NCB and many other of the organisations involved in the Firm Foundations Campaign welcomed the Review this week as an opportunity to refine and improve but cautioned against fundamental change.  You can read a selection of press comments here.

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Welfare Reform Bill which will be making changes to the tax credits system and abolishing Child Trust Funds

Schools and Children’s Bill which will give schools greater independence and parents powers to set up schools

Public Bodies Reform Bill which will abolish some non-department government bodies and limit powers

Freedom Bill which will abolish ContactPoint

The Firm Foundations Campaign is very pleased to see the commitment to ring-fenced Sure Start and schools budgets announced yesterday in the Chancellor’s Emergency Budget, along with commitments to the free nursery entitlement, to ending child poverty by 2020 and to stop detaining children for immigration purposes.

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At a hustings event organised by Barnardo’s today, David Willetts, Shadow Cabinet Minister for Universities and Skills, with special responsibility for family policy said that there were no plans to allow for top-up fees but that the current funding arrangements for the free entitlement needed to be reviewed.

In an article by Polly Toynbee in yesterday’s Guardian, she outlines responses by Michael Gove on this question.

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Labour Party

The Labour Party Manifesto, A future fair for all, includes:

• Increasing frontline spending on Sure Start and flexible free nursery education.
• Pioneering mutual federations running groups of local Children’s Centres.
• Strengthening parental involvement with Children’s Centres.  
• Ensuring that every pupil leaving primary school is secure in the basics, with a 3Rs guarantee of one-to-one and small-group tuition for every child falling behind.
• Guaranteeing term-time childcare and constructive activities before and after the primary school day.
• Expanding Family Nurse Partnerships to all vulnerable young mothers, reducing future crime and behavioural problems.
• Giving more help for parents in balancing work and family life, with a ‘Father’s Month’ of flexible paid leave.
• Instigating a new Toddler Tax Credit of £4 a week from 2012 to support to all parents of young children – whether they want to stay at home or work.
• Continuing progress towards the goal of ending child poverty by 2020, building on the 2010 Child Poverty Act
• Protecting the Child Trust Fund, and contributing an additional £100 a year to the Child Trust Funds of all disabled children.

To read the Labour Manifesto visit http://www2.labour.org.uk/labours-manifesto-for-a-future-fair-for-all

Conservative Party

The Conservative Party Manifesto, Invitation to join the Government of Britain, includes:

• Discontinuing tax credits to households earning more than £50,000. Cutting government contributions to Child Trust Funds for all but the poorest third of families and those with disabled children.
• Instigating a new system of flexible parental leave allowing parents share maternity leave between them, while ensuring that parents on leave can stay in touch with their employer.
• Reviewing the way the childcare industry is regulated and funded to ensure that no providers, including childminders, are put at a disadvantage.
• Taking Sure Start back to its original purpose of early intervention, increasing its focus on the neediest families, and better involving organisations with a track record in supporting families.
• Providing 4,200 more Sure Start health visitors – paid for out of the Department of Health budget and by refocusing Sure Start’s peripatetic outreach services.
• Ensuring that new Sure Start providers are paid in part by the results they achieve.
• Putting funding for early intervention and parenting support into one budget, overseen by a single, newly-created Early Years Support Team.
• Introducing smaller primary school class sizes and a reading test at age six.

To read the Conservative Manifesto visit: http://www.conservatives.com/Policy/Manifesto.aspx

Liberal Democrat Party

The Liberal Democrat Party Manifesto 2010 includes:

• Replacing the Early Years Foundation Stage with a slimmed-down framework with a range of educational approaches and enough flexibility for every young child.
• Replacing the National Curriculum with a slimmed down ‘Minimum Curriculum Entitlement’ to be delivered by every state-funded school.
• Guaranteeing Special Educational Needs diagnostic assessments for all 5-year-olds, improve SEN provision and improve SEN training for teachers.
• Allowing parents to share the allocation of maternity and paternity leave between them in whatever way suits them best, and extending the period of shared parental leave up to 18 months when economic circumstances allow.
• Extending the right to request flexible working to all employees, making it easier for grandparents, for example, to take a caring role.
• Protecting existing childcare support arrangements until the nation’s finances can support a longer term solution – a move to 20 hours free childcare for every child, from the age of 18 months.
• Supporting efforts by childcare providers to encourage more men to work in this profession.
• Discontinuing Government payments into Child Trust Funds, and targeting tax credit payments to those who need them most.

To read the Liberal Democrat Manifesto visit: http://www.libdems.org.uk/our_manifesto.aspx

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In the run-up to the  General Election, you have the opportunity to make your voice heard about the importance of investment in high quality early education and care for our youngest citizens for voters like you.  Please write to your local newspaper to encourage support for the Campaign.

Click here to find contact details for your the editors of the local newspapers in your area.

Click Dear Editor for our suggested text for your letter or email. Please feel free to add to this or compose your own to highlight your personal views or any particular local services or issues.

Please do let us know whether you get any response using any of our feedback forms or email: firmfoundations@ncb.org.uk

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NCB’s Early Childhood Unit has long championed the importance of high quality services for babies and young children and their families, both to promote well-being and tackle disadvantage.

Sue Owen, Director, Well-Being, NCB, said: ‘We are particularly pleased at the Committee’s recognition that the development of Children’s Centres has been solidly based on evidence that the early years are when the greatest difference can be made to a child’s life chances. We also welcome the Committee’s conclusions that Children’s Centres should remain a service for all young children and their families, and that they need long-term policy and financial security in order to properly evaluate their impact.

Our commitment to Children’s Centres is one of the reasons we established the ‘Firm Foundations’ Campaign. It promotes the need for high quality services and investment for our youngest children, which is the basis for the Children’s Centre model.’

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It is one of the top ten most read articles in today’s papers.

The Firm Foundations Campaign will be responding to the editor and you also respond online – both direct to the newspaper and also by sharing your views on this site.

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The government will announce a review of food standards in nurseries today as ministers launch a fresh pre-election assault on the Tories over their plans for Sure start centres.

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