Children's centre policymaker admits progress is too slow

Ann Gross, deputy director of children's centres and extended schools at the Department for Children, Schools and Families, said more work is needed to deliver results.

"Progress has been slower than we would like to see for children at five. Some of this can be explained by the fact that it's still early days, but that's not the whole answer," she told CYP Now's Sustainable Children's Centre conference last week. "We need to think carefully about what we're doing - are we doing enough to make sure all three- and four-year-olds take up the free childcare entitlement? Are we doing enough to tackle child poverty?"

Gross, who is responsible for policy on Sure Start children's centres and extended schools, said new government funding in April would include money for outreach workers for centres in some of the most disadvantaged areas of England. "The new funding is in place and the issue is how we together focus on three critical issues," she said.

She highlighted providing quality services, partnership working and work with parents as crucial areas to be addressed. "What we want to see is ongoing consultation with parents, the community and other service partners such as the voluntary sector, health and JobCentre Plus," she said. "It's very important that this happens at all stages so people can see how their comments are being acted upon."

Gross also said centres needed to improve their financial management and show they are providing value for money. "We need to be able to show that we're using resources efficiently and transparently," she said.

Gross highlighted a recent National Audit Office report that said Sure Start was not meeting all of its goals and said the programme needed to be doing more. "For some families we need to be doing much better," said Gross. "We need to get better at sharing practice and sharing what works."