Little Hands Sure Start
Customised PQASSO Training
2008

Sure Start is a government initiative, which targets the 0-4 years age group, their parents and the communities they live in. Little Hands Sure Start is based in Derry and provides a range of locally based services which are family and community led. These include the provision of extra support for families from the antenatal stages of pregnancy and throughout, providing help and advice in all areas of child development, play, behaviour and all aspects of health.

Little Hands Sure Start wanted to ensure a consistency in the standard of services delivered by organisations in the North Western area and to raise the quality of services provided to families in the area. The organisation commissioned CENI to deliver customised PQASSO training to nine Sure Start Project Managers in this area as well as to other voluntary and statutory organisations working alongside the Sure Start Projects. The training took participants through the steps and stages involved in introducing the PQASSO quality system within their organisations. It included examples of quality areas and familiarisation with the self-assessment process including scoring against quality indicators, supporting evidence and action planning.

The training benefited both the organisations taking part, by allowing them to look at ways of improving their delivery mechanisms; and also the families in the area by ensuring they received improved services.

Part of the Sure Start model on Outcomes in the Western Board is Quality Assurance, and the Western Area Childcare Partnership recognised the importance of the PQASSO model within this. I feel that Quality Assurance is vital if organisations are to continue to provide the best possible services. The PQASSO training proved to be invaluable as it gave participants the tools to begin improving their performance and indeed many have already begun implementing the PQASSO model into their daily practices