[lettie]

Needed a brew to read that lot Someone.... Phew!! The trouble with reports this long, is that many many paragraphs are repetitive. They say the same things but in different wording. I have read Every Child Matters, and the Childrens National Service Framework, and these documents essentially say the same thing. It's nice to see a vision for the future of Lancashire, but the implementation and evaluation of plans such as these are often a lengthy process, so no real difference is seen for years, and sometimes the changes are so gradual that you barely notice them happening.
We do have a couple of fantastic family centres already in Hyndburn. The Park on Norfolk Grove, and a new one opened recently on Princess street. If anyone out there has small children, go and check them out, as there's allsorts going on there. These centres are run by Sure Start and are free to attend. The problems I find in my job when providing free activities, creches, etc. is that the people who would benefit the most from them are completely disinterested. We seem to have a whole generation of youngish parents out there, who, as long as the benefits keep coming in, they will not get out of bed to take their kids to creches, activities, educational events or health checks. Many Community Health Professionals (myself included) have long said that basic child healthchecks, weighing, development, antenatal checks and vaccinations should be benefits linked (as they are in other countries) Therefore, if you don't attend check-ups when pregnant or take your baby for their checks, you don't receive your benefits..