Leapers: End of an Era

[MrsP]

Leapers at Rye Oak primary school and children's centre as of next week will no longer be an open access group. It is still being run on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings and afternoons, but accessible only via a referral system. It is possible to self-refer by applying to the children's centre. Successful applicants will be able to attend a 10 week block. If you miss two sessions you will forfeit the whole 10 weeks. I have been attending Leapers on a regular basis and have benefited enormously from the support of Jean and Jas, and have made a good network of friends through the group. Despite many of us lobbying the children's centre and surestart we were unsuccessful in trying to persuade the centre to keep the group as it was. I know that many of the parents living in Se22 have not been successful in obtaining a place. I do think that SE22 is a bit of black hole for the under 5's particularly for parents who cannot afford nursery or other childcare. Does anyone else have a similar experience of local support groups, or perhaps I am missing something obvious.

[Pickle]

This is such a shame, I fear it will signal the end of Leapers full stop, rather than just the end of it being an open access group. I was a regular at the Tuesday morning session until the end of last year and also benefited greatly from the support/advice/friendship that was found there, especially in the early days of coping with two children under 18 months old.

I'm not aware of anything else in the area that even comes close to the service that Leapers provided, and truly hope that those who apply for and get places make the most of it!

[nikki73]

Oh noooo! i haven't been yet but was intending to - dp they really expect people with young children to commit to 10 weeks attendance? it seems rather ridiculous. Can we try lobbying more or is it pointless?

[Mellors]

I am so upset by this.

I had to take my two (both of whom have been more or less every week since they were born) to say goodbye to Jean and Jas yesterday as we haven't got a place. This is despite handing in the form on the first day we were given them.

Jean has said she is so upset by it she is thinking of quitting before the September term anyway.

A playgroup that has run brilliantly for the last 8 years has been ruined by beaurocracy.

I am going to write to:

Alastair Bruce

Rye Oak Children's Centre

Worlton Rd

London SE15 3PD

and

Family Information Service

Southwark Council

15 Spa Road

London

SE16 3QW

Maybe if we all write something will get done?

[Cora]

Is this about Surestart money being targeted to those with most 'need' - I fear it might be......If so it really winds me up - all parents need support and being a parent is one thing that brings people together regardless of background.

Surestart sessions have been a godsend for me and although my background would be considered 'middle-class' my children would never have had the start they've had in life had it not been for Surestart....

I fear we may find these exclusive restrictions popping up more and more....

[MrsP]

I totally agree Cora. I was at Leapers when Surestart did an "assessment" of those who attended. The assessors questioned only two people on that particular day and did not ask for any information about socio-economic background. Being a parent is hard no matter ones' background. Leapers has been brilliant at providing support for parents but also for getting parents to support and help each other. I have written to Surestart and Alistair Bruce about my concerns but have received nothing positive in response.

[Mellors]

Right, I have just fired off a three page letter to Alastair Bruce (Children's Centre Manager), cc Director of Children's Services at Southwark Council and Tessa Jowell MP. If anyone would like a copy please PM me.

I don't think we should give up without a fight!

[MitchK]

The white middle classes are being discriminated against. Wake up to the fact. We are the ones paying the taxes but our kids cannot use the services that these taxes pay for!

[Ann]

Wow MitchK that's a strong sentiment, but I can see where you're coming from.

I wasn't aware of the existence of Leapers before this thread, the Sure Start programs started after my children were of that age. However I've no doubt they've been an invaluable resource to many of you.

As Cora said earlier in this thread, the Sure Start,(Children's centers ) were set up to benefit children from deprived backgrounds. Most of us in East Dulwich don't fit that category and indeed many in neighbouring post codes.

However I can't help but sympathise. An awful lot of us have no family support locally and have to pay for ( how it seemed like to me) everything. To have what was presumably a free local resource removed must be very frustrating.

I'm afraid I can't offer any advice on what you should all do but you have my sympathy vote.

[MrsP]

Government policy in this area of child care is driven by the philosophy "every child matters". Surestart's guiding principles state that they provide services for everyone which are to be flexible at point of delivery. They recognise that not every family requires the same services and they are to be sensitive to this. Surestart services are also supposed to be community driven and professionally coordinated, I interpret this to mean listening to your users. There is a serious popularion boom in this area of London. As a former child protection and family lawyer I am acutely aware that all families can have issues and difficulties regardless of class. New parents in this area don't necessarily need literacy, language or skills support, but there are other often other hidden issues, neglect, depression, abuse, financial difficulties leading to family stress. I am disappointed that Surestart has failed to listen to the local community and lacks any flexibility or creativity in service provision, particularly as the change in Leapers is supported by absolutely zero investigation into the statistical make up of the people accessing and the people not accessing it.

[lorraineliyanage]

Get a grip, Mitch. I pay my taxes like the "white middle classes" and haven't been offered a place either, so take your racism elsewhere please

MitchK Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> The white middle classes are being discriminated

> against. Wake up to the fact. We are the ones

> paying the taxes but our kids cannot use the

> services that these taxes pay for!

[Belle]

Agreed, don't think those sentiments are helpful mitch nor are they evidence based.

[Ko]

may i ask - what exactly is leapers? and does anyone know - what criteria do they use for deciding who gets a place?

[nikki73]

it's a play group for kids under 3. two lovely ladies look after it - there are activities and snacks and the mums help out. jas and jean who run also provide mothers with advice on a whole range of topics and show mums who to play with their kids etc. i've only been once but it's a nice setting and it feels like a great place to get much needed support.

i can't remember the application form referring to any criteria...

[MrsP]

Leapers is not a playgroup. I too thought it was, but was informed by the manager at Rye Oak children's centre that it is a parenting course run by Surestart. Applications to attend to Rye Oak Children's Centre. It is a fantastic resource so do apply and make full use of it while you can!

[lorraineliyanage]

If you have not been offered a place in the first block, there may be a possibility of a place in the second block of 10 weeks; It is likely that some parents may fail to attend and forfeit their places so it is worth occasionally calling up to see if any slots have come free

[littleEDfamily]

I would be very interested in finding out the criteria used to allocate places - surely this is something they should make public?

There was nothing on the form that I feel would easily differentiate applicants. Other than asking for the age of the child(ren), our address, our ethnicity and 'what we wanted to get out of Leapers', it was very generic.

They've been more than a little cagey about what precisely their 'target market' is - does anyone have the facts on this?

[Jessie]

Could it be a SE15 postcode?

[lorraineliyanage]

Yes I imagine the main criteria is proximity to the Children's Centre, i.e. an SE15 postcode. I don't think they have been cagey, it's always been their intention to provide a centre for the residents of Peckham/Nunhead.

[Mellors]

I've asked for a copy of the criteria, so will update when I receive them.

[littleEDfamily]

I think it's about more than postcodes, although I am sure the preference is for SE15 residents over SE22 and beyond. From my conversations with the staff at various times, my understanding was that there was pressure on the group to better reflect, especially the morning sessions, the ethnic and social diversity of the borough. There was also a lot of talk about wanting to encourage 'deprived' parents (as well as those with mental health issues) who are struggling with parenthood to attend. Fine in theory, but in practice, I can see how this is almost impossible to achieve without stigmatising the group and to some extent, patronising those who attend, but I guess we shall see how it all pans out.

Thanks, Mellors for trying to get access to the criteria.

[Fuschia]

http://news.aol.co.uk/uk-news/nursery-food-standards-face-review/article/201003160221217013068

"Children's Secretary Ed Balls said protecting Sure Start had become an election issue. "We are launching a political campaign called Save Our Sure Starts because the Conservative Party has committed to cutting Sure Start and really focusing them on only disadvantaged communities," he said. "We are saying the children's centre should be for all parents in every community in the country and we want to keep investing in our children's centres." "

[Mellors]

I did get a reply from the Children's Centre Manager. The criteria are:

1. identification of a specific need or level of support. This can either be by a professional or the parent themself making the referral.

2. Families that live within the Children's Centre "reach" area.

I have a copy of the map, which basically covers an area encompassing Peckham as far as Peckham Rye Station, Nunhead as far as Nunhead Station, and the SE22 bit to the side of Peckham Rye (The Gardens etc).

I have now been given a place on one of the sessions having been on the waiting list. There were only 5 children there. What a shocking waste of resources.

[littleEDfamily]

Thanks - and yes, agreed, we all said it would go from being a thriving group to an under-attended waste of resources! Such a shame.......

[katgod]

it's a while since I've been, but when I went to the Sure Start soft play sessions at Peckham Pulse it was always made clear to me that if someone more 'target' came along then I would have to leave. My experience was that those sessions and Leapers (which i went to a couple of times back in 2007/08), and Tiny Gym in Camberwell are always full of families from SE22 and not much used by their supposed target audience.

It's a shame if a resource ends up under used due to a change in the rules. I would have been happy to pay or leave soft play if someone else who needed it more turned up - but they never did.

Somehow the publicity and info about these groups reaches some groups but not others. However, I don't think the powers that be realise that many of the incoming 'middle class' (for want of a better term) mums in SE22 don't have their family close by. The local, often more 'working class' (again, for want of better term, and no offence intended, and certainly no race implications as it is a non-class specific phenomenon) have their family close by in many cases and have no need to meet strangers and drink weak coffee in a mug on a plate (see I did go to Leapers!) and angst over baby issues. They go round to their own mum's and get their advice and a decent cuppa there.

I suspect that Mellors' experinec will be a common one and that it will be under used, and ultimately closed.