Strategic Aims

The strategy overall is concerned to create a new generation of opportunities for the people of the Greater Shankill Area and aims to -

• Recognise, value, support and empower parents in their parenting role in a widespread process of community engagement.
  
  
• Maximise the potential for development of a new generations early years as a foundation for life.
  
  
• Raise the value placed on education by the Greater Shankill Community.
  
  
• Enable and support parents to make use of relevant pathways of opportunity in education, training, employment and community involvement.
  
  
• Create a key strategic process of renewal within the community of the Greater Shankill Area, which will catalyse the wider regeneration strategy for the area. This synergy is to achieve lasting improvement and change.

Objectives

The Greater Shankill Urban Programme will

• Offer personal support to every parent of a new generation of children in the area Greater Shankill from ante-natal care through early years of their child's life (at least 3 years) leading seamlessly into nursery and primary education.
  
  
• Develop parents self confidence esteem and skills, linking the parents into a wider social and community network.
  
  
• Provide opportunities and support to those parents who wish to engage in training, education, leisure, community involvement and thereby improve employability.
  
  
• Train and employ at least 50 people (whole time equivalents) as support workers, who will directly relate to families with new children, in a structured integrated process.
  
  
• Develop a community support network encompassing daycare, play groups and parent group training, education, leisure and employment.
  
  
• Adapt or build, where necessary, physical infrastructure to realise these opportunities.