Literacy news

Department for Education announces independent commission into early intervention

28 Jul 2010

Plans for an independent commission into early intervention, which aims to ensure that children at greatest risk of multiple disadvantage get the best start in life, has been announced by the Department for Education (DfE). The new commission will be chaired by Graham Allen MP, confirmed Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Labour MP for Nottingham North, Iain Duncan Smith and Children’s Minister, Sarah Teather.

Early intervention can provide children with the social and emotional support needed to help fulfil their potential and break the cycles of underachievement which blight some of our poorest communities. The commission will look at and recommend the best models for early intervention and advise on how these could be extended to all parts of the country. It will also consider how such schemes could be supported through innovative funding models, including through non-Government streams.

The enquiry is being commissioned as one of the first pieces of work to be remitted to the Social Justice Cabinet Committee, chaired by Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith. The committee is the first time that a cross-departmental approach is applied to tackling the causes of poverty and will ensure that each departments’ proposals deliver fairness and achieve a social return on investment.

Accepting the role of chair, Graham Allen MP says:

“I am taking on this added burden not for sectional interest or to score political points but to improve the life chances for people in constituencies like mine. Nottingham has proved we can intervene successfully. Now we not only need to prove we can take early intervention to a national level, we also need to find inventive ways to fund it in a time of economic drought.”

Children’s Minister Sarah Teather says:

“No child’s future should be predetermined by the decisions or mistakes of his or her parents, and I firmly believe every child should have the chance to succeed, regardless of their background. Intervening earlier with troubled families can not only prevent children and their parents falling into a cycle of deprivation, antisocial behaviour and poverty but can save thousands if not millions of pounds in the longer term.

This review demonstrates the importance the Government places on improving early intervention, we want to learn from the areas already pioneering a successful approach to tackling troubled families early and build on local good practice.”

The review will report by the end of January 2011 on the issue of best practice and provide an interim report on funding. A final report on funding will be produced by May 2011.

You can read the full press release on the DfE website here.

Tags: Early Years, Early years sector, Local Authorities, Partners in Literacy

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