Preventing and tackling child poverty in Cornwall Cornwall School Governor Network 21st May 2011

1. Preventing and tackling child poverty in CornwallCornwall School Governor Network21st May 2011 • James Hardy, Locality Manager, Children, Schools and Families • Richard Head, Tackling Child Poverty - Inclusion Cornwall

2. Aim To raise awareness and understanding of child poverty and it’s impact on the outcomes of children in Cornwall.

3. What is Child Poverty? Individuals, families and groups in the population can be said to be in poverty when they lack the resources to obtain the types of diet, participate in the activities, and have the living conditions and amenities which are customary, or are at least widely encouraged and approved, in the societies in which they belong. (Townsned, P (1979) Poverty in the United Kingdom: Penguin)

4. Child Poverty means growing up in a low income household • Relative poverty: living in households with less than 60% of median income. • Material deprivation: combination of material deprivation and low income (less than 70% of median income). • Persistent poverty: living in relative poverty for three out of four years. • Absolute poverty: living in families with income below absolute threshold.

5. 16,650 children (under 16) in Cornwall live in poverty Child poverty at a glance 61% of households experiencing child poverty are lone parent households 1 in 3 children live in households with no working adults in 20 of Cornwall’s neighbourhoods (58% of children for the worst area) 23% of people in Cornwall who are on out of work benefits have dependent children

6. Understanding geographical variations is important for service delivery

7. Child poverty model Webpage

8. Child poverty continues to matter Education - in general educational attainment decreases as levels of child poverty increase in Cornwall. This relationship gets stronger at Key Stages 2 & 4. Patterns of under achievement get harder to reverse by the teenage years. Employment - there are neighbourhoods in Cornwall where worklessness is a severe and persistent problem. These areas are closely associated with child poverty - in some neighbourhoods over 50% of children live in benefit dependent households. Health - 11% of children in reception classes in Cornwall and 18% of children in year 6 are classified as obese. Studies show links between poverty & social exclusion. If obesity is not addressed it can result in serious medical problems including heart disease, type 2 diabetes (non-insulin dependent), high blood pressure and osteoarthritis. Social -Adults and young people convicted of offences are often some of the most socially excluded within society. Deprived areas experience a disproportionate amount of crime and there is a significant correlation between crime rates and the Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2007

9. Children’s educational attainment is the most important determinant of life chances but gaps open up early Gaps open up between high and low class children even before school Test scores of different groups of children Qualifications yield large returns Average wage returns to academic qualifications High test score at 22 months High social class Low social class A similar pattern is emerging in more recent data • At age 16, school qualifications are the most important determinant of adult earningsand time spent in education is by far the most important determinant of future social status • Disparities in educational outcomes remain high throughout school

11. Figures in the briefing are from CPAG’s recent publication, D Hirsch, Chicken and Egg: child poverty and educational inequalities, CPAG (2007).

12. Responses to child poverty need to be undertaken in the collective context of child, family, home & community LIFE CHANCES Education Childcare Health Youth Supporting families EMPLOYMENT & SKILLS Adult skills JCP Support Employment policies—flexible working etc Poverty in childhood does not translate into poor outcomes More families are in work that pays & have the support they need to progress Child’s environment support them to thrive Financial support is responsive to families’ situations PLACE & LOCAL DELIVERY Housing Localism Transport Communities FINANCIAL SUPPORT Welfare Reform WTC , CTC, Housing benefit take up

14. Locality Team Makeup • Large multi-skilled team • Additional Support Manager • Children’s Centre Managers • Family Support Workers • Youth Work Co-ordinators • Targeted Youth Support Co-ordinator • Senior SENCO • Early Years Support • Scallywags Support Workers • Family Information Advisor • Child Care and Play Development Managers • Locality Admin & Children’s Centre Admin • Volunteer Co-ordinator …………..

15. Targeted Services • Based around Children’s Centre networks • Family Support team working with Vulnerable families • Close links to Common Assessment Framework (CAF) and Early Support • Close links with other agencies – Social Work, Parent Support Advisers, Barnardos etc

16. Additional support for families experiencing particular challenges • Among these families may be: • Teenage parents • Lone parents • Families living in poverty • Workless households • Parents with mental health, drug or alcohol problems • Families with a parent in prison • Families from minority ethnic communities • Families with asylum seekers • Parents with disabled children • Parents with learning difficulties • Parents where English is not their first language

17. Everybody’s Business

20. “His parents need support to care for him” Health Visitor “His parents are ‘low skilled’” JobCentre Plus Advisor “He is absent without authorisation. . . . again” Teacher “His parents are ‘high concern and in debt’” The Housing Department “He has behavioural problems” Educational Psychologist “He’s just really antisocial.” The Community “He’s at risk” Social Worker “But I just want to live my childhood”

21. Any questions?