The Bristol Supported Day Care Scheme is provided by the Early Years and Childcare Service. It supports around 120 ‘children in need’ as defined by the Children Act 1989, at any one time. The majority of children are preschool age and placements are primarily with up to 100 childminders who belong to the scheme. However other forms of day care – nurseries, preschools and out of school schemes are sometimes used, and children up to eight years are eligible.
The Supported Day Care Team is made up of 4.2 full time equivalent Placement Officers who have a background in social work, child and family support, the regulation of children’s services and as early years child care professionals.
What we do:
- Provide a preventative service to children in need and their families to reduce the need for statutory intervention by acute children’s services.
- Provide a service to facilitate the assessment and monitoring of children in need, those with special needs and those in need of protection.
- Provide a service for ‘looked after children’ to minimize disruption to their lives during temporary periods in care and to promote their learning and development
- Support young parents (up to 19 years) in accessing childminding placements funded via the ‘Care To Learn’ scheme to cover training; monitor and review these placements.
- Recruit, select, support and train a network of around 100 registered childminders with the aim of providing high quality day care to children in need and sympathetic support to parents under pressure. The purchase of services from these independent day care providers means that the scheme has a significant impact on the sustainability of childminders, particularly in areas of disadvantage, while providing child care from a home based setting.
- Chair preventative multi disciplinary day care panels across the city to allocate childcare on the scheme and within nurseries/children centres.
- Recruitment, support and training for all those interested in becoming childminders across the city, working closely with the childminder support team.
- Complement other services provided by the local authority and the private and voluntary sector.