Chapter 21: Sure Start, childcare and early years

Aim

Increase the availability of childcare for all children, and work with parents to be, parents and children to promote the physical, intellectual and social development of babies and young children particularly those who are disadvantaged so that they can flourish at home and at school, enabling their parents to work and contributing to the ending of child poverty.

Performance targets

1. In fully operational programmes, achieve by 2005-06:

an increase in the proportion of young children aged 0-5 with normal levels of personal, social and emotional development for their age;
a 6 percentage point reduction in the proportion of mothers who continue to smoke during pregnancy;
an increase in the proportion of children having normal levels of communication, language and literacy at the end of the Foundation Stage and an increase in the proportion of young children with satisfactory speech and language development at age 2 years; and
a 12% reduction in the proportion of young children living in households where no one is working.

Who is responsible for delivery?

The Department for Education and Skills has responsibility for the new unit.