BETTER OFF IN SALFORD WORKING NEIGHBOURHOODS FUND - OUTCOMES SPECIFICATION LITTLE HULTON AND WALKDEN PATHWAYS TO WORK – LONE PARENTS We are looking for projects that will engage with and build What we want to the capacity of lone parents living in Little Hulton and achieve? Walkden The aspiration is to support more lone parents into learning and work opportunities (for lone parents out of work and in work looking to progress) In particular we are looking for activities to one or more of the below: Support the development of basic skills and work related skills such as (but not limited to) literacy, numeracy, ICT, people skills etc These could be built into wider interest courses / engagement activities etc We would be interested in family / group learning activities that engage both parents and their children in learning Build the confidence of lone parents and enable progression into learning, training, work experience, community volunteering and work related opportunities Appendix A gives some of the background to our decision Why we want to to prioritise lone parents through Little Hulton and achieve this? Walkden Working Neighbourhood Team We would be interested in receiving applications for Priority areas and projects working with lone parents living in one or more of groups the following areas: Peel, Kenyon, Madamswood, Amblecote, Hill Top, Baron Fold, Mount Skip North and Mount Skip South We would be interested in receiving applications for projects supporting Lone Parents who are and / or will in the coming years be moving from Income Support to Jobseekers Allowance (currently when youngest child is years old but this will change to years old in 2012) What we expect from providers and projects We would be interested in receiving applications for projects which focus on one or more of the priority groups from Salford’s Family Poverty Strategy: Lone parent families with disabilities Young parent families BME lone parent families Lone parent families in poor housing Large families (four or more children) We would expect projects to: Build partnership working – raising awareness of the support available for parents Some of the organisations working with parents in this area are listed in Appendix A Embed basic money / budgeting support and / or links to wider agencies who can offer this support built into projects Respond to key barriers / issues identified for lone parents E.g one of the key barriers identified by lone parents in attending sessions / activities is childcare Depending on the activity you want to run you may want to consider this when putting together your application Be built on an understanding of the needs, strengths and desires of potential participants and the communities in which they live Engage, build the capacity of and empower participants – leaving a lasting legacy Add value and fill gaps in current service provision – not duplicate public, private and community provision already available Build on what works, whilst being innovative Ensure participants are positively progressing during and at the end of project Be able to show the positive difference made and contribute towards achieving the outcome Consider what happens when this funding ends Add value beyond core project e.g support promotional activities, develop community capacity, and develop organisational capacity Deliver on time and on budget All WNT funding must be spent by 31 st March 2012 – if you have additional funding / resources to run the project past this date then we are happy to support up until 31st March Up to £8000 is available for projects supporting Lone Parents (this can include projects working with the wider family as well) One or more projects may be commissioned using this funding Any projects over £5,000 will be required to go to the WNT fund panel for decision in November All funding is subject to approval and citywide financial decisions When we want this project to be delivered What funding is available Support for providers There is a separate WNT fund in Little Hulton (up to £10,000) for projects meeting any / all three of the Little Hulton and Walkden specifications where requested funding is less than £5,000 Applications for this funding can be submitted at any time and will be considered on a case by case basis We are very supportive of providers looking to develop their skills, knowledge and procedures If as an organisation you feel that you might not meet all the criteria requested and / or are interested in accessing skills / training in certain areas please contact Salford CVS and / or the Skills and Work Commissioning Unit to discuss APPENDIX A – Context and background What we mean by a ‘lone parent’? The 2001 census describes a lone parent as ‘a parent living without a spouse (and not cohabiting) with his or her never married dependent child or children aged either under 16 or from 16-19 and undertaking full-time education’ Benefit eligibility for single parents has changed in recent years From early next year, all single parents with a youngest child aged five or six (currently seven) will be moved from income support (IS) to jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) The change will affect 100,000 single parents nationwide currently on IS This means that Lone Parents will be required to actively seek work or risk benefit loss Why is it important to support Lone Parents living in Little Hulton? Children growing up in lone parents households are more likely to live in poverty Almost in children living in out of work poverty in Salford are from lone parent households Over 1000 children in Salford living in in work poverty are from lone parent households The diagram to the right shows the number of children living in lone parent families citywide: What the figures tell us? There has been a significant increase in the number of lone parents in Little Hulton between 1981 – 2001 census: 1981 1991 2001 Little Hulton 3.3% 10.4% 13% Salford 2.4% 5.9% 8.6% There are approximately 1,290 under 16 year olds live in IS / JSA families There are approximately 30 young parents in Little Hulton and Walkden 60% are not in education, employment and training Approximate figures of lone parent families claiming Income Support in the Working Neighbourhood Teams eight priority Lower Super Output Areas LSOAs): Looking at the duration of claim for lone parents citywide tells us the following: • The larger the family the harder it is to move off benefits into work • If a Lone Parent has been claiming for over years then data tells us any previous qualifications gained are likely no longer be current – development of skills and experience will be fundamental What we know about training and skills needs? Most recent reliable data at local area level is CENSUS 2001 - for all population: • 45% of population in Little Hulton have no qualifications compared with Salford average 35.5%, 31.9 North West, 17.2% England • Higher levels of residents with low levels of qualification in Little Hulton than in Salford • Lower numbers of residents with high-level qualifications With changes in eligibility to funding support single parents – particularly parents claiming inactive benefits – will find it more difficult to access financial support for learning What are the main barriers? LSOA area Lone Parents (July 2011) Peel 65 Kenyon 65 Madamswood 60 Amblecote 60 Hill Top Baronfold 55 45 Mount Skip North 40 Mount Skip South 40 Total 430 A SPOTlight looking at the barriers to Lone Parents returning to work concluded that there were a number of barriers – including: Childcare – cost, suitability, quality Skills and experience levels – meeting needs / expectations of employers Transport - costs, suitability Fear of making family financial circumstances worse Low confidence levels and self esteem Bad experiences – accessing services, failed interviews Suitable family friendly work opportunities Understanding and accessing support available Many of these barriers were also raised through last year’s Salford Parent Pathways Programme - which offered an induction course and a paid placement (and mentoring) as a Community Support Worker The programme attracted a high proportion of traditionally under-represented participants including lone parents, families with disabilities, young parents and BME residents On the ground Some of the organisations engaging with / working with Lone Parents in this area include: Children’s Service staff (includes specialist workers with young fathers, young parents, Children’s Centre officers etc.), Early Intervention and Prevention Team (multi-agency team made up of City West Housing Trust, Skills and Work Service and Children’s Services officers), Salford City College, Jobcentre Plus, Salford City Council - Adult Learning, Skills and Work Service (including Supported Employment), Little Hulton and Walkden Outreach and Engagement Team (multi-agency team), Health Improvement Team – Family Support, One Stop Shop, Brook Pennine, Connexions, CSV, Salford Foundation and Salford Hundred Venture – self employment ... £5,000 will be required to go to the WNT fund panel for decision in November All funding is subject to approval and citywide financial decisions When we want this project to be delivered What... Madamswood 60 Amblecote 60 Hill Top Baronfold 55 45 Mount Skip North 40 Mount Skip South 40 Total 430 A SPOTlight looking at the barriers to Lone Parents returning to work concluded that there were... March 2012 – if you have additional funding / resources to run the project past this date then we are happy to support up until 31st March Up to £8000 is available for projects supporting Lone Parents