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<p>The government has not made any such assessment. It is the responsibility of local
authorities to comply with their statutory duties, having regard to statutory guidance
published by the Department for Education. The relevant statutory guidance can be
found at <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/678913/childrens_centre_stat_guidance_april-2013.pdf"
target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/678913/childrens_centre_stat_guidance_april-2013.pdf</a>.</p><p>The
government’s focus is on outcomes for children. In July 2018 the government set an
ambitious goal to halve, by 2028, the percentage of children leaving reception year
without the communication, language and literacy skills they need to thrive. This
is a clear direction for all those who have a part to play, including children’s centres.
The department is working with local authorities, including through our £8.5 million
early years local government programme, to achieve this ambition.</p><p>To help local
areas monitor and improve these outcomes, the department published on 6 June 2019
the Early Years Outcomes Dashboard, which can be found here: <a href="https://department-for-education.shinyapps.io/smapey-dashboard/"
target="_blank">https://department-for-education.shinyapps.io/smapey-dashboard/</a>.
This dashboard makes the most important early years social mobility metrics easily
available and will allow local authorities to benchmark their outcomes against their
statistical neighbours. This is in addition to the extensive range of data made available
to local authorities by Public Health England through its Child and Maternal Health
profiles, which can be found here: <a href="https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/child-health-profiles"
target="_blank">https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/child-health-profiles</a>.</p><p>
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