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Cuts will increase pressure on families, former Sure Start chief warns

The Government's cuts to childcare benefits will lessen the impact of policies aimed at improving outcomes for disadvantaged children, a leading academic has warned.

Speaking at the 4children conference in Westminster, Naomi Eisenstadt, (pictured), senior research fellow in the Department of Education at Oxford University, praised the Government for maintaining the free entitlement of 15 hours a week for all three- and four-year-olds and for expanding Family Nurse Partnerships, but warned, ‘This notion that you can improve children’s outcomes  without reducing the pressure on families is wrong. The cuts to childcare benefits are only going to create more pressure. This Government is very concerned with enhancing the capabilities of parents but less concerned about reducing the pressure on family life.’

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