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NEWS RELEASE

8 July 2008

Pre-school Learning Alliance welcomes £52 million Government investment in communication services for children and responds to the Bercow Review of Services for Children and Young People with Speech, Language and Communication Needs

Responding to plans announced today by Government to invest an additional £52 million to address communication problems experienced by children and young people, Steve Alexander, Chief Executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, the largest voluntary provider of childcare in England said,

"This is very positive news. As the Alliance highlighted in our response to the Bercow Review, we are seeing greater numbers of children with speech, language and communication difficulties attending our early years settings. We are acutely aware that intervention in the early years is crucial to ensure that the communication skills of all children are developed and that children who are struggling get the support they need.

The £40 million which is earmarked for pre-school children is particularly welcome, and we very much look forward to the detailed action plan which is due to be published in the Autumn. Many of the early years practitioners we represent have told us that they cannot sufficiently support the increasing numbers of children presenting with communication needs. We therefore support the recommendation in the Bercow review to improve the training and continuous professional development related to speech, language and communication and SLCN (speech, language and communication needs) which is available to the workforce.

We also support the recommendations to promote more and better joint working between health and children's services. As our evidence to Bercow highlighted, service provision is currently patchy and not universal.

Finally, as a voluntary sector organisation whose members are delivering services in local communities, the Alliance is particularly keen that investment reaches these organisations directly. As Children's Minister, Beverley Hughes said at the Early Learning Partnership Project conference at the end of June, voluntary sector organisations have specific skills to support children's early learning which local authorities don't. However, in our experience it can be a challenge for community organisations to access funding which is distributed via local authorities. The successful Early Learning Partnership in which the Alliance worked with other voluntary sector organisations including I CAN, the National Childminding Association (NCMA), PEEP (Peers Early Education Partnership) and NCB shows that the public sector can successfully engage and support voluntary organisations to provide vital family support services."

ENDS

For further information please contact:

Kate Summerside
Pre-school Learning Alliance
T: 020 7697 2502
Out of hours press calls: 07956 499621
E: Kate Summerside

Notes for Editors:

  1. The Pre-school Learning Alliance is the largest voluntary sector provider of quality affordable childcare and education in England.
  2. The Government today outlined plans to invest an additional £52 million in to communication problems experienced by children and young people, following the publication of an independent review by John Bercow MP into services provided for those with speech and language problems
    http://nds.coi.gov.uk/environment/fullDetail.asp?ReleaseID=373166&NewsAreaID=2&NavigatedFromDepartment=False
  3. The Bercow review of services for children and young people (0-19) with speech language and communication needs was published today
    http://www.dfes.gov.uk/bercowreview/docs/7771-DCSF-BERCOW.PDF
  4. The Parents, Early Years and Learning project (PEAL).programme, with which the Alliance was involved supports early years practitioners to help parents engage with their children’s learning.
  5. Through direct provision and its membership of 15,000 nurseries, sessional pre-schools and parent and toddler groups, the Alliance supports over 800,000 children and their families in England. The Alliance also develops and runs family learning programmes, offers information and advice, runs acclaimed training and accreditation programmes and campaigns to influence early years policy and practice.
  6. For information about the Pre-school Learning Alliance, visit our website: www.pre-school.org.uk
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