Nursery World - Adviser calls on DfE to set up a single children and families strategy

With a new ministerial team at the Department for Education appointed, a former adviser to Michael Gove is calling for a joint parental engagement and family learning policy.

PHOTO Adobe Stock

Sam Freedman, senior fellow at the Institute for Government and former senior policy adviser at the Department for Education, says while there has been some investment in family hubs, which have many similarities to the Sure Start programme, it is yet to be seen whether the government under Liz Truss ‘pursues any of these policies with greater or lesser interest.'

He said, 'But there are now at least some foundations for considering how a unifying agenda around the theme of family learning and parental engagement could be revived.’

Freedman was an adviser at the DfE between 2010 – 2013 when Gove was education secretary. He has written a paper for Campaign for Learning setting out how family learning and parental engagement agendas can be revived to benefit learning at all ages.

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included