Changethinking

Nothing new in the fact that childcare is hard to afford and the cost remains one of the biggest barriers to accessing high quality early years education.

The good news is the extension of free places to 40% of the most disadvantaged 2 year olds and the 15 hours a week for 3 -5 year olds. But there remains the problem of the impact that the freeze on aspects of the child tax credit and working tax credit creates.

But there is good news in the London authority of Westminster. A brilliant pilot says Children and Young People Now, “Should go some way to show parents making the first steps into work that childcare is affordable and necessary to boost aspiration and social mobility.”

To secure a place at a nursery parents can be asked for approx £1000 to pay for the first 4 – 6 weeks. Quite daunting and often impossible.

Westminster’s affordability pilot, which will run until 2013, will underwrite the risk and postpone the fees for about 90 families. Parents will then pay at the end of the 6 week period, allowing for a delay in tax credit receipts.

Anna Devine, Childcare Marketing Facilitation Manager for Westminster, is confident that the programme will enable families to take the first steps and it is only if the parent does default that Westminster will have to pay the setting.

A positive move from a local authority when times are difficult and one step towards making life easier and a better chance for young children.

Sue Martin

Some startling figures emerging about Children’s Centre closures…

In November the government confirmed that 124 Sure Start centres had closed, (Children and Young People Now). In addition, there is much evidence that formation of clusters and alternative ways of meeting the community needs are being applied in local authorities.

When the council budgets are being squeezed there have to be cuts on the ground. The impact on centres and communities is felt by some of the people most in need.

Mergers, clusters, closures may be unavoidable when finance is the main driver.

The benefit of a good neighbourhood Sure Start Children’s Centre for all the community is incalculable. One that is serving the needs and being there for young children and their families creates enormous social wealth and prevents much hardship.

We welcome the opportunities that an All Party Parliamentary Sure Start group will bring to the continued existence and governmental backing for Sure Start Children’s Centres.

Childcare policy and the wider role of the community was the focus of the Daycare Trust annual conference in London on 22 November.

A subject one would expect to have been well and truly embedded in the structure of our society. All the evidence clearly indicates the benefit of excellent early years environments and good foundations for young children. The effect on raising aspirations and morale of parents, enabling all to enjoy this crucial time in their lives is such a bonus.

Kate Groucutt, Policy Director provided information about the numbers of Children’s Centres that are facing major changes or have closed, in the light of budget cuts. The removal of ring fenced budgets means that local authorities are, in some cases having to make major cuts.

Harriet Harman reflected that a child- centred’ view is what many parents want and that it should be part of the infra structure. It is a universal requirement and not just for those parents in most need.

Other speakers included; Professor John Mohan  from Southampton University, Lynn Chesterman from the Grandparents Association, representatives from Children’s Centres and local authorities,Professor Pat Thane, social historian, from King’s College and Sarah Teather, Minister of State for Children and Families.

Daycare Trust, still in the driving seat campaigning for childcare and the provider of research, training and consultancy.

Sue Martin

SmithMartin Partnership LLP – bringing life to communities – centres and enterprise

We have always liked the Open Culture web site, which is probably the very best of free learning and education media resources on the internet.

We are particularly keen to embed translation into the web sites we build at Thirdsectorweb for clients, for example. So having a language learning resource that is free and readily available on the internet is a great thing…we think.

The Open Culture learn a language pages are here. However, they include much more than just the language per se. You can also dip into cultural aspects of your target language, the majority available on iTunes or as direct downloads from the relevant web site.

What better way to bridge a cultural and geographic gap, than to learn some key phrases in another language? Find our more here.

Just a single click away and just as importantly, freely available in the same formats, are over 400 courses from major learning institutions.

Whether your interest is law, the classics, history, journalism or philosophy – there is a wealth of knowledge and research experience freely available to you here.

Explore your mind…in the company of others, at no cost.

What the internet was really built for…probably.

(Image: Plato - Creative Commons/Public Domain)

Bunker Roy explains an amazing college and concept in Rajasthan, India. An extraordinary school teaches rural women and men — many of them illiterate — to become solar engineers, artisans, dentists and doctors in their own villages.

It’s called the Barefoot College.

Through TED, Bunker Roy, founder of Barefoot College explains that it works without money or qualifications. In fact if you have any qualifications you are not able to attend.

In remote villages in India and also Afghanistan, projects which have benefited the communities have reshaped people’s lives. The women have been given training and help to make projects work. They made solar cables and equipment to bring light to their villages. Imagine the difference that light at night has made to their lives. The cost is negligible and uses resources like sunlight, always there.

‘What is the best way to communicate?’ asks Bunker Roy. ‘Is it telephone, television…. No telewoman!’

It is an engaging video and inspiring speaker with a calm and quiet confidence. Despite having the best education in India Bunker Roy wanted to work with the villages, his mother wouldn’t speak to him for 5 years.

No money no problem! And even a project to make puppets out of recycled World Bank papers!!

SmithMartin Partnership – bringing communities together

Steve Jobs, CEO and co-founder of Apple and Pixar, sadly died this week. Steve Jobs co-founded Apple with school friend Steve Wozniak in 1976. Initially based out of his family garage in California, the firm has grown into the world’s most valuable technology company.

Photo from Pixar Animations

Born in 1955, his student mother decided it was best for him to be adopted. Her plan for him to be son of college graduates was thwarted as when he was born, the intended adopted parents decided they would rather have a girl.

This info is from Stanford University as seen on TED – Ideas worth spreading. This is a beautiful video- needs watching!

Steve did get to college but dropped out when he realised that his parents were spending all their savings on his education. But he turned this into a big advantage, he went to calligraphy classes so he recognised and understood the beautiful typography that helped to make Apple great.

Apple – a huge company and success in beauty, technology and compulsive functionality.

But Pixar too, an animation company with success like Toy Story and Finding Nemo, using really expensive computer animation.

IPhones and IPads, amazing technology in beautiful products and used by millions.

Steve Jobs a man who had total belief in his own abilities.

His great gifts were an ability to second guess the market and an eye for well designed and innovative products that everyone would buy.

A man who followed his intuition and his heart.

SmithMartin Partnership LLP- bringing technology into communities

The end of the summer holidays is fast approaching, have we seen the final acts of youth services as clubs and activities struggle to continue.

Youngsters in King’s Lynn park, Norfolk. Across the county around 300 youth projects have closed, as well as council-run youth centres. Photograph: David Sillitoe for the Guardian

Much has been heard of the issues in inner city areas and indeed problems are large and significant. But it was interesting to see in the Society Guardian, Wednesday 24 August 2011 a whole page spread on the cuts to youth services in Norfolk, focusing on the town of King’s Lynn.There are many towns like King’s Lynn across the country and to quote Canon Bill Hurdman, whilst ministering in King’s Lynn,

“It has all the problems of an inner city area without any of the buzz”

A group of young people are interviewed outside the supermarket, where they have already been banned from gathering in groups of more than two.

The youth centre at Providence St has been closed, not the most inspiring of places, but at least was a place they young people could go, talk to their mates, have some fun and maybe learn at the same time.

This loss is being replicated across the country. What effect will this have? More importantly how will the morale and aspirations of young people find a place in all our towns.

Sue Martin

SmithMartin Partnership LLP, developing community projects.

Starting a business, social or otherwise, is a leap of faith. Faith in yourself or your team, faith in your product or service and faith in your audience, customers or community of interest.

Below are some basic tenets to help your vision endure, each element when applied well will add to your chances of success, generate turnover and increase your capacity to generate surpluses…

1. Get your governance model right:

Whether you want to be a limited company, by guarantee or shareholding, a charity or a management committee within an existing organisation, dedicated to providing a service – then working hard to research, take advice and recognise the rationale for the way your organisation is structured will pay huge dividends later on.

2. Really know why you are doing it:

Understanding why your business and governance is structured the way it is tempers what people will think about your service. Clarity here will not only help you build effective internal management processes, but will also add to perceptions of your value with your customers or client base.

3. Share the knowledge:

Be open and honest with yourself and amongst your fellow board or committee members. Work hard to make sure that the clarity you have is shared and understood by all. Keep good minutes, business records and accounts – share them and talk about them together. Don’t have a ‘closet controller’ at the table.

If you are in the not for profit sector, have a new service and a shiny new web site – use it to publish that ethical procurement policy, use it to explain where your profits go, use it to make sure your mission is evident in your strapline. Don’t assume we will know.

4. Suppress the ego:

Charismatic, energetic and driven project leaders are part of start-ups. The hunter-gatherer can be a great asset when looking for new markets and new product opportunities. Remember though, that in businesses of all kinds the more pastoral, contemplative team member also has their role to play and skill set to offer.

Be bold by all means, but don’t be a bully.

5. Accept the risk:

Risk is part of any entrepreneurial activity. It’s not why you do it, but processes, people and products are never infallible. If you have energetically and intelligently pulled together your team, implemented your processes and delivered your service, then you will also know when the nerve endings are starting to jangle as failure or missed targets approach.

Embrace that feeling and use that same energy to drive forward the next phase of your business development.

Accepting risk doesn’t mean you have to be an Horatio on the bridge, lonely sword in hand facing the ravenous horde as they approach. By sharing and being open you can reach out for advice and help…there’s plenty out there.

(SmithMartin LLP provide ethical business, governance and distribution advice and support across a wide range of social enterprise, charity and private sector businesses.

Our web service writes effective, income generating copy and provides fault free, secure, best value software and hardware solutions – we are your enterprise ‘in the cloud’).

Charities face closures as local authorities slash funding, making the delivery of community projects somewhere between hard and impossible.

‘Acevo (the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations) had already shown that the sector will lose £750 million this year if central and local government passed on cuts proportionately.’ Guardian Tuesday 2nd August 2011.

Research from False Economy shows that more than 2000 charities face cuts. Zoe Williams in the Guardian, Thurs 4th August 2011 says that ‘…philanthrocapitalism often looks a lot more like capitalism than it does philanthropy.’

Our partnership work is very much at the ground level; working with people in communities, the centres, the staff, the volunteers and children and families. There’s a lot of resilience and a feeling that although funding and support from the last few good years is coming to an end it doesn’t have to signify a finality to all the good work and the spirit of the community.

The problems have not gone away, they are now papered over or simply removed from the political agenda.

But community development is more than just provision of economic funding; social wealth, creative wealth and spirit of support remain.

There are ways through hard times, social enterprise being one, allowing you to be in charge of your own destiny and economic sustainability is a very powerful opportunity for good.

(Image courtesy of Ridgeway Park Children Centre )

SmithMartin Partnership LLP

Bringing communities together

This short film, in the masterly RSAnimate series, features the ideas of Renata Salecl, a Slovenian social and legal theoretician.

Her key argument is that choice in current society suppresses social change. That burning with the desire to consume in the capitalist system, we develop a critique of self, rather than of society.

Our need to choose and consume, based on a sense of needing to belong, needing to not upset colleagues, friends or other social contacts, leads us to develop a false sense of being in charge of our own lives, but which drives us to feel a sense of failure at our poor choices or inability to acquire what others have.

Notions of class war or class identity, for Salecl, are replaced by inadequacy.

Freud determined that malaise in civilisation is mirrored by malaise in the individual. However, the issue with these over arching conditional statements about communities in the capitalist world, is that they are based on the perception that everyone has choice, that every economic player has the access to the modes of action that allow the fulfillment of choice.

Is this wrong? Does everyone have the same economic and social functionality to act? We think not. Economic power, social status and educational achievement have still not reached par for everyone. It is a structural deficit that inhibits social change not choice.

To see the cake is to recognise confectionary. To have no income, or insufficient income, means that cake today or tomorrow is merely an ideal for many.

Still, another great film. What do you think?

You can see another RSAnimate film on changing educational paradigms on our blog here…