As Sure Start centres throughout England prepare for possible closure in the face of impending cuts, London Early Years Foundation chief June O'Sullivan sums up the mood in the children's sector.
This has been an interesting week or so for the sector. Firstly, Graham Allen MP finally launched his much anticipated report on early intervention at the Gherkin which I attended.
It was a room full of bankers and Early Years* people – and I was most amused to realise that I knew quite a few of the bankers. We have been working with bankers for some time, in the hope of developing a social investment plan to extend our training programmes for young apprentices. However, the event did remind me of a wedding – the groom’s family in one corner and the bride’s in the other, with no-one sure how to bridge the gap and mumblings as to whether this partnership would last (a comment also made by Graham Allen himself who recognised the challenge of developing social impact bonds).
The Deputy Prime Minister was also in attendance and, looking quite boyish, confirmed the commitment of the coalition government to the Early Years programme and social mobility, whilst assuring us of the need for investment in a fairer society.
Elsewhere this week, Acevo invited Sarah Teather, minister for children and families, to breakfast. Here she presided over the launch of a special taskforce – including yours truly, amongst several other experts from across the sector. Our task, it transpired, is to support the minister in converting the government’s objectives into a coherent vision for Early Years.
Sarah Tether appears keen on the principle of 'co-production', a concept very familiar to us in social enterprise. Like most modern jargon, it’s a clumsy expression that obscures good intentions: to work alongside people and get their views as part of a process of contribution and mutuality. It’s a great approach for people like me who enjoy talking and networking with colleagues.
On my return to my own lovely team, I was able to reassure them that charities such as the Children’s Society, Action for Children and Spurgeons all struggle as we do – with complex contracts and barriers to commissioning. In the spirit of the Big Society, it seems that sharing, connecting and linking together is the future, one of which I particularly approve.
On this subject, last week we put our own head above the parapet and urged everyone else to do the same – with the hope of ensuring that if children’s centres were to close, the right ones would be chosen for the right reasons, and those that were needed would remain. The response has been heartening, particularly from parents and those professionals who really believe in finding the means of supporting children from poor and vulnerable families. Sadly, there are still too many people working in the world of children and families who have remained ominously silent.
With this in mind, I invite you all to devour, discuss and share our Ten Steps to a Sustainable, Intergenerational Children Centre, part of our broader review of recent research relating to the current situation, Children’s Centres: A Way Forward.
June O'Sullivan is chief executive of the London Early Years Foundation
*Early Years is a national strategy from the Department for Education for early year development
