Haringey’s youngest children to benefit from new Early Years proposals

Haringey’s youngest children are set to benefit from better outcomes in the future after provisional proposals for an Early Years Strategy – including plans for four Family Hubs in our borough – were given the green light at Cabinet last night (Tuesday 8 March 2022).

The council has placed a strong emphasis on giving our youngsters the best possible start in life and recognise that a child’s pre-school experience can have a lasting and pivotal impact on their development and later life as a young person and then an adult.

There is a strong partnership in place with school governors, head teachers and the Early Years sector to ensure an Early Years Strategy can be developed for the next five years.

Cllr Zena Brabazon, Haringey Council’s Cabinet Member for Early Years, Children and Families, said:

“It’s a priority for this administration to provide high-quality early education and childcare, as well as to ensure there is early intervention for children who are vulnerable or have Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). This is greatly important because a child’s Early Years experiences can influence their development and outcomes in life.

“Haringey Council has a strong record in directly providing this high-quality provision, and supporting other providers in this work, with over 99% of our settings graded Good or Outstanding by Ofsted. 

“A strategy to shape and strengthen the service, which supports children, parents, carers and families, is long overdue and will help maintain those high standards.”

Informed by a range of sources (including stakeholder task and finish groups and focused conversations with the Early Years sector, partners and parents), the proposed strategy includes a commitment to implement a Family Hub Model to build on the current Children’s Centre offer in Haringey.

Among its overall aims is to provide a clear focus on Early Years provision and a distinction between Early Years and Early Prevention.

It would also ensure a greater concentration on the developmental benefits of prevention and universal support in the early years.

A formal and statutory, 90-day consultation will now be run among residents, service users and stakeholders between May 2022 and August 2022, with the final proposals for the Early Years Strategy then being brought back before Cabinet in November 2022.