Throughout my career as a social worker, my interest in the welfare of young children has been focused on some of the most vulnerable in society – those on the edge of or in care, or those adopted.
With two adoptedchildren of my own – now adults – and now a grandfather of two, I have a personal interest in early development. Nurseries offer hugely powerful opportunities in opening the child’s world. At the same time, there are children whose early life experiences have deprived them of many opportunities. Uncertainty over who mummy and daddy are, or who they are to be (where adoption and foster carers are involved), makes children feel anxious, underconfident and less able to adapt to new experiences. Their world is one of threat and risk.
Free provision from the age of two for this group of children can have a huge impact, but only if it is accessed. This has been clearly identified in a study from the University of Oxford and the Family and Childcare Trust, published last month. ‘Starting out right: Looked after children and early education’ found that take-up of the free early education places for two-, three- and four-year-olds is at least 14 per cent lower among children in care, yet could not have been clearer about the positive contribution that this education can make on these children. It also found ‘huge’ variations in the preparedness of early years settings, and availability of training, to meet the needs of looked-after children, but that is another issue.
Care plans, which every child who is looked after by a local authority must have, should address this as, by law, the ‘care, education and health needs’ of the child should be included. Yet there are so many issues to be attended to with these children – safeguarding, complex issues in the family, arranging for and supporting foster carers, making long-term plans – that prioritising the provision of early years education by local authorities can be difficult. The involvement of courts adds another level of complexity and uncertainty. But these challenges must be addressed: early education is not an optional extra. It is a fundamental opportunity that every child deserves.
John Simmonds is director of policy, research and development at the British Association for Adoption and Fostering (CoramBAAF).
