PS/Beverley Hughes

FATHERS DIRECT SEMINAR “CHARTER FOR A FATHER- FRIENDLY BRITAIN: FATHERHOOD – THE CHILD’S PERSPECTIVE”: TUESDAY 24 JANUARY 2006

INTRODUCTION

Julie, thank you. I am pleased to be here. I very much hope that today’s seminar will contribute to the debate about the importance of fathers to their children’s experiences and outcomes.

In our society today – where family structures, working arrangements and people’s aspirations are more diverse than ever before - I think it would be difficult to find many issues about which the vast majority of people share the same view. Yet I think an important exception would be our aim to give all children, irrespective of background or circumstances, the best start in life.

The vast majority of fathers - whether or not they live with their children day to day - have a crucial role to play in giving their children that best start in life. Their ongoing commitment, together with active interest and involvement in all aspects of their children’s life and development really matter enormously. However, I also think that many fathers feel that their role and contribution as parents is undervalued by society as a whole; and that they do not feel supported in this role by public services or

1 receive the help they need.

I want this to change. So, this morning, I welcome the opportunity to talk to you about:

Why fathers do matter; and

What we in Government can do to support fathers and thereby maximise opportunity for children.

WHY FATHERS MATTER

We know that improving children’s earliest experiences can have a profound effect on their life chances; and that parents and carers have the single biggest influence on their children’s lives and outcomes. We must not lose sight of the fact that this emphatically must include fathers as well as mothers.

We know that the involvement of fathers in their children’s learning and education is associated with better educational outcomes, better school attendance and behaviour and higher educational expectations. There are also associations with better social and emotional outcomes for their children.

I personally think the benefits to children - girls and boys - of seeing men in caring roles are potentially important in so many ways. It challenges gender stereotypes and all that flows from those stereotypes, from current behaviour to future careers, to the attitudes and expectations those children will have to being

2 parents themselves. The impact of shared care on children is therefore also potentially very significant for us as a society too.

We know that most children enjoy having their fathers involved in their lives. In one research study, most children agreed with the statement “children need a father to be as closely involved in their upbringing as the mother”.

And fathers – and indeed mothers - also benefit from this greater involvement. I know of projects where the involvement of fathers in their children’s learning has helped fathers to develop their skills and confidence too. And sharing the care has to be good for parents’ own relationship and the potential for both parents to share work responsibilities too.

In Duncan’s invitation letter to today’s seminar, he highlighted that “Fathers now do one third of all parental care of children, 8 times more than 30 years ago”. I think this reflects the realisation amongst many fathers that a good relationship with their children can provide rewards over a lifetime. It also reflects the fact that the majority of mothers are now engaged in work outside the home and so many fathers by necessity must become more involved. Fewer mothers today consider caring for their children to be solely their responsibility – in fact over 60% of mothers strongly agreed with the statement that their partner is “as confident as me when caring for our child” in a poll published last October by the EOC.

So – there are many reasons why fathers matter.

3 However, I recognise that one of the main challenges we face is to improve the recognition and the support fathers receive.

WHAT GOVERNMENT IS DOING TO SUPPORT FATHERS AND MAXIMISE OPPORTUNITY FOR CHILDREN

Some public services and people who work with families are already thinking more distinctly and specifically about fathers. I very much welcome this advance. But there are still lots of services that are predominately working in the same way they have for years. Take services for young children and their families, they are delivered by a predominantly female workforce. I’m sure staff don’t mean to shut fathers out, but we can’t deny that is what some fathers experience.

This is an area where the Government must take the lead. We are giving fathers more opportunity to spend time caring for their child. Fathers will have a new right to up to six months’ additional paternity leave, during a child’s crucial first year, some of which could be paid - if the mother returns to work. This is on top of their entitlement to two weeks’-paid leave. I was encouraged by the recent EOC survey which found that two thirds of fathers are taking up their paternity leave and pay entitlements.

I believe that this is an important step and we need to make sure that we get the details right, for the benefit of both employers and employees. The DTI will be consulting shortly about how the paternity leave arrangements will work so that we can build on the successful package of rights already introduced for working

4 families.

We are also taking steps to improve support for families in our early years services. Children’s Centres will deliver a range of joined-up early childhood services in every community by the end of the decade. We already have over 460 designated centres up and running in our most disadvantaged communities and this will increase to 2,500 by 2008 and then to 3,500 by 2010. We have been clear in our guidance to Local Authorities that in developing their centres we expect them to consult and involve both fathers and mothers to deliver services which meet the needs of and appeal to fathers as well as mothers.

We also need to ensure that all schools actively engage both fathers and mothers in their child’s learning, and make it easier for them to play a part in driving improvement in the school system as a whole.

The recent Schools White Paper aims to support increased parental engagement in their child’s learning and increased influence in the school system, enabling all parents – both fathers and mothers - to support their own child’s achievement and promote system-wide improvement.

CONCLUSION

I want our society to be a society of opportunity for all. Today’s children are enjoying and benefiting from many more opportunities than any previous generation. Our Every Child Matters reforms are

5 progressing at a rapid rate and much has already been achieved. But we cannot be complacent. We still need to improve the outcomes of all children, especially the most disadvantaged, and to do more to reduce inequalities.

We need to build on our successes so far to ensure that future generations receive an even better start.

I believe passionately that fathers have a vital role to play. They can make an enormous contribution to maximising their children’s experiences and outcomes. However, I recognise that to achieve this we will need to do more to acknowledge the contribution that fathers can make; and do more to make them feel valued and do more to ensure that public services give them the support they need. We are working hard to achieve this by ensuring that Government and providers of services for children and families consult, listen and respond more effectively to the needs of children and their parents – both fathers and mothers. I am grateful to everyone here today for their contribution towards bringing about this transformation.