Other policy
Policy: the children's national service framework
23 Feb 2004
Setting standards for health and social services for children, young people and pregnant women, the NSF aims to ensure fair, high quality and integrated health and social care from pregnancy right through to adulthood.
At the heart of the Children's NSF is a fundamental change in thinking about health and social care services. It is intended to lead to a cultural shift, resulting in services being designed and delivered around the needs of children and families. The Children's NSF is aimed at everyone who comes into contact with, or delivers services to children, young people or pregnant women. There are 11 standards of which the first two are directly relevant to the development of young children’s communication skills.
Standard 1. Promotion of health and well-being of all children through comprehensive family support services:
Working towards this standard will meet the national target (jointly set for DfES and the Department for Work and Pensions) to improve children's communication, social and emotional development, so that by 2008, 50% of children reach a good level of development at the end of the reception year in primary school (end of the Foundation stage of the National Curriculum).
Standard 2. Parents and carers are enabled to receive the information, services and support which will help them to care for their children and to equip them with the skills they need to ensure that their children have optimum life chances and are healthy and safe.
This standard includes support for parents of pre-school children to help children develop secure attachments and maximise their health, social and emotional development through optimising the quality of the relationship between parents and child.
(National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services, 2004)
For further information visit www.dh.gov.uk.
