We know the early years are key, so we’re renewing the ambition of Sure Start for the next generation
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3 min read
“If I were a real socialist,” said former Labour education secretary Charles Clarke in 2004, “I wouldn’t spend a penny on higher education – I’d spend it all on nursery education.”
Charles was, of course, being facetious. Labour put plenty of money into higher education, opening up new routes to university for young people as never before. But the point he made was clear: governments make the most difference to young lives in their earliest years.
Investing in the early years was central to the vision of that Labour government – just as it is for this one. The power of that investment isn’t just the dividends that society reaps in the years that follow but the transformation of young people’s life chances. It’s what lies at the heart of this government’s mission – the defining mission of all Labour governments.
That is why we’ve made record investment in early years education, offering new funded hours to children from nine months old; why we’ve revived Sure Start for a new generation; and why the Prime Minister made increasing the number of children coming to school ready to learn such a major priority.
And just as we know that the early years are the wellspring of opportunity later in life, we know too of the challenges that can emerge by not intervening early with the youngest children – problems that go on to hamper their education and what they can go on to achieve. There is no clearer example of this than in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The earliest years are when children’s brains develop fastest. Getting help in place early can shape how children communicate, learn and interact with the world long before they ever set foot in a classroom.
Any delay comes at a cost to us all but particularly for individual children. A system – like the one this government inherited – that waits for children to struggle before stepping in is morally indefensible, and not something this government will stand for.
As minister for early education, I’m creating a Best Start Family Hubs programme that will deliver change from which all children will benefit.
Best Start Family Hubs will represent a fundamental reimagining of how we support children and families, renewing the ambition of Sure Start for the next generation.
At their core is a simple idea: early support, including for SEND, should be easy to access, joined-up across services, and focused on children’s development – not on families having to navigate complex processes before help can begin.
Each hub will bring together health, early education and family services. They will mean no more falling through the cracks between multiple systems, or waiting for crisis before action is taken. Best Start Family Hubs will act as a universal front door to early support.
But they are just one important piece of the puzzle. They sit alongside wider SEND reform – including the most ambitious and comprehensive SEND training offer the education system has ever seen, and tens of thousands of new specialist places in mainstream schools – in building a joined-up education system where inclusion is the norm from the early years onwards.
Our ambition is clear: to move from a system that reacts too late to one that supports children early and consistently. Best Start Family Hubs are opening the door to early support that has been closed for too long, alongside wider SEND reform to ensure inclusion is built in from the start. A gateway to better life chances for children in every community, in every corner of our country.
That’s a vision of which I’m sure any Labour government would be proud.
Olivia Bailey is the Labour MP for Reading West and Mid Berkshire, and is the minister for early education
