Young children and their families across Haringey are set to benefit from a much improved, integrated and more coordinated offer after the council approved the draft Early Years Strategy 2023-2026 at Cabinet.
The council is committed to partnership working in the borough to coordinate care, learning and support for young children, their families and carers.
Through this strategy, the council have developed an enhanced Early Years approach and service which ensures Haringey families can access the services they need to enable young children to have the best start in life and long-term foundations to thrive.
Haringey Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Schools & Families, Cllr Zena Brabazon, said at Cabinet on Tuesday (18 April 2023):
It is well established that a child’s early years experiences can influence their development and outcomes in life.
Providing high-quality, early education and childcare and ensuring there is early intervention for children who are vulnerable or who have special needs is therefore of great importance and is a priority for this administration.
The council has a strong record in directly providing this high-quality provision and of supporting other providers in this work, with over 98% of settings either ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding.’
A strategy which reflects the many dimensions of early years and childcare, which shapes and strengthens the service, and which supports children, parents, carers and families is long overdue.
The approval and publication of this Early Years Strategy follows on from a two-and-a-half-month consultation process towards the back end of last year (1 September 2022-14 November 2022), when almost 900 responses were received from both parents and providers.
This valued feedback and insight has duly been incorporated into the strategy and helped inform its strategic aims and priorities.
A robust monitoring process will also be set up as part of this strategy, with the progress towards the agreed aims and priorities being tracked by a EY Strategic Partnership Group made up of representatives from across the EY sector including health, carers/parents and Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND).
