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The Guardian
4 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Momentum to revive Sure Start is long overdue – it's been a lifeline for my son and me
Child health clinics, breastfeeding support, groups for new parents, sleep and weaning workshops, speech and language therapy, drop-in physio sessions, parenting courses in child development and mental health, stay and play sessions (including specifically for dads and male carers), music therapy classes, support groups for women and children who have suffered domestic violence, a housing clinic, groups for children with Send and cookery courses. These are just some of the services available to parents in the borough where I live: Islington, in north London. They exist under the banner of Bright Start, a clever – and I suspect slightly sneaky – rebranding of Sure Start. Sure Start was the Blair government's leading early years policy, offering area-based holistic support to families with children under five in England (it was Flying Start in Wales and Best Start in Scotland). But since 2010, as a direct result of Tory austerity, 1,416 Sure Start centres in England have closed. Now that the child poverty taskforce is to recommend to the Labour government a return of the scheme, I thought that it was worth examining what it's like to live in an area that kept it. I didn't realise that Islington had retained Sure Start until I took my baby to be weighed at the local children's centre after the necessity for home visits ceased. There it was, next to the reception desk: a sign reading 'Sure Start', evidence of what had once been a dedicated service for families not just here, but throughout England. Children's centres offered all kinds of services like the ones listed above, and they also provided childcare to working parents, those in need and those entitled to the free government hours. In Islington, they still do. Of the three closest to where I live, two are rated 'outstanding' and one is 'good'. Childcare is in high demand in Islington, and childcare places aren't allocated on the basis of a waiting list but on a complex calculation based on proximity, the age balance of the existing children in the room and staffing ratios. Priority childcare places exist for those who need them most: looked-after children, children whose families are homeless, children whose parents suffer from mental health problems, children with disabilities and other vulnerable groups. Health visitors and other professionals can refer these children to a panel for consideration. It's one way in which the Bright Start services fulfil their remit of helping the most vulnerable families in the borough, an ethos that underpinned the very reason for Sure Start's existence. I owe so much of my experience of early parenthood to Bright Start. As someone whose family does not live close, feeling part of a community has been vital to my wellbeing and to my son's. Like many others, we do not own our flat and we live in an area where we are increasingly surrounded by millionaires (Islington has lots of very rich people in it, but also shocking levels of child poverty). That feeling of community becomes even more important in such a divided borough. Just knowing that there are people there who can help when things get tough means so much. In the three years since I had my son, we have accessed various forms of support, from health visitor advice to sleep and weaning workshops, not to mention some of the best therapy I have ever had. I highlight these things not to boast, but because it's important to emphasise the postcode lottery of parenthood that exists in the UK. Were I a parent living in a borough without these services, I expect I would feel angry reading about the support that exists elsewhere, because everyone should have access to them. Many local authorities do their best and charities try to plug the gaps, but there is no replacement for fully integrated early years services. The Institute for Fiscal Studies recently found that the positive impacts of Sure Start were widespread and 'remarkably long-lasting', producing better health, education and social care outcomes for families who enrolled in the programme. It may sound obvious, but when services are integrated, they communicate better with one another. Referral pathways are more straightforward; professionals understand the systems they are working in and are able to signpost other services that might help specific children and their families, such as benefits and housing advice. If a child has a nursery place and needs an education, health and care plan for when they start school, the parents do not have to apply for this themselves. Supporting and safeguarding those who are vulnerable is less challenging because, with a proper safety net around them, people are less likely to drop off the map, or to feel that no one is looking out for them. Seeing how these services operate first-hand and benefiting from some of them has been, quite simply, amazing. That's not to say the system is perfect: there are funding pressures and high demand, and gaps in services (to cite one example, Bright Start speech therapists don't work with neurodivergent children, who are on a different pathway. As a result those children, who arguably need it most, don't get any one-to-one speech therapy). Nevertheless, it should be a blueprint for Labour, which should reinstate the scheme throughout England. Certainly, it will be a challenge. Concerns raised by a government source include fragmentation of services and cost as barriers to reinstating Sure Start. Neither is a convincing argument. Reintegrating fragmented services may be a challenge, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth doing, and the payoff is worth it. IFS analysis has found that Sure Start children's centres in England generated £2 of financial benefits for every £1 spent. We know that supporting the youngest in society from the outset means less pain, less social exclusion and less cost later on. More than that, it is simply the right thing to do. Senior Labour figures should visit one of Islington's children's centres and see for themselves how wonderful they are. Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is a Guardian columnist
Daily Mail
12-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
How working parents can save £7,500 a year by applying for 30 hours of free childcare from TODAY as rules change on who can access it
An expanded free childcare rollout for under-fives begins today - meaning parents could save up to £7,500 per child a year, according to the Government. Eligible working parents of children aged nine months before September can apply from today to received up to 30 hours per week of free childcare in England. Working parents of children older than nine months can currently get 15 hours of funded childcare a week, before the full rollout of 30 hours a week in September. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said in an interview in today's Daily Mail that women can choose to have more children thanks to the policy change. But how exactly is the system changing and who is eligible? Read MailOnline's Q&A for a breakdown on the new rules for free childcare: What is changing to free childcare? From today, working parents of children who turn nine months old before September 1 can apply to access up to 30 hours of free childcare per week, until their child is old enough to start school. Working parents of children older than nine months are currently able to access 15 hours of funded childcare a week, before the full rollout of 30 hours a week to all eligible families in September. What are the new entitlements for free childcare? The entitlements are different based on four main factors as follows: your child's age and circumstances whether you're working your income (and your partner's income, if you have one) your immigration status Firstly, it depends on your child's age: Under nine months: You get no free childcare Nine months to two years old: You get 15 hours of free childcare per week for 38 weeks of the year. From September, this will increase to 30 hours per week of free childcare. Three to four years old: You get 30 hours per week of free childcare for 38 weeks of the year. This is not changing in September. You will not be eligible if your child does not usually live with you. What qualifies as someone who is working? You can usually get free childcare for childen aged under five for working parents if you - and your partner, if you have one - are: in work or starting a new job on sick leave or annual leave on shared parental, maternity, paternity or adoption leave What about if you're on benefits? The Government says you may still be eligible if your partner is working, and you are on carer's leave or if you get any of the following benefits: Incapacity Benefit Severe Disablement Allowance Carer's Allowance Limited Capability for Work Benefit contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance What income is required to qualify? Over the next three months you and your partner - if you have one - must each expect to earn at least: £2,539 before tax if you're aged 21 or over (equivalent to £195 per week) £2,080 before tax if you're aged 18 to 20 (equivalent to £160 per week) £1,570 before tax if you're under 18 or an apprentice (equivalent to £120 per week) This is the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for 16 hours a week on average. However, you will not be eligible if you or your partner have an expected adjusted net income of over £100,000 in the current tax year. What if you're self-employed or your income varies? You can use an average of how much you expect to earn over the current tax year if you work throughout the year but do not get paid regularly; or you're self-employed and do not expect to earn enough in the next three months. The Government gives an example as follows: 'You're eligible if you're 21 or over and do not have a regular income but earn £10,158 a year. This is the same as earning £2,539 every 3 months on average.' If you're self-employed and started your business less than 12 months ago, you can earn less and still be eligible for free childcare for working parents. If you have more than one job, you can use your total earnings to work out if you meet the threshold. This includes earnings from any employment and self-employment. If you're both employed and self-employed, you can use just your self-employment income if this would make you eligible. What income doesn't count toward minimum earnings? Certain types of income will not count towards the minimum amount you must earn to be eligible. These include dividends; interest; income from investing in property; and pension payments. What must your immigration status be to qualify? You - and your partner if you have one - must have a National Insurance number. The person who applies must also have at least one of the following: British or Irish citizenship settled or pre-settled status, or you have applied and you're waiting for a decision permission to access public funds (a UK residence card will state whether you cannot do this) When can you apply for 30 hours of free childcare? The Government says the deadline for applying for 15 hours of free childcare has already passed, so you will now be applying for 30 hours instead. If you're already getting 15 hours of free childcare, you'll automatically get 30 hours from September as long as you're still eligible. You'll need to confirm your details are up to date and give the code to your childcare provider. Also, check with them to find out the exact date your free childcare starts. You can apply for the 30 hours from when your child is 23 weeks old. When you can get your hours from will depend on the date your child turns nine months old: When your child turns 9 months old When you can get your hours from Deadline for applying Between 1 September and 31 December 01-Jan 31-Dec Between 1 January and 31 March 01-Apr 31-Mar Between 1 April and 31 August 01-Sep 31-Aug The date you return to work and whether you're on a certain type of leave will also affect when you can apply for free childcare. Click here for the full breakdown. How can you apply? Visit the Government website to go through the eligibility criteria to see what you can get by clicking here, and then create a childcare account to apply. You will need to provide different amounts of information based on your circumstances, and the process is said to take about 20 minutes. How much could the change be worth to families? Ministers say the scheme could save families up to £7,500 per child a year. Won't this increase demand for nurseries? The Labour Government announced up to to 4,000 childcare places are set to be rolled out at new or expanded school-based nurseries in England from September. The Department for Education has approved the first round of funding for 300 school-based nursery projects across England. Each successful school, which were able to apply for up to £150,000, will receive the amount of funding they bid for to repurpose or extend existing spaces and deliver childcare provision. The first 300 school-based nurseries will offer an average of 20 places per site and up to 6,000 new places in total, with up to 4,000 set to be available by the end of September, the DfE said. It comes after schools were able to bid for a share of £15million funding in October to deliver up to 300 new or expanded nurseries across England. Labour said in its manifesto that it would open an additional 3,000 nurseries through 'upgrading space' in primary schools. What has the Government said about it? Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said women will be given added 'freedom' to have more children by the expanded government-funded childcare. She told the Daily Mail that the scheme would give working mothers more freedom to balance work and family life. 'They will be able to make choices about the career that's right for them, the hours that they want, but also [have] the freedom to think about family size and how many children they want to have, with support from the Government around childcare hours,' she said. 'That brings huge benefits to working women and this is a generational shift in terms of the new funding that's been put in place.' Ms Phillipson also said she had been 'flat out to make sure we've got as many places available as possible'. Who introduced the scheme? The scheme was originally introduced by the previous Conservative government, but is coming into force under the existing Labour government. What else is the Government doing with nurseries? Ministers have launched a consultation on how the Government can help nurseries to make better use of outdoor space for play and learning. The Government's early years framework only formally recognises indoor space in its requirements for how many children nurseries and childcare providers can take on at any one time. The consultation will look at whether safe outdoor space can be included in meeting those requirements.
Fast Company
11-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
Trump's proposed $5000 baby bonus isn't much of a Mother's Day present
President Trump's proposed baby bonus would have come in really handy at chez Guy Birken 15 years ago. Money was a bit of an issue for my family when we welcomed our first child in 2010. We'd moved to Indiana from Ohio in June of that year so my husband could take a higher paying job. I'd left my own job as a high school English teacher. Our baby was born in late August, making it impossible to find a teaching job in our new town. Our timing was impeccable that year. We also unwittingly put our Ohio house on the market one month after the federal first-time homebuyer credit expired, bought a house in Indiana right away, and paid two mortgages for 11 months until the old house sold. As my husband likes to say, in 2010 we went from two incomes to one, from one mortgage to two, and from two people to three. (And yes, I am now considered a financial expert.) But would a $5,000 baby bonus really help new parents on a national scale? Or is it just Trump's transactional solution to falling birth rates? In honor of Mother's Day, let's look at the best ways to support new parents, working mothers, and our nation's children. And it doesn't include a onetime cash payment. Paying for a baby boom The United States sees over 3.6 million births each year. If the government were to go forward with Trump's $5,000 baby bonus proposal, Uncle Sam would be handing out over $18.3 billion to new mothers every year. While that would only be 0.019% of the $9.7 trillion federal budget —basically, a rounding error—it's important to compare that amount to other types of spending that affect American families. Federal Agency 2024 Spending Budget Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) $2.5 trillion Social Security Administration (SSA) $1.6 trillion Department of Education (ED) $228.9 billion Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) $88.2 billion Department of Labor (DOL) $66.2 billion Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) $167 million $18.3 billion in annual baby bonuses may represent a tiny portion of the government's total budget, but that spending could be a relatively significant percentage of each of these department's budgets. Specifically, $18.3 would equal Expand to continue reading ↓
