Issue - meetings

To receive the Best Start in Life Delivery Plan 2025/26 - 2027/28.

RESOLVED that – the Telford & Wrekin Best Start in Life Plan 2026-2028, which has the aspiration that every five-year-old in the borough reaches their development potential be approved.

The Cabinet Member: Children, Young People, Education & Skills presented the Best Start in Life Plan 2026-2028.

The Plan set out the Council's partnership ambition to ensure that every child in Telford & Wrekin had the best possible start in life and reached their development potential by the age of five. It built upon the Council's Children and Young People's Strategy, Health and Wellbeing Strategy and Child Friendly Borough commitments and reflected strong partnership working between the Council, NHS organisations, schools, early years providers, Family Hubs and voluntary and community sector organisations.

The report highlighted the importance of early intervention and supporting families through services such as Family Hubs, health visits, speech and language support and SEND provision. Progress already achieved included increased engagement with Family Hubs, expanded developmental health checks, targeted support for children with emerging needs, improved use of local data and successful speech and language initiatives.

The Plan included ambitious targets to improve the proportion of children achieving a Good Level of Development (GLD) by the end of Reception Year and placed particular emphasis on reducing inequalities and improving outcomes for disadvantaged children.

Cabinet Members welcomed the report and highlighted the importance of early intervention, preventative services and partnership working in improving outcomes for children and families. Members emphasised the significance of supporting parents during a child's earliest years, reducing inequalities and ensuring that all children, particularly those facing disadvantage, had the opportunity to achieve their full potential. The Council's ongoing commitment to becoming a Child Friendly Borough and programmes such as 5 by 5 and 10 by 10 were recognised as important elements in helping children to thrive.

The Leader of the Conservative Group acknowledged the work undertaken through Family Hubs but noted that children in the Borough currently achieved lower than average Good Level of Development outcomes. He welcomed the Council’s ambition to improve performance targets and sought clarification regarding delivery plans and future reporting arrangements to monitor ongoing progress.

The Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group welcomed the report and praised the support provided by Family Hubs and voluntary organisations. He reflected on the changing nature of family support networks for residents and their families and highlighted the valuable contribution made by community organisations in supporting parents and young families particularly at a time of need.

In response, the Cabinet Member: Children, Young People, Education & Skills highlighted the Council's long-standing commitment to early years support and noted that the Council had retained support services for families despite previous reductions in national funding. She emphasised that whilst targets were important, the Council remained committed to ensuring that every child had the opportunity to thrive. She confirmed that progress would continue to be monitored through the Council's existing governance and scrutiny arrangements.

RESOLVED that – the Telford & Wrekin Best Start in Life Plan 2026-2028, which has the aspiration that every five-year-old in the borough reaches their development potential be approved.