Recruitment and training issues shadowed the Government's revelations of plans for its Sure Start unit, which is overseeing work in early years, childcare and Sure Start in England.
At a conference in Westminster last week, education and skills secretary Charles Clarke spoke to delegates about the interdepartmental unit, which has brought together the Department for Education and Skills and the Department for Work and Pensions. Mr Clarke said, 'Sure Start will help local authorities provide joined-up services to ensure that every child receives the best start in life, with targeted support directed at areas where it is most needed.'
Naomi Eisenstadt, who has been appointed director of the Sure Start unit, said that the bringing together of the two departments, which were split in May 2001 soon after the General Election, was 'the most radical rethink' she had ever experienced.
The Government said it intends to set up 522 Sure Start local programmes by March 2004, many of which will be integrated with children's centres in disadvantaged areas. Children's centres should be offering childcare, health and family support services to 650,000 children by 2006.
But David Panter, chief executive at Brighton and Hove council, who was one of the conference speakers, told delegates that with the expansion of Neighbourhood Nurseries, there was a 'huge problem with having to keep pace in terms of having a workforce'.
The point was echoed during a question and answer session by Mary Crowley, chief executive of the Parenting Education and Support Forum, a national umbrella organisation. She said, 'Our concern is that there aren't enough people to do the work.' Andrew Smith, minister for work and pensions, replied that one of the benefits of bringing the departments together in the Sure Start unit was that it would forge closer links with the Jobcentre Plus network, whose programme integrates benefits offices and Jobcentres and is being rolled out across the country.
Mr Smith said Jobcentres were already recruiting around 3,000 childcare workers every six months. 'From next April, we will have childcare partnership managers in all of our Jobcentre Plus districts. That will help recruit more people into the childcare sector,' he added.
Gill Haynes, chief executive of the National Childminding Association, raised the need for a Sector Skills Council for children and young people, which she said was particularly important given the emphasis on moving towards a different way of working that crossed professional boundaries. She asked for an indication that a vision for the way forward was shared by ministers. She received a positive response from the education and skills secretary, who said discussions were still going on about the Sector Skills Councils and the areas they would cover. 'The issue about what is a sector is not always straightforward,' he said.
Mr Clarke also said he would be expecting 'better value for money' from the Learning and Skills Council, which is to receive 'an enormous amount of money' - 9.2bn - by 2005/06.
Mr Clarke was also asked about the problem of the compulsory school starting age cutting across the Foundation Stage, sometimes making it necessary for a child to change settings. He said he would give this issue more thought.
The Sure Start unit has a website at www.surestart.gov.uk . For more information about the unit's work, telephone 0870 001 2345.
