Children living temporarily at the Homeless Persons Unit (HPU) at Ashton St Peter’s have little opportunity to access local services and tend to come from families with a history of poor literacy. Understandably, therefore, they don’t use the library.
With funding from The Children’s Fund, Tameside Libraries and New Charter Housing Trust developed a programme of activities for 5-13 year olds, which included reading, visits to museums and galleries and various outdoor pursuits. They also worked closely with the local Health Visitor to tackle the social and health needs of homeless families by encouraging better use of other services. In addition, the organisers hoped that a programme of constructive activity would put a stop to the incidents of anti-social behaviour that had been reported by some local businesses and residents.
Over the lifetime of the scheme, no fewer than 156 children have used the service and 134 have joined the library. Now that the children have things to do, the problems caused by anti-social behaviour have greatly diminished. Their behaviour and school attendance have improved, as has their academic progress. Both the children and their parents have become involved in planning the future of the service.
The project has attracted widespread interest and achieved national recognition. Moves are afoot to seek funding for an extension of the scheme to children under 5 and over 13.
Target Audience
Homeless Families
Aim
• To improve access to existing services for children and families resident at the HPU
• To secure equality of opportunity and access to the library service for children in temporary accommodation
• To improve the reading and information handling skills of children living in temporary accommodation
• To raise literacy levels of children living in temporary accommodation
• To contribute to the development, social welfare, health and emotional well-being of the children resident at the HPU.
Process
Why did the project take place?
Staff from Tameside Libraries and New Charter Housing Trust were concerned about the fact that children living temporarily in a Homeless Persons Unit (HPU) at Ashton St Peter’s had little access to local services and were not using the library. The instability of the children’s situation was contributing to low literacy levels, poor school attendance and anti-social behaviour, all of which was likely to compound the cycle of disadvantage. There had also been complaints from some local businesses and residents about the nuisance caused by children at the HPU. It was clear that this arose largely from the fact that the children had little to occupy their time.
Together, the two organisations devised a programme of activity based on getting children interested in libraries, but also extending into museum and gallery visits and outdoor pursuits. A successful funding application to the Children’s Fund enabled them to put their ideas into action.
What happened?
The funding has supported the employment of Library Link Workers/Children’s Support/Play Workers, who have tailored activities to suit the children’s needs. Families stay at the HPU for varying lengths of time, which means that some children are only with the project for weeks and others for several months. On average, there are 15-20 children aged 5-13 at the HPU at any one time.
The main focus of the programme is on getting children to use the library. Every participant becomes a member of the library and takes part in activities and events that are designed to improve their reading and information handling skills. An important element of the project has been the creation of a collection of books in the HPU itself. Use has steadily increased, to the point where the children are keeping a record of the books that they are borrowing and have been on a trip to Waterstone’s to buy some more. Children have also taken part in the Summer Reading Challenge and have their own reward scheme during the rest of the year.
But the programme is not only about literacy and books. Children have enjoyed cookery and discussions about healthy eating; they have devised and performed their own talent contest; they have done projects on dental care, drug awareness, smoking and bullying; and they have taken part in a wide range of leisure activities, from museum and gallery visits to cycling at the local Velodrome. A striking feature of the project has been the organisers’ determination to ‘join up’ welfare and leisure services in the spirit of Every Child Matters. The local Health Visitor, for example, has been closely involved.
Impact and outcome
In purely numerical terms, the project has been very successful. Over three years, 156 children have benefited from the project and 134 have joined the library. There have been no fewer than 5520 individual sessions (e.g. helping children with reading and homework) and 560 involving a larger group.
Even more impressive, however, is the evidence of a range of important outcomes relating to children’s social, educational and emotional well-being. They have acquired practical skills, made new friends and become better communicators. Parents and carers have noted progress in literacy and numeracy, as well as improvements in behaviour and school attendance. One parent summed up the project as a ‘lifesaver’, because of the emotional and practical support it has provided during a period of extreme dislocation.
There have been virtually no complaints from neighbours and local businesses since the project began and one firm which was threatening to re-locate three years ago has remained on site.
Evaluation
Quarterly reports about the project have been submitted to The Children’s Fund, along with a considerable body of case study evidence about the impact of the programme on individual children. Statistical records have also been kept in relation to the number of children using the library service, taking part in group sessions etc.
Future development
One of the successes of the project has been the way in which parents and children are now actively involved in planning activities themselves and are increasingly adopting a ‘self-help’ approach to their own situation. For example, they have made posters to inform residents about recycling and have started their own recycling scheme within the HPU.
Although long-term funding prospects remain uncertain, the project has achieved a high profile, becoming a finalist in the category of ‘excellence in tackling homelessness’ at the UK Housing Awards in 2005 and a runner-up in the MLA North West Inspiring North West Culture Award in 2006. These accolades will no doubt help the organisers achieve the hoped-for expansion of the project to encompass a wider age-range and families resident in other temporary accommodation in the Borough.
Case Studies