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Evidence to Education
Commission
Impact of neglect
Sally Robinson, Assistant Director (Children’s Services)
Danielle Swainston, Head of Access and Strategic
Planning
Brain development
• At birth our brains are only 25% developed
• By age 3, a child’s brain has reached almost 90% of its adult
size and has accomplished 80% of its total development.
• The growth in each region of the brain largely depends on
receiving stimulation.
• This stimulation provides the foundation for learning.
Experience Affects the Structure of the Brain
• Brain development is “activity-dependent”
• Every experience excites some neural circuits and leaves
others alone
• Neural circuits used over and over strengthen, those that are
not used are dropped resulting in “pruning”
The pattern of neglect
Intervention ceases
'Good enough' level
Intervention
Intervention
Thepattern
patternofofneglect
neglect
The
Intervention ceases
Good enough level
Intervention
Intervention
Failure of cumulativeness
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Threshold for
intervention
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Cumulativeness
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Threshold for
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Building a child
Building a child is like building a house, each
new level built on the one below. If the lower
levels are unsound, no amount of tinkering with
the upper floors will make it stable.
Independent reports supporting
early intervention
• The Early Years: Foundations for life, health and learning. Dame
Clare Tickell
• The Foundation Years; preventing poor children becoming poor
adults, Frank Field
• The Next Generation: A policy report from the Early Years
Commission, Centre for Social Justice
• Early Intervention: The Next Steps, Graham Allen
How the department has utilised early
intervention research in delivering solutions.
• Universal Plus Pathway
• 2 year old childcare
• Think Family, Think Communities
• Effective interventions
Universal Plus pathway
• Integrated pathway with health - pregnancy to 2 years old;
• Family Support worker allocated to every pregnant mother in
hotspot area;
• If there are identified needs Family Support Worker will
undertake common assessment;
• Family Support Worker supports family to access children’s
centre services
2 year old childcare
• Children identified by national criteria
– Phase 1 from Sept 2013 (400 children)
– Phase 2 from Sept 2014 (700 children)
• 97% of eligible children have taken up in Phase 1
(One of the best take up figures in the country)
• Working with providers to increase places for Phase 2
Think Family, Think Communities model
(Troubled Families programme)
The five family intervention factors
• Dedicated workers, dedicated to families
• Practical ‘hands on’ support
• A persistent, assertive & challenging approach
• Considering the family as a whole
• A common purpose and agreed action
Multi agency team
Effective interventions
• Family lead plans;
• Workers to be the resource to support the plan developed with
the family;
• Use of solution oriented/ strengths based approach across all
our work;
• Development of a toolkit to support workers to effectively
support families to make positive change