'In My View' Nursery World Magazine
October 29, 2004 12:00 AM
By Annette Brooke MP in Nursery World Magazine
By Annette Brooke MP in Nursery World Magazine
In my view…. the government's investment in childcare, Children's Centres and Sure Start is very welcome, and I am delighted to see commitment from the Treasury to fund more Children's Centres, Sure Start schemes and provision of childcare services. In the UK, we have started from such a very low base in terms of provision for childcare and early years education, current progress is good, but there is still a lot to do.
The Liberal Democrats have always placed significant emphasis on the importance of investment in early years, as we see this as the most important and critical stage of a child's development.
The Liberal Democrats believe that the government was wrong to introduce Child Trust Funds, not because we don't believe that families need incentives to save for the future but because we believe that such vast amounts of money, estimated at about £1.2bn over the course of a Parliament, could be better spent to improve early years support. For us, this means reducing class sizes for the youngest children and setting up more Early Years Centres to provide better health, education, social services and family support for every child - when it really matters.
A significant feature of our childcare policy is our emphasis on the need to raise the quality of childcare, by introducing professional qualifications for childminders and nursery school assistants. Young children are as much in need of contact with highly trained teachers as older children, and they benefit just as much from such contact. By investing in training and development of all staff working with children, we aim to raise the status of the workforce leading to a better recognised body of professionals.
As a Liberal Democrats I believe in the principle of equality of parenting responsibilities, where it is safe to do so, but I strongly believe that the needs of the child should come first in all circumstances. This may mean that it is not always in the child's interests to split access equally between both parents if the stability and security of the child's home and school life might be compromised. Each case should be assessed individually, preferably with a team of professionals who are familiar with the details of the family's case and background. In this way, I very much welcome the government's consultation on 'Parental Separation' and its proposals to introduce more 'mediation' between parents to overcome disputes to avoid conflict and minimise any negative impact on children.
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