Important steps to give children the best start

Saturday 28 November 2015

The time might fly by but the days from when a baby is conceived until it reaches two are critical.

Those 1001 days have been proven to affect how that child grows up and Jersey's now committed to making sure it acts early to give little ones a positive start in life.

Earlier this year, the Chief Minister, Senator Ian Gorst, made a commitment to invest in the very early years and gave the Home Affairs Minister, Deputy Kristina Moore special responsibility for the NSPCC's 1001 Critical Days agenda here in Jersey. 

Deputy Moore has now set up a taskforce to ensure that the early years are prioritised and this week local agencies and community organisations who are all supporting the NSPCC manifesto met up to talk about the job they are doing to help local children and their families.

Deputy Moore said “The Jersey voluntary and community sector has an important role to play in working with the public sector to deliver the vision for all babies, children and young people to grow up in a safe, supportive Island community in which they achieve their full potential and lead happy, healthy lives.

“This event was extremely well attended. It gave people in the voluntary sector an opportunity to find out what other organisations are doing and to explore ways of working together.”