Under the banner Foundations for the Future, 4Children has been awarded £500,000 for the next two years to be the strategic lead for a group of organisations - Children England, Contact a Family, Daycare Trust, Fatherhood Institute and Social Investment Business.
The contract is part of the Department for Education's voluntary and community sector (VCS) grant scheme for organisations working with children, young people, parents and families, with an emphasis on early intervention and disadvantage.
A total of £60m a year for the next two years has been awarded to the voluntary sector. The largest single allocation is £4,485,000 a year for Camila Batmanghelidjh's Kids Company charity.
The Government intends organisations to move towards self-sufficiency after two years, with the second year of funding dependent on meeting outcomes in the first year. Around £6m from the £60m total is available to help organisations achieve sustainability after the funding ends.
In the future, alternative sources of funding will include the early intervention grant, services commissioned by schools, the National Citizen Service, which will include £100m transition funding, and money from the Big Society Bank.
Awards have been made in five areas considered priorities: families and relationship support, early years and childcare, child protection and safeguarding, young people, and children in care.
However, the key membership organisations representing early years settings and childminders - the National Day Nurseries Association, the Pre-School Learning Alliance and the National Childminding Association - are not part of the strategic partnership.
Pre-School Learning Alliance chief executive Neil Leitch said, 'It is difficult to understand how a strategic partner can effectively argue that it represents the sector when it does not include any of the dedicated early years membership organisations in England.
'Regardless, we will continue to ensure that the voice of our own 14,000 member groups is heard and that their opinions and views are not diluted in any way.'
He said the Alliance was partially successful in its bid for promoting participation in early learning by disadvantaged families and children with disabilities.
Anne Longfield, chief executive of 4Children, (pictured), said, '4Children is really pleased and proud to be asked to work with Government on this vital area of policy and delivery. These are challenging times for local authorities and early years providers. Our role of strategic partner will enable us to bring together a dynamic group of organisations with specialist expertise and extensive reach throughout the country in a new partnership.'
4Children was also awarded grants to develop leadership in children's centres and business and sustainability support.
Many organisations in the list, including the PLA and the NCMA, have had their funding cut back.
The NCMA was awarded £1.1m over two years to create a national infrastructure of home-based childcare networks, with a focus on professional development and quality improvement.
Joint chief executive Catherine Farrell said, 'Home-based childcare is a fundamental part of early years provision and the DfE funding will enable NCMA to create an infrastructure to support our members in their work on quality improvement and professional development, which will in turn offer enormous potential benefits to children and their families.'
Children's minister Tim Loughton said the £60m was 'a significant investment in a tough financial climate, and is only one aspect of the funding we will route through the voluntary and community sector.'
