Opinion: In my view - Our vision for children
Maria Miller MP, shadow minister for children, schools and
families
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Every child deserves the chance to reach their potential. But in this country, social mobility is stagnating, with children from the most deprived neighbourhoods less likely to reach their full potential.
Despite this Government spending 17bn on early years andchildcare since 1997, the attainment levels of six-year-olds from themost disadvantaged backgrounds have not improved, and their writinglevels have in fact worsened.
The Government's obsession with centralised, centre-based childcare hasundermined private, voluntary and independent providers as well aschildminders. It is crucial we have a diverse market that provides fordiffering needs.
Health visitors are vital for delivering the support and advice parentsneed and it is such a shame that the number of health visitors hasdeclined substantially under this Government. We want to reintroduce auniversal health visiting service. Knowing that parents are more likelyto split up in the first year after a child's birth, we also want toreplicate a service in the Netherlands called Kraamzorg which givesparents practical support in the home in the first few weeks after achild's birth.
We must not forget that most children are part of families.Strengthening families is therefore the most important thing we can doto give children the best start in life. It is time to end the couplepenalty in the benefits system which gives parents more money if theylive apart.
A commitment to supporting families and delivering high-qualitychildcare that meets the needs of different parents lies at the heart ofthe Conservative vision. We know how crucial the early years are forshaping lives and that is why we are determined to implement policiesthat give children, particularly from the most deprived backgrounds, thebest start in life.
