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7. Children
in Situations of Deprivation not being Targeted by Sure Start
Even when fully rolled
out, Sure Start will only be accessing a third of children in poverty in England.
The questionnaire asked libraries how they were specifically attempting to
access children in situations of rural deprivation or non-geographically defined
situations of deprivation.
47 authorities (51%) talked
about strategies. Only 12 of these were related to EAZ, HAZ or SRB funding,
suggesting that most fall outside the zoning patterns of support favoured by
the government, and that libraries are eager to explore new models to address
children in deprivation.
Many of the approaches
described were exciting and innovative for example:
- Leicestershire - services
being developed by outreach worker and librarians in rural areas and deprived
areas where the overall ward does not match deprivation factors. In particular
for travellers, show people, refugee and asylum seekers and looked after children.
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Early years looked after children being target as part of the Right to Read
programme
- Nottingham - Books for
Babies outreach worker to target target areas were take up in literacy schemes
is low (specifically minority ethnic communities and mothers in hostels).
- Northamptonshire - library
work with traveller health visitors
- Oxfordshire - a reading
bus targets areas of rural deprivation
- Hampshire - training
for staff in targeting these issues
- Birmingham - Bookstart
outreach to 22 hostels, work with pregnant school girls and teenage mothers
By far the most frequently
mentioned strategy was Bookstart. 10 authorities referred to the universal
Bookstart entitlement to free books as a strategy for libraries to reach children
living in deprivation outside of zoned target areas. This raises the concern
that if national Bookstart funding breaks down, and the project becomes reliant
on local funding zones, then the fundamental role of Bookstart as a strategy
to break out of zoned areas will be defeated.
8. Conclusions
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