Issue - meetings

 The Cabinet Member: Children, Young People, Education, Employment & Skills presented the 5 by 5 report which summarised the new initiative that the Council had created to encourage young children to participate in fulfilling, life enhancing activities in order that they achieved the best start in life possible and support them in becoming ready for school.   This scheme would build on the highly successful 10by10 scheme which enabled children to try out 10 different activities prior to them reaching 10 years of age. 

It was crucial that children aged 0-5 years had a great start in life for their overall development as at this stage they were highly receptive to learning and growth.  Providing nurturing and stimulating opportunities helps to build a strong foundation for cognitive, emotional and social skills and early childhood experiences shapes future health and behaviour. 

The Council would support parents and carers to prepare children for school through the 5by5 key themes: develop and grow, find my voice, make friends, creative curiosity and learning adventures.  Each of the themes would have 10 learning activities for children to experience.

A clear design and marketing approach for 5by5 had been developed and although it would have a unique identity, this would compliment the existing 10by10 branding linking the two initiatives under one corporate brand.  Families could access a webpage via multiple platforms and this would promote existing facilities and resources across the borough as well as providing adventure cards and certificates that could be downloaded and printed out.

The 5by5 initiative was the perfect stepping stone to the 10by10 program and was a journey to enable you people to thrive and it would ensure the best start in life for children.

Cabinet Members welcomed the report.  Early years were critical and had an impact throughout the lives of everyone and the emotional and social wellbeing of children was vital to build resilience and social skills.  It was important to ensure that young people, the next generation, lived healthy and independent lives and that every child had the opportunity to take part in activities in order to reduce inequalities and improve outcomes.

The Leader of the Conservative Group considered that the report was not an easy read and his initial reaction was that the Council was walking a fine line between being supportive and dictating.  He had reviewed the report as both a parent and as a Councillor and he felt he would not have been alone in this reaction.  The world had changed and was a different place, and after reading the statistics in the national press, it had highlighted the proportion of children who were unable to sit down for prolonged periods, dress and feed themselves and use the toilet. The Council’s marketing exercise aimed to provide additional support to parents and served as a reminder of some of the charming activities people had from their past. The targeted work should focus on ensuring school readiness, which was crucial for future prosperity and realizing opportunities.

RESOLVED – that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56