Anti-Social Behaviour teams. The precise arrangement will depend on what is most useful locally. If they are based outside the anti-social behaviour team then they should have clear links to this, possibly through reporting lines to a senior officer in the anti-social behaviour team.
Can the funding be used for an existing person?
Yes, provided the post fulfils the role envisaged in this note and that Respect Task Force funding for the post, combined with existing funding for any existing post, adds to local provision. The RTF funding cannot be used simply to substitute existing funding.
Funding
We will pay salary costs incurred during the remainder of this financial year (i.e. up to 31 March 2007) on the basis of a claim. Next year an upfront payment of £50k will be provided on the basis of the case made and triggered by confirmation that the practitioner has been recruited and started in post.
Availability after 2007/8?
After 2007-08, as with all Government funding, we will not know whether we will be able to fund these posts until the 2007 spending review has concluded (but expect to be able to confirm the position on this during 2007).
What level practitioner should be recruited?
This post needs to be filled by a fairly senior parenting practitioner with relevant experience. For example, they should have some of the following:
- Experience of delivering structured parenting programmes/support (preferably an evidence based programme although this is not essential as training will be provided in these)
- Experience of working with parents
- Experience of working with children with behavioural difficulties
- Good knowledge of child development
The post should be sold as a real development opportunity given that it comes with guaranteed training and supervision. Secondments could be appropriate.
Links to parenting strategies, parenting champions/commissioners and the change for children agenda
The new post should be well linked with DFES agendas, for example:
Parenting strategy: Local authorities have been asked by recent DFES guidance to develop a parenting strategy [Parenting Support Guidance for local authorities in England, DFES (2006) available at http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/resources-and-practice/IG00169/ ]
This should link together and set out provision available to meet all levels of need, including provision available for families at risk of anti-social behaviour of which today's new resource is a critical part.
The new practitioners should also be able to contribute to local authority moves to place parenting provision on a more strategic footing. The new practitioners should be involved in local multi agency meetings to discuss local needs and to plan provision.
Parenting champion: local authorities have been asked to nominate a senior parents champion/commissioner who will ensure parenting is a priority for children's trusts and forms a key part of strategic planning in children and young people's plans. The new practitioners should be in regular touch with the parenting champion who plays an important role in ensuring the provision provided by the ASB team is well linked with other provision available in the area.
Change for children agenda: This new resource for ASB teams will contribute to delivering shared outcomes for children and young people.
Evaluation
We are currently considering how we assess the impact of the new practitioners and what indicators we might look for e.g. courses run, parents helped etc. More information about this will be provided at a later date.