"I feel that this group is becoming something of a confessional. It is very interesting to hear noble Lords’ backgrounds. The thing I love about this House is that noble Lords can bring their personal experiences, which makes the debate so rich. I expected it from the noble Baroness, Lady …..." Baroness Blake of Leeds - View Speech
"The government amendments in this group seek to strengthen the support and engagement local authorities offer to families who wish to home educate. As my noble friend the Minister said during Committee, it is vital that local authorities build constructive relationships with parents. Such relationships are the most effective way …..." Baroness Blake of Leeds - View Speech
"I thank noble Lords for their very considered comments, particularly the noble Lord, Lord Crisp, for bringing his experience into the Chamber. I thank him for the considerate way that he has approached this. I hope we will continue to have a constructive dialogue as we move forward on these …..." Baroness Blake of Leeds - View Speech
"I thank the noble Lord for that intervention. This is exactly what we are proposing: there needs to be that dialogue, to have a better understanding of what is—or is not—available locally. The noble Lord mentioned his own circumstance, having to travel a long distance. Perhaps if he had been …..." Baroness Blake of Leeds - View Speech
"I acknowledge the noble Lord’s involvement in setting up the family hub programme under the previous Government. I reassure him that Best Start Family Hubs will be open to all families with children aged nought to 19 and up to 25 for young people with SEND. They will be welcoming …..." Baroness Blake of Leeds - View Speech
"As my noble friend mentions, early years is a real priority for this Government, starting with our plan for change and a national target by 2028 to increase the proportion of children achieving a good level of development when starting school. We have followed this up with statutory targets for …..." Baroness Blake of Leeds - View Speech
"My Lords, we now know without doubt that Sure Start worked. It delivered twice as much in benefits as it cost, with positive impacts on health, SEND identification and educational outcomes. That is why the Government are investing over £500 million to rebuild crucial family services. Best Start Family Hubs …..." Baroness Blake of Leeds - View Speech
"The commitment is to make sure that every local authority area has a family hub. Deprivation is one of the key factors in the programme. We want to make sure that all children benefit from the services on offer; it is down to local authorities to determine where their priorities …..." Baroness Blake of Leeds - View Speech
"The noble Baroness touches on an important point: we need to build on the good things from the Sure Start model and the good things that came out of the family hub model, bring them together and analyse the way forward. On working with parents, the model has proved that …..." Baroness Blake of Leeds - View Speech