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Children in Sure Start areas are doing better than their peers elsewhere, according to the latest evaluation.
The report, published today by Birkbeck University, compared 6,000 three-year-olds and their families from 93 disadvantaged Sure Start areas with 2,000 of their peers from 72 similarly deprived areas.

Its first evaluation in 2005 revealed Sure Start was not succeeding in supporting children and families in the most disadvantaged areas of England. But the latest research showed that in five out of 14 outcomes, such as language development, positive and negative social behaviours, and independence, children in Sure Start areas were doing better.

Professor Jay Belsky, director of the Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues at Birkbeck University, said: "These results provide cautious optimism that the Sure Start local programmes and especially the transition to children's centres is positively affecting some of the most economically disadvantaged and socially excluded children and families in England."

The National Evaluation of Sure Start will report to the government again in mid- to late 2009.

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This article relates to the collapse of ABC nurseries in Australia and the impact this has had on the childcare sector.

Privately owned child care centres have reported a surge in business, with parents scrambling to find a place for their children after the collapse of ABC Learning centres last week.

Three childcare providers in Melbourne's south-east told The Age that a number of parents with children in ABC Learning centres had contacted them about switching childcare providers amid fears the company's situationwould worsen.

"Staff were constantly on the phone on Friday to desperate parents," Tracy from Little Folks Child Care Centre said.

"We had a number of inquiries from ABC parents, many of whom had registered their kids for February and moved their kids immediately."

The Body Shop Children's Centre received a similar flood of requests from parents looking for alternative child care providers. "A significant number of parents seem to have had a knee-jerk reaction", Anne Gordon from the company said.

Early Beginners in Springvale received 11 calls on Friday and the centre expects more.

"Parents are scared that the (ABC) centres are going to close and even if they don't close, they are scared that fees will go up very high and they won't have enough staff."

Many parents were placed on waiting lists, with space at the centres tight.

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The number of failing nurseries in the poorest areas of England has nearly doubled in the past year, while there has been a marked improvement in the wealthiest districts, figures show.

The likelihood of a child in the most deprived postcodes attending a nursery judged inadequate by inspectors is more than twice that of children in the most privileged neighbourhoods, according to figures obtained by the Conservatives.

The figures show that in the academic year 2006-07, Ofsted found 6.6% of daycare nurseries in the most deprived areas were inadequate. A year later, this had jumped to 10%. However, over the same period, daycare in the most affluent areas saw a marked improvement, with just 4.7% of settings labelled failing in the academic year 2007-08, down from nearly 6%.

In the poorest 5% of areas the number of failing nurseries went up from 21 to 38, with 380 inspections last year.

Ofsted has criticised inadequate nurseries for being dangerously understaffed, for not properly vetting staff and for failing to have adequate safety procedures. Maria Miller, the shadow minister for families and children, who obtained the figures in a parliamentary answer, said: "These new figures show that Sure Start is failing to reach out to those families living in the most deprived areas of the country, which are most in need of support."

She said that the government had spent £17bn on early years and childcare services since 1997, targeting the most deprived areas through Sure Start children's centres which appeared to be declining in standards in the past year.

The government has introduced a guarantee that all three- to four-year-olds should have access to 12.5 hours of free nursery care for 38 weeks a year. In 2010 that will rise to 15 hours, with plans to extend it to two-year-olds.

Claire Schofield, of the National Day Nurseries Association, said the government had prioritised poorer areas in its childcare and early learning plans. However, the system seemed to penalise nurseries in disadvantaged areas, where parents are less likely to supplement the 12.5 hours for their child and take a full-time place at the nursery, meaning they were not generating as much income.

Chris Pascal, director of the Centre for Research in Early Childhood, said that in delivering the government promise on free nursery care, "the butter got spread more thinly trying to reach more children".

Ted Melhuish, of Birkbeck College, part of the University of London, who has led evaluations of the government's early years programmes, said the numbers reported by the Conservatives were small, and showed that in most areas between 90% and 95% of nurseries were satisfactory.

A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said: "We know good-quality early years provision can narrow the gap in educational achievement between children from deprived backgrounds and those who are better off to provide a path out of poverty for generations to come.

"That's why our reforms are designed to level the playing field for all children and we are investing over £4bn in early years over the next three years."

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 A village’s show of people power has given a nursery the chance to re-open its doors after lying derelict for three years.

Glaisdale School in South Cheam was closed in 2005 and the land was bought by developers.

Plans to demolish the building and create a new housing complex on the site were scuppered after a huge revolt by the people of the village.

After much deliberating and several refused planning applications, residents opposition to the plans has reunited the community.

A bitter battle between the developer and the South Cheam Residents’ Association ended in the housing plans being scrapped.

After the developers walked away, Chiltern Nurseries stepped in after having their initial interest ignored three years previous.

"As soon as we heard it was back on the market, we jumped at the chance to turn it back into the nursery," said director Emma Ward.

"The building was in terrible disrepair and we began the renovation to create a warm, homely and welcoming building ideal for children. The neighbours have expressed how pleased they are that it is staying as a school, and we would like to thank them for their patience over the past three months while the building works have taken place. I am happy to say that we have created a beautiful setting for children, which is both spacious and homely."

The show of community spirit has already given the nursery a huge boost ahead of the open day this Saturday.

The owners, who also run Chiltern Day Nursery in Sutton, are delighted with the outcome. Emma said: "It has taken a lot of hard work, but it will be worth it. Having both nurseries gives parents more flexibility. There is so much demand for Chiltern that we needed another location, especially for after school clubs."

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FAMILIES must arrange alternative out-of-hours care by Monday for thousands of children after the collapse of a long-standing charity.

Funding problems forced Newcastle and North Staffordshire Play Council (NNSPC) into administration yesterday.

The shock move leaves the future of dozens of out-of-school clubs, junior clubs, creches and play schemes in doubt.

Dozens of part-time NNSPC employees heard the news yesterday and some face losing their jobs.

Schools across North Staffordshire were also informed their out-of-school clubs would no longer be provided from Monday.
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The NNSPC ran 10 breakfast and out-of-school clubs at schools across Newcastle and the Staffordshire Moorlands, and 16 junior youth clubs on evenings and weekends.

During school holidays, the charity, based in Marsh Parade, Newcastle, also organised play schemes, days out and other activities for youngsters aged four to 16 across the region.

Linda Owen has been involved with the NNSPC for 18 years but faces losing her job.

Mrs Owen, who was yesterday running the breakfast and out-of-school club at Hempstalls County Primary School, in Cross Heath, said: "I'm gutted. If parents cannot arrange for someone to look after their children, they might have to give up their jobs."

Staffordshire County Council is working with the schools to try to find a solution.

But one headteacher described the after-school provision as a godsend to many parents.

Gareth Davies, headteacher at St Chad's County Primary School, in Chesterton, said: "I'm disgusted we've only found out on a Friday afternoon with no contingency plan.

"These things take a long time to set up. I am very disappointed with how the situation has been handled. The out-of-school club is well attended, and one of the reasons why parents choose our school."

Reginald Mitchell Primary School, in Butt Lane, will take over the running of its club.

Headteacher Alan Stancliffe said: "We're going to employ the same people and it will be funded from the school budget."

The NNSPC supported 225 groups and cared for more than 6,000 children.

Officials at the NNSPC declined to comment yesterday.

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 International childcare operator ABC Learning Centres Ltd. appointed voluntary administrators Thursday to help clear a mountain of debt but assured parents that the receivership would not affect operations at its childcare centers around the world.

The directors of ABC, the largest childcare center operator in Australia and second-largest in the United States, appointed Ferrier Hodgson Group as voluntary administrators. The company’s banking syndicate appointed advisory firm McGrathNicol as receivers.

ABC chairman David Ryan said the ABC board and management were “disappointed” to be in this position but said quality childcare would continue. The company has almost 1,200 childcare centers in Australia and New Zealand and more than 1,000 in the United States, as well as more than two dozen nurseries in Britain.

ABC Learning’s total debt at June 30, 2007, was 2.2 billion Australian dollars ($1.5 billion), compared with A$111 million at the end of fiscal 2004.

The company, which gets a large proportion of its revenue from Australian government childcare subsidies, has delayed filing annual results for its latest financial year.

“I would like to assure you that our appointment allows your local childcare center to continue to operate on a ‘business as usual’ basis,” said a letter to parents from Murray Smith, one of the McGrathNicol receivers. “The interests of children and families are central to our considerations as we work constructively with the Group’s management, its financiers, the Australian Government and other stakeholders to determine the way forward.”

The federal government is in discussions with creditors about the future of ABC Learning and has set up a task force to work through contingency plans to protect the families that use the childcare service.

But Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner has ruled out a government takeover of the business.

“I wouldn’t imagine we would be directly running them,” Tanner told Fairfax Radio Network.

Trading in ABC’s shares has been suspended since Aug. 21 as the company worked to resolve its debts. The shares last traded at 54 cents.

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At least 40 children under five are suspended from school every week amid claims of a breakdown in classroom discipline.

Official figures show 1,540 nursery pupils in England were handed fixed term exclusions over a 12-month period - a 50 per cent increase in two years.

Almost 1,000 were suspending for attacking teachers and fellow pupils, while hundreds more were barred for verbal abuse and disruptive behaviour.

A small number of children aged three and four were also kicked out for racism, sexual misconduct, theft and damage.

Twenty children aged just two were suspended for physical or verbal assaults.

The figures - obtained by the Conservatives in a Parliamentary question - follow concerns over a deteriorating standards of behaviour in state schools.

Michael Gove, the shadow children's secretary, said teachers' powers to deal with violent children was being eroded.

The Tories claim official guidance - urging staff to use caution when physically restraining pupils - was fuelling a rise in suspensions as teachers were reluctant to touch children for fear of being sued.

"The number of young children being suspended from school is shocking," Mr Gove said. "Teachers need the powers to maintain order in the classroom and clamp down on bad behaviour before it escalates into violence.

"Ministers have eroded teachers' ability to keep order by restricting their powers to deal with disruptive and violent children. We want to restore the authority of teachers to ensure a safe and secure environment for children of all ages to learn in."

Between September 2006 and July 2007 some 45,730 primary school pupils were suspended from school. This compared to 43,720 in 04/05, including 960 children aged four and under. In 03/04 some 41,300 primary pupils were suspended.

At the same time, the number of under-11s permanently expelled dropped - from 1,270 in 03/04 to 980 in 06/07.

Ministers claim this is down to increased use of "short, sharp, shock" tactics as schools bar disruptive pupils from school as a warning without resorting to permanent exclusion.

According to figures, pupils aged five and six were suspended 3,370 times for attacking fellow pupils or staff.

Forty infants were also removed from school due to "sexual misconduct" and more than 20 were suspended for racism.

Under existing guidance, teachers can physically restrain children but it must be "proportionate" - and only if a pupil "persistently refuses" to leave the classroom or "seriously disrupts a lesson".

The Tories, who would scrap the guidance, claim it confuses staff and leaves them almost powerless.

But the Department for Children, Schools and Families denied the claims.

"It is very difficult to see what argument is actually being presented here," said a spokesman. "Of course heads have the power to permanently exclude pupils where necessary but we are also helping schools to turn around poor behaviour before it reaches this stage

"Violence in the classroom, at any age, is not acceptable and teachers have the power to take appropriate action against young children involved in such acts – and these figures show that they are doing that."

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Changes to child benefit which kick in today could increase child poverty according to charity One Parent Families/Gingerbread.


From today single parents on benefit have to decide whether to continue receiving benefit from the Child Support Agency, make private arrangements with the child's father or do without child maintenance.

One Parent Families/ Gingerbread, which provides support for single parent families, said research from the National Centre for Social Research showed that up to one in four single parents on benefits might stop using the Child Support Agency after the reforms are introduced. The reforms are designed to simplify the benefits system. The charity said it supported the move towards voluntary arrangements for those parents who can come to a fair and sustainable agreement, but feared "the Government may be too keen to reduce the numbers of poor families using the Child Support Agency, without considering whether the children involved will get the child maintenance they need."

Fiona Weir, chief executive of One Parent Families/ Gingerbread, said: "We fear that many poor single parents on benefit will struggle to agree private child support arrangements and their children may end up doing without. This would be disastrous for the children involved and for the Government's child poverty targets."

From November 1 the Child Support Agency's functions will transfer to the new Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.

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This article is taken from th 'Schoold Gate' section of www.timesonline.co.uk
Just when you thought it was safe and healthy to allow your child to eat school dinners again (thanks to the efforts of Jamie Oliver and others), disturbing news arrives from the Soil Association .

Thousands of toddlers and other children at nurseries in England and Wales are being given “junk food” that is banned or limited in primary and secondary schools, according to a study by the Association and the food manufacturer Organix.

Youngsters attending some state, private and voluntary-run nurseries are being fed crisps, chocolate bars and biscuits, lollies, sweets, cakes and cheap burgers - these are all items banned or restricted for children aged 5 to 18 at schools.

The study, gleaned from an online survey of almost 500 nursery workers and 1,773 parents with children at nursery school, also found that chips still appear on the kindergarten menu - while in primary and secondary schools only two portions of deep-fried foods can be served to pupils each week.

Similarly older school children can only be given unsweetened fruit juice, whereas there are no rules on the type of fruit juice offered at nurseries.

The survey is small and the sample was self-selecting, but the results showed wide variation in type of food on offer to pre-school children.

When asked to choose the option which best described the food served at their nursery almost one in ten staff said “lots of processed food such as biscuits, burgers, and sugary drinks like orange squash.”

Nurseries were even flouting standards on drinking water. Access to drinking water should be available throughout the school day for all under eights , but according to the survey only 27 per cent of staff said children were regularly served water.

Ed Balls, Schools Secretary, is now being urged to introduce tough new standards on nursery food to help pre-school children eat healthier diets and to help combat the country’s obesity crisis.

Peter Melchett, policy director at the Soil Association, which champions organic food and farming, said: “Until now, everyone has overloooked the quality of food given to children in nurseries. Sadly in many cases we have been overlooking a scandal. Children under five are at their most vulnerable. It is then they really need healthy food.”

Over 600,000 children go to nursery for up to 10 hours a day with parents paying an average £159 a week or just over £31 a day for a child under two. However only 3 to 6 per cent of nursery charges are spent on food, and 3 per cent spent as little as 25p a day feeding a child. No wonder they serve crisps.

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 A British government analysis of 556,000 5-year-olds found 14 percent of the children could not even write their own names.

The analysis of children finishing their Early Years Foundation Stage before moving on their first year of regular school found nearly 80,000 had difficulty holding a pen properly or writing basic words, including "mum," "dad," "cat" and their own first names, The Telegraph reported Thursday.

However, 49 percent of the children were found to be proficient in all six areas of testing: personal skills, communication and language, basic numbers, physical development and creativity. The number marked a 4 percent rise over last year's numbers but matched the statistics collected in 2005.

"This year's results show continued improvements, and the progress of the lowest achieving children is particularly encouraging," Children's Minister Beverley Hughes said.

"But there is more to do to ensure that all children achieve their potential, especially the most disadvantaged. That's why our Early Years Foundation Stage will give all children in this country the right to the same high standards of early learning and care that the best childminders and nurseries already provide," she said.

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This article is related to a nursery facility in Northumberland.

A private nursery has been given a temporary home by Northumberland County Council after it was damaged in last week's floods.
Goosehill Day Nursery in Morpeth, which looks after 35 children, was badly affected by the floods and its premises may be out of action for months.

The county council offered to help out the nursery, and local parents, by allowing it to run from Choppington Children's Centre.

Nursery owner Amanda Willis said: "Without this help there was a real risk that I would lose children and staff and the business would fail to survive. I just can't thank them enough."

Jeff Reid, leader of Northumberland County Council, said: "It's crucial that we are providing as much support as we possibly can, both to residents and businesses.

"In providing a temporary home for Goosehill nursery, we are saving a valuable resource for families."

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This article is related to a new childcare strategy being implemented in Glasgow.

Some of the poorest families in Glasgow could soon be able to use council-run nurseries for 15p per hour.

The charge, which will depend on income and entitlement, is part of a new five-year childhood services strategy passed by the authority on Friday.

Other measures included a commitment to providing childcare within buggy-walking distance.

Some schools will also have year-round extended opening with services such as sports, music and play.

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This article is a discussion of the Liberal Democrats ideas for the shake-up of childcare provision in the UK.
The Liberal Democrats are considering radical plans to extend parental leave to 18 months and provide up to 25 hours of free universal childcare a week for children between 18 months and five years old, it emerged today.

Susan Kramer, the Lib Dem's spokesperson on families, outlined her plans in a move that goes further than proposals laid out by Labour and the Conservatives.

Plans under consideration would allow parents to take a total of 18 months' parental leave between them. The maximum either parent could take would be one year to allay industry concerns about the impact on business.

That means single parents could lose out, although a party aide said Kramer was considering extending the extra leave to someone close to the parent in such cases.

Kramer told delegates she was considering a plan to provide "at least 20 or 25" hours of free weekly childcare for every child from the age of 18 months until they start school to boost early years development.

In a radical move, the benefit would be targeted at both working and non-working parents.

Admitting it was a "challenging target", Kramer told delegates that
instead of treating childcare as "just watch over baby", the free provision would help children in workless households. They are seen as the most likely to lose out on education because of a lack of stimulation and opportunities to develop at home.

She told delegates 96% of children aged three already used the early years education provision on offer.

"The 20-hour childcare provision would bring to a much younger group the commitment to early years education," she said.

"In effect we would be extending the early years development focus, which today starts at the age of three, to all children from 18 months."

Kramer said the free childcare "took seriously" the desire of parents of young children to work part-time.

"Mums who are in work full-time would often leap at the chance to cut back to part-time if only it was an accepted career strategy, treated as a normal work pattern by employers," said Kramer, who was appointed by Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg to take a cross-departmental role looking at the needs of families.

She told delegates the Lib Dems had suffered from a "strange
inhibition" about its family policies because of a strongly held belief
that the power of government to interfere with the personal lives of
individuals should be strictly limited.

While Liberal Democrats did not believe the role of government was to select one family structure as the "ideal choice", said Kramer, the party did believe it should provide support and opportunity for "real families as they exist in all their variations and complexity" – traditional or cohabiting, gay or straight.

She contrasted her proposals with the "slow and stilted" progress under Labour, and attacked the Conservatives' talk of families she said was always prefixed with the term "traditional".

Kramer said Labour had achieved "little" for fathers, despite the fact that the absence of fathers was seen as a major cause of social breakdown in Britain.

"Labour has made progress but it has been slow and stilted and has failed to do anything beyond tinker at the edges of a system that is failing families every day," she said.

Under government plans, maternity leave is due to be extended to 52 weeks by 2010. After the first 26 weeks, parents can choose whether the mother or the father stays at home.

Citing Tory leader David Cameron's focus on tax breaks for marriages, Kramer said: "They are stuck in a mid-20th century time warp."

The Conservative party announced flexible parental leave plans in March that would see parents free to divide up the maternity leave allocation as they want after the first 14 weeks.

Couples could either split the remaining 38 weeks between them or both could stay at home together for as long as 26 weeks.

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A POPULAR day nursery in Christchurch has closed suddenly, leaving many parents without childcare and staff jobless.

Unpaid fees and mounting debts have been blamed for the shock closure.

More than 25 parents turned up at Amethyst Day Nursery on Tuesday morning to drop off their children but were shocked to discover the team of staff standing outside and the doors to the centre locked up.

A notice posted on the door of the lottery-funded SureStart nursery said: "The Nursery has gone bust, due in the major part to the outstanding fees, in excess of £24,000.

"Under legislation once a company has become insolvent it must cease trading with immediate effect.

"Every avenue has been explored but unfortunately no help was available."

Dad Robert Thomas, whose five-year-old daughter, Luca-Rose, has been attending the nursery for three years, said: "I felt really bad for the staff who were oblivious to the situation and have not been paid for all their efforts. All of them are great with the kids.

"But they obviously hadn't been told anything about what had happened and were just left to cope with the fallout. The thing is we've paid our fees up front. I can't see us getting anything back though."

And Karen Robinson, mum of two-year-old twins said: "There was no indication there were any problems with the nursery. We haven't been told anything, only the little information the staff knew.

"I'm a teacher so was a little panic-stricken about what we would do next week but luckily we've managed to get them into the Little Explorers nursery across the road. Others might not be so lucky though."

A Dorset County Council spokesman said the council had received an email from the nursery confirming it had closed.

The spokesman said: "We would advise that if any parents are having difficulty finding nursery places for their children they should contact the Dorset Family Information Service and we can help them find a place. Nobody should find themselves without a place."

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Parents lost their fight to stop six being turned into three at a stormy meeting of Falkirk Council's education committee.

It voted by eight to four to close Glenfair Nursery in Camelon, Woodburn Day Nursery in Falkirk and Grangemouth Day Nursery