The problem of black and minority ethnic (BME) families not accessing children's centres could be addressed by employing a more ethnically diverse workforce, according to research conducted by Daycare Trust.
While children's centres serve families very effectively once they are attending, a recent Ofsted report, How well are they doing?:The impact of children's centres and extended schools, found that they are not always 'sufficiently active in reaching out to groups including... some minority ethnic groups, who did not use the provision' and that 'support for children from minority ethnic groups was sometimes patchy, particularly for children who used English as an additional language.'
Focus groups with BME childcare workers in six children's centres located in areas of high ethnic diversity around England said it is important that BME families encounter childcare workers of the same ethnicity to enhance their sense of familiarity and belonging. As Southwark childcare workers said, 'When you come from somewhere else you rely on your friends, someone who speaks the same language as you, and the word goes round.'
The practitioners interviewed felt that engaging with BME families is most effectively done through people from the same community. They suggested a number of ways to promote it:
- Outreach/information provision carried out by people from the same ethnic background or from the same locality
- Creating a welcoming, inclusive childcare environment provided by an ethnically diverse workforce
- Open communication between workers and parents, especially when the family first approaches the setting, including the use of interpreters where necessary.
However, the practitioners felt that the precise ethnicity of the nursery worker was not as important as the diversity of the staff group as a whole, and having childcarers who could respond to the needs of individual children and their families.
Warm and welcoming
Daycare Trust researcher Aoife Fitzpatrick says, 'The research shows that, to promote a sense of belonging and entitlement to childcare services, BME families need warm, welcoming childcare settings with staff from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. Excellent communication between parents and staff is essential.'
Making the effort to speak even a few words of a family's first language can be an effective way of breaking down barriers. 'It's right you want to hear your language - even if it's just one word in your language you feel like, "Oh they know me",' a Southwark childcare worker remarked.
'There was a little girl who is Spanish and she was saying "mummy, mummy". I can't speak that much Spanish but I said "mummy's coming". I could see the smile on her face, that somebody speaks my language so it's not just me, somebody could understand me.'
Many of the focus group practitioners also felt some black and minority ethnic families are not using childcare because they see it as something for middle-class white people. A Lambeth children's centre manager commented, 'We're fortunate to be in a lovely purpose-built building, but it excludes those who think it's only white middle-class people that use the services and that's not true. It is about publicity.
'We've been trying to reach those hard-to-reach families, but I think they're still stuck, in the sense that they don't know what we do. It's hard to get people to access services if they feel they're going to be stigmatised or they feel they've got nothing in common with us.'
Low uptake was also attributed to paid childcare being a foreign concept to some communities who traditionally depend on extended family and other informal childcare arrangements.
The report suggests raising confidence in childcare settings by allowing parents to observe the centre before committing to the service, consulting with the local community when developing a children's centre, and making interpreters available.
'Having an ethnically diverse workforce has a number of advantages,' adds Ms Fitzpatrick. 'It helps BME families feel that they belong, helps families interact with people from ethnic backgrounds that they might not otherwise encounter, and helps children prepare for a multicultural society, particularly important when they start school.'
FURTHER INFORMATION
'Ensuring Equality - the black and minority ethnic childcare workforce' costs £5 and is available from Daycare Trust, by e-mailing publications@daycaretrust.org.uk.
The paper forms part of the Daycare Trust Ensuring Equality project, funded by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation.
