The quality of staff is the most important factor in securing high quality for children, and building parental confidence. The Transformation Fund of £250m over two years will support training and development and the appointment of more highly qualified staff.
The Children’s Workforce Development Council has been asked to work with the government to raise the level of skills across the sector.
Through the national programmes and regional teams, central government will:
- Develop a national delivery partnership with key stakeholders to keep implementation on track. The plan announces a new stakeholder forum.
- Support the early stages of delivery and share good practice quickly.
- Agree targets and monitor progress in each LA. The plan highlights how the government will negotiate these with local authorities.
- Ensure that performance management of Sure Start Children Centres, and improvement conversations with schools, support new ways of working. The plan describes the range of key performance indicators that the government is considering and the process which will support performance management.
- Reform inspection and regulation to reflect new approaches to delivery. The plan describes the proposed integration of inspection systems under the Childcare Bill.
- Collect and use data to drive improvement at every level. The plan explains the intention to create a spine of indicators.
This plan brings together a set of important changes and delivery messages. Local authorities and their partners will be preparing and rolling forward their own plans. To help the process, the way forward has been summarised, looking at the way forward year on year at who needs to do what and by when. This is split between central government, local partners and front line delivery. Many LAs are on their way but there is still much to do. Making the vision for 2010 into a reality for all children and their families is the shared challenge for all for the next four-years.
