Supporting children, young people and families

We will build on the decision to bring Children's Services back in-house, invest in early help, fund after-school provision across the borough, and make sure every eligible child gets a free school meal.

We will also stop sending Reading's children in care further and further from home - 37% are now placed more than 20 miles away. We welcome the Council finally opening new in-house children's homes, but the job isn't done: Liberal Democrat-run Hull City Council shows what a fuller, community-based model can achieve, and we will keep pushing until every child who can be cared for close to home is.

We will also take seriously what Labour's own data shows but won't act on - that the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their peers in Reading remains stubbornly wide. We will work with schools across the borough to close that gap, prioritising early intervention, stronger SEND support, and making sure no child's postcode determines their prospects.

Behind the figures is a funding crisis. Reading's dedicated schools grant high needs deficit reached £48.6 million by March 2026 - a hole the Government has only agreed to cover conditionally, and only temporarily. The Education for All Bill now proposes new duties on councils around SEND. We welcome the ambition, but new responsibilities without new money will make a difficult situation worse.

Reading's £48.6m dedicated schools grant deficit shouldn't be an excuse for inaction. We will protect early help and after-school provision, close the attainment gap for disadvantaged pupils, and make sure no child's postcode determines their prospects - regardless of when, or whether, Government funding catches up.