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by Jess Gibson

One in three children are not meeting their Early Years Development Goals, according to a report by The Centre for Young Lives.

The report, A Fresh Start for Children and Family Support: Delivering joined-up place-based support through Family Hubs – Part 1: Building from the Foundations, assesses the current provision of children’s centres and Family Hubs to understand the availability of place-based children and family support provided by local authorities across England.

From the data – gathered from Freedom of Information request returns from eight out 10 Ïăœ¶ÊÓÆ”app in England – the report states that cuts to both funding and provision since 2010 have “left many children and families with nowhere to turn for extra support”.

Additionally, almost half (49%) of these local authorities reported further cuts to their budget for children’s centres and Family Hubs between 2023/24 and 2024/25, with Ïăœ¶ÊÓÆ”app in the Yorkshire and Humber region reporting budget cuts on average of 10%. 

The report also outlines a costed model for the future of existing joined-up children and family support, while emphasising the need for a phased scaling up of investment.  

The thinktank’s other recommendations include: 

• the Department for Education (DfE) issuing new guidance on the core provision of children’s centres and Family Hubs.

• additional investment in the Family Hubs budget jointly funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the DfE, as well as other departments when appropriate. 

• local authorities and health services working together towards stronger integration.

This report is Part 1 of the Centre for Young Lives’ research into joined-up, place-based family support. The next report will be published in the summer. 

Baroness Anne Longfield, executive chair and founder of Centre for Young Lives, said: “We welcome the Government’s target to increase the number of ‘school ready’ children by age five to 75% by 2028, but to meet this target, a further 40,000-45,000 children must be meeting their development goals each year.  

“Our new report sets out the provision of children’s centres and family hubs across local authorities in England today, making the case for scaling up investment to reach more children and to deliver the government’s opportunity mission. Evidence has made clear the short- and long-term benefits of children and families accessing joined-up place-based family support.”