Thank you to J, a brave mam who has shared her story to empower others to do the same and address their own mental health struggles both during and after pregnancy.

I’ve always been a firm believer in the bravest thing you can ever do is ask for help, that was never more true for me than when I was navigating pregnancy after loss.

Having lost my first child due to a missed miscarriage, falling pregnant with my second child only a few months later was the most terrifying time. I spent the weeks from my positive pregnancy test on the run up to my first appointment overanalysing every symptom, paying for private scans every week and in a constant state of fear.

I already felt like there was a lack of support available for me as I had “only experienced one loss” I didn’t fit the criteria for perinatal mental health support via my local NHS hospital’s rainbow clinic. On reflection looking back now, I felt I had no choice but to be honest and tell my health visitor how much I was struggling – the crippling anxiety was written all over my face.

When my health visitor suggested she make a referral for me to engage with Little Minds in Mind, I was sceptical if I was able to be helped but had nothing to lose, I couldn’t possibly feel worse than I already did.

Throughout my whole pregnancy I was petrified to bond with my baby in fear of another loss, I felt like I wasn’t ‘normal’ and worried what would happen if my baby was born healthy but I still didn’t feel that connection. I completely shut down and isolated myself from friends and family. Though I was able to share some of my thoughts with my husband, I kept a lot to myself as I felt so guilty for ruining his experience of what should have been an exciting time.

Within minutes of meeting Sarah from Little Minds in Mind I knew I’d made the right decision in speaking out and seeking support.

There was no topic that was ‘too much’ or taboo, I could talk openly and brutally honestly about the guilt, shame and fear I was experiencing knowing that Sarah would listen and not judge. She made me feel heard, she understood, and respected my grief and why I was feeling the way that I was. Through our visits and regular phone check ins, she made me think of things from a completely different perspective – the fact that I was so scared to lose my baby was in itself my own way of bonding and protecting them. She made me realise that I already had those maternal instincts and was doing all I could to look after my baby by being brave enough to ask for help and seek support.

Things that would seem trivial to most like managing to finally buy nappies at the end of the third trimester and saying ‘we’ instead of ‘I’ when referring to myself and my baby towards the end of my pregnancy, I really do feel were possible due to Sarah empowering me and building up my confidence. She celebrated each win with me and comforted me during the lows. She also offered advice and signposting to both me and my husband regarding what support would be available postnatally should I feel I need it. Knowing there was a safety net available and how to access it was a great comfort.

There was no magic wand or quick fix, my mental health was poor throughout my whole pregnancy but with Little Minds in Minds help and support I was better able to cope. When my son was born safely, the first time I looked at him I said to my husband “he’s real, he’s perfect.” I was so excited to introduce Sarah to him as she played such a huge role in his safe arrival and my journey to motherhood.

My husband and I are forever thankful to Sarah and Little Minds in Mind.

*Names have been changed to protect individual’s identities.

Help Is Available: How Children North East Supports Children and Families Affected by Abuse and Why Funding Matters 

Every child deserves to grow up feeling safe, supported, and valued. Sadly, we know that an estimated 1 in 20 children in the UK have been sexually abused*, which can have lasting effects on their emotional and mental wellbeing. In recent weeks, we have also seen a rise in high profile sexual abuse cases being discussed in the press and on social media, something which can evoke trauma or uncomfortable conversations for victims, whether they have disclosed their abuse or not. 

At Children North East, we are committed to providing specialist support for children and young people affected by sexual abuse, helping them to process their trauma and manage its impact on their lives. 

Abuse Can Affect Anyone 

Sexual abuse affects children from all backgrounds, and perpetrators can come from all walks of life. It is not limited to any particular community, class, culture or social group. The experience of abuse can highly differ from case to case – each victim’s experience is unique.  

Recognising this is crucial in ensuring that every child gets the support they need without fear of stigma or repercussion. At Children North East, we stand firmly in the belief that every child who has experienced harm deserves to be heard without judgement and provided with care, understanding, and access to the right services. 

How We Support Children and Families  

Our dedicated, expert team provides specialist support for children, young people who have been affected by abuse, and their families; offering a safe space where they can process their experiences and begin to heal. 

Therapeutic Support  

Our trained professionals provide trauma-informed therapy to victims aged 0 to 18 (up to 25 with SEND). One-to-one counselling and creative therapies help children and young people to work through their experiences in a way that feels safe and manageable. We have a dedicated SAFE (Sexual Abuse Family Engagement) programme, which offers people in the Northumbria area up to twenty sessions of therapeutic support to help them process their trauma and support them in recovery. We hope to extend this much needed service to more areas in the future. 

Family and Caregiver Support 

We understand that abuse affects entire families, leaving individuals with trauma, impacting relationships and diminishing their established support networks. Our SAFE programme works with family, whether they are parents, carers, siblings, grandparents or other important people in the young person’s life, providing help on how to support and safeguard them during recovery and beyond. 

Education and Early Intervention 

Education and awareness can play an important role in helping vulnerable children and young people, as well as the those around them, to understand safe behaviours. We work within families, communities and schools to provide information on the law and red flags relating to sexting and social media, recognising coercive behaviour and healthy relationships; supporting individuals with the tools to recognise risks and where know re to seek help if they ever feel at risk.  

Without support, victims are left to navigate the aftermath of abuse alone 

“Our allocated worker was very skilled and put us at ease immediately.  She tailored the course to meet our family’s specific situation and the support and guidance she offered felt both bespoke and responsive.  Sensitive and difficult discussions were handled with kindness, gentleness and empathy; this has been hugely beneficial.” One parent’s experience of accessing professional family support with Children North East

Providing these vital services relies on continued funding, Government, public sector organisations and private funders. Therapy, early intervention and advocacy require resources, trained specialists, and safe spaces where children can feel heard and protected. Without these services individuals are not only left to navigate the impact of abuse alone, having potential devastating consequences on their future, but the risk of being a victim again increases.  

We are pleased to share that Northumbria Police Crime Commission are working with Children North East to provide support, extending funding of the SAFE programme for a further 12 months. Since March last year, the programme has supported 123 young people in the aftermath of abuse. 

Together, we can ensure that no child faces the effects of abuse alone. 

If you are in immediate danger as a result of abuse, call 999. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis or emergency, you can get immediate support from the NHS Mental Health Helpline on 0800 652 2861. Or, if you would like to speak to someone confidentially, call 116 123 to talk to Samaritans, or email: [email protected] for a reply within 24 hours. 

* https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/research-resources/statistics-briefings/child-sexual-abuse  

As the government sets its budgets for the coming years, they must recognise that the cost of not getting it right first time for babies, children and young people is far too high. Despite budgetary pressure, they must take a long-term view and make early intervention support for children a top priority.  

A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two…cost about ten dollars. … A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that’d still be keeping his feet dry in ten years’ time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet*. 

This theory, set out by the character Sam Vimes in Terry Pratchett’s novel Men at Arms in 1993, is often cited as a way to explain the pressures faced by low-income families, known as the Poverty Premium. Spending the bare minimum to get by; cheap poor quality goods that do the job for today, costing more in the long run.  

Public Services are falling victim to the Poverty Premium 

But we can also apply this analogy to systems and services. In recent years, budget pressure has resulted in many of our public services only focusing on meeting immediate and acute needs. But the evidence now clearly shows this has actually resulted in government departments and local authorities spending more, not less, whilst outcomes for children have become worse.   

Investing in the next generation is critical 

On the most fundamental level, not investing in babies, children and young people is the ultimate false economy, with the potential for lifelong impact to the lives, health and happiness of those children.  

When this lack of investment has a discernible impact on such a significant proportion of all children in the country – 30% growing up in poverty, 20% struggling with their mental health, 7% missing a significant chunk of their education – the long-term societal impact will be enormous.  

Austerity has led to Local Authorities spending more, not less 

In spending terms, it is clear that cutting investment in prevention and early intervention is a false economy.  

Driven by austerity, between 2010 and 2019 Local Authorities in the North East cut their Children’s Services budgets in real terms by a third**.  

With statutory duties to keep the most vulnerable children safe rightly robust, the only place many authorities could make ‘savings’ was to scale back the early intervention support they could offer to struggling families.  

In 2022, the Children’s Social Care Review found overwhelmingly that families in contact with social services felt they were being assessed and monitored, but not getting the support they needed.  

And analysis by Pro-Bono Economics published in 2024 found that between 2010-11 and 2022-23, spending on early interventions fell by 44%, and now accounts for less than one-fifth of total spending on children’s services.  

The result of these cuts is that the number of children in care is at a record high in our region and local authorities’ spending on residential care placements has snowballed, with overall spending now higher than it was in 2010. They are spending a fortune yet more children are suffering with the impact of neglect, trauma and disruption. Their feet are well and truly wet.   

The social and financial cost of poor outcomes for young people is enormous  

We have seen similar patterns in other services and support that give babies, children and young people the opportunity to thrive.  

It is not surprising that in the same period Local Authority spending on youth work fell by over 70%, the number of children struggling with their mental health has almost doubled. This is putting pressure on health systems, contributing to increased school absence and driving an increase in worklessness among young adults.  

It’s clear from our frontline work, and backed up by the data, that if we don’t invest in prevention and early intervention work with babies, children, young people and their families – across health, education, social care and youth work – we will continue to see more and more of them struggling. These struggles can escalate into greater and more complex needs, which are more expensive to address, and lead to needless suffering and lost potential. The social and financial cost is huge.  

The spending review needs to put an end to underinvestment in children 

We’re urging the new government to commit to breaking the cycle of underinvestment which creates higher financial and social costs further down the line.  

We want them to deliver on their promises to tackle the youth mental health crisis, giving all young people access to the support they need when they need it, through access to early intervention support in every school and every community. We also want a reinvestment in youth work to create places to go and things to do, accessible to all young people, all year round.  

We’re waiting to see how the promised transformation of Children’s Social Care will materialise, to support children and families to reverse the trend on children entering the care system and give families the support they need to thrive. We want early intervention, through Family Hubs and Start for Life services to continue to be a core pillar of this, and for it to be properly resourced nationally. We also want intensive support to be available to families when they need it, to keep families together and help them flourish. 

We’re also looking towards the pledged reform of the SEND education system, to ensure young people with additional needs and neurodivergence can get the education they are entitled to, in safe, inclusive environments.  

Prevention should be the bedrock of our services  

At the heart of this is the need to view prevention and early intervention as the bedrock of our public services, not a ‘nice to have’. Phase two of the spending review is being billed as a resetting of the way public services budgets are created. It is critical that this delivers a funding model that moves beyond the Vimes Boots spiral of poor outcomes and high spend, and gives all babies, children and families the chance to thrive.  

References:

* Terry Pratchett, Men at Arms, 1993

**The Northern Echo – Children’s services funding cut by a third in North-East

In October of 2023, our Poverty Proofing® the School Day team headed to Parkhead Primary School to start their week long audit. Staff, parents and pupils alike were all given the chance to express their opinions on access to the school day, including, but not restricted to, themes of uniform, food, pupil support and additional opportunities.  

The Poverty Proofing audit at Parkhead Primary school was undertaken by a member of the Poverty Proofing Schools team. They spent some days in school speaking to 324 pupils, staff and parents. There was also a survey sent out to staff, parents and governors to give all those key stakeholders a voice. After the week in school they received a report which consisted of; what we heard or noticed and any practical solutions that could further support families. We want to help break down and remove barriers to getting an amazing school experience for all.  

Just over seven months later, we returned to talk to Helen Chard, Parkhead Primary School’s head teacher, and Sarah Lambert, Parkhead Primary School’s family support worker, about how they found the whole Poverty Proofing® process. We discussed what they had been put in place already to improve the school day for their pupils. Helen was new to the school when we carried out the audit but one of Parkhead’s great strengths was that they “already did a lot of poverty proofing practice”. This was definitely seen throughout the audit that Parkhead really did already do a lot for the pupils. Helen explained “We have high pupil premium so we try to do that anyway, but we wanted a fresh pair of eyes to see what else there was; there’s always ways to improve and we had heard good reports from the audit in another school and we thought it was really valuable especially in today’s climate with the cost of living etc”.

We also wanted to discuss the impact of Poverty on their school and what they wanted to address during the audit. Sarah told us that “we have seen a lot of it [poverty] over the years. Its became a real problem not only for those who we had on our radar but for those that we didn’t. It’s really effecting them [families] and a lot more families that we are aware of [are now in poverty]; we have got so many more than we used to”.  This runs true with recent statistics across the UK too, with 350,000 more children being pulled into relative poverty in 2021-22. This meant that 4.2 million children were in poverty, a 700,000 child rise since 2020-11.  

When speaking about the audit as a whole, Helen explained that “it was a really beneficial audit. Sometimes you do audits and they don’t have the impact you wanted but this was very thorough, easy and there was no impact on staff for time spent [away from usual job]; it was all led by *CNE STAFF MEMBER*. She spoke to nearly every single child rather than cherry picking. The actual report is very good as it picks up on positives, what’s working well, and negatives, what we could improve on. We didn’t feel we had to take all of the solutions either, we could pick things from it. The children spoke very positively of it, being able to speak to someone not linked to the school was good for them”.  This was great to hear, as a team we try to be thorough and professional but not intimidating or judgemental; we love seeing how schools are already supporting pupils and their families, while also sharing best practice. 

Another important part of Poverty Proofing® is bringing the community and the school on the journey. The continued dialogue between schools and families when there is a good connection can lead to improved programmes and policies which in turn, creates a better school environment for the children or young people.

When we discussed this with Helen and Sarah, they explained during the audit they ‘struggled to get parent voice [from the parent survey] but [CNE staff] didn’t let that become a barrier’. Instead, they recognised this and in response went out onto the yard and spoke to parents face-to-face to gather the voices and hooked in the community that way.’  Giving the parents this voice is extremely important, involving parents in schooling and learning can result in a positive difference in learning outcomes. These strong relationships in turn can then enhance a parents desire to be involved in their children’s educational development. 

We also wanted to know what staff, parents and children thought of the Poverty Proofing® process as a whole. Helen told us that “at first staff were like ‘well we already do it’ and there was an element of ‘do we really need it?’ but when it came, staff were like ‘oh yeah, we don’t do that so well’”. It is important to us at Children North East that we reiterate that this isn’t an inspection, this is simply listening to what already supports families, especially those families on low income, and what could further be introduced or considered.

The process also allows a ‘fresh set of eyes’ on the practices in school, highlighting things staff do by intuition that support, and acting as a critical friend around those things that could be considered. When discussing about what the pupils thought of the audit, Helen told us “pupils really found it a positive experience, they liked that we made adaptations so they can see that school listened; ‘we told this lady this, and from that we have changes’. Children got on board because there was a purpose. I think parents appreciated being listed to as well”. Sarah also explained “all feedback was positive from parents and the children”. This is a really positive outcome to the Poverty Proofing© audits- if a child feels like they have been listened to this can have significant effect on their confidence so speak up in the future but also increase opportunities to communicate.  

We then asked how working with Children North East team was. Helen told us “they were really approachable, friendly, great with the kids, great with the adults, weren’t frightened to go and approach parents. They made it very relaxing/ at first people [staff] thought ‘oh it’s an inspection’ but CNE weren’t judgemental and it didn’t feel like an inspection after the audit started at all”. This is really great to hear as this is what we strive for during all audits; a non-judgmental, relaxed environment to help improve services. 

To round off the conversation with Helen and Sarah, we wanted to discuss the outcomes of the audit and what actions had been taken already. Sarah explained that it was “surprising to see little tweaks we could make to improve and seeing it from another point of view”. Both Helen and Sarah were enthusiastic about Poverty Proofing.

Helen also explained “I think we beat ourselves up a bit like ‘oh goodness our trips are too expensive’ but when we looked at feedback from parents we saw they were happy with how cheap it was in comparison to other schools they had heard. For example, we have no obligation to pay for some things. It was reassuring to hear what the parents thought. It goes back to us thinking out of that box for example making the prepayment plans even better than they were, giving more notice and more options for parents. You always think of certain things of Poverty Proofing such as uniform, but [CNE staff] exposed us to the wider elements which we weren’t really aware of”.  

There were many things that Parkhead Primary were already doing before the audit and it seemed as though they already had some great ideas for Poverty Proofing©. Helen said that the audit highlighted their ‘”community corner which provides spruced up and cleaned unwanted uniform that we can give out to any families that need it”.

In addition to this, Helen said, “community corner has food in if parents are struggling. That was a big one we were already doing. Also we had homework club was a big strength too, so they didn’t have to do it at home and weren’t penalised because they had the chance to do homework in the club”. These are both positive practices as often children in poverty don’t always have the resources always to complete homework at home. Sarah also said “we have breakfast club and any leftover bread we take to the yard. We subsidised trips and had parent payment plans and we subsidised leavers hoodies already. We also found that if parents said their child didn’t want a hoodie we did a bit more digging to find out why and can subsidise the cost if needed”. These are all great examples of positive practice happening before the audit and it is great that Parkhead were already looking at their school’s policies from the families’ perspective.  

Upon completion of the audit, there were some adjustments and changes suggested based on the voice of children, staff and parents. Helen explained “in the long term, we are thinking wider Poverty Proofing. We are already good at the common strands but the wider elements we want to work on. Short term, we changed things like Easter celebrations; we put in them quick wins that we hadn’t of thought of previously but the children obviously had. The Poverty Proofing audit really put us in the shoes of the child and parents and how they feel; pupil voice was strong when it came through, after all they are the ones living it”.

Sarah also told us that she had “attended an event, made some connections to make our community corner better”. She also said “we will have a huge amount of uniform coming in July so we can tell parents before they go out and buy new for September. Also, the grant application was hopefully going to be used to open a sort-of food bank, so if parents want to get in touch via email confidentially, they can and they don’t have to come and ask in person”.  

When asked what they would say to another organisation thinking about undergoing the Poverty Proofing® process, Helen said she would “encourage them to take part because it’s a worthwhile process, you get a lot out of it. It makes you think wider and really understand the whole of Poverty Proofing”. Sarah added to this, explaining, “I think you get to find out about both those families you know about, but also families on top of that which weren’t so much on the radar, that you maybe don’t always think about. I think it would open their eyes a little bit”.

Both Helen and Sarah agreed that schools are “one of the most important people who can address inequalities; they spend the most time with the children, they can find out about families that other organisations maybe wont’ and that there ‘is already a relationship between school and families, they have that trust in [us], they will come and ask for help whereas with outside agencies, they may be more reluctant. Schools are pivotal and often that middle head”. 

Parkhead Primary school, and all schools that we work with, are on their journey to ‘Poverty Proof’ all the elements of the school day. With all the positive practice already established within the school and the positive response from staff, parents and children, we are confident that changes to further support will be warmly received, benefitting the whole community. We can’t wait to hear all about it! 

If you would like more information about Poverty Proofing® or how your school can get involved, get in touch with the team.

References 

The new child poverty taskforce is a long overdue commitment to taking the issue of child poverty seriously and has the potential to make life vastly better for millions of children.

However, it needs to take a holistic view of the problem and be willing to commit resources where they are needed to make a real impact in reducing child poverty.

From the frontline work of our pioneering Poverty Proofing® project, and our teams listening to the issues affecting babies, children and young people we work with, here are some of the things we want the Taskforce to take into consideration.

Putting more money in people’s pockets

This is the most fundamental element of lifting families out of poverty, and there are two ways to do this – increase earnings from work, and reform the social security system. We know that we need both, and the taskforce needs to focus on:

• Making work pay, with a minimum wage which reflects real living costs, and an end to exploitative and insecure work
• Making it easier for parents to work by addressing the big gaps around access to childcare. In particular, the issues parents face finding suitable care for school age pupils during school holidays as we know this is a barrier to parents moving into work and staying in work
• Removing punitive measures from Universal Credit, particularly the Benefits Cap, Two Child Limit and Five Week Wait, which are forcing hundreds of thousands of families into poverty

Removing barriers for those on low incomes

‘No activity or planned activity should identify, exclude, treat differently or make assumptions about those babies, children, young people and families whose household income or resources are lower than others.’

This is the driving principle of our Poverty Proofing® work. A holistic Child Poverty Strategy needs to ensure that across the range of services and settings children, young people and families access, they don’t face exclusion or barriers to participation because of low-income.

We have been helping individual settings to identify and remove such barriers for over 10 years, and over this time we have built up a picture of common themes impacting how children are able to get an education, access healthcare, take part in opportunities for development and grow up happy and healthy.

Food and Nutrition

We continue to hear regularly stories of school pupils feeling singled out for being eligible for Free School Meals, for example not being able to sit with their friends or having less choice over what they have to eat. We also know hundreds of thousands of families in poverty don’t qualify for free meals, and many struggle to manage dinner money debt or to provide healthy packed lunches. This policy needs to be properly reviewed so all children can eat well at school and no one faces stigma.

Transport

Low-income households are less likely to have access to a car and rely wholly on public transport. If this is unreliable, expensive, or doesn’t take them where they need to get to, it can make services virtually inaccessible. From the cost of bus fare being a barrier to school attendance, to health clinics held in locations away from major transport hubs, appointment times when buses don’t run frequently, long and complex journeys and resorting to expensive taxis, the issue of transport is a continual theme in our conversations with those on low incomes. It’s a barrier to families visiting cultural venues and having days out during school holidays, and a significant barrier to children taking part in sports, clubs and activities outside of school.

At local and regional levels, schools and multi-academy trusts, local authorities, health services and transport infrastructure bodies need to commit to and take action on ensuring children and young people in poverty can get to where they need to go. Moreover, national government must ensure they are held to account. Listening to young people locally to understand where they want and need to go, what barriers they face, and how they want to travel to develop solutions is critical.

Equipment

Equipment is equally a recurring theme in barriers low-income families face. This includes having the right school uniform and all the hidden costs of school life, particularly at secondary school, with examples cited like computers at home, access to the internet to do homework, ingredients for Food Technology classes, sports kits and more. It all adds up, and those without the means to pay for these things fall behind in their studies and can’t take part in wider enrichment opportunities.

It’s also a problem for families managing health conditions; from having a compatible smartphone and internet access to manage diabetes, to the additional costs associated with a restricted diet and allergies, families on lower incomes are struggling to manage their health well. And that is without the wider aspirations of children – being able to afford football boots so they can play in the local junior league; uniform for the scouts or guides, learning to ride a bicycle.

All these exclusions make it harder for children in poverty to participate fully in society, and to thrive. Many of the solutions are found at place-based level. That’s why it needs to become part of the DNA of our schools, health providers and the wider breadth of organisations and opportunities families access – to listen to people they work with, understand barriers they face and take steps to remove them. This will ensure that a low income doesn’t equal a poorer childhood. Leadership at the national level is needed to drive this change. But this needs to be rooted in a commitment to listen to those with lived experience, and the organisations working with them, who understand the problems and can offer real solutions.

Money isn’t the only problem

Let’s be clear – money is a huge part of the problem. Giving people the money they need to pay the bills, put food on the table and provide a decent standard of living for their children, in a society, which doesn’t penalise poverty at every turn, will solve a huge part of the crisis we are facing.

But the impact of poverty on many families is deep – poor mental health, fractured relationships, substance dependency, violence and abuse blight the lives of thousands of children, and they are messy to address. That’s why we can’t separate financial measures to tackle poverty from the wider social safety net we put around families to give them the best chance to thrive. Those safety nets have been decimated over the last decade, with help not available for many until it’s too late, and children have faced unnecessary trauma; even ending up in the care system.

The child poverty strategy can’t be separated from a holistic plan to ensure support structures around families. Family hubs, intensive family support, mental health provision, addictions services and youth work must be repaired to ensure children have not just the material resources to thrive, but also the safe, nurturing homes and relationships they need in order to grow up happy and healthy.

We have been asking political parties to ensure they put children at the heart of government if elected on the 4th July.  

Over the last week, all the main parties have published their manifestos and we’ve taken a look at what policies they contain relating to babies, children and young people.  

To grow up happy and healthy, we believe all children need:  

• A safe, loving environment to grow up in with secure and nurturing relationships 

• Enough resources for a good standard of living  

• Whatever specialist help and support they might need, when they need it.  

So, how do the party manifestos stack up?  

Support for families 

Family Hubs 

It’s good to see the Conservatives commit to extending their Family Hub model to all Local Authorities. Family Hubs provide a single point of contact for all families looking for support, as well as early years’ activities like those we run at our Cowgate Centre, enhanced perinatal support, and youth groups.  

But they get significantly less funding than their predecessor SureStart, which the previous last Labour government rolled out. The Green Party would restore the Sure Start model, with a cash injection of £1.4bn. There is nothing in the Labour or Liberal Democrat plans about this kind of support for families.  

Childcare 

The Conservatives, Greens, Liberal Democrats and Labour are committed to extending funded childcare for early years. This was announced as a policy last year and is being already being rolled out. The Conservatives are also committed to expanding wraparound care, Labour will invest in more nursery places within schools, and the Liberal Democrats want to increase statutory pay for new parents.  

These are all helpful commitments for parents who want to work, but there is no support for those wanting to be able to stay at home and care for their children full time during the critical early years. Reform does offer a solution for this, ‘frontloading’ child benefit for children under four to give families extra resources in the early years, which could offset loss of earnings.  

Supporting babies 

There is a clear ‘baby blind spot’ across the manifestos, with the word baby mentioned only three times across the five manifestos – and one of those is in reference to the environmental hazard caused by baby wipes.  

Parties need to do much more to recognise the importance of the first 1001 days, and commit to supporting families in those days, around bonding, infant nutrition, understanding child development and parental wellbeing, not just focusing on getting parents back to work.  

Intensive family support 

For families who need more intensive help, there is little sign that this will be forthcoming under the next government, which is worrying for the most vulnerable children and their families. 

The 2022 social care review highlighted the urgent need to stem the flow of children coming into care by properly investing in support for families before things hit crisis point. The only party willing to commit to the investment needed is the Greens; Labour would ‘work with’ Local Authorities to support children in care, but without committing to any investment, that we know is so desperately needed.  

Both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have committed to better support for kinship carers, which is encouraging, but with numbers of children in care and the cost to the state at a record high, a properly resourced social care system should be much higher priority.  

Tackling Child Poverty 

With almost a third of children now growing up in poverty, and many regularly going without the basics, we are clear that this should be a top priority for the next government.  

Frustratingly, the Conservative manifesto doesn’t mention child poverty at all. Instead, they frame the two-child limit as an achievement – a policy that has pushed over a quarter of a million children into poverty. The only financial help for families is extending child benefit to thousands of high earners, at a cost to the taxpayer over £1bn, but making no difference to low-income and middle-income households.  

Both the Conservatives and Reform want to overhaul sickness and disability benefits –predominantly to save the government money – changes that would hit many households with children and risk pushing families deeper into poverty.  

Labour have said that Child Poverty is a top priority and promise a national strategy. Many of their policies, if delivered, should make a difference to low-income families. This includes promises on workers’ rights, rental reform and housebuilding. But without committing to any funded measures, it’s hard to see how much impact this strategy would have.   

Positively, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party have both included specific commitments in their manifestos to remove the two-child limit, benefits cap and five-week wait, which we know keep many families in poverty. They will also ramp up housebuilding, with a particular commitment to social housing, and improve rights for workers on low pay and ‘zero hours’ contracts.  

Reform don’t discuss child poverty specifically, but have said they would significantly raise the personal tax allowance threshold. This would make a huge difference to many working families living in poverty, but leave households unable to work still struggling.   

Support for children when they need it  

Mental health 

Given the rapid rise in mental health problems among children and young people since Covid, it is brilliant that all the parties except Reform are committing to significantly expanding mental health support for children.  

This looks set to include the presence of a mental health professional in all schools, and early help hubs in every community. Both models will focus on early-intervention, working with those who don’t meet CAMHS thresholds, to cut waiting lists and prevent mental health problems becoming entrenched and stopping children from living happy lives.  

SEND and neurodivergence 

We know many children with additional educational needs, and who are neurodivergent are currently struggling. They face long waits for assessments and support, and many are in school placements not suited to their needs, one factor driving up school absence rates.  

The commitment by the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats to a register for children not in school may help, but we need policies that tackle the root issues. All parties are clear in their broad commitment to reducing NHS waiting lists, and we hope this will include paediatric SEND assessments, but there are no specific commitments to this in any manifesto.  

The Conservatives have said they will significantly expand the number of special school places, whilst Labour is committed to improving inclusion of SEND pupils in mainstream schools, but without committing any resource. The Liberal Democrats would give local authorities additional funding for schools to put the right support for SEND pupils in place. Meanwhile the Green Party would push for £5bn to be invested in making mainstream schools fully inclusive, with accessible buildings and specially trained teachers, and for local councils to have the funds to support SEND students properly. 

The variety in approach reflects the failings of the 2022 SEND reform paper, and lack of clarity about the scale of unmet need and solutions required. The next government needs to commit to a proper independent review, and to be willing to invest the resources needed.   

Youth opportunities 

For young people navigating the transition to adulthood, the right support at the right time can make a critical difference, but many excellent youth work projects have closed in recent years because of a lack of funding.  

Policies on youth in the manifestos are very mixed.  

There is a broad commitment for better post-16 training opportunities for young people, including more apprenticeships and vocational training pathways.  

Labour, the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats have all indicated a renewed investment in youth work, but under the umbrella of tackling youth crime, rather than recognising the inherent importance and benefits of good quality youth work for all young people.  

The Conservatives want all 18 year olds conscripted into a reimagined National Service scheme, either committing to a 12-month stint in the military or volunteering in their community one weekend per month. They claim this will instil a sense of national pride and civic duty, and over £1bn is allocated to the scheme, but we have concerns it will negatively affect those from lower-income families, who are already trying to balance working and studying.  

So who should I vote for?  

We can’t tell you that. And from our analysis the manifestos are a mixed bag, with no single party offering a clear, coherent vision to make our country a great place to grow up.  

The Conservatives have some good policies, and some less inspiring ones, but with a huge blind spot when it comes to child poverty and the devastation it causes.  

Labour also lack policy in some important areas like support for families. Whilst they commit to work with local authorities to improve outcomes for vulnerable children, they haven’t set targets and are reluctant to invest, even on subjects they say they are prioritising, like child poverty.  

The Liberal Democrats are more robust on tackling child poverty, and the Green Party has been much bolder on committing funding for early years and SEND, and in championing local authority funded Youth Work.  

Reform have focused less on these areas where we know investment is needed, but would make changes to tax and child benefit systems which will help low-earners and increase choice for parents of young children.  

But these three smaller parties know they have little chance of making it into government, and scrutiny of their costings has revealed weaknesses.  

Our work is not done 

Whatever the outcome of the election, we will continue to raise our voice to campaign on these issues and hold government to account for how they are using public finances and policy to invest in the next generation so all our children have the chance to thrive.