Brighter FuturesPartnership delivery in Dacorum

Working together better to help parents into employment

27 March 2013

1. The issues for Dacorum

2. The Brighter Futures project

3. Lessons from the project evaluation

4. What we learned from working in partnership

5. Outcomes and next steps

Child poverty in Dacorum

• The average proportion of children living in poverty across the UK in 2010 was 20.6%

• 26 wards in Hertfordshire had higher levels of child poverty than this

• Within Dacorum, Adeyfield East, Adeyfield West, Grovehill, Hemel Hempstead Town Centre, Highfield and Woodhall Farm all had higher than average levels of child poverty

• Poverty not evenly distributed but ‘pepperpotted’ within wards

Child poverty in Woodhall Farm

The Brighter Futures project

• A partnership between Jobcentre Plus, West Herts College and Dacorum Borough Council

• Funded by Hertfordshire County Council’s Child Poverty Strategic Objective Group, the Skills Funding Agency, and Hertfordshire Adult and Family Learning Service

What was on offer?

• Two courses, each of three half days over three weeks

• Timed to fall outside school hours

• Aimed to support parents to access further work and training opportunities

• Information from Dacorum Borough Council and JobCentre Plus on welfare reform and changes to the benefits system

• Held in a community location with funding for childcare and transport

• 25 attendees over the two courses

• Targeted at parents living in the worst affected areas

• Referrals from JobCentre Plus advisers and through targeted mailings from Dacorum Borough Council

• Evaluation through survey and focus group to learn more from the project

Lessons from the project evaluation

• Importance of location

• Importance of childcare

• Need for flexibility within existing support

• Importance of personal development and experience of training opportunities

Benefits of partnership working

• Different referral routes

• Identifying and combining resources

• Providing a holistic service

Outcomes and next steps

• One person in work, one interviewing, one enrolled on an apprenticeship

• 95% of attendees reported greater confidence in applying for jobs

• 95% of attendees said the skills they had gained would help them find work

• 95% of attendees reported better understanding of upcoming changes to benefits and how this would affect them

• 9 attendees said they would like to go on to volunteer

• 6 attendees said they would like a work taster

• 16 attendees said they would like to access more training

Next steps for us

• Use this course and delivery model as a gateway

• Bring in more services and information

• Look at different partnership models and what they can bring/who they can reach

• Follow up – 15 attendees were willing to be contacted again to assess the longer-term impact of the course

Any questions?