The names of 16 children’s centres and nurseries that will run as ‘early years teaching’ centres’ have been revealed.
Pen Green Research Base in Corby will lead the project, which aims to raise standards and improve children’s outcomes by working with early years settings in their local area.
The trial of payment-by-results in children’s centres will also be expanded, with 18 more local authorities to pilot ways of rewarding centres for reaching the most vulnerable families, improving health and wellbeing and raising children’s levels educational attainment at the age of five.
The announcements build on plans unveiled in July as part of the Government’s vision document ‘Families in the Foundation Years’ and are part of wider reforms to the core purpose of children’s centres, to target the most disadvantaged families to narrow the gap between poor children and their peers.
The Government will also consult in the next few weeks on changes to allow parents and community groups to run their local children’s centre.
Local authorities will be able to have the final say on the go-ahead for such plans.
To this end, the Government will launch a consultation on changes to Sure Start statutory guidance and governance arrangements.
Children’s minister Sarah Teather said, ‘Children's centres are at the heart of community life. New proposals to enable parents and communities to help run children's centres will give local people more control and influence over the services they use on a daily basis.
‘We know many children’s centres are doing fantastic work, but there is still more to be done to reach the poorest families. Children's centres are a powerful tool in tackling social inequality and we want to make sure they are giving children, regardless of background, the chance to develop well and be ready for school.
‘We are putting a particular focus on disadvantaged families getting the help they need in children's centres, and on ensuring that every child develops well and starts school ready and able to learn.’
To help children's centres improve their outreach services, the Department for Education with the National College will be recruiting three regional outreach leaders. The leaders will work with the college's Foundation Years Associates to support and advise children's centres throughout the country in the best ways to reach the most disadvantaged families.
Anne Longfield, chief executive of 4Children, said the Government plans marked an important development in family support.
‘The payment-by-results approach has real potential to encourage and reward the excellent outcomes children’s centres achieve in their work with families. These trials will be crucial in establishing fair systems which are fully inclusive for all types of providers and incentivise continuing support for vulnerable families with complex needs.’
The 16 early years teaching centres are:
- Rowland Hill Nursery School and CC, Haringey
- Mary Paterson Nursery School, Westminster
- Eastwood Nursery School Centre, Wandsworth
- Maytree Nursery School and CC, Lambeth
- Martinscroft Nursery School and CC, Manchester
- Fairfield Children's Centre, Lancashire
- Hungerford Nursery School, West Berkshire
- The ACE CC and Nursery School, Oxford
- Bognor Regis Nursery School and CC, West Sussex
- Bluecoat Children's Centre and Nursery School, Devon
- Redcliffe Children's Centre, Bristol City
- Allens Croft Children's Centre, Birmingham
- Warwickshire consortium of nursery schools and CCs, Warwickshire
- St Edmund's Nursery School and CC, Bradford
- Clifton Children's Centre, McMillan Nursery School and Lambert Children's Centre, Kingston upon Hull (consortium)
- Pen Green Children's Centre, (additional centre, Northamptonshire)
The 18 local authorities that are to trial payment-by-resultsare: Bolton, Brent, Buckinghamshire, Calderdale, Darlington, East Riding and North Yorkshire (joint trial), Hertfordshire, Knowsley, Lambeth, Lewisham, Lincolnshire, Liverpool, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Shropshire, Swindon, and Wirral.
