The Chancellor's Budget announcement of funding for 1,700 children's centres in England, ahead of July's spending review, is a sure sign that children's centres are an idea whose time has come.
The Budget provided funding for children's centres in the most disadvantaged wards until 2008. Building on Sure Start programmes, Neighbourhood Nurseries and the extended schools agenda, the centres will bring together childcare and early education, health and family support, employment and other services. The challenge now is making these centres a reality for children and families.
We must also keep our eyes on the long-term pledge by the Chancellor for a children's centre in every community. Indeed some councils are leading the way by planning centres well beyond the 20 per cent most disadvantaged wards.
There are some key questions to be addressed by a long-term strategy:
* what is the vision of universal children's centres? In particular, how does it embrace and work with childminding, childminding networks, other home-based childcare and out-of-school care for older children to provide flexible childcare choices to all families?
* how do we reach all families, especially those missing out on services?
* how will children's centres be funded in the long term?
* how do we ensure childcare in centres is both affordable and sustainable?
* how do we develop the workforce to deliver services in children's centres? We need to start now to grow the workforce for the next 20 to 30 years.
It is easy to be impatient about progress. Children's centres are not a new idea - ask Coram Family and Pen Green - but they were only first recognised as such and funded in the 2002 spending review. Two years on, we have funding for 1,700 centres. The key task in the coming months is to develop the strategy to create universal children's centres that meet many of the Government's policy aims - ending child poverty, giving all children the best start in life, and enabling parents to fulfil their potential. That surely is a goal worth fighting for.
