The Co-operative Party

By giving communities a sense of ownership over Sure Start services, youth centres and other community services, we can do more to help centres deliver to all those in need of their services, particularly ‘hard to reach groups.’ Co-operative structures also can play a role in encouraging working across different providers, and have the potential to act as local delivery agents for the Children’s Plan.

Sure Start Children’s Centres are one of Labour’s finest achievements, and remain at the forefront of endeavours to transform the way services are delivered for young children and their families. We can take much pride in the fact that almost 3 ,000 centres are up and running, with over 5 00 more in the pipeline.

Yet more can be done to ensure that Sure Start delivers to all those in need of its services, particularly ‘hard to reach’ groups. For many people, engaging with statutory bodies and agencies is problematic. To them, state or local authority run organisations can seem intimidating, remote and make little or no connection with them at a personal level.

Giving communities a sense of ownership and involvement over Sure Start services can play a significant role in either addressing ‘us and them’ attitudes or simple alienation from authority. We welcome the way in which this has been addressed through the development of a ‘community mutual’ Sure Start centre at Millmead in Kent.

Through involving local residents in its membership structures, the centre has been able to design services around the needs of its users, as well as developing increased satisfaction, support and loyalty. Community ownership can help remove barriers and develop trust, so that the organisation is accessible to people who otherwise would be less likely to use the services.

The Government should recognise the advantages of the ‘community mutual’ model for Sure Start, and work to ensure the development of the model, both in the provision of new centres and the conversion of existing ones. In particular, it should:

• Create a national body to support the development of new Sure Start Mutuals, based on the successful ‘Supporters Direct’ Model.
• Encourage local authorities to consider converting existing Sure Start centres to the ‘community mutual’ model, as well as using it as a model for the provision of new services.

Co-operative trusts have not only transformed the relationships of schools with parents, staff, pupils and other stakeholders, but they have also formed a framework for co-operation between a number of different schools in the same area. As we move towards a more integrated service for young people, from early years through to further education, it is important to identify structures that encourage collaborative working across different providers.

One solution to this would be the creation of social co-operatives, which could act as the local delivery agent for the Children’s Plan. These could be commissioned by Children and Young Person’s Trusts (CYPTs) to provide a range of services within their appropriate communities, particularly in relationship to the Every Child Matters and Extended School agendas. The Government should ensure that the regulations and accompanying guidance around the emerging CYPTs be eased to allow the development of pilot ‘mini’ co-operative CYPTs, working across defined geographical localities and neighbourhoods to a locally developed Children’s Plan.