30 hours risks widening the gap with 'quantity over quality'

The Sutton Trust review of early years policy in the UK accuses the Government of an ill-advised drive towards quantity over quality, and says that the 30 hours is being implemented at the expense of quality early years education for disadvantaged two- and three-year-olds.

It says that the policy should be reversed unless there is the funding to ensure that quality can be maintained.

The report says that Government childcare policy will not improve social mobility because it is being implemented at the expense of quality early years education for disadvantaged toddlers, and argues that the 30 hours risks the progress made in closing the gap in school readiness between disadvantaged children and their better-off peers.

Closing Gaps Early, by Dr Kitty Stewart, at the London School of Economics, and Professor Jane Waldfogel of Columbia University, looks at current Government policy in the early years in light of the evidence of ‘what works’.

Previous research by the Sutton Trust found that high-quality early years provision delivered by well-qualified professionals was crucial to boosting young children’s development.

The Trust is concerned that the focus on quantity over quality could put at risk the progress that has been made in closing the gap in school readiness between disadvantaged children and their better-off peers. In 2007, there was a 21.2 percentage point gap but in 2015 this had narrowed to 17.7 percentage points.

The report also notes that while places for disadvantaged two-year-olds and the early years pupil premium are important tools for closing the gap, they are not enough in the context of cuts to benefits and tax credits for parents of young children.

According to the report, the ‘benefits cap’ and the two-child limit have introduced a separation between family needs and the level of benefits received, with devastating consequences for families affected.