Excepts from the report:
Frank Field was commissioned by the Prime Minister in June 2010 to provide an independent review on poverty and life chances by the end of the year. The aim of the review is to:
- generate a broader debate about the nature and extent of poverty in the UK;
- examine the case for reforms to poverty measures, in particular for the inclusion of non-financial elements;
- explore how a child's home environment affects their chances of being ready to take full advantage of their schooling; and
- recommend potential action by government and other institutions to reduce poverty and enhance life chances for the least advantaged, consistent with the Government's fiscal strategy
Recommendations:
To prevent poor children from becoming poor adults the Review proposes establishing a set of Life Chances Indicators that measure how successful we are as a country in making more equal life's outcomes for all children.
Nothing can be achieved without working with parents. All our recommendations are about enabling parents to achieve the aspirations that they have for their children.
To drive this policy the Review proposes establishing the 'Foundation Years' covering the period from the womb to five. The Foundation Years should become the first pillar of a new tripartite education system: the Foundation Years leading to school years leading to further, higher and continuing education.
....
The Review recommends that government, national and local, should give greater prominence to the earliest years in life, from pregnancy to age five, adopting the term Foundation Years. This is for several reasons: to increase public understanding of how babies and young children develop and what is important to ensure their healthy progress in this crucial period; to make clear the package of support needed both for children and parents in those early years; to establish the Foundation Years as of equal status and importance in the public mind to primary and secondary school years; and to ensure that child development and services during those years are as well understood.