Early intervention is vital

It is with a grim recognition that I realise I have become an angry man. I don’t like being angry, but despite my better judgement, it appears that this is the only way of getting anything done for children. Constantly badgering others and complaining now seems to be a central part of my role. Not in nurseries where staff need to take on an ever increasing range of roles from counsellor to therapist, but in the services that should offer support and mitigate against a lack of success and opportunity.

Where early identification and referral should be welcomed, I find myself fighting a rising tide of inaction and lack of response from the services that should be desperate to ensure children receive appropriate input. Rising thresholds for early support demonstrate the total lack of forward thinking in preventative services. I am aghast at the complete stupidity of not thinking ahead. In every aspect of life, we understand that early action prevents disaster at a later date. Imagine seeing a leak at a nuclear reactor and thinking: ‘Oh well, we’ll see how that pans out over the next few years.’