The government announced a comprehensive Children's Plan, designed to improve pupils' educational attainment, health, and happiness. The Plan set targets for 2020 for improving the skills children had at the start of both primary and secondary school, reducing obesity, eradicating child poverty, and 'significantly reducing' the number of children convicted of criminal offences. By 2020, schools would be expected to have 90 per cent of children 'developing well' across all areas of the early years foundation stage by age 5, and reading at or above expected levels in English and maths by age 11. £225 million would be provided to build or upgrade 3,500 playgrounds and set up 30 new supervised adventure playgrounds. The plan outlined a series of reviews and consultations, including: a review of the impact of the commercial world on children's well-being; a review of sex and relationship education; an action plan in 2008 to tackle housing overcrowding; a youth alcohol action plan and drugs strategy in spring 2008; and a children's workforce action plan early in 2008.
Source: The Children's Plan: Building brighter futures, Cm 7280, Department for Children, Schools and Families, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Hansard | DCSF press release | Childrens Society press release | NCH press release | CPAG press release | Daycare Trust press release | 4Children press release | CWDC press release | PSLA press release | Play England press release | IOSH press release | YJB press release | EDCM press release | Rainer press release | FPLD press release | Relate press release | NASUWT press release | ASCL press release | NGA press release | PAT press release | GTCE press release | SSAT press release | Primary Review press release | MHF press release | Addaction press release | DEF press release | SPUC press release | IPPR press release | CBI press release | IOD press release | Liberal Democrats press release | Telegraph report (1) | Telegraph report (2) | BBC report (1) | BBC report (2) | FT report | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | Community Care report | New Start report | Socialist Worker report
Date: 2007-Dec
A survey found that 76 per cent of respondents were satisfied with the future facing their family – 24 percentage points higher than when the same question was asked in 1964.
Source: Press release 5 November 2007, British Broadcasting Corporation (020 8576 8888)
Links: BBC press release | Survey Summary | BBC report
Date: 2007-Nov
A government-commissioned report said that nearly all children in England were happy, healthy, and cared for by their families – in spite of reports to the contrary, Children were enjoying their childhood, were increasingly well-educated, and most were 'engaged, motivated and making a positive contribution'. The review examined more than 100 research studies into the lives of children and young people in England, and was designed to provide the evidence basis for the government's 10-year 'children's plan', due to be published in December 2007.
Source: Children and Young People Today: Evidence to support the development of the Children's Plan, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report | DCSF press release | NCH press release | Guardian report | BBC report | Telegraph report
Date: 2007-Nov
A report published by the (outgoing) watchdog for gender equality sought to identify the underlying philosophy supporting national strategies for parents and carers; explore models from both the United Kingdom and Europe; and consider what a strategy to support parents and carers that also worked to reduce gender inequalities might look like.
Source: Susan Himmelweit and Hilary Land, Supporting Parents and Carers, Working Paper 63, Equal Opportunities Commission (0161 833 9244)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Oct
The government began consultation on what should be done to improve the lives of children in England, including an examination of the effects of the media and the internet on children. It said that it would use the answers to help draw up a 10-year plan for children's services.
Source: Time to Talk, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Links: Consultation document | DCSF press release (1) | DCSF press release (2) | Downing Street press release | NCH press release | NUT press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Sep
The government set out the priorities of the newly created Department for Children, Schools and Families. It called for a greater emphasis on 'personalized learning', in which the progress of individual pupils was monitored and supported by one-to-one tuition – with an additional £150 million in funding. It was abolishing the requirement for universities and high-performing schools and colleges to provide £2 million before they could sponsor an academy: it said that it wanted every university actively to engage with academies. Priority would be given to improving maths in primary schools. The need was emphasized for improved behaviour in the classroom: the school inspectorate would issue 'strong new guidance' on unacceptable behaviour by pupils. There would be an additional £265 million for extended schools to provide after-school services, particularly for less well-off families. A new National Council for Educational Excellence would drive forward the government's long-term aspirations for children's and young people's education.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Debate 10 July 2007, columns 1319-1339, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | DCSF press release (1) | DCSF press release (2) | NUT press release | NASUWT press release | ATL press release | NAHT press release | PAT press release | Conservative Party press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Telegraph report | FT report
Date: 2007-Jul
A report (by an advisory group to the opposition Conservative Party) said that social breakdown resulted in costs to the country of £102 billion per year – with family breakdown taking up £24 billion, crime £60 billion, and educational under-achievement £18 billion. It said that taxes and benefits should be transformed in order to strengthen families – with tax breaks for some married couples, a trebling of child benefit for the first three years, and steps to get more lone parents off benefits earlier. Other proposals included raising taxes on alcohol to tackle binge drinking; reclassifying cannabis as a 'class B' drug; and raising the gambling age limit from 16 to 18.
Source: Breakthrough Britain: Ending the costs of social breakdown, Social Justice Policy Group/Conservative Party (020 7222 9000)
Links: Report | Conservative Party press release | CPAG press release | NCH press release | OPF press release | Fawcett Society press release | NCVO press release | Carers UK press release | BBA press release | CSV press release | RCP press release | DEF press release | Addaction press release | Leonard Cheshire press release | BBC report (1) | BBC report (2) | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2007-Jul
The government announced a package of measures aimed at improving children's well-being, including funding of £396 million to continue the Children's Fund for a further three years beyond March 2008, supporting projects that specialized in early intervention and prevention. It also announced that a consultation would take place later in 2007, designed to bring together all aspects of policy affecting children and young people into a new 'Children's Plan'.
Source: Speech by Ed Balls MP (Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families), 18 July 2007
Links: Text of speech | DCSF press release | ECM press release | Barnardos press release | EDCM press release | Play England press release | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Jul
A report said that families should restrict themselves to having a maximum of two children, in order to stabilize the effect on the environment of a rapidly growing population.
Source: John Guillebaud, Youthquake: Population, fertility and environment in the 21st century, Optimum Population Trust (07976 370221)
Links: Report | OPT press release | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Jul
A new book examined the extent to which the law was consistent and/or inconsistent in its concept and treatment of the family.
Source: Rebecca Probert, Family Life and the Law: Under one roof, Ashgate Publications (01235 827730)
Links: Summary
Date: 2007-Jul
The new Prime Minster (Gordon Brown MP) announced the creation of a Department for Children, Schools and Families. The new department would take over the responsibilities of the (disbanded) Department for Education and Skills for children's services and family policy, and for education up to the age of 19. It also acquired responsibility for youth justice and the Respect Taskforce (dealing with anti-social behaviour), and cross-cutting roles on child poverty and child health.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 28 June 2007, columns 36-40WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | Downing Street press release | DCSF press release | OCC press release | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | BBC report | Community Care report | FT report
Date: 2007-Jun
An article reported a seminar series on transformations in family and community relationships, including how these had been affected by social and economic developments. The concept of change, rather than attention to continuity, had became central to the contemporary focus on family and community life: but an historical perspective was needed in order to understand future developments.
Source: Rosalind Edwards, 'Family, community and social change: looking back and moving forward. Report of an ESRC seminar series', Policy Studies, Volume 28 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Jun
A discussion paper examined the tax treatment of the family. It highlighted inconsistencies, confusion, and discrepancies in the law; and considered whether marriage or entering into a civil partnership offered tax advantages or disadvantages to the persons involved. It also examined the stated policies of the government, the Conservative Party, and the Liberal Democrats.
Source: Tracey Bowler, Taxation of the Family, Discussion Paper 6, Tax Law Review Committee/Institute for Fiscal Studies (020 7291 4800)
Links: Paper | IFS press release
Date: 2007-Jun
The government published the results of a review of family policy. It proposed measures designed to: support families to exercise their rights to manage their own affairs, while living up to their responsibilities; improve the life-chances of family members, addressing for example poor educational attainment and a culture of low aspiration; enable families to have a work-life balance, through wider access to free childcare and education provision; address the hardest-to-reach families by tackling the causes and consequences of deep seated exclusion, and offer tailored, intensive support.
Source: Building on Progress: Families, Strategy Unit/Cabinet Office (020 7276 1881)
Date: 2007-May
The government published the results of a joint review of services for children and young people. It set out plans for increased investment in Sure Start children's centres, one-to-one tuition in schools, out-of-school activities, and support for mothers and fathers with their parenting responsibilities (as well as parenting contracts for families at risk).
Source: Aiming High for Children: Supporting families, HM Treasury (020 7270 4558) and Department for Education and Skills
Links: Report | HMT press release | ECM press release
Date: 2007-Mar
A think-tank report said that the state had provided strong incentives for families to break up rather than to hold together, and to form family relationships that were hidden from the authorities - by providing extensive welfare provision, by financing childcare services, and by taxing families on an ever-greater proportion of their income. Government policy had crowded out voluntary welfare within families, and caused otherwise law-abiding people to commit fraud on a very extensive scale.
Source: Patricia Morgan, The War between the State and the Family: How government divides and impoverishes, Institute of Economic Affairs (020 7799 8900)
Links: Report | Summary | IEA press release
Date: 2007-Mar
A think-tank (allied to the opposition Conservative Party) published a report which said that unless society tackled family breakdown it would make no progress in stopping youth crime and unlocking the cycle of deprivation in which many children were trapped.
Source: Iain Duncan Smith MP, Being Tough on the Causes of Crime: Tackling family breakdown to prevent youth crime, Centre for Social Justice (020 7620 1120)
Links: Report | CSJ press release
Date: 2007-Feb
Three articles examined ideas of childhood. The first examined the child's 'voice' in social research. The second examined the idea of innocence as a major way of understanding children. The third examined how first-time mothers viewed their children, through their talk about everyday childrearing.
Source: Sirkka Komulainen, 'The ambiguity of the child's "voice" in social research', Childhood, Volume 14 Number 1 | Anneke Meyer, 'The moral rhetoric of childhood', Childhood, Volume 14 Number 1 | Elizabeth Murphy, 'Images of childhood in mothers' accounts of contemporary childrearing', Childhood, Volume 14 Number 1
Links: Abstract (1) | Abstract (2) | Abstract (3)
Date: 2007-Feb
The cabinet minister responsible for children's issues said that family policy should not be biased in favour of marriage, and that taxation and law did not create strong families: but he also said that fathers were not 'optional extras' in the family unit. The Prime Minister commented that dealing with 'problem' families was not a question of 'marriage versus lone parents'. The leader of the opposition Conservative Party said that the well-being of families and children was more important than economic competitiveness.
Source: Speech by Alan Johnson MP (Secretary of State for Education and Skills), 27 February 2007 | Press briefing 27 February 2007, 10 Downing Street (020 7270 1234) | Speech by David Cameron MP (Leader of Conservative Party), 16 February 2007
Links: Johnson speech | PM press briefing | Cameron speech | CPAG press release | NCH press release | Telegraph report | BBC report | Guardian report | FT report
Date: 2007-Feb
A new book examined the nature of the relationship between children, parents, and modern welfare states; and the implications of social policies for children.
Source: Jane Lewis (ed.), Children, Changing Families and Welfare States, Edward Elgar Publishing (01242 226934)
Links: Summary
Date: 2007-Jan
The government published a discussion paper setting out evidence gathered during the first stage of a review into the challenges faced by children and young people. It identified the next areas the review would examine to inform the 2007 comprehensive spending review and the government's forthcoming 10-year youth strategy. The paper said that teenage years were a time of change and increased personal responsibility, and that regular participation in positive activities helped young people cope with change, develop confidence, and build new skills. Almost two-thirds of those aged 11-15 already participated in groups, clubs, or organizations each year: but the government was determined to increase participation further, and to give young people more control over the activities and facilities available in their communities.
Source: Policy Review of Children and Young People: A discussion paper, HM Treasury (020 7270 4558) and Department for Education and Skills
Links: Discussion paper | Hansard | HMT press release | ECM press release | EDCM press release | Young People Now report | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Jan