CYP Now - Councils tackle young children's development gaps

Local authorities involved in a government programme to tackle developmental gaps in disadvantaged children have reported that it improved outcomes for under-fives and boosted the profile of early years in councils.

Staff from councils involved in the programme said it had helped improve literacy outcomes for local children. Image: Becky Nixon

An evaluation of the £8.5m Early Years Local Government Programme found that among staff at the 27 councils involved, 63 per cent reported a significant improvement in children’s developmental outcomes and 21 per cent some improvement.

A similar proportion of local authority staff also reported that involvement in the programme resulted in improved outcomes for families.

The programme supported local services to put in place better arrangements identifying and supporting families in need and developing better working partnerships across different services - all of which led to better speech and language outcomes for children and families in these areas, the independent evaluation found.

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