Bradford will receive £350,000 of Government funding to help parents of pre-school children get more involved in their education.

A total of £9 million has been allocated to 41 local authorities to work with some of the most disadvantaged and hard-to-reach parents. Bradford claimed the second-biggest slice of the funding pie, beaten only by Birmingham's £500,000.

Councillor Colin Gill, Bradford Council's executive member for children's services, said the cash would be used to help set up a network of home-based playgroups for pre-nursery age children and train staff to help develop parents' skills.

He said: "I am very pleased we have been allocated this £350,000 by the Government to strengthen parental involvement in children's early learning.

"In Bradford the funding will be used to support the training of staff from Children's Centres and other nursery and early years settings so that they can introduce innovative and effective ways of working with parents to enhance their children's learning and development.

"The funding will also support setting up of groups for parents and children in their homes before they are admitted to nursery settings."

Robin Naylor, head of the Council's early years and childcare service, said the funding was welcome as parents were the "most important influence" on the early learning and development of young children aged up to five.

"A good home-learning environment when combined with good quality pre-school provision has been shown to have clear and long lasting benefits for the educational achievement of children," said Mr Naylor. "This funding provides us with a very exciting opportunity to support parents to give the very best start to their young children.

"The project will ensure we have a significant number of early years practitioners who are skilled and experienced in helping parents to recognise and develop the important role they have in setting strong foundations for their child's learning and future achievements."

Coun Ralph Berry (Lab, Wibsey), chairman of Bradford's Early Years Partnership, said: "This is the result of detailed work locally demonstrating how we can work closely with parents based upon innovative local practice. It is gratifying that this work has been recognised and a substantial sum of investment made in Bradford."

Children's Minister Beverley Hughes said: "We know that parents are central to children's well-being and that children's experiences in their early years have a major impact on later life. It is vital that children have a sound basis on which to learn and develop, as well as enjoying time with their parents.

"These are targeted funds and we hope to see innovative work in reaching vulnerable parents in areas where they need support and encouragement to really get involved in their children's development."

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