Birmingham City Council's services for our youngest children are all about working to encourage and support happy families. We aim to do this by making childcare for everyone that wants or needs it as affordable and as easily available as possible, so that parents can continue to work if they wish, knowing their children are safely cared for by qualified professionals. In those childcare settings, we aim to make sure that small children can thrive and develop and begin to become active learners by making friends, through play and many other activities. So we are trying hard to get the right balance of childcare for our city's families and creating exciting social, play and learning experiences for our youngest citizens.