‘Our children are in trouble – and we need to do something about it’

This year’s compelling ‘Dare to Dream’ was delivered by Gillian Sewell, chief executive of YMCA Derbyshire, who urged the audience to help improve the life chances of children in some of the city’s poorest households.

Following an introduction by Theresa Peltier, a former High Sheriff of Derbyshire, Gillian announced a new initiative called ‘Tale of Two Cities – Early Years’.

She began by highlighting that Derby has one of the highest average salaries outside of London – yet has one of the highest rates of child poverty in the UK.

She told the ABE that her dream was that ‘Team Derby’ does something about this – and shows that it is a city committed to improving the life chances of its children.

She said: “My Dare to Dream is that we as a city, we as Team Derby, approach child poverty with the same passion that we showed when Derby County was in trouble. We marched the streets.

“When Bombardier’s order book was in trouble we marched the streets.

“I do not exaggerate when I say to you ‘our children are in trouble’ in the most deprived neighbourhoods – and we need to do something about it.”

She then shared some alarming statistics about how poverty was impacting children from a young age – including their communication, language, reading and social skills.

She said: “Poverty is shaping children’s development before they start school in this city today.

“Children eligible for free school meals are on average five months behind by the age of five – by 16 this widens to 19 months.

“I cannot comprehend why we do not have free school meals in nurseries for children under the age of five – when we have free school meals for five- to seven-year-olds regardless of financial backgrounds.”

Gillian explained that children from the most deprived areas are nearly three times more likely to be identified with developmental needs on entry to school.

She said that by age five, children from the lowest income families are 16 to 19 months behind in vocabulary compared with peers from higher income households.

Shockingly, one in four children have limited access to learning materials, with daily reading, talking and play, all falling sharply from 2019 to 2024.

Gillian said: “Starting behind usually means staying behind.

“Children with poor language at age five are six times more likely to fail expected levels at age 11 and more than twice as likely to be unemployed at age 34.

“That impacts on us as a city. It affects our secondary schools, it affects our employers – but most of all, it affects our children.

“Early stress, poor nutrition and lack of stimulation have lifelong consequences.

“Children soak up their surroundings. Poverty and stress disrupt brain development; up to 90% of brain development occurs before age five.”

Gillian then paused to allow actors from KTCo Studios to powerfully bring to life real stories shared by local nurseries, Derby Food 4 Thought Alliance and Derby City Council.

Gillian said: “Team Derby – we can do something about this. We can be the city of opportunity. Let’s be that city that makes a difference. Together let’s create a solution, while we plead with politicians and decision-makers please start putting your resources into the community nurseries, starting with free school meals.”

Gillian then announced the Improved Life Chances Fund, which would support nine community nurseries in Derby’s most deprived areas, which are attended by 567 children (of which 519 would be eligible for free school meals).

The fund would support early literacy and reading, through programmes that encourage adults and children to read together.

It would also support healthy eating, backed by nursery-led meal bursaries.

It would provide access to appropriate clothing, ensuring children can participate fully in nursery activities.

And it would also give access to enrichment opportunities, reducing inequality from the earliest years.

Finally, it would promote speech and language development, supporting school readiness and long-term educational outcomes.

The annual funding requirement would be £438,000 – and Gillian called on all Bondholders for their help.

Gillian said the impact of the fund would be measured by the University of Derby to ensure the children are “school-ready”.

She said: “Let Derby tell the rest of the country how to do it. Let Team Derby show the rest of the country what it is to be a team – and that we transform the lives of our children in our city.”

Gillian was joined on stage by Henrik Juhl Hansen, managing director of Vaillant Group UK & Ireland, one of number of Bondholder companies and organisations who want to support the initiative.

He said: “It’s a no-brainer that we need to support this. We can be proud of our growth – but we cannot be proud about this number of children living in poverty. We need to do something about it.

“We will support this because we simply cannot accept that children in nurseries are not being given the opportunity to pursue their dreams.”

A range of Bondholders have already helped Gillian shape the Tale of Two Cities – Early Years, including a website created by MacMartin.

To find out more about the initiative, click here.