I became very impressed by the work done by the primary schools serving one area with high unemployment. These schools faced huge challenges and they used a wide range of strategies such as breakfast clubs that ensured children arrived on time and had something to eat at the start of the day.
So I strongly supported Sure Start, which was aimed at helping such areas. The evidence was overwhelming - pre-school deprivation led to long-lasting school underachievement and poor life chances. Working with deprived families before school was a vital part of the overall strategy. I still believe all this.
But recent events suggest too many parents either don't know what they should be doing for their children or, worse, don't seem to care. So a primary school is considering excluding children who are not potty trained. To raise it, the school must see it as an important issue. What's more, children's communication champion Jean Gross has said that some children from deprived areas reach the age of four without knowing their own name, with only 10 per cent being explained by special needs. Half of all children from these areas have communication difficulties when starting school.
There has always been deprivation, of course, but there does seem to be a new pattern emerging. In the past, deprived families still largely operated as families, but now we are seeing some parents simply not engaging with their children, spending their time instead with TV and the internet. In the worst cases, this contributes to more serious abuse.
So what is to be done? Should we invest more in earlier intervention for more families? This seems unlikely, but we should focus our limited resources to protect and extend children's centres serving these areas. If budgets are to be cut, let's make sure we cut them for the families who need them least.
John Freeman CBE is a former director of children's services and is now a freelance consultant Read his blog at cypnow.co.uk/freemansthinking
