Child and Family Centres are a key component of the government’s commitment to improving outcomes for young children and their families, with a particular focus on the most disadvantaged families, to reduce inequalities in child development and school readiness, which is supported by:
- parenting aspirations, self-esteem, and parenting skills;
- child and family health and life chances.
Barnardo’s Child and Family Centres are part of the local system of universal and targeted children’s services, providing easy access to a range of community health services, parenting and family support, integrated early education and childcare, and links to training and employment opportunities for families with children.
Our Advisory Board
Our Advisory Board works with our service leads to support them, offer challenge, and make recommendations on the following key areas:
- Maintaining the positive impact of services provided by Barnardo’s Peterborough and Cambridgeshire in response to local need;
- Supporting with the development of community resilience;
- Making the best use of resources and knowledge available through partners in the local area;
- Hosting and supporting a range of parent or community-led initiatives
- Transforming venues into vibrant Community Hubs;
Advisory Board Members are appointed to:
- Provide strong links between the service and the community they serve;
- Support and offer respectful challenge to service leads;
- Commit to the concept of “together we are stronger”;
- Represent agencies and local community views;
- Contribute to specialist subgroups as and when appropriate, which are formed outside of the main board to focus on solutions to a specific issue or need.
Advisory Board Members are expected to:
- Regularly attend meetings of the Advisory Board and the frequency agreed by the Board;
- Work in the best interest of the community and local children and families;
- Take an active interest in locality activities;
- Be familiar with the Advisory Board Terms of Reference;
- Attend shared training or skill sharing events in the spirit of collaborative working and in support of the principles of our local Best Start in Life Strategy.
Summary of roles and responsibilities of the Board
Advisory Board Members will:
- Bring views to represent their local community but also their own organisation;
- Promote partnership working and true collaboration supporting the ambition of providing all children with the “Best Start in Life”;
- Working to support the requirements of the Children Act 2004 and Childcare Act 2006;
- Link with the community it serves;
- Provide support and advice and respectful challenge to service leads;
- To work with the service to identify priorities through effective consultation and coproduction approaches;
- Consider and make recommendations on objectives and service plans;
- Review progress through relevant documentation;
- Support services to adapt and to meet local needs;
- Contribute to improving children’s outcomes.
Reporting Processes
Relevant and named Barnardo’s service staff will report to each scheduled Advisory Board meeting. Reports will focus on outcomes for children, their parents or carers, and families that are identified and agreed in each local service plan.
Quorum
At least six Board members should be in attendance for the meeting to be considered quorate; four of whom should not be employees, for any decisions to be made and agreed.
Frequency of Meetings
Minimum of four meetings per year (once a quarter).
Decisions of the Advisory Board
The Childcare Act 2006 does not establish Advisory Boards as distinct legal bodies. An Advisory Board will not be able to commission services, control the service budget, or to take decisions on the day-to-day operations or management of the Child and Family Centres.
Conflict Resolution
If any dispute or differences arise between members about any issues /or matters raised at these meetings, the Board will collectively take all reasonable steps within the powers available to its members to resolve it. Examples of this could include:
- Service Leads not responding to the advice and guidance of the Board;
- There is a breakdown of trust between the Board and the Service Operational and Strategic Management Team;
- The Board is unable to develop an integrated approach;
- The Board is dominated by factional interests;
- The Board is dominated by professionals;
- Agencies do not accept the authority of the Service Lead to lead the integration and implementation of services;
- There is a lack of transparency in the decisions by Service Leads.
Where a matter cannot be resolved at Advisory Board level, the next step would be for it to be raised as follows:
- Barnardo’s Assistant Director of Children’s Services (ADCS) for Peterborough and Cambridgeshire (Tracy Demers);
- Peterborough City Council (PCC) Commissioning Manager, Children and Families Directorate (Laura Fordham);
- Cambridgeshire County Council (CCC) Commissioning Manager (Rosa DeMaio).
Members must recognise that partners bring different contributions and need to allow for differences of opinion and try to agree a resolution that is in the best interests of the locality.
Accountability
Individual Board Members representing partner organisations remain accountable to those organisations. The Advisory Board does not have legal powers or duties.
Where there may be a conflict of interest, a Board Member will remove themselves from the meeting whilst decisions are made.
Chair and Vice Chair Arrangements
At the first meeting or as soon as possible after the first meeting of the Board, a Chair and Vice-Chair will be elected for a maximum period of 24 months. Any member of the Board, other than the Lead Body representatives, may assume these roles on the basis of a majority vote. Individuals may be re-elected for further terms as Chairman with agreement by the Board. The Chair or Vice-Chair may resign at any time by writing to the Lead Body representatives.
Sub-Committees
The Board may set up one or more sub committees that work on specific agreed work streams. Such committees should be reviewed annually as a minimum. They must all comply with the following:
- Consist of a minimum of three members;
- Have terms of reference and timeframe for existence to be agreed by the Board;
- Report their meetings and actions to the Board at the next available meeting.
Administration to the Advisory Board
Barnardo’s will ensure that there is an accurate record of proceedings in the form of an action log and notes, which the public can access. The Service Lead will ensure that invitations to meetings, the action log, notes and reports are distributed in line with the timescales agreed with the Board.
Meeting Administration
Agendas, papers, reports, action logs, and notes being considered by the Board should be supplied to all members of the Board ideally five days prior to and four weeks following the meeting in question.
Membership of Advisory Boards
- Barnardo’s Children’s Centre staff representation;
- CPSL Mind (Formal Contract Partner);
- Local Midwifery and Health Visiting Services, including the local Family Nurse Partnership;
- Adult Education and Further Education;
- Jobcentre Plus;
- Housing;
- Local Primary School Heads;
- Local community representation linked to the C&FC Parent and Community Panels, including local parents who have used, or are currently using, Children’s Centre services (note that in the first instance this may be a C&FC team member who supports the running of these panels);
- Early Years and Childcare providers including childminders;
- Local community groups, such as local Gypsy and Traveller representatives;
- Leads for identified targeted groups as defined by the locality, e.g. SASP (formerly Women’s Aid), Citizen’s Advice Bureau and ASPIRE drugs services (CGL)
