A Salford-based nursery, primary school and children's centre are flourishing thanks to a commitment to partnership working from staff at all three settings.
The Fledglings nursery is one of a chain of three in the Manchester area and in 2007 it became the core childcare provider for Fiddlers Lane Children's Centre, which is based on the site of a community primary school. Prior to teaming up with the centre, Fledglings, which opened in 2001, was one of Salford's neighbourhood nurseries.
The partnership between the nursery, school and children's centre proved so effective that it was agreed Fledglings would extend its services into two rooms in the adjoining children's centre building, which increased the number of places at Fledglings from 111 to 149.
The two parts of the nursery are linked by a footpath across the school playing field and children from the school, nursery and children's centre share outdoor provision. They also take part in joint activities, including events such as Nursery Rhyme Days.
Christopher Gray, director and owner of Fledglings, says 'Since Fledglings has been on site the school numbers have grown. Parents like it because it becomes very familiar - their children go to nursery and then go on to school - so they see it as a natural progression. When children start school they are just five metres away from where they went to our nursery. They can even see the nursery from the school window.
ONE STOP SERVICE
In addition to full wraparound care, families who use the nursery can benefit from a range of services at the children's centre, including adult education, stay and play sessions, breastfeeding advice groups, post-natal support and parenting workshops. Staff from both settings work hard to ensure that families see them as an integrated team.
David Fielding, the children's centre manager, says, 'If a child at the nursery needs extra help, for example, with speech and language, we try to make the process of getting that help as straightforward for the parent as possible.'
He adds, 'Behind the scenes we may need to consult with different people at the local authority but we are keen to ensure that for the parent it is as much of a "one-stop" process as possible. What we don't want is for that parent to feel that they are constantly being pas
sed from one point of contact to another.'
Savine Stritch, principal of the nursery, adds, 'One recent example of partnership working was the case of one child who was being cared for by her grandmother because her mother had been hospitalised. The children's centre staff completed the Common Assessment Framework and applied for additional funding through the sponsored childcare scheme, and the child is now coming to Fledglings for four-and-a-half days a week while her mother gets better.'
Fledglings is regularly visited by a children's centre lead teacher who offers help and advice and trains the nursery staff to support and care for children with additional needs.
'The lead teacher has spent a lot of time developing our practice around outdoor play,' says Miss Stritch. 'She also organised trips to other children's centres which gave us an insight into how other settings are working with local families.'
SHARING A VISION
It is clear that staff from the nursery, children's centre and school enjoy an excellent working relationship, but Mr Gray admits that it took time to adjust to the policies and procedures that come hand in hand with working with the maintained sector.
'There were some differences that we had to get used to,' he says. 'As a private provider we have direct control, whereas when working with the children's centre there are a number of steps that have to be followed. For example, in the private sector a provider is free to choose an architect or builder. However, when we work with the children's centre there is a list of approved contractors and a process that you need to go through and everything takes twice as long and at double the cost.'
Mr Gray adds, 'I would say that issues around finance are also more complicated because there is not as much freedom. The money gets allocated for a certain area and if you don't spend it, it gets taken back and can't be used the following year. I would like to see this change as I believe it inhibits how the children's centre works.'
Julie Carson, head teacher at Fiddlers Lane Community Primary School, admits that there were 
some teething problems that had to be overcome for staff from all three settings to be able to work with each other effectively.
'There was some apprehension at first because we did not know each other's vision for what we wanted the nursery and the children's centre to be,' she says. 'But we tackled this by ensuring that there was an excellent level of communication between staff from the school, the nursery and the children's centre.'
Mrs Carson believes that some people in the maintained sector have preconceptions about private providers and believe that their priority is to make a profit. 'However, it was very clear to me from the beginning that Fledglings wants the best for every child and that the children are their number one priority,' she says.
READY FOR CHALLENGES
While many children's centres fear the worst as they wait to hear how government cuts will play out at a local level, Fiddlers Lane Children's Centre is optimistic that Salford City Council will continue to support the setting and invest in the services that it provides to the local community.
'Of course it is worrying,' says Mr Fielding, 'but we have never known what would happen to the funding for Sure Start after 2011 so we are used to the uncertainty. We have always felt that the council is supportive of children's centres, but not knowing what is going to happen does limit our ability to plan ahead.'
Mr Gray acknowledges the road ahead may be far from smooth for all types of providers. 'There is uncertainty over the economic prosperity of the Manchester region,' he says.
'But there are other challenges we are facing this year - for example, the implementation of the Early Years Single Funding Formula in April and changes to maternity leave entitlements which have implications for both our staff and our customers - we do not yet know what impact these changes will have.'
However, Fledglings has set the wheels in motion with plans to expand the nursery chain and has acquired a former pub in Stockport, which it wants to convert into a day nursery for around 90 children.
'The building is in the centre of a housing estate and has been empty for more than 12 months,' says Mr Gray. 'It is ideal for conversion into a day nursery as it has a car park for 24 vehicles, an extensive rear garden area and it is on a bus route. We are waiting for planning permission and hope to begin work on the property this spring.'
