Grant awarded to pilot childcare 'hubs'

The new hubs aim to offer parents more flexibility with high-quality childcare.

The two-year programmes are funded through the Department for Education's Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) grant programme.

Seventy-two organisations share a total of around £50m over two years, from 2013-15, to implement national projects and services for children, young people and families.

Applicants were asked to submit bids for projects with an emphasis on early intervention and supporting the most disadvantaged.

Alongside consortium partners, including the Innovation Trust, OPM, and Contact A Family, 4Children will develop Community Childcare Hubs so that parents can access nursery and childminder support from one co-ordinated source.

The charity's Reach Out programme will support children's centres to develop their services for disadvantaged families, including links to 'troubled families'.

4Children's chief executive Anne Longfield said, 'These important and innovative programmes recognise the importance of childcare and children's centres for both children and their parents. They draw on leading thinking and practice from around the country to ensure they are doing all they can to respond to the complexities of family life - especially for those families who are experiencing difficulties.

'The new Community Childcare Hubs are a truly progressive development which have real potential to deliver major wins for children, families and childcare providers. Through the hubs, parents will benefit from flexible and responsive childcare that is both high quality and sustainable. They will provide the flexible and reliable resource that families increasingly need as they juggle their working patterns and demands.'

She added, 'I'm delighted that 4Children will continue to champion children's centres and through this "Reach Out" programme, help them to offer the best possible support for local families. Given the difficult times that families are now facing, it's more important than ever that all staff have the know-how to intervene in problems early, before they become entrenched, and have the latest understanding of what works at their fingertips.'

The National Children's Bureau was awarded the largest grant for three separate projects, totalling £2.9m.

The NCB was awarded more than £1m to develop accredited training routes for practitioners using a multi-media approach, focussing on supporting two-year-olds.

The National Day Nurseries Association has been awarded £1m for policy development and delivery of services to improve the quality of childcare and early education, and the Pre-School Learning Alliance £1.2m to deliver workforce training to improve early education and childcare settings. However, the Professional Association of Childcare and Early Years (PACEY), previously the National Childminding Association, has not been awarded any funding from the grant.

Other organisations awarded grants to support young children and their families, include the National Literacy Trust, allocated £941,775 to develop a model for children's centres to work with the most vulnerable families and support volunteers to improve children's early literacy and language skills.