Families and New Parents in East Sussex to Receive Early Years Support
Families and children in Hastings, Rye and the villages will be able to access early years support, such as pregnancy support, parenting classes, and various other schemes and resources, to provide their children with the best possible foundation for their start in life. This is following a £126 million Government funding boost, delivering on Labour’s Plan for Change, with East Sussex expecting to receive at least £1.7 million through family hubs and the Start for Life programme.
Children’s early years are crucial to their development, health and life chances. Antenatal classes, health visitors, parenting support, baby and toddler groups and access to affordable, high-quality early education and childcare – are all extremely vital to guiding parents and supporting child development. However, over 80% of parents have said they struggled to access services that provide them with the help they need.
Part of the Plan for Change involves strengthening and joining up family services. This will improve support for parents through pregnancy and early childhood, benefitting long term outcomes for children.
Labour MP Helena Dollimore has praised this funding boost and claims that families and children will be gaining crucial extra support. She stated that “The first two years of a child’s life lay the building blocks for their whole life,” adding that a Labour Government was elected “to give every child the best possible start in life, and that is what we’re delivering.”
Around £57 million will be made available to 75 local authorities with high levels of deprivation in 2025-26. This budget will be split to supply a variety of services, such as promoting positive early relationships between babies and caregivers, and providing support with breastfeeding.
It comes on top of the £69 million announced in the Budget for a network of family hubs, which act as a one-stop-shop for families to get help with infant feeding advice, parenting classes and perinatal mental health support, among other areas.
Labour County Councillor for Hollington and Wishing Tree, Phil Scott, commented that, “It is now up to Conservative-run East Sussex County Council to make sure that this funding is put to use.”
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