03 May SAVS wins contract giving parents a voice in innovative new services
Southend charity wins contract giving parents a voice in innovative new services.
Southend Association of Voluntary Services (SAVS) have been awarded a contract to continue delivering community engagement services for A Better Start Southend.
The contract, potentially lasting up to five-years, will be delivered through SAVS’ Turning Tides team and was awarded following a competitive tendering process with a number of potential service providers expressing an interest.
A Better Start Southend is part of the National Lottery funded A Better Start programme set up by the The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK. A Better Start works with families so they play an active part in deciding on and designing the services and support they get so they can give their babies and very young children the best possible start in life.
The new contract awarded to SAVS builds on the work they have done since first becoming the engagement partner in January 2017 and recognises SAVS’ experience of providing effective community engagement services across the Borough. The focus over the coming years will be to build on existing engagement services meaning families have a more effective role in A Better Start Southend’s work.
The engagement services to be provided by SAVS will form part of a wider community engagement strategy which will be developed by A Better Start Southend over the next year.
A core focus will be on increasing the number of volunteer ‘Parent Champions’, with over 30 trained so far, and the number set to increase still further over the next five years.
Parent Champions are fully-trained and provided with the support and resources they need to best represent local parents’ voices, bringing parental experience and knowledge to the programme. They take part in governance meetings, research groups and panels, helping co-design and co-produce children services. This voice can also be heard through a communications group, promoting the programme through newsletters, social media, TV and public meeting appearances.
The continued engagement work will help bring even more families on board with the programme, with 637 people engaging through parent-led engagement events alone over the past 12 months, an increase of almost 450% from the previous year. The parent-led events encourage families new to the programme to take part in free fun activities, such as storytelling, healthy eating workshops, interactive parent and baby classes and creative outdoor sessions.
Jeff Banks, Director at A Better Start Southend, says: “We had a number of potential providers take part in the tender process, but it was the excellent work and future proposals from SAVS which made them the best choice to deliver our engagement contract moving forwards. We are very much looking forward to developing our work with them over the coming months and years, helping families to have a real say in the services that are developed across Southend.”
Anthony Quinn, Deputy CEO for SAVS, says: “We are delighted to have been awarded this contract, allowing us to continue to support the hundreds of parents we have met so far and introduce many more new families to the work of A Better Start Southend. We are particularly excited about developing opportunities for the Parent Champions and providing more local parents with a platform to help change their children’s future.”
A Better Start Southend is a 10-year programme set up by The National Lottery Community Fund, developing and testing children’s services to help give Southend’s children the best possible start in life. The programme runs free projects for children under 4 and their parents, as well as expectant parents in six wards across Southend.
The six Better Start areas in Southend are Kursaal, Milton, Victoria, Westborough, Shoeburyness and West Shoebury wards. To find out if you live in one of these areas check your postcode in the ‘our areas’ section: www.southend.gov.uk/locations.
If you are interested in becoming a Parent Champion or getting involved with the work of A Better Start Southend please call 01702 356069 or email: rsavage@savs-southend.co.uk.
