Nursery World - UNICEF calls for UK to double early years spend

Early childhood education programmes do not offer any measurable benefits to children if they fall below certain levels of cost and quality, claims an international study.

Research by the United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF), published today (11 December), calls for the governments in economically developed countries to spend 1 per cent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on early childhood services. The report says that poor quality care has the potential to cause both immediate and long-term harm.

The report, The childcare transition: A league table of early childhood education and care in economically advanced countries, estimates that England spends around 0.5 per cent of GDP on early childhood education and care, which means that the British Government would have to double its current expenditure to meet the recommended target.

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