Hodge urges RDAs to invest in children’s centres

Regional Development Agencies were urged this week to invest in
children’s centres by children’s minister Margaret
Hodge, writes Amy Taylor.

Speaking at a conference on children’s centres in London,
Hodge said she hoped the nine agencies, which were primarily
charged with tackling economic regeneration, would recognise the
importance of children’s centre to economic development and
invest in them.

The minister added that professionals needed to combine
investment from the public and the private sector in order to fund
the centres.

Sally Threlfall, from Leeds early years service, said the
children’s centres in her area had highlighted their benefits
to different bodies in order to gain funding.

Leeds had managed to get more than £2 million of Single
Regeneration Budget and neighbourhood renewal capital in one year
alone, she said, calling on fellow professionals to take advantage
of the prominent position of children’s centres in the
current political agenda.

“We don’t have very long to make this right,”
she concluded. “Just at the moment children centres are
flavour of the month. It’s raining children’s centres.
But it won’t be for long.”

 

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