Springboard, a unique service to help young people become the good parents practically all of them wish to become, was given the go-ahead by Wirral Council this week.
Some weeks ago Wirral's cabinet approved a significant seedcorn fund so that work can begin. The decision has support from all of the local parties.
I willingly declare an interest. Springboard will attempt to implement the main proposals of a report I submitted the Prime Minister a year ago last Christmas. I am still unsure whether he has read the report.
Not so with Councillor Phil Davies. He, like the report, is interested in the outcomes from spending taxpayer money. The report was clear that we must support parents in their incredibly difficult task to ensure that more, rather than fewer, children are ready for school.
Fewer children in the Wirral, last year, were ready for school compared to the previous year. Can we ensure that schools, through the national curriculum, give young people those skills which help them to win and keep a job, make lifelong friends and become good parents? Two schools in Birkenhead are now pioneering new approaches that aim to guarantee this.
Springboard will work with parents before the birth of their child. We know how to prevent poor children from becoming poor adults. It is crucial that babies bond with their mothers. It is equally important to
encourage good language skills very early on in the life of young babies. Springboard will be working with all Wirral Services to achieve these two ends.
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