£35,000 a year super nanny to the rescue

8:34am Friday 9th March 2007

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A SUPER nanny employed on a salary of £35,000 will teach parents in Bolton how to bring up their children.

The "senior parenting practitioner", expected to deal with between 35 and 40 families each year, will be helped by two support workers on a salary of £23,000 each.

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The roles have been created by Bolton Council after it was awarded a total of £175,000 by the Government as part of its Respect campaign.

The Government has targeted Bolton as one of 40 Respect action areas - parts of the country troubled by anti-social behaviour.

Bolton's super nanny will be employed on an initial one year contract, as will the parenting support workers.

Under the plans, approved by Cllr Ismail Ibrahim, executive member for culture and community services, and Cllr Frank White, executive member for human resources, the rest of the Government grant will be spent by a multi-agency group.

The Parenting Joint Commissioning Group is currently working on a new parenting strategy for Bolton.

As part of its bid for the Government grant, the council highlighted the Bolton Families Project, which works with "neighbours from hell" to help stave off the need for evictions.

The council will also host "Face The People" sessions, where senior council officers and police will listen to residents' concerns. And safety awareness sessions will educate parents on issues including arson and alcohol abuse, which could put their children at risk.

The success of the initiative will be measured against new Respect targets, which will be set from April and based on Audit Commission surveys looking at people's perception of problems like noisy neighbours, vandalism, drugs and litter. A recent survey of 1,226 Bolton residents found that 68 per cent of people believed parents not being made to take responsibility for their children was a big problem.

Council and Labour group leader, Cllr Cliff Morris, said: "I'm pleased we have got this money from the Government and I hope it can make a real difference.

"We will be using it extremely wisely because it is important we get this right and the super nanny will be a high profile post.

"It is not a gimmick because the money is there and these people will be working with parents."