Speaking at the Daycare Trust's annual conference in London last week, she said she wanted to persuade delegates that change brought 'enormous opportunity' and that Government policy would reflect a long-term approach to achieving the best for children.
'We know disadvantaged children are particularly sensitive to the quality of offer and we want to find out how we get that quality right,' she said. 'There will be a basket of new measures to define quality. Local authorities need to plan ahead over the next 12 months to increase their capacity.'
Gavin Barber from Oxfordshire County Council expressed concern that entitlement to free school meals was being used as the criteria for places. He said, 'To be successful this needs to be responsive to families' needs, and to tie it specifically to financial criteria is risky and can stigmatise a child before they start school.'
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