Published on Liberal Democrat Voice

by Cara Jenkinson | Mon 21st July 2014 – 10:54 am

I’m a governor at Seven Sisters Primary School and South Grove Children’s Centre in Tottenham, where we’ve been running a programme for two-year-olds from deprived backgrounds for the last three years. We’ve tracked the progress these children make, and it’s clear there are real benefits. This is a good Lib Dem policy, aiming to break down the barriers that hold back children from poorer families.

In September, the eligibility criteria for the programme will be widened, so that around 40% of two-year-olds become eligible. In Haringey, that means that around 1,790 children be entitled to a place. Now Haringey has two problems – first, that it only has around 650 places, and, secondly, that take-up of places is low.

The Department for Education are encouraging primary schools with nurseries to take up the scheme. This makes sense, as it eases the transition to nursery education and it starts building the links with parents that are so important during a child’s time at primary school. Also, the school can achieve economies of scale by sharing staff between the nursery and the two-year-old provision. A school that has a children’s centre is at a natural advantage here – it is easier for them to recruit two-year-olds, as they have built relationships with parents already, they have experience of working with very young children and have the required facilities.

However, this model is being threatened by potential outsourcing of children’s centres, which many local authorities, including Haringey, are considering. If an external provider runs the children’s centre, it is unlikely to establish such a close relationship with its neighbouring school. Without the economies of scale that can be achieved through staff sharing, the costs of providing the two-year-old programme (which is not generously funded by central government) may prove prohibitive.

The education of children from deprived backgrounds must be considered in a holistic way. Through building up relationships and trust with families over the long-term, poor children will achieve far more. So, local authorities should consider carefully the impact of commissioning external providers to run children’s centres.

Photo by earlyarts/Professional Development for Creative people