EARLY YEARS
Service
Plan
September 2012
to
August 2013
CONTENTS
Page
1.
Executive Summary
2
2.
Great Aycliffe Town Council
2
3.
Performance Management Framework
3
4.
Equalities Statement
4
5.
Early Years Service Profile
4
6.
Contribution to Council’s Strategic Aims
4
7.
Service Vision
4
8.
Service Aims
5
9.
Service Objectives
5
10.
Investment in employees
5
11.
What we achieved last year
5
12.
Performance
5
13.
P.E.S.T. Analysis
6/7
14.
S.W.O.T. Analysis
8
15.
Risk Analysis
9
1
1.
Executive Summary
The service supplies pre-school provision to provide a service for children and their
parents / carers in Great Aycliffe.
The Service provides pre-school provision for children aged 3 – 5 in the local area, in
two settings, which are:
St Oswald’s Pre-School
Woodham Burn Pre-School
The Service is managed by the Early Years Officer, supported by the Corporate
Management Framework of the Council. The service currently offers between 70
and 140 full and part time places.
2.
Great Aycliffe Town Council
The Council achieved Quality Parish Status in 2004/5. Quality Parish Status is a
scheme organised by the Government to encourage Town and Parish Councils to
take a greater role in representing their community, and in providing and supporting
local services. Following the designation as a Quality Parish, the Council agreed a
strategic statement in February 2005, which is that Great Aycliffe aims to be:
“A quality Council, working in partnership, listening to and speaking up for the
community, to bring excellent services to Great Aycliffe.”
In support of this statement, the Council agreed the following strategic Aims:
1.
To provide good quality governance and management of the Council.
2.
To manage the council’s finances and assets in a responsible manner.
3.
To provide accessible, affordable leisure facilities and opportunities.
4.
To provide pre-school education as appropriate in Great Aycliffe.
5.
To contribute to the environmental improvement of Aycliffe by managing and
developing parks, play areas and green spaces.
6.
To help and encourage partnership working to improve the services and
facilities for the residents of Great Aycliffe.
7.
To encourage the residents of Great Aycliffe to become ore involved in local
democracy.
8.
To research information and make the case for Great Aycliffe.
2
3.
Performance Management Framework
The Council’s approved performance management framework as detailed below,
helps to demonstrate how the Council’s Strategic Aims and Targets from the Parish
Plan link to the Council’s other strategies and how they feed down into the aims and
objectives of individual service areas, right down to the objectives of individual
officers, and how these combine to help the Council deliver its aims.
Medium Term Financial Plan
Service Business Plans / Budgets
Aims & Targets Action Updates
Action Plans
Individual Projects
Employee Reviews
3
Value for Money & Efficiency
Service Reviews & Performance Monitoring
Parish Performance Plan
4.
Equalities Statement
Although this is an internal working document we have taken the decision to make
this available to anyone whom may be interested in pre-school provision and
services within Great Aycliffe.
Great Aycliffe Town Council is committed to the removal of all barriers preventing
access to our services arising from ethnicity, religion, special needs, language
differences, learning difficulties, sexual orientation, gender, age, disability or
geographic location.
Information will generally be provided by the Council in English only. Where we are
required under other statute to provide certain information in other languages, this
information will be translated. You can request an alternative format copy by
contacting Great Aycliffe Town Council on 01325 300700.
5.
Early Years Service Profile
St. Oswald’s Pre-School
St. Oswald’s provides 30 places, both full and part time. It is open from 8.45a.m. to
3.30p.m.
Woodham Burn
Woodham Burn provides 40 places, both full and part time. It is open from 8.45a.m.
to 3.15p.m.,
Both Pre-Schools are open Monday to Friday during school term time only, there are
five member of staff in St. Oswald’s Pre-School and six at Woodham Burn PreSchool.
Contribution to Council’s Strategic Aims
6.
The Early Years Service will assist in achieving the Council’s Aim 4 – “To provide
pre-school education as appropriate in Great Aycliffe”.
7.
Service Vision
The Pre-School vision is to provide a high quality service to the people of Newton
Aycliffe and the surrounding areas, where every child feels safe, is happy and has
fun in safe and secure learning environments.
Great Aycliffe Town Council provides this Service for the following reasons:

The Council is committed to supporting the local community.

The Council deems this provision to be necessary.

The Council is satisfied that the Service is valued by customers.
4

8.
The Council is satisfied that the Service represents good value for money.
Service Aims

To provide pre-school education as appropriate in Great Aycliffe.

To provide high quality, pre-school provision that will enable families to reach
their full potential.

To develop further and improve on our last Ofsted inspection result.
9.
Service objectives

To provide a safe, stimulating and challenging environment for children,
supervised by suitably qualified, experienced and dedicated staff.

To provide ‘peace of mind’ to parents/carers who wish to place their children
in the care of the Service.

To ensure that children will be treated as individuals and nurtured.

To offer a flexible service that is able to meet the needs of local families.
10. Investment in employees

It is clearly acknowledged and recognised that the employees are the facilities
greatest assets in a front line service and they should be constantly customer
focused.

Annual appraisals are completed and a training plan put in place to provide
the training requested and/or required.
11. What we achieved last year
Over the last year we have achieved the following:
Both Pre-Schools have been full to capacity all year.

All staff completed training on the new Early Years Foundation Stage.

Three members of staff completed Level 2 Safeguarding Children training.

The staff at Woodham Burn received refresher training on the use of Epipens.

An additional Pre-School Assistant was appointed in Woodham Burn PreSchool.

Both Supervisors completed Health and Safety Awareness Training
5

Other training undertaken by various member of staff included:o
o
o
o
12.
Special educational need Co-ordinators
Level 1 Safeguarding Children
Behaviour Management Strategies
Report writing for children with additional needs
Performance
Each Pre-school has an Action Plan which takes into account all development
improvements identified throughout various inspections and our self evaluation
process.
The action plans for 2012/2013 will be monitored on a regularly by the Early Years
Officer.
13. P.E.S.T. ANALYSIS
Introduction
This PEST analysis is merely a framework that categorizes the external issues and
factors surrounding the political, economic, social and technological forces.
In analysing the macro-environment, it is important to identify the factors that might
in turn affect a number of vital variables that are likely to influence the operation of
the Early Years Service.
6
PEST ANALYSIS
FACTORS
NOTES
POTENTIAL
IMPACT
IMPLICATION AND IMPORTANCE
Type:
Impact:
Importance:
How might the factors
on the left impact on
our business
High, Medium
Low
Undetermined
Strength
Weakness
Opportunity
Threat
Increasing
Unchanged
Reducing
Unknown
Critical
Important
Unimportant
Unknown
Opportunity
Unknown
Important
ACTION
POLITICAL

Changes in
government policy
May affect funding
and staffing.

Ofsted Inspections
Loss of the provision.
High
Opportunity
Increasing
Critical
Undetermined
ECONOMIC

Employment
Affects the spending
resources available.
High
Weakness
Reducing
Important
Keep prices and costs low.

Energy use and
costs
Instability of pricing.
Medium
Threat
Increasing
Important
Be more aware of energy
use and saving measures.
Childcare no longer
needed or unable to
afford.
Medium
Threat
Increasing
Important
Making information
available on council
website.
Low
Opportunity
Unknown
Important
SOCIAL

Job losses and
increased
unemployment
TECHNOLOGICAL

Internet
7
Ensure website is up to
date and current
information is advertised.
14. S.W.O.T Analysis
In order to improve Early Years Service, it is important to analyse the existing
internal strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats which may impact on
service delivery.
Strengths














Weaknesses
Trained and experienced staff
Good retention of staff
Low charges
Reputation
Adult to child ratio of 1:8
Partnership with parents
Partnerships with external services
Sole use of rooms
Good quality care
Communication
Secure and stimulating
environments
Liaise with the community
Supported by the Council
Good Ofsted reports


Opportunities





Council committee structure decision making
Paperwork
Threats




Increase marketing
Take younger children
Operate summer play schemes
Self Evaluation Procedure /
Development Plans
Changes to legislation
8
Slow take up of places
Reduction or withdrawal of funding
Removal of council support
Changes to legislation
15. Risk Analysis
This list is by no means exhaustive and risk assessments are being undertaken in
detail and reviewed on a regular basis.
Detail of Risk
Current Control
Score
Lack of innovated service delivery
Investigate options, prepare business
cases
Low
Not realigning hours to extend
service
Start forward planning
Low
Withdrawal of Ofsted registration
Policies and procedures in place
Low
Staff: child ratios not met
Policies in place
Low
Policies and procedures not kept
up to date
Policies in place, regular reviews held
Low
Lack of adequate resources
Develop forward plan
Low
Access to premises by
unauthorised persons
Policies and procedures in place, staff
CRB checks
Low
Loss of children when undertaking
outside activities
Roll call in / out. Policies and procedures
in place, high adult: child ratios
Low
Loss of income
Unpredictable, but monitored monthly
Medium
Low uptake of places
Unpredictable
Medium
Power failure – unable to provide
service
None
Medium
Lack of corporate forward
planning
None
Medium
Lack of adequate qualified staff for None
future development
Medium
Lack of adequate security of
records
Undertake data protection / FOI training.
Affirm policy with staff
Staff moral affecting service
delivery
Improve communication
9
Medium
Medium