Children’s Commissioner calls for renewed focus on reducing poverty of young children
Additional investment in targeted interventions is essential
Changing the odds in the early years: A discussion paper on child poverty produced by the Office of the Children's Commissioner for England argues for a renewed focus on reducing poverty for pre-school children and their families as a central priority for this Parliament.
Drawing on research with ten local authorities in England, the report highlights the challenges local authorities are experiencing in helping families with very young children against the backdrop of increasing need and reducing budgets.
It concludes that additional investment in targeted interventions is essential at this crucial stage of children's development if we are to break the cycle of disadvantage for the poorest families. It advocates for urgent and co-ordinated action to improve young children's outcomes and life chances in the most disadvantaged areas.
The Children's Commissioner has proposed:
- A new national commitment from Government to significantly reduce poverty in the early years over the lifetime of the Parliament
- Improving the outcomes of early years children as a local priority for increasingly devolved councils and regions
- Additional Government investment to drive a reduction of early years poverty in the areas of greatest disadvantage
- A better understanding of what works in reducing poverty in the early years.
The full report is here.
27/9/15
- Keywords:
- child poverty
- Children's Commissioner