Starting Well
Phase One
Launched in November 2000, in its first phase Starting Well aimed to demonstrate that child health in Glasgow can be improved by a programme of activities that both supports families and provides them with access to enhanced community-based resources.
Phase One of Starting Well covered two areas of Glasgow - Gorbals, Govanhill and North Toryglen (in the South of the city), and the Eastern and Western suburbs of Greater Easterhouse (in the East of the city). A universal model of service provision was established in these two socio-economically deprived areas of Glasgow and implemented through health visitor-led skill mix teams.
Independent evaluation reports of Starting Well Phase One have been published and are available on this site.
There are also a range of internal reports, articles and learning materials on Starting Well's and NHS Health Scotland's websites.
Phase Two
In 2003, Improving Health in Scotland: The Challenge signalled commitment to a second phase of the Demonstration Project programme. Phase Two of Starting Well was launched in Spring 2005, with Scottish Executive funding until the end of March 2006.
Phase Two (2005-2006) of Starting Well aimed to demonstrate that the well-being of vulnerable and disadvantaged children and families can be enhanced through an integrated and cohesive multi-disciplinary and multi-agency approach to the provision of care.
It focused on the needs of the most vulnerable children (aged 0-5 years) and their families, through a multi-disciplinary and multi-agency team including Social Work, Education and Health. The work will be extended across Glasgow by the end of 2006 and has been developed in the context of the national implementation of Hall 4 (Health For All Children) guidance, which places emphasis on targeting of interventions for children and families at risk.
Glasgow will have two PACT (Parents and Children Together) teams based in each of its Community Health and Care Partnerships (CHCPs). PACT is the legacy of the Starting Well national demonstration project. PACT is a multi-agency team comprised of staff from Health, Social Work and the voluntary sector with support from Education Services. These are funded and delivered as part of mainstream services within the five CHCPs in Glasgow, following the end of Starting Well's demonstration period in March 2006.
Further details are available in the Phase Two plan.
Learning from Starting Well
The independent evaluation report of Phase One is available on the Early Years National Learning Network website and a 'portfolio' of internal evaluation reports is also available. The portfolio offers service-based representation of the work of the project with families in both Phase One and Phase Two. The Learning Network website also provides access to a range of evaluation reports and learning materials. During 2006/07, two Development and Dissemination advisors based at NHS Health Scotland, will share the learning from Starting Well nationally.