The awards, a joint venture between the Department for Education and Skills and the Daycare Trust, covered 11 categories ranging from children's services to the promotion of Foundation Stage curriculum. They were presented by Cherie Booth, a patron of the scheme, whose personal statement at the ceremony about the controversy over her purchase of two flats in Bristol was reported exhaustively by the media, while the awards presentation was largely ignored.
Ms Booth told the winning EYDCPs that their best practice should serve as an inspiration and encouragement for the development of initiatives to help families and children throughout the country.
Catherine Ashton, Sure Start minister, said the new Sure Start unit would 'deliver a more joined- up approach to childcare, early education, family and health support'. She added, 'The new unit will build on the success of EYDCPs and that of local Sure Start programmes and the National Childcare Strategy to give all children a sure start in life.'
In the equal opportunity recruitment category, Halton EYDCP won an award for organising free tag rugby sessions for schoolchildren to show that men with the skills to develop children's sport can use them to become childcare workers. Children were kitted out in T-shirts saying 'do something you love for a living' to reinforce the message.
Bedfordshire EYDCP won an award for creating and supporting inclusive services with its scheme to train childminders to offer daycare for children with disabilities. The number of specialist childminders has risen from 19, all in the north of the county, to 53 spread around Bedfordshire.
An award for developing quality-assured childcare places went to Hartlepool EYDCP, which has created 818 new out-of-school places since 1998 - a 475 per cent increase. It has also funded four new nurseries through the Neignbourhood Nurseries initiative, creating 315 places, with 250 for parents from disadvantaged wards.
The City of York partnership, through its shared Foundation for All Children scheme, won an award for forging active working links between its 53 primary schools and local childcare providers. Many have shared their planning documents so that parents can easily chart their children's progress through early years education.
Southwark Childcare First received recognition for its innovative ways of developing childcare training opportunities in the London borough. It works with Peckham Youth Training Initiative to provide a free orientation course for unemployed 16- to 25-year-olds who want to train in playwork. The partnership has also helped women from the local Bengali and Somali communities to access childminding courses, ensuring that translation is available.