Agenda item

The Committee has requested a report on the Best Start in Life Plan, which was approved by Cabinet on 19 May, 2026, and has invited Cllr Sean Gaul, Cabinet member for Children and Young People, and Lisa Lyons, Director of Children’s Services, Delia Mann, Deputy Director Childrens Social Care, Annette Perrington, Deputy Director Education and Inclusion, and Sophie Black, Assistant Director Early Help Prevention to present the report.

The Committee is asked to consider the report and raise any questions, and to AGREE any recommendations it wishes to make to Cabinet arising therefrom.

This item and the following one were merged during the course of the meeting.

The Committee considered the Best Start in Life Plan, presented by the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People.  He was accompanied by Lisa Lyons, Director of Children’s Services, Laurie Baker, Deputy Director for Education and Inclusion, Annettee Pennington, Sophie Black, Assistant Director for Early Help and Prevention, Harriet Preedie, Targeted Youth Support Service Manager, and Jenny Stoker, Operational Lead for Family Hubs.

In introducing the item, the Cabinet Member framed the Plan as a central strategic priority, expressing strong support for its ambition to improve outcomes for children in their earliest years. He focused particularly on the importance of children achieving a Good Level of Development at age five, describing this as a critical point in determining future educational success. Whilst acknowledging that Oxfordshire performed relatively well overall, he highlighted a significant gap between children eligible for free school meals and their peers. He stated that he had not been satisfied with the level of ambition in national targets and had therefore supported the adoption of more challenging local targets to reduce inequality more substantially.

The Director of Children’s Services explained that the Plan brought together a range of existing strategies into a single, coordinated framework covering the period from pregnancy to school entry. She emphasised that early years outcomes were influenced by a wide range of factors, including health, parenting, early education and community support, and that effective delivery required a whole-system, partnership-based approach. She advised that governance arrangements were in place through the Children’s Trust Board and supporting groups to ensure oversight of delivery, performance and resource allocation.

Officers further outlined the practical delivery model, including integration with Family Hubs, early identification of need, and investment in workforce development. They emphasised the importance of the first 1,001 days of a child’s life and described how targeted support, including health visiting, inclusion practitioners and early intervention programmes, would be delivered through a coordinated system.

In discussion, Members asked how the Plan would translate into practical action. Officers provided examples including the introduction of auto-enrolment for free school meals, which would increase take-up and direct additional funding to schools, and the expansion of targeted early years support. Members queried whether sufficient focus was placed on the earliest years, including pre-school children.

Officers confirmed that intervention began from pregnancy and infancy and included childcare sufficiency from nine months, targeted provision for two-year-olds, and support delivered through Family Hubs.

The Committee asked how progress would be monitored. Officers confirmed that targets and milestones were being developed and that progress would be tracked through governance structures, with flexibility to adapt approaches based on learning and data.

Members raised concerns regarding uptake of free school meals and childcare entitlements, including issues of stigma. Officers advised that auto-enrolment and sensitive engagement with families would address this, and that childcare sufficiency planning would ensure sufficient provision was available.

Members asked which interventions were likely to be most impactful. Officers emphasised the importance of speech, language and communication, along with parenting support, nutrition, and the home learning environment, noting that these factors were fundamental to school readiness.

The Committee AGREED to make the following recommendation to Cabinet which applied to both the Best Start in Life Plan and to the item on Best Start Family Hubs in Oxfordshire:

That the Council should ensure that sufficient resources are available to deliver the Best Start in Life Plan’s ambition and to support achievement of Oxfordshire’s ambitions for children, including the more stretching local targets for children eligible for free school meals.