Equal - Digital Repository

Aim

Our aim was to bring childcare, playwork and social enterprise together to provide better services for communities by strengthening the childcare/playwork sector’s ability to provide a comprehensive, high quality service that meets the needs of the community, and improves the quality of the sector’s jobs.

Objectives

There are three strands to this DP in the Childcare and playwork sector.

• 1.Carry on playing: Ways of sustaining children’s play and childcare sector – examine ways of helping to support and maintain schemes through social enterprise.
  
  
• 2. Careering into play: Looking at how to upskill children’s play and childcare sector – outputs that improve quality of jobs, promote continued professional development and further the training infrastructure.
  
  
• 3. Boosting childcare and play: ways of growing the children’s play and childcare sector.

Main Outcomes

• Raising the profile with decision makers in public sector and in VC sector of social enterprise in the County together with raising the idea of social enterprise as a route to sustainability and a means of raising income.
  
  
• Creating the Voluntary management committee toolkit – particularly for small service providers in childcare and play sector.
  
  
• Provided legal guidance for community childcare organisations – widespread interest including at Governmentt level – DfES, DCMS, SBS. Quality in Play – QA scheme for chidrens play providers. Taken up across the country.
  
  
• Social care services in Suffolk, now include social enterprise (childminding) – supported by Children’s Fund as a way of contracting out to provide social services.
  
  
• Childcare and Playwork now working together through eg Skills Active and 4 Children (formerly Kids Clubs) network and Suffolk Social Care More cohesive career structure for people in child care and play sector.

University of Gloucestershire

Information for Transnational partnerships

Action 2: 30 September 2005
Action 3: 14 November 2005

• A range of new training programmes and a framework for qualifications has been developed and progressed through the QCA. The qualifications are for appropriate levels of employment.
  
  
• A Degree course has been introduced at University of Gloucestershire which can be undertaken as a part-time student.
  
  
• The Act of Parliament 'Every Child Matters' requires public bodies to ensure that minimum entitlements are available to every child. The structures established and community links forged under the EQUIPE EQUAL project will be used to help to ensure that the obligations under the Act are met and that every child is reached.