One of the biggest is to ensure children's centre services become an established and valued part of communities, says Julie Williams, 4Children's head of children's services in the North of England.
The key is getting parents onside. "It's about letting them be the voice of the centre, getting them to take ownership of it and get involved in decision-making, monitoring and evaluation," she says.
Getting the message out there is vital and if that means knocking on every single door in a neighbourhood then that's what centre staff must do.
"Teams go out knocking on doors street by street and do pick up families who wouldn't necessarily have hooked into any other services," says Williams. Post offices where people collect benefits, health clinics and schools are other places where children's centre staff can draw in parents.
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