Successful programme that improves literacy and tackles inequalities being expanded across the North West

Cradle to Career, in partnership with Wirral Council, has improved literacy and tackled inequalities since launching in North Birkenhead four years ago and is now replicating the successful model in Halton and Knowsley, newly released impact figures show.

The programme was instigated and funded by the Steve Morgan Foundation and SHINE, and is managed by national charity, Right to Succeed.  

In September 2022, Cradle to Career rolled out the next stage of its groundbreaking programme to Halton Lea (Halton) and Northwood (Knowsley) with funding from Mayor Steve Rotheram and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, the Steve Morgan Foundation, SHINE, The National Lottery Community Fund, UBS Optimus Foundation, Bank of America and A&O Shearman.

The impact statistics from across the two boroughs show that Cradle to Career has reduced by 12% the number of early years students requiring moderate or severe support for speech, language and communication needs (SLCN), provided school project interventions to 3,558 primary and secondary pupils, and trained 412 practitioners in literacy and reading, SLCN and social, emotional and mental health (SEMH).  

Following Mayor Steve Rotheram’s re-election this month (May 2024), the planned rollout of Cradle to Career across further boroughs of the Liverpool City Region looks set to come to fruition, as detailed in his election manifesto.

The Mayor has committed to identifying the next wave of areas to extend the programme, expanding its support from 18,000 to 36,000 children and young people each year by 2030.

The expansion follows a £5.25m investment from Mayor Rotheram and the Combined Authority in September 2023 to extend the programme across the region’s most deprived areas.

Steve Morgan CBE, instigator and funder of the multi-million-pound Cradle to Career programme through the Steve Morgan Foundation, said: “We knew from the start how impactful Cradle to Career could be for areas of deprivation in the Liverpool City Region, and the impact in North Birkenhead has been outstanding.

“These early-stage results from Halton and Knowsley are incredibly encouraging – increasing high-ability reading, supporting thousands of pupils with Cradle to Career school initiatives, improving access to family services and funding community-led projects.

“Through Cradle to Career, we are building partnerships that put the communities at the heart of local decision-making and increase the chances and quality of life for all.”

Elizabeth Hartley, director for children, families and education at Wirral Council is proud of what Cradle to Career has done for North Birkenhead and beyond. She said: “Pioneering this place-based change programme over four years ago has been a game-changer for Wirral Council; by working collectively we have been able to break down barriers between residents and services to make real social change.

“It’s a credit to our multi-disciplinary teams in North Birkenhead that the Combined Authority can now expand Cradle to Career to improve the lives of families across the Liverpool City Region.”

As part of its delivery in Halton and Knowsley, Cradle to Career has appointed Youth Offer partners to provide essential resources such as youth clubs and support networks for the boroughs.

Lianne McGinnes, deputy chief executive of Sports Alive, which is providing detached youth work in Halton Lea, said: “Working with Cradle to Career to deliver our youth offer means we can make a real difference to young people in Halton Lea by providing essential support and resources that are sadly lacking across the country.

“Our detached youth work team will utilise our newly converted mobile youth truck to engage young people in the areas they currently access, including identified antisocial behaviour hotspots.”

Cradle to Career has also funded Hallwood Park Primary School in Runcorn’s first school library, opened by Mayoress Valerie Hill.

Speaking about the difference the new library will make to her children, interim head teacher at Hallwood Park Primary School and Nursery, Gemma Snell, said: “Having the funding to provide the children of Hallwood Park with such a wonderful space has been transformational to our school and the children we serve.

“Without this funding, there is no way we could have created a space which is inviting and inspires the children to want to read.

“As soon as the children entered the room, we heard “I just want to read!” What more can we say?

“It proves that resources are crucial to ignite a love of reading in children, and Cradle to Career has allowed us to make a difference to the children of Hallwood Park.”

Since its launch in 2021, Cradle to Career’s flagship programme in North Birkenhead has increased the number of pupils with high reading ability in the borough by 42%, reached thousands of children with free educational, wellbeing and training projects, and launched the Child Criminal Exploitation Campaign to provide training to parents in North Birkenhead and prevent young people in the area from getting involved in crime.

These results and those from the initial delivery in Halton and Knowsley will now inform the future of the Cradle to Career programme across the Liverpool City Region and beyond.