The Children's Plan (Speech: 21/05/08)
Kevin's speech to the House Magazine I’m very pleased to be here today, to talk to you about the vision we have outlined in the Children’s Plan, for continuous improvement of children’s services, the workforce, and a world-class education system for all, over the next 10 years.  There is much progress to build on.  Compared to 10 years ago, we now have 1.3 million childcare places, a free entitlement to early education for all 3 and 4 year olds, growing numbers of Sure Start Children’s Centres and extended schools up and down the country, more rights for parents, and substantial leave for mum and dad at the birth of their child, with more pay available.  In schools, we have 40,000 more teachers, 100,000 more teaching assistants, and a top-notch report from Ofsted who said a few years back that the latest generation of teachers are the best trained ever.
Teenage pregnancy is down, new schools and youth facilities are springing up, and 600,000 children have been lifted out of poverty, with a further 300,000 anticipated through measures in the last budget. But I think that one of the most important contributions has been the transformation of the system itself through the Every Child Matters agenda. It has made enormous improvements to the lives of children and families. Every Child Matters has provided a clarity of vision as to how the system should support families with children in accessing the services that they need.  By walking into a local Sure Start Children’s Centre, parents can get access to early learning and childcare, parenting and careers advice, and health services. Our latest research shows that these centres are having a real impact on children’s development and parenting skills - and we’re on track to have 3,500 nationwide  - one for every community - by 2010.  And schools are working much more closely with broader children’s services to support children’s growth and development inside and outside the classroom. The essence of those improvements goes to the heart of Every Child Matters – children’s needs at the centre of the system, professionals communicating beyond the confines of their silos, and a real recognition of the broader factors that contribute to a child’s success. That joined-up approach has started to filter through at all levels.  Central government departments are taking joint responsibility for children’s health, wellbeing and achievement through new joint Public Service Agreements.  Local government is bringing services together around the child, in terms of planning and commissioning local services in line with the needs of the people in their area, through Children’s Trusts and obviously through Local Safeguarding Children Boards. And the individual professionals working face to face with children and parents are communicating more effectively. But it is still patchy.   The structures are in place.   But, we need to build on the progress of the last decade to effect that culture change which will bring consistent excellence in our children’s services for the next decade. Better joining up of services. Skilled professionals. Communities shaped around young people, so that they have things to do and places to play which enrich their childhood, as well as the support they need and the educational opportunities to lead to success.  That is the vision we set out in the Children’s Plan. And that’s where we have to focus our efforts moving forward.  It’s not possible to cover everything in a short speech, but I would like to talk about two particular areas – shaping our communities, and shaping our professionals.
First, the people. What has become quite clear to me from doing this job is what makes the real and biggest difference to children is the people in their lives.  Of course, to young people, the ‘children’s workforce’ as a concept means little if anything.  The same is true for most parents.   To children, it constitutes their teacher, their family doctor, possibly a social worker, but any significant adults in their lives.  They are the ones forming those all-important relationships with young people. And we need to make sure we’re helping them to do that.  Children’s needs don’t take any notice of professional boundaries, and that’s why it’s important from their point of view that those boundaries are invisible to children and young people.   But in fact the children’s workforce should be a team – Team Every Child Matters if you like, whether we’re teachers, social workers, health practitioners, council leaders, health visitors, or government ministers for that matter.  We’re committed to supporting the people who work with children.  The professional development framework that we published last month – for managers and leaders of children’s services – is intended to help to bring people together in that strategic way I mentioned.     It articulates the abilities and attributes that leaders need in order to deliver integrated services, and helps all those who work with children to work towards senior management positions, whatever their professional backgrounds. But it’s not just about the leaders.  We also need to develop the skills of the people who are working on the front line.  Because, they’re the ones that have the most direct and personal influence on children and their families. Last month we announced almost £73 million over the next three years to improve the quality of the social care workforce.That will include schemes to promote the social work profession more effectively to high-achieving graduates, to create clearer career pathways in the field, and improve the level of training and support before and during a social work career, including piloting Newly Qualified Social Worker status. And, looking further ahead, a new Expert Group is supporting the development of a longer term strategy for a world class children’s workforce.   The Expert Group brings together people from all different parts of the workforce – schools, health, police, early years, youth and lots of others to help make sure that our strategy is as sustainable, robust and ambitious as it needs to be. Not only will we focus on consistency in the landscape of our children’s services, we will also focus on shaping the physical landscape of the communities that our children live in.  So that young people can make the most of their childhood, we need to improve their horizons when they’re outside the school gates, not just inside.  We need to give young people a real place in our communities, where they can play, explore, take calculated risks, and build resilience. All of these things are essential to a child’s health and broader development.  Despite the generation of Ipods, Playstations and Bebo, children tell us that they want to play outside, with their friends, in an exciting and stimulating environment.    But the combination of modern life, of busy streets, urban development, negative media perceptions of young people and parental worry have all combined to keep young people cooped up, rather than out in the fresh air.But we can all ask the question: when did we decide, as a country, that it was a good idea to raise a generation of battery farmed kids, rather than free-range ones? The consequences of keeping our children cooped up inside – whether that’s because as parents we’re worried about their safety, because the community doesn’t have obvious safe places to play, or because our children simply prefer to sit at their computers or on their phones – are serious.  Poor health, a lack of resilience, and obesity, are all risks that come with this.  We used to think progress was represented by taking the effort out of life.    Last month we published a consultation called Fair Play – a commitment that we made in the Children’s Plan – to take this work forward. We’ll be spending £235 million over the next 3 years on play areas shaped by local people – including parents and young people themselves – for local children.  We’ve committed to invest £7.5m in the play workforce, including access to Level 3 qualifications for 4,000 play workers starting from autumn 2008. And we’ll want to ensure that all children – whatever their ability or background – will have access to those facilities and can make the most of them.  In addition, we are building a network of world class youth facilities through the myplace initiative.   Local authorities receiving play capital funding to develop play areas will be required to make those areas accessible to disabled children, for example, so that all children can feel the benefits of these reforms, and make the most of their local communities.      Enabling this access will mean local authorities having to think about how children come and go to play areas, and how public space more generally could be more accessible to children for play.With safe places to play, well-planned and maintained public spaces and a professional play workforce, parents can let their children out to play, get in the habit of exercising with their friends, and take the calculated risks that build resilience.  Everybody needs to take responsibility, and play a part in that transformation – from parents to planning officers to police. In central government, my department is working closely with the Departments for Transport, Communities and Local Government, Health,  Culture, Media and Sport, and others, to include a stronger focus on suitable spaces to play in the planning system. Through the vision we have outlined in the Children’s Plan, we want to, in the broader sense, improve the landscape of services for children, as well as in the more practical sense I’ve mentioned.     We want every child and young person to have the opportunity to pursue their talents, fulfil their potential, and make the most of their childhood.  Everyone in this room has a part to play in trying to make this country the best place in the world to grow up in and I thank you for your work as part of the team that will make that ambition a reality.   Thank you.