An article examined the relationship between home learning and parents' socio-economic status, and their impact on young children's language/literacy and socio-emotional competence. Socio-economic disadvantage, and lack of maternal educational qualifications in particular, remained powerful in influencing competencies in children aged 3 and at the start of primary school.
Source: Dimitra Hartas, 'Families? social backgrounds matter: socio-economic factors, home learning and young children?s language, literacy and social outcomes', British Educational Research Journal, Volume 37 Number 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Dec
A chapter in the 2011-12 British Social Attitudes Survey report examined public attitudes to child poverty. Most people accepted that child poverty existed and did not expect it to fall. There was disagreement about why children lived in poverty, although the most popular explanations supported the government's view about the role of family breakdown. An overwhelming majority of people supported action to reduce child poverty, with most people seeing this as a task for central and local government.
Source: Elizabeth Clery, 'Fewer children in poverty: is it a public priority?' (in Alison Park, Elizabeth Clery, John Curtice, Miranda Phillips, and David Utting (eds.), British Social Attitudes 28: 2011-2012 Edition), SAGE Publications
Links: Chapter | Downing Street press release | Conservative Party press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2011-Dec
Researchers reviewed evidence on the ways in which children's centre services were targeting the most disadvantaged families. It focused on how they defined, identified, and prioritized families in the greatest need of support; and considered the practical implications of targeting for local authorities, children's centres, and policy.
Source: Pippa Lord, Clare Southcott, and Caroline Sharp, Targeting Children's Centre Services on the Most Needy Families, National Foundation for Educational Research
Date: 2011-Dec
The first evaluation report was published of the Flying Start programme in Wales. It included a baseline survey of families, and also explored the early influence of the programme.
Source: Emma Wallace, Sarah Knibbs, David Jeans, Sarah Pope, Anastasia Knox, Patten Smith, Jamie Burnett, and Ivonne Nava-Ledezma (with Lisa McCrindle, Marian Morris, Geoff White, and Karl Ashworth), Evaluation of Flying Start: Findings from the baseline survey of families – mapping needs and measuring early influence among families with babies aged seven to 20 months, Welsh Government
Links: Report | Summary | Appendices | Welsh Government press release
Notes: The Flying Start Programme was launched in 2006-07, aimed at making 'a decisive difference' to the life chances of children aged under 4 in deprived areas of Wales. It sought to improve child outcomes through the provision of key service entitlements, including enhanced health visiting support and evidence-based parenting courses.
Date: 2011-Dec
A briefing paper said that the coalition government's reported plans to break the link between inflation and benefit payments – by cutting the standard uprating of benefits – would 'dramatically affect' working and non-working families on low incomes. If implemented, the plans could push thousands of children further into poverty.
Source: Inflation for Low-Income Families and Benefit Uprating, Children s Society
Links: Briefing | Childrens Society press release | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Nov
The four United Kingdom Children's Commissioners called for an urgent reassessment of the impact of the coalition government's programme of public spending cuts on the needs of vulnerable children. It outlined serious concerns at the high levels of persistent child poverty, and highlighted the need for children to be given priority in national and local budgets so that vital children's services were protected.
Source: UK Children s Commissioners Midterm Report to the UK State Party on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Office of the Children's Commissioner (and the Commissioners for Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales)
Links: Report | Evidence report | OCC press release | CCW press release | NICCY press release | SCCYP press release | Labour Party press release | Welsh Government press release | BBC report | Community Care report | Public Finance report
Date: 2011-Nov
The coalition government published its 2011 Autumn Statement on the economy and public finances. Economic growth would be significantly lower than previous expectations in 2012 and 2013. Unemployment was forecast to increase to 8.7 per cent in 2012, compared with 8.1 per cent in 2011. Public sector borrowing would be around £20-30 billion higher in every year between 2012-13 and 2015-16 compared with the 2011 Budget forecast. A planned £110 above-inflation increase to the child element of the child tax credit would be scrapped, and the couple and lone parent elements of the working tax credit would not be uprated in 2012-13 – leading to an increase of 100,000 children in poverty by 2012-13. The state pension age would be raised to 67 between April 2026 and April 2028 (rather than by 2036). Additional funding would allow free childcare places to be extended to 120,000 additional disadvantaged children aged 2. An extra £600 million would be provided to create a further 100 'free' schools, and £600 million would be given to areas with the greatest pressure on school places.
Source: Autumn Statement 2011, Cm 8231, HM Treasury, TSO
Links: Report | Hansard | HMT press release | DBIS/HMT press release | HOC research brief | Conservative Party press release | Green Party press release | Labour Party press release | Barnardos press release | CBI press release | Citizens Advice press release | CPAG press release | CSJ press release | ECP press release | EDCM press release | Fawcett Society press release | Institute for Government press release | IPPR briefing | NAPF press release | Scope press release | TUC press release | BBC report | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | Guardian report (3) | Guardian report (4) | Guardian report (5) | Professional Pensions report | Public Finance report
Date: 2011-Nov
Researchers examined an initiative designed to test how best to co-ordinate local services for separating and separated parents and their children, especially those who were disadvantaged. The pilots appeared to have been successful in meeting the overall aims.
Source: Judy Corlyon, Laura Stock, Matthew Gieve, Olivia Joyner, Thomas Spielhofer, Caroline Bryson, and Susan Purdon, Evaluation of Child Poverty Pilots: Delivering improved services for separating parents, Research Report RR175, Department for Education
Date: 2011-Nov
A study asked children and young people about the material items and experiences that they thought were necessary for a 'normal kind of life'. Children who lacked more than 5 out of the 10 items on a deprivation index were over five times more likely to have low levels of well-being than those who lacked none.
Source: Gill Main and Larissa Pople, Missing Out: A child centred analysis of material deprivation and subjective well-being, Children s Society
Links: Report | Summary | Childrens Society press release
Date: 2011-Nov
A report said that the concept of 'decent childhoods' could have the potential to create a stronger framework for political and social action on child poverty. The concept denoted those aspects of childhood that no child should go without – a childhood lived in families with financial security, with meaningful opportunities, and with a sense of being valued. Dignity and the chance to realize one's potential were as important as material well-being.
Source: Kate Bell and Jason Strelitz, Decent Childhoods: Reframing the fight to end child poverty, Decent Childhoods project/Webb Memorial Trust
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Nov
An article examined the contribution that child maintenance made to the reduction of child poverty in 8 developed countries (including the United Kingdom), representing countries with different child maintenance schemes. The contribution that child maintenance made in reducing overall child poverty was 'modest'. However, it had a relatively large impact in reducing child poverty for those who did receive it. Child maintenance reduced the income poverty gap to the greatest extent in the UK, and lifted most poor children out of poverty in Denmark and Sweden.
Source: Mia Hakovirta, 'Child maintenance and child poverty: a comparative analysis', Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, Volume 19 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Nov
A report examined how to foster inclusive labour markets in the European Union, and how to prevent and tackle child poverty. It considered how these challenges could be best addressed, and highlighted examples of good practice. It sought to identify concrete policy solutions to these challenges that could be applied during implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy.
Source: Policy Solutions for Fostering Inclusive Labour Markets and for Combating Child Poverty and Social Exclusion, EU Network of Independent Experts on Social Inclusion/European Commission
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Oct
An article examined New Labour's record on child poverty (1997-2010). Although the welfare reforms of the late 1990s had increased work among families with children, this had not translated into large falls in child poverty. Those entering work still relied on substantial increases in benefits to lift them over the poverty line. The coalition government had reaffirmed its commitment to the Child Poverty Act and was also emphasizing the role of work: but the lessons of the previous decade cast 'severe doubt' on whether a strategy of promoting work would be any more successful in reducing child poverty. Planned benefit cuts meant that some substantial increases in child poverty were in prospect.
Source: Richard Dickens, ' Child poverty in Britain: past lessons and future prospects', National Institute Economic Review, Volume 218 Number 1
Links: Abstract | NIESR press release
Date: 2011-Oct
A report examined what local level child poverty data could reveal about the distribution of child poverty in England, and how child poverty rates at local level had changed over time.
Source: What Does the Local Child Poverty Measure Tell Us About the Distribution of Child Poverty in England?, Research Report RR161, Department for Education
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Oct
A think-tank report said that between 2009-10 and 2012-13 there would be a large decline in real incomes across the income distribution. Absolute poverty was forecast to rise by about 600,000 children and 800,000 working-age adults. Median income was expected to fall by around 7 per cent in real terms – the largest 3-year fall for 35 years. The planned introduction of universal credit would reduce relative poverty by about 450,000 children and 600,000 working-age adults by 2020-21. However, the net direct effect of the coalition government's tax and benefit changes would be to increase both absolute and relative poverty – for example, due to the switch from RPI to CPI indexation of means-tested benefits.
Source: Mike Brewer, James Browne, and Robert Joyce, Child and Working Age Poverty and Inequality in UK: 2010, Commentary C121, Institute for Fiscal Studies
Links: Commentary | Summary | IFS press release | JRF press release | Barnardos press release | CPAG press release | Gingerbread press release | Scope press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Inside Housing report | Public Finance report
Date: 2011-Oct
A think-tank report examined why the coalition government had been able to abolish the child trust fund, and cancel the roll-out of the saving gateway, at what appeared to be no political cost. It drew out lessons for those interested in creating an 'assets agenda' aimed at tackling inequality and child poverty.
Source: Dalia Ben-Galim, Asset Stripping: Child trust funds and the demise of the assets agenda, Institute for Public Policy Research
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Oct
Campaigners said that maximizing the uptake of child maintenance would have a significant impact on the levels of child poverty experienced by lone parents.
Source: Missing a Trick? The role of child maintenance in tackling child poverty in single parent households, Gingerbread
Links: Report | Gingerbread press release
Date: 2011-Oct
A paper examined the distinction between child poverty and family poverty in Europe. Two key distinguishing factors were: putting the child at the centre of all policy measures to combat child poverty; and acknowledging the child as a social actor outside the family. The best way to tackle child poverty and social exclusion was a rights-based approach that focused on access to adequate resources, access to quality services and opportunities, and children's participation.
Source: Child Poverty – Family Poverty: Are They One and the Same? A rights-based approach to fighting child poverty, Eurochild
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Oct
A telephone survey of tax credit and child benefit claimants examined how income limits should be set for entitlement for benefits, and the stigma attached to claiming tax credits and other benefits. 39 per cent of child benefit recipients would cap the benefit at household income levels of up to £30,000 per year. 25 per cent of all respondents thought that there was stigma associated with claiming tax credits, compared with 66 per cent who thought this about social security benefits.
Source: Helen Breese, Views on Eligibility for Tax Credits and Child Benefit and Any Stigma Associated with Claiming These, Research Report 150, HM Revenue & Customs
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Oct
A report made four key recommendations for addressing poverty in families with disabled children:
• Child poverty statistics should reflect the additional costs of raising a child with a disability.
• The government should ensure that all households with disabled children took up their full entitlement to disability benefits.
• There should be an implementation plan for eradicating poverty among disabled children by 2020.
The government should not cut rates of support for disabled children under the new proposed universal credit.
Source: 4 in Every 10 Disabled Children Living in Poverty, Children s Society
Links: Report | Childrens Society press release | Scope press release | Unite press release | Community Care report | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Oct
An article examined the relationship between the presence of a disabled child in a family and poverty transitions. When compared with other families, families supporting a disabled child were more likely to be exposed to persistent or recurrent poverty, less likely to escape from an episode of poverty, and more likely to descend into poverty. But when compared with other families with similar levels of personal and social resources, families supporting a disabled child were no more likely to escape from or descend into poverty than other families.
Source: Said Shahtahmasebi, Eric Emerson, Damon Berridge, and Gillian Lancaster, ' Child disability and the dynamics of family poverty, hardship and financial strain: evidence from the UK', Journal of Social Policy, Volume 40 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Oct
A study examined the relationship between the drop in children's educational attainment during the 'transition phase' (around age 11) between primary and secondary schools, with a particular focus on child poverty. Children living in poverty had a higher likelihood of experiencing a poor transition.
Source: Philip Wilson, A Rapid Evidence Assessment: Investigating the Drop in Attainment during the Transition Phase with a Particular Focus on Child Poverty, Welsh Government
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Oct
A literature review examined the impact of poverty on children and women (with a focus on Scotland). It considered emerging evidence on the potential benefits of income maximization and welfare benefits advice services that were delivered in a healthcare or partnership setting.
Source: Richard Withington, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Financial Inclusion Evaluation Project: Literature Review, Healthier, Wealthier Children Project
Links: Literature review
Date: 2011-Sep
A new book examined Sure Start, a flagship programme of the former Labour governments (1997-2010). It looked at how Sure Start was set up, the numerous changes it went through, and how it had changed the landscape of services for young children in England.
Source: Naomi Eisenstadt, Providing a Sure Start: How government discovered early childhood, Policy Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Sep
A report said that back-to-school costs (such as school uniforms) were causing real hardship for low-income and vulnerable families.
Source: Breaking the Bank: The impact of back to school costs on low income families, Family Action
Links: Report | Family Action press release | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Sep
A report provided an overview of results from local authority child poverty innovation pilots, which tested a wide range of activity designed by local areas to tackle child poverty. There was a high demand for all the pilot provision. Employment outcomes were mixed, with the economic downturn limiting opportunities for parents supported by the programmes.
Source: Paul Mason, Richard Lloyd, Matt Rayment, Andy White, and Oliver Jackson, with Mike Coombes and Chris Young, Local Authority Child Poverty Innovation Pilot Evaluation: Final synthesis report, Research Report RR152, Department for Education
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Sep
A paper presented poverty results for children using two key indicators: the 'head count', which captured poverty risk; and the 'poverty gap', which represented the severity of poverty among poor people. The results for the poverty head count were very robust, regardless of the choice of poverty threshold. The message from the poverty gap figures was much less clear cut, with the relative differences between groups for the depth of poverty depending on exactly where in the income distribution the poverty threshold was drawn, and which summary measure of poverty gaps was focused on.
Source: Karen Gardiner and Martin Evans, Exploring Poverty Gaps Among Children in the UK, Working Paper 103, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Working paper
Date: 2011-Aug
An article used data from the 'Whitehall II' study to examine the joint evolution of health status and economic status over the life course. Early life socio-economic status was significantly associated with health over the life course, even though selection into Whitehall muted the effects of childhood. Holding a current position in the civil service was not associated with future self-assessed health: but current self-assessed health was significantly associated with promotion in the civil service.
Source: Anne Case and Christina Paxson, 'The long reach of childhood health and circumstance: evidence from the Whitehall II study', Economic Journal, Volume 121 Issue 554
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Aug
The coalition government announced four social impact bond pilots designed to fund intensive help for families affected by multiple problems such as anti-social behaviour, crime, addiction, and poor education.
Source: Press release 26 August 2011, Cabinet Office
Links: Cabinet Office press release
Date: 2011-Aug
A think-tank report called for 'greater efforts at intervention directed at the family sphere' in order to prevent the squandering of individual potential – particularly among children from lower-income backgrounds.
Source: Chris Paterson, Parenting Matters: Early years and social mobility, CentreForum
Links: Report | BBC report | Telegraph report
Date: 2011-Aug
A government-appointed review called for submissions of evidence on the links between social mobility and child poverty; on the main barriers that stopped people moving out of poverty; and on whether the coalition government's policies, in particular the social mobility and child poverty strategies, would improve people's life-chances.
Source: Social Mobility and Child Poverty Review: Call for Evidence, Cabinet Office
Links: Call for evidence
Date: 2011-Aug
A report examined economic issues arising out of the evaluation of the impact of Sure Start local programmes in England. On average, the programmes cost around £1,300 per eligible child per year at 2009-10 prices. By the time children reached the age of 5, the programmes had already delivered economic benefits of between £279 and £557 per eligible child. The economic benefits of early childhood interventions could be high (and much higher than for interventions with similar levels of expenditure on adults): but they typically did not emerge until at least 15 years after the intervention began.
Source: National Evaluation of Sure Start Team (led by Pam Meadows), National Evaluation of Sure Start Local Programmes: An Economic Perspective, Research Report RR073, Department for Education
Date: 2011-Jul
The second report of a government-commissioned review examined how to finance enhanced programmes of early intervention within existing resources. It recommended that:
• The government should set out as a policy objective that all babies, children, and young people should have the social and emotional bedrock essential for their future development and their ability to make effective life choices.
• Government leadership and co-ordination needed to improve – an 'Early Intervention Task and Finish Group', made up of experts from across government departments, should establish, measure, and chase progress in early intervention programmes.
• Regular assessments should be introduced for children aged 0-5 to help spot and correct dysfunction early.
• An independent 'Early Intervention Foundation' should be set up to promote early intervention and spread best evidence-based policies. Private, local, and philanthropic sources should be challenged to co-fund with government a £20 million endowment to sustain the Foundation.
• Outcome-based contracts, promoted and funded from within existing budgets, should be used to attract additional non-government investment in early intervention.
• The government should commission a thorough review of early intervention growth incentives ahead of the 2012 Budget.
Source: Graham Allen MP, Early Intervention: Smart Investment, Massive Savings, Cabinet Office
Links: Report | Cabinet Office press release | NDNA press release | Unite press release | BBC report | Community Care report | Public Finance report
Date: 2011-Jul
A paper provided an overlap analysis of child deprivation in the European Union, in order to gain insight into the breadth of child poverty and degree of overlap between measures of monetary and multidimensional poverty.
Source: Keetie Roelen and Geranda Notten, The Breadth of Child Poverty in Europe: An investigation into overlap and accumulation of deprivations, Working Paper 2011-04, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre (Florence)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Jul
An article examined the consensus among political parties over the aim of eradicating child poverty by 2020. In particular, it challenged the assumption that upgrading skills would raise earnings. Addressing relative poverty required an alternative theoretical approach: the role of institutions and culture in determining market outcomes deserved at least as much attention as the supply of skills.
Source: Paul Lewis, 'Upskilling the workers will not upskill the work. Why the dominant economic framework limits child poverty reduction in the UK', Journal of Social Policy, Volume 40 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jul
A new book examined the impact of initiatives introduced to help families living in poverty in urban neighbourhoods, based on a longitudinal study of over 200 families. Many areas of life were perceived to have improved over the period of the study (1998-2008): but constant effort was needed to stop deprived neighbourhoods from disintegrating. Unpicking improvements because of financial pressures might cause severe damage to disadvantaged communities, which were sustained in part by constant social and public investment.
Source: Anne Power, Helen Willmot, and Rosemary Davidson, Family Futures: Childhood and poverty in urban neighbourhoods, Policy Press
Links: Summary | LSE press release
Date: 2011-Jul
An annual report examined what incomes different family types required in 2011 to meet a minimum standard of living; and how much the cost of a minimum household budget had risen since the previous year. A single person needed to earn at least £15,000 a year before tax in 2011 in order to afford a minimum acceptable standard of living. A couple with a single earner and two children needed at least £31,600. Inflation had increased minimum household budget costs by around 5 per cent in the year to April 2011, slightly faster than the government's main inflation measure.
Source: Donald Hirsch, A Minimum Income Standard for the UK in 2011, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Links: Report | Findings | JRF press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Jul
A report examined differing trends in child poverty between 1998-99 and 2008-09, focusing on the difference between Scotland and England. United Kingdom government policy was likely to have contributed to reducing child poverty. The UK and Scottish government strategies to increase access to education were likely to have contributed to the reduction in child poverty before housing costs. The factors that were likely to have had the biggest impact in the faster reduction of relative child poverty in Scotland were the faster fall in unemployment, increased access to income from self-employment, and the slower rate of increase in the proportion of families from minority-ethnic backgrounds.
Source: Eleanor Barham, Differences in Decline: Relative child poverty in Scotland and England 1998-99 to 2008-09, Scottish Government
Date: 2011-Jul
An article used qualitative data from three urban authorities to investigate how far children's centres differed from Sure Start local programmes, and how far they were more recognizably similar to one another than were Sure Start local programmes. Although children's centres differed from Sure Start local programmes in significant respects, they also differed from one another.
Source: Jane Lewis, Jonathan Roberts, and Cathy Finnegan, 'Making the transition from Sure Start local programmes to children's centres, 2003-2008', Journal of Social Policy, Volume 40 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Notes: Sure Start local programmes were an area-based early intervention scheme for children under 5 in England, set up in 1998: they were replaced in 2003 by children's centres – a universal, mainstream service under the control of local authorities.
Date: 2011-Jul
A think-tank briefing said that a successful framework for early intervention needed much more collaborative and effective cross-agency working; and a transformation in the training and status of professionals at the point of delivery.
Source: Making Sense of Early Intervention: A framework for professionals, Centre for Social Justice
Links: Briefing
Date: 2011-Jul
The third edition was published of a book that drew together a wide range of data on the well-being of children. Separate chapters dealt with child poverty and deprivation; health; education; housing and environment; child care; child maltreatment; and crime.
Source: Jonathan Bradshaw (ed.), The Well-Being of Children in the UK (third edition), Policy Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Jul
A report examined the 2011 'national reform programmes' of European Union member states from the point of view of child poverty and well-being. It said that there should be greater recognition in the programmes that measures to tackle poverty and social exclusion – and child poverty in particular – would contribute to achieving other Europe 2020 headline targets. The Europe 2020 strategy needed to be backed up by specific national strategies on social inclusion that had a specific chapter on child poverty, coupled with implementation plans. Targets on poverty reduction should be strengthened and supplemented by specific child poverty targets. National reform programmes should not only recognize child poverty as a challenge but also commit to its widespread reduction. A more comprehensive approach was needed to fully tackle child poverty, both at national and at EU level, involving a wide range of policies that reached out to the most vulnerable groups and improved child well-being.
Source: Analysis of the 2011 National Reform Programmes (NRPs) from a Child Poverty and Well-Being Perspective, Eurochild
Links: Report | Eurochild press release
Date: 2011-Jul
The government published a preliminary assessment of the Child Benefit Act 2005, which extended child benefit to young people aged 16-19 undertaking certain work-based learning placements, and made it available until their 20th birthday if they had started their course or training before reaching age 19. The introduction of the measures in the Act had coincided with an above-average increase in participation rates in education among young people aged 16-19, and a decrease in work-based learning for those aged 18-19: but it was 'very difficult to draw any robust conclusions' about what caused this, and in particular about the contribution of the Act.
Source: Post-Legislative Scrutiny: Child Benefit Act 2005, Cm 8132, HM Treasury, TSO
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Jul
An article examined types of public family support in the European Union. There were five distinct family policy clusters: a general family support cluster, a dual-earner support cluster, a pluralistic policy cluster, and two low-support clusters. This framework could be used to explain international variation in female labour-market participation, fertility, gender equality, and child poverty.
Source: Monika Mischkea, 'Types of public family support: a cluster analysis of 15 European countries', Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice, Volume 13 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jul
A paper examined a number of candidate measures of cumulative deprivation to monitor child well-being in the European Union. Some measures were considerably more sensitive than others. Relative measures of cumulative deprivation were problematic: not only were they very sensitive to changes in methodological decisions, but they were also more difficult to interpret. However, in order to monitor cumulative deprivation there was also a need for child-specific indicators (rather than household-level indicators) over a wider range of well-being domains.
Source: Geranda Notten and Keetie Roelen, Monitoring Child Well-Being in the European Union: Measuring cumulative deprivation, Working Paper 2011-03, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre (Florence)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Jul
The government began consultation on a new statement of the 'core purpose' of Sure Start children's centres. It defined their core purpose as:
• Child development and school readiness – supporting emotional, physical, and social development so that children started school confident and able to learn.
• Parenting aspirations and parenting skills – helping parents to maximize their skills and give their children the best start.
• Child and family health and life-chances – promoting good physical and mental health for children and their parents, including addressing risk factors early on.
Source: The 'Core Purpose' of Sure Start Children's Centres, Department for Education
Links: Consultation document | DE press release | Liberal Democrats press release | Daycare Trust press release | 4Children press release
Date: 2011-Jul
A paper sought to provide a critical review of the children's items used in surveys of poverty and social exclusion.
Source: Jonathan Bradshaw and Gill Main, PSE Measures Review Paper: Children s Deprivation Items, Working Paper 7, Poverty and Social Exclusion in the UK Project
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Jul
A study found that meeting the Welsh Government's target of eradicating child poverty by 2020 would mean that the rate would have to fall four times more quickly over the next 10 years than it had over the previous decade. The latest figures also showed that almost 1 in 4 people in Wales across all age groups – 680,000 in total – were in poverty.
Source: Anushree Parekh and Peter Kenway, Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion in Wales 2011, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Links: Findings | JRF press release
Date: 2011-Jul
A paper examined the optimal design of tax/income support systems for low-income families (focusing on lone parents), using a structural labour supply model.
Source: Richard Blundell and Andrew Shephard, Employment, Hours of Work and the Optimal Taxation of Low Income Families, Discussion Paper 5745, Institute for the Study of Labor (Bonn)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Jun
An article examined the experiences of young people growing up in poverty in Northern Ireland, and the extent of their exclusion from the norms of society. This exclusion was such that some of them felt 'outsiders' even within their own, disadvantaged, community: this was dangerous in a society which was still emerging from conflict.
Source: Goretti Horgan, 'The making of an outsider: growing up in poverty in Northern Ireland', Youth and Society, Volume 43 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jun
An article examined the extent to which the social security system met the costs of children in low-income households. The state contributed only part of the total costs of such children, which meant that the costs might have to be met out of adult benefits.
Source: Nina Oldfield and Jonathan Bradshaw, 'The costs of a child in a low-income household', Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, Volume 19 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jun
The European Union published a policy statement on child poverty and child well-being. It called on member states to adequately emphasize child poverty issues within their national policies, and to consider it when drafting national reform programmes – backing them up with adequate targets where appropriate. It asked the European Commission to ensure that combating child poverty and promoting children's well-being were mainstreamed across all policy areas, and to consider them as one of the priorities of the social dimension of the Europe 2020 strategy.
Source: Tackling Child Poverty and Promoting Child Well-Being, European Union
Links: Statement | Eurochild press release
Date: 2011-Jun
A report set out the views and voices of children and young people experiencing poverty and disadvantage. It dealt with key aspects of poverty such as low family income, reduced educational achievement, and the impact of poor housing and neighbourhoods.
Source: Louise King, Telling It Like It Is: Children and young people speak out about their experiences of living in poverty in the UK today, Save the Children
Links: Report | SCF press release
Date: 2011-Jun
Two linked reports examined policy measures targeted at lone and couple parents, designed to increase parental employment and reduce child poverty. They looked at the effects of 'in work credit' and other policy measures on parents' work-related decision-making and behaviours – in particular at whether the measures encouraged and supported work entry, work retention, and work progression. A related area of investigation explored how parents were able to balance work and childcare.
Source: Rita Griffiths, Helping More Parents Move Into Work: An evaluation of the extension of New Deal Plus for Lone Parents and in work credit – Phase 1 report, Research Report 731, Department for Work and Pensions | Rita Griffiths, Helping More Parents Move Into Work: An evaluation of the extension of New Deal Plus for Lone Parents and in work credit – Final report, Research Report 732, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Report (731) | Summary (731) | Report (732) | Summary (732)
Date: 2011-May
A report examined local authorities' progress in meeting the duties placed on them by the 2010 Child Poverty Act, specifically the requirement to complete a local needs assessment and a joint local child poverty strategy. There was concern about the lack of statutory and prescriptive guidance from central government, and about the potential effects of public sector budget reductions.
Source: Julie Nelson, Lisa O'Donnell, and Caroline Filmer-Sankey, Local Authority Progress in Tackling Child Poverty, National Foundation for Educational Research
Date: 2011-May
A report reviewed the Family Resources Survey questions used to measure children's material deprivation. It considered evidence on which items (material goods, activities, and access to services) were regarded as essential, and proposed changes to the overall set of indicators used to measure child poverty.
Source: Stephen McKay, Review of the Child Material Deprivation Items in the Family Resources Survey, Research Report 746, Department for Work and Pensions
Date: 2011-May
A study found that 1 in 4 (26 per cent) of young people aged 16-24 from deprived homes believed that 'few' or 'none' of their career goals were achievable, compared with just 7 per cent of those from affluent families.
Source: Broke, Not Broken: Tackling youth poverty and the aspiration gap, Prince's Trust
Links: Report | Summary | BBC report | Personnel Today report
Date: 2011-May
Researchers examined whether incentive schemes were helping parents to overcome the barriers known to impede their engagement in the formal labour market. Any overall reduction in the availability of free childcare places could undermine policies to encourage parents to return to work. The move to a single system of working-age benefits, in the form of universal credit, had the potential to provide greater transparency and certainty about the financial implications of moving into work.
Source: Nadia Bashir, Richard Crisp, Tony Gore, Kesia Reeve, and David Robinson, Families and Work: Revisiting barriers to employment, Research Report 729, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Report | Summary | DWP press release | Working Families press release
Date: 2011-Apr
The government published a strategy for tackling child poverty in the period to 2020. It said that 'the old approach' (focusing on incomes) had failed. It set out a new approach involving a co-ordinated effort to achieve social justice and increase social mobility through radical structural reform. There would be a stronger focus on ensuring that families who were in work were supported to work themselves out of poverty; that families who were unable to work were able to live with dignity and not entrenched in persistent poverty; and that those who could work but were not in work were provided with services that would address their particular needs and help them overcome barriers to work. There would be a stronger focus on improving children's future life-chances, by intervening early to improve the development and attainment of disadvantaged children and young people throughout their progression to adulthood. And there would be a stronger focus on place and delivering services as close to the family as possible, by empowering local partners and ensuring that local diversity could be recognized, and developing strong local accountability frameworks.
Source: A New Approach to Child Poverty: Tackling the causes of disadvantage and transforming families lives, Cm 8061, Department for Work and Pensions/Department for Education, TSO
Links: Strategy | Hansard | DE press release | Barnardos press release | Childrens Society press release | Church of England press release | CPAG press release | ECP press release | Family Action press release | Gingerbread press release | NDNA press release | OCC press release | Policy Exchange statement | Unicef press release | BBC report | Inside Housing report | Nursery World report
Date: 2011-Apr
A report examined the opportunities and obstacles facing children and young people growing up in disadvantaged areas, and the struggles of parents to overcome these barriers and build a better future for their families.
Source: Anne Power, Nicola Serle, and Helen Willmot, Obstacles and Opportunities: Today s children, tomorrow s families, CASEreport 66, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (London School of Economics)
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Apr
A report examined the different ways in which governments in developed countries supported families. Between 2003 and 2007 the United Kingdom had strengthened its position as one of the biggest investors in families: but progress in child poverty reduction had stalled, and social protection spending on families – particularly via family service provisions, as a longer-term solution to poverty risks – needed to be protected.
Source: Doing Better for Families, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Summary | UK note | OECD press release | Gingerbread press release | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Apr
A report evaluated the child development grant (CDG) pilot – aimed at encouraging economically deprived and disengaged parents through (cash) incentives to utilize the services offered by their local Sure Start children's centres (in particular those services that had a positive impact on the child's development and family).
Source: Philip Wilson, Louise O Neill, Andrew Cleary, and Toby Cotton, Evaluation of the Child Development Grant Pilot, Research Report RR099, Department for Education
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Apr
An article examined the extent to which episodic and more persistent poverty in early childhood, and the lack of other family resources, disadvantaged children at the start of their school careers. Positive parenting was shown to be an important contributor to school achievement that mattered for children, regardless of poverty experience or family disadvantage. It was also shown to be an important mediator in redressing the effects of poverty and disadvantage.
Source: Kathleen Kiernan and Fiona Mensah, 'Poverty, family resources and children's early educational attainment: the mediating role of parenting', British Educational Research Journal, Volume 37 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Apr
A report said that tax credit cuts introduced in April 2011 would cut the gains to work for single parents by an average of £500 per year.
Source: Working But Losing: Why the tax credit changes from April 2011 will reduce work incentives for single parents, Gingerbread
Links: Report | Gingerbread press release
Date: 2011-Apr
A think-tank report examined why some disadvantaged parents who were entitled to use early years services did not normally do so. It made recommendations on universality, effective outreach and engagement with parents, and rethinking workforce development in response to the concerns and views of the families involved.
Source: Dalia Ben-Galim, Parents at the Centre, Institute for Public Policy Research
Date: 2011-Apr
The Scottish Government published a national strategy to tackle child poverty. A range of cross-government pledges included:
• Increasing the number of parents in employment.
• Supporting family incomes – through school clothing grants, freezing council tax, scrapping prescription charges, and providing free heating help.
• Encouraging positive parenting skills.
• Better housing and communities – building new affordable housing in mixed-income communities.
• Giving all children more chances to learn – financial support for young people to remain in education through retaining the educational maintenance allowance.
Source: Child Poverty Strategy for Scotland, Scottish Government
Links: Strategy | Scottish Government press release
Date: 2011-Mar
The Welsh Assembly Government responded to a report by an Assembly Committee on child poverty in Wales. It said that reducing child poverty was a fundamental element of its social justice agenda.
Source: Welsh Assembly Government Written Response to the Children & Young People Committee's Report – Follow Up Inquiry into Child Poverty, Welsh Assembly Government
Links: Response
Notes: Report (February 2011)
Date: 2011-Mar
The children's watchdog for England published the results of qualitative research that asked 73 children and young people from deprived areas for their views on the impact of living on a low income. It included their recommendations for tackling inequalities in society, for example through reducing wage differentials; and for creating a benefits system for those who required help most.
Source: Kerry Martin and Ruth Hart, Trying To Get By : Consulting with children and young people on child poverty, Office of the Children's Commissioner
Links: Report | OCC press release
Date: 2011-Mar
A report mapped levels of child poverty in individual local authority and constituency areas in England.
Source: Child Poverty Map of the UK: Part 1 – England, End Child Poverty
Links: Report | ECP press release | Morning Star report
Date: 2011-Mar
A paper examined the early housing and neighbourhood circumstances of children born in England in 2000. The majority of children experienced good housing conditions. Those in social rented homes, and to a lesser extent in private rented homes, were markedly disadvantaged in terms of family circumstances and neighbourhood deprivation. Housing conditions and other neighbourhood characteristics also varied somewhat between tenures. Links were found between children's housing tenure and test scores: these were largely explained by a combination of family characteristics and neighbourhood deprivation.
Source: Rebecca Tunstall, Ruth Lupton, Dylan Kneale, and Andrew Jenkins, Growing Up in Social Housing in the New Millennium: Housing, neighbourhoods, and early outcomes for children born in 2000, CASEpaper 143, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (London School of Economics)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Mar
The Northern Ireland Executive published a strategy for tackling child poverty.
Source: Improving Children s Life Chances: The child poverty strategy, Northern Ireland Executive
Links: Strategy | NIE press release
Date: 2011-Mar
A report drew out interim findings from 9 child poverty pilots that had been operating across England since 2008, with each pilot testing a range of different approaches to reducing child poverty. Low-income parents had responded positively to the opportunities provided by the pilots for locally delivered integrated services. Services offered through children's centres were well received by centre users – though there were some issues related to awareness and lack of take-up.
Source: Martin Evans and Karen Gardiner, CPU Child Poverty Pilots: Interim synthesis report, Research Report 730, Department for Work and Pensions
Date: 2011-Mar
A report said that in 2011 the cost of raising a child up to their 21st birthday totalled more than £210,000 – up 4.5 per cent over the previous year (ahead of inflation of 4 per cent), and up 50 per cent since 2003. Childcare and education were the biggest areas of expenditure.
Source: Cost of a Child: From cradle to college – 2011 report, Liverpool Victoria
Links: Report | Liverpool Victoria press release | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Feb
An article examined whether emergency hospital admission rates for common paediatric conditions were associated with measures of child well-being and deprivation. Housing and environmental factors were found to be associated with children's demand for hospital admission for breathing difficulty. The local index of child well-being (CWI) had the potential to identify priority primary care trusts for housing and environment interventions that could have specific public health benefits for respiratory conditions.
Source: Richard Kyle et al., 'Childhood disadvantage and emergency admission rates for common presentations in London: an exploratory analysis', Archives of Disease in Childhood, Volume 96 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Feb
An article examined the nature of the 'core offer' that children's centres were expected to provide, and the way in which they had pursued the goal of integrating staff and services. It highlighted the problems of balancing a focus on the child and on the parent; of reconciling childcare provision as part of the employability agenda and as a means to educational achievement for the child; of permitting local variation while achieving consistency; of the role of monitoring in relation to developing good practice; and of achieving integration in a mixed economy of care. Despite the greater specification of the core offer for children's centres compared with that for Sure Start, there were substantial differences between children's centres in terms of services, while the mixed economy of provision posed considerable challenges to the goal of integration.
Source: Jane Lewis, Rebecca Cuthbert, and Sophie Sarre, 'What are children's centres? The development of CC services, 2004-2008', Social Policy and Administration, Volume 45 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Feb
The Welsh Assembly Government published a new strategy for tackling child poverty. It restated its target to eradicate child poverty in Wales by 2020.
Source: Child Poverty Strategy for Wales, Welsh Assembly Government
Links: Strategy | WAG press release | BBC report
Date: 2011-Feb
A report by a committee of the National Assembly for Wales examined some of the issues faced by children living in poverty, and how education could play a part in tackling them. The Welsh Government needed to work harder to implement a stigma-free school meals system.
Source: Follow Up Inquiry Into Child Poverty: Eradication Through Education?, Children and Young People Committee, National Assembly for Wales
Links: Report | NAW press release | Public Finance report
Date: 2011-Feb
A report examined how families in Scotland living in severe poverty engaged with initiatives and services intended to support them.
Source: Danny Phillips, Claire Telfer, and Gill Scott, with William Reid and Kiel Stewart, Hopes and Expectations: How families living in severe poverty engage with anti-poverty services, Save the Children
Date: 2011-Feb
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on the 2010 Spending Review. The decision to withdraw child benefit from higher-rate taxpayers was 'tough but fair'.
Source: Spending Review 2010: Government Response to the Sixth Report from the Committee, Third Special Report (Session 2010-11), HC 754, House of Commons Treasury Select Committee, TSO
Links: Response
Notes: The MPs report (November 2010) had warned that proposed changes to child benefit from 2013 might have perverse economic incentives, along with issues of perceived unfairness and enforceability.
Date: 2011-Feb
A briefing paper examined the coalition government's policy of restricting the Sure Start maternity grant to the first child only in a family, from April 2011.
Source: Steven Kennedy, Restriction of the Sure Start Maternity Grant, Standard Note SN/SP/5860, House of Commons Library
Links: Briefing paper
Notes: The Sure Start Maternity Grant is a lump sum payment worth £500 per child paid to low-income families to assist with the cost of maternity and baby items.
Date: 2011-Feb
A report said that 1.6 million children lived in severe poverty; and that there were 29 local authority areas where the proportion was more than 1 in 5.
Source: Severe Child Poverty: Nationally and Locally, Save the Children
Links: Report | SCF press release | Labour Party press release | Scottish Government press release | BBC report | Children & Young People Now report | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Feb
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on Sure Start children's centres. It said that it recognized the importance of children's centres, and believed that they had 'huge potential' as they brought together services in new and innovative ways. The network of children's centres was critical to its wider programme for children and families across government.
Source: Sure Start Children's Centres: Government Response to the Fifth Report from the Children, Schools and Families Committee, Session 2009 10, Fourth Special Report (Session 2010-11), HC 768, House of Commons Education Select Committee, TSO
Links: Response | NCT press release | Children & Young People Now report
Notes: The MPs' report (March 2010) had called on the government to resist short-term financial pressure to reduce the number of Sure Start centres or the range of services that they offered.
Date: 2011-Jan
A briefing paper said that families on a low income paid more for their basic goods and services (such as gas and electricity) than better-off families. This annual 'poverty premium' could amount to more than £1,280 for a typical low-income family.
Source: The UK Poverty Rip-Off: The poverty premium 2010, Save the Children
Links: Briefing | Guardian report | Children & Young People Now report
Date: 2011-Jan
A report examined the impact of the economic crisis on children and young people in Europe. It expressed concern that government spending cuts were increasing pressure on services affecting children: universal child allowances were being abandoned or cut, and other benefits affecting children were also at risk. Governments were reneging on past commitments to children and families.
Source: How the Economic and Financial Crisis Is Affecting Children and Young People in Europe, Eurochild
Links: Report | Eurochild press release
Date: 2011-Jan
A report examined the implementation of the final 'toddlerhood' phase of the Family Nurse Partnership programme in the first ten sites in England. There was good potential for the programme to make a real difference to the life-chances of some of the most disadvantaged families.
Source: Jacqueline Barnes et al., The Family-Nurse Partnership Programme in England: Wave 1 implementation in toddlerhood & a comparison between waves 1 and 2a of implementation in pregnancy and infancy, Department of Health
Links: Report | DH press release
Notes: The Family Nurse Partnership programme (in England) provides intensive support to deprived first-time young mothers and their babies to try to prevent future problems linked to social exclusion.
Date: 2011-Jan
A survey of Sure Start children's centre managers across England found that, over the next 12 months: 250 (7 per cent) would close or were expected to close, affecting an estimated 60,000 families; 2,000 (56 per cent) would provide a reduced service; 3,100 (86 per cent) would have a decreased budget; and staff at 1,000 centres (28 per cent) had been issued with 'at risk of redundancy' notices.
Source: Press release 28 January 2011, 4Children
Links: 4Children press release | Labour Party press release | BBC report | Telegraph report | Children & Young People Now report | Community Care report
Date: 2011-Jan
An article examined the implementation of the Family Nurse Partnership programme. The programme was perceived in a positive light and take-up was high, with delivery close to the stated objectives. There were local concerns about cost set against long-term rather than immediate gains.
Source: Jacqueline Barnes, 'From evidence-base to practice: implementation of the Nurse Family Partnership programme in England', Journal of Children's Services, Volume 5 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Notes: The Family Nurse Partnership programme (in England) provides intensive support to deprived first-time young mothers and their babies to try to prevent future problems linked to social exclusion.
Date: 2011-Jan
An article highlighted the 'considerable change' involved in the transition from the Sure Start programme (targeted at deprived areas) to the universal provision of children's centres. It explored the reasons for the policy shift in terms of changes in the government's goals (on the one hand), and in relation to evidence of programme failure (on the other). It considered why the shift to children's centres was claimed by the government as continuity rather than change, and what this revealed about the nature of policy change.
Source: Jane Lewis, 'From Sure Start to children's centres: an analysis of policy change in English early years programmes', Journal of Social Policy, Volume 40 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jan
A briefing paper highlighted key research messages for commissioners and providers of health services for children and young people, illustrating some of the interventions that had been proven to have had a positive impact and made a difference in people's lives. The thematic areas covered included: early years, disability, child poverty, and safeguarding.
Source: Getting Better? Improving outcomes for children and young people – Research messages for the health service, Centre for Excellence and Outcomes in Children and Young People's Services
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Jan
An article reported an ethnographic study into the experiences of parents and professionals involved with the implementation of a Sure Start multi-agency health and education early years programme. The policy shift to children's centres appeared to have entailed an erosion of social capital – contrary to the original purpose of empowering local communities.
Source: Carl Bagley, 'From Sure Start to children's centres: capturing the erosion of social capital', Journal of Education Policy, Volume 26 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jan
A government-commissioned report (by a Labour MP) examined how children from disadvantaged backgrounds could be given the best start in life. It said that early intervention would improve the lives of vulnerable children and help break the cycle of 'dysfunction and under-achievement'. It recommended regular assessments of all pre-school children, focusing on their social and emotional development, and a national parenting programme. Nineteen of the most effective early intervention programmes should be supported and expanded.
Source: Graham Allen MP, Early Intervention: The Next Steps, Cabinet Office
Links: Report | DPM speech | DE press release | Addaction press release | Catch22 press release | DEF briefing | JRF blog | NAHT press release | NCMA press release | NIACE press release | NUT press release | SRU blog | Turning Point press release | Children & Young People Now report | BBC report | Telegraph report | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | Community Care report
Date: 2011-Jan
A report (commissioned by the Independent Review on Poverty and Life Chances) examined the feasibility of indicators to measure annual progress at a national level on a range of factors in young children that were known to be predictive of children's future outcomes.
Source: Elizabeth Washbrook, Early Environments and Child Outcomes: An analysis commission for the Independent Review on Poverty and Life Chances, Centre for Market and Public Organisation (University of Bristol)
Links: Report
Notes: The Independent Review on Poverty and Life Chances (led by Frank Field MP) published its report in December 2010.
Date: 2011-Jan
A series of journal articles examined the socio-economic gradient in children's cognitive and educational achievement.
Source: Journal of Longitudinal and Life Course Studies, Volume 2 Number 1
Links: Table of contents
Date: 2011-Jan
A report examined the evolution of the Sure Start programme. It said that there was strong evidence to support early intervention, given the nature and extent of the disadvantage and discrimination that many families faced. It highlighted the ways in which initiatives such as children's centres could provide support for vulnerable families, and provide the basis for 'community hubs' within a 'Big Society'.
Source: The Right Start: Sure Start, early intervention and the needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged children and families, Pre-school Learning Alliance
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Jan
An article said that, despite some gaps in the knowledge base, there was a substantive body of evidence exploring disadvantaged children's lives and experiences from their own perspectives. Poverty penetrated 'deep into the heart' of childhood, permeating every facet of children's lives, including: economic and material disadvantage; the structuring and limiting of social relationships and social participation; and the often hidden aspects of disadvantage associated with shame, sadness, and the fear of social difference and marginalization.
Source: Tess Ridge, 'The everyday costs of poverty in childhood: a review of qualitative research exploring the lives and experiences of low-income children in the UK', Children & Society, Volume 25 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jan
A report examined the impact of benefit cuts on new parents with children, including: cuts to the health in pregnancy grant; changes to the Sure Start maternity grant; the abolition of the child trust fund and baby element of child tax credit; and changes to tax credits and childcare support for families returning to work after maternity and paternity leave. The poorest families could lose out on £1,735 support per annum for new babies.
Source: Born Broke: The impact of welfare measures announced by the government on parents with new children, Family Action
Links: Report | Family Action press release | BBC report
Date: 2011-Jan