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Flying Start Update The Flying Start Team are once again fully staffed following a successful appointment of new Health Visitors for the Catrefle, Hermitage and Whitegate areas. We have a shared caseload arrangement which will bring value to the team in the form of added experience from two Health Visitors instead of one. We have also recently appointed a Part-time Speech and Language Therapist who will give one day per week to Sure Start and an additional day to Flying Start. Bethan Griffiths, our Midwife has commenced implementation of the New Entrant Pathway which was ratified by the Steering Group earlier in the year. This enables generic practitioners (Midwives and Health Visitors) to refer potential Flying Start families into the scheme for assessment. To ensure that families with increased need who live within the Flying Start areas receive our service there are 3 Pathways into Flying Start. This commences Ante-Natally and includes referrals from Generic Health visitors after birth. Bethan is also the Sure Start Midwife and continues to divide her time accordingly, receiving referrals for families across the localities. Having recently trained in Baby Massage she is able to offer this in the home and at the Drop-Ins which are happening in Llay, Gwersyllt and Caia. The Nursery Nurses provide exceptional support to the team, alongside their Sure Start commitments. They undertake a visit to all parents and their babies between 1016 weeks after birth. They provide health promotion interventions such as advice and support around immunisations, weaning, attachment, breast feeding promotion and home safety. In addition they are Solihull Trained and provide packages of care in the home and within groups about child behaviour management. There are 3 Language and Play groups running at present which are facilitated by the Family Support Workers, with input from the Nursery Nurses. These are taking place within Drop-Ins in Llay, Gwersyllt and Plas Madoc. An Incredible Years is planned for the autumn to take place in Penycae for any families across Flying Start who wish to attend. Jan Morris one of our FSWs and Helen Andrew a Nursery Nurse will be delivering this with support from the Educational Psychologist, John Evans. A new Baby and Toddler Drop-In Clinic is due to start at the Venture after the summer holidays on a Wednesday morning. This will coincide with other groups offering a wide choice for families with children of different ages, and for families with different needs. The Speech and Language Team continue to visit children within the home and/or in a group setting. The benefit of having a service which parents can access direct is clear. Early intervention is known to reduce the likelihood of later problems with speech and communication. They have also provided training for the Childcare Workers at each of the settings, and are easily accessible for advice and support to them and the team. The addition of Sarah Brady will enhance their service provision, including involvement in the Bump and beyond Programmes which continue across the area. Our Community Psychiatric Nurse is employed for 15 hours a week. Andrea is an extremely valuable member of the team, providing support and learning opportunities for the practitioners on an every day basis. All of the Family Support Workers are Portage trained, with Sarah Gray taking a lead in this area. Referrals for Flying Start families have been exceedingly slow, resulting in Sarah now visiting all of the Childcare settings to provide information about the Portage service to enable early identification of children with extra needs. The recent return of two members of the original Sure Start team has enabled us to address some of the more intensive ‘Bend to Fit’ expectations. Monica Edwards has re-commenced an evening programme with young people focusing on childcare, whilst Jane Lloyd will extend her professional development role and take on more on Caia Park around Breast feeding Support. The team have just completed a wonderful leaflet which outlines briefly the members of the Health and Social Care Team. This is freely available to practitioners and families alike. The Professional Leaflet has gone for printing, and will shortly be available for circulation. We welcome students of many disciplines and feel we can offer a very special experience to health and social care professionals. Childcare There are now 11 Flying Start childcare settings in Wrexham with at least one in each of the 11 Flying Start areas. There are two Welsh medium settings north and south of county and also the two family centres support children with higher needs. The most recent settings which opened after Easter are in Penycae, Llay and Bodhyfryd. When oversubscription to any childcare setting occurs a panel consisting of: Advisory Teacher- Deb Jones, Development Officer - Rebecca Heyward-Jones, Administration Assistant-Jane Roberts to minute the meeting, and the child’s Flying Start Health Visitor will meet to apply criteria so that the children in most need are offered a place first. Another teacher, Ailsa Hitchcock, has been appointed to help support the childcare settings and Melita Colling from the Early Education team will act as a liaison between the Flying Start and Early Education settings. The 5 module learning programme for delivery in the childcare settings, with input from each Local Authority, but led by Wrexham, has now been received from WAG. Training for childcare staff will commence in the Autumn term. Childcare staff have already received training in Developing the Environment and Developing Speech and Language and setting supervisors have now attended and passed the SOGS assessment training. Roy Marshal, Flying Start mini bus driver started in May and is sometimes available to transport children to Welsh medium and family centre childcare when the family are unable to provide their own transport to settings. During other periods he provides transport to hospital and doctors appointments and takes groups on trips. He also maintains various settings and undertakes handy man duties to assist the project. Basic Skills LAP programmes are beginning to role out in Flying Start areas. The Venture Early Years Centre is providing a rolling programme of Lap and Nap, and parents waiting for a childcare place are also accessing LAP. The LAP team have established a mother and toddler drop-in session at Kingsley Circle community centre every Wednesday morning which is very well attended. The health team and the childcare supervisors have been trained to deliver LAP and will be delivering in the near future at community drop in sessions and in the home when required. ‘Let’s Play’ packs have been developed in Wrexham, to be used by professionals working with families. The aim is to help improve the basic skills of the children by encouraging the parents to interact with them. The pack consists of 4 appropriate toys to suit the age groups 0-6 months, 6-12 months, 1-2 years and 2-3 years. Booklets for parents, with ideas to support the play and a guidance for professionals is also included. The pack will be given to the family after a play session. Subsequent visits will be made to consolidate the messages being given and to develop good quality play. The pack will be evaluated on a regular basis to identify how useful it has been for parents and how it might be delivered in the future. For further information contact the Flying Start Development Officer, Rebecca Heywood Jones on 01978 317678 or for information about the Health & Social Care Multi-Agency Team contact Team Leader Fran Dale on 01978 265395/823716