The inspectorate’s final report in a series of briefings on the impact of Covid-19 on early years settings finds that a third of providers are worried that their business will have to close.
Most continue to operate with fewer children on roll and lower demand for places compared with last year.
More providers in London and in the most deprived areas than others reported having far fewer children on roll than before the pandemic. Many are struggling to provide consistent staffing due to periods of staff illness or self- isolation.
They told Ofsted they were worried about cases of infection in the setting and the impact this would have on the bubble system if staff were absent.
Changes to families’ employment has had an impact on the demand for places. Increases in unemployment in some areas and a greater ability to work from home in some sectors has reduced some families’ need for childcare.
Providers told Ofsted that some parents are more anxious about sending their children to nursery, and some raised concerns that more parents will want to keep children at home during the early years.
Providers were concerned about the financial implications of a longer-term fall in demand for childcare places, as well as the impact of future restrictions on the sustainability of their businesses.
Some childminders said if they had a child who tested positive, they would be forced to close for two weeks and that would have an impact on both their finances and the children’s education. Many providers were concerned about their own families and worried about bringing the virus back to vulnerable members of their household.
The report is based on interviews with 739 early years providers between 5 October and 11 December.
The briefing answers four broad questions based on evidence from the research interviews:
- What is the current state of early years provision?
- How were children affected by the first national lockdown?
- How are early years providers planning to maintain standards in education and care through the pandemic?
- How financially sustainable is the early years sector?
Other key findings
The impact of lockdown on children
While many providers commented on how resilient children had been children’s ability to settle back in has largely depended on their home environment.
Children who experienced particularly challenging family circumstances, such as bereavement, domestic violence or neglect, finding it harder to cope and needing more reassurance to readjust to the routines of the setting.
Providers are continuing to prioritise teaching personal hygiene and making sure resources and toys are clean.
Some had focused on independent self-care, so that children can keep themselves safe when they get to school. Others had identified the need to close gaps in children’s learning in mathematics and communication.
Providers also reported some positive consequences of restrictions, saying that because they could not provide all the usual activities and experiences, they were thinking more carefully about what they wanted the children to learn.
Some said that the limited offer of toys was resulting in children getting more out of each activity.
Behaviour
Some children had not been in a routine at home during the pandemic, and parents said that the children’s sleeping and eating habits had regressed as a result. Providers had noticed that some children now like to have their own schedule and have found it challenging to eat, play and learn to a fixed timetable. However, providers said children were gradually getting used to the changes.
The report said, ‘Many children have needed help with their behaviour and, in particular, with understanding the rules, sharing and playing nicely together again. During the first national lockdown, some children did not have opportunities to play with children of their own age. Childminders in particular expressed concern that children had not been able to practice their social skills with other children due to groups and venues being closed. However, providers did note that some children with siblings had improved social skills from playing and interacting with their siblings at home.’
Providers said they have used turn-taking games, storytelling, and planned activities to help children think of others, and that smaller ‘bubbles’ enabled children to play more cooperatively together.
‘Providers said that some children had felt angry since they returned and there had been an increase in shouting, snatching and getting cross if things did not go their way. Some children struggled to sit still, had shorter attention spans and were more difficult to engage in activities.’
Impact on key areas of learning
As children had been back in their setting for a while, many providers have been able to assess their development in all areas of learning. Some children had mastered new skills during the first national lockdown but missed key areas of learning, which were now having to be taught or revisited.
Children’s personal, social and emotional development was highlighted by many providers with 44 per cent of those surveyed saying that children had fallen behind in this area of learning.
Some providers had helped children to understand their feelings and emotions through discussion, circle times, games and stories with puppets.
However, some children returned to their settings ‘happier’ after spending more time with their families during lockdown, for example, if their parents had been on furlough.
There was also concern that some children had not had access to the outdoors as much as others.
‘Children who had limited access to outdoor space while at home had sometimes lost their physical confidence, for example in becoming more hesitant to jump off play equipment,’ the report said. ‘Providers were using outdoor areas more frequently and going for walks to places with hills, rocks and steps. Some childminders were promoting physical skills, such as trying to get children out to the park each day, having fresh air and using the big playground equipment.’
Disadvantaged families
Children from disadvantaged or vulnerable backgrounds often had different experiences of lockdown from their peers. Some families struggled financially as a result of being self-employed or losing jobs. Some providers told Ofsted about helping families who relied on food parcels and food banks.
Some providers were concerned about the impact of extra financial stress, mental health and housing issues, such as overcrowding, on families’ well-being. Some said they had made more referrals to social services for neglect and an increase in domestic violence in the home.
Supporting children
Providers have worked with their staff to plan how best to support children when they returned to the setting. Some providers said their staff have had more training on specific topics such as speech and language, special educational needs and mental health.
Some providers said staff had been trained in conflict resolution to help children who may be returning to settings angry and/or sad. Some staff received training in how to engage two-year-olds and keep them focused and on how the role of the key worker could help children to settle back into the setting without parents on site.
Meanwhile, the introduction of ‘bubbles’ had enabled staff to get to know the children in their group really well. Some providers said staff have a greater knowledge of what children know and can do and of their interests because of the more concentrated time that they spend with children.
Some said they were able to do this as their numbers on roll were still lower. Children got more quality time with staff, who were able to focus on what the children really needed to learn.
Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman said, ‘Faced with all of these pressures, the education and social care sectors are showing considerable resilience and creativity to provide children and learners with the best experience they can. And all of this is being done against the most challenging backdrop for staff in recent times. I would like to record my appreciation for everyone working in education and social care – from childminders and social workers to teachers and college tutors.’
Funding
Commenting on the report, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, called on the Government to extend the level of early years funding set at pre-pandemic levels into the Spring term.
'This latest briefing shows the appalling way Government has traded on the goodwill of the early years sector,' he said. 'The report is clear that early years settings are facing huge additional financial strain, staffing pressures and anxiety around keeping staff safe, but Government has failed time and again to provide they additional help they need, such as with access testing and to cover additional costs.'
He added, 'As an interim step, Government must act immediately to extend early entitlement funding based on pre-pandemic places into the spring, and then look again at the overall level of sector funding, to prevent otherwise inevitable closures now and in the longer term.
'Ofsted rightly acknowledges the critical role providers will play in closing the gaps in learning and development resulting from coronavirus. It is vital that providers are properly supported as they continue to provide young children and their families with much needed stability in what remains a hugely challenging period.'
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) said, 'This Ofsted briefing really does show how hard early years providers and their practitioners have been working to get children back into their settings so they can continue their learning.
'But it also echoes ours and the sector’s main concerns about low attendance numbers and the impact of that on children’s development and the childcare businesses’ sustainability. Even where children are returning, they may be coming in fewer hours than previously.
'Those most affected are children from deprived backgrounds including funded two year olds who need high quality early education and care most of all to thrive and reach their full potential.
'Nurseries need assurance from the Government now that, due to lower numbers of children than expected, they must be funded at January 2019 figures rather than the actual head count in 2021. This arrangement for funding from next month must be announced as soon as possible for providers to be able to plan.'
Tulip Siddiq, Labour’s shadow children and early years minister, said, 'This is further worrying evidence that the early years sector is on the brink of collapse, putting at risk the jobs of working parents who rely on childcare and the life chances of many young children.
'The Government must heed Labour’s calls for targeted support for nurseries, childminders and pre-schools and urgently rethink plans to slash their funding from January.'
A Department for Education spokesperson said, 'Nurseries, preschools and childminders have received significant financial support over the past months and we will invest £44 million for early years in 2021-22, to increase the hourly rate paid to childcare providers for the government’s free hours offers. This is an above inflation average hourly funding rate uplift for 3-4 year-olds and 2 year-olds, compared to 20-21.
'Term time attendance has been rising as more parents return to work and is now at approximately 90 per cent of the usual daily level before coronavirus.
'To ensure we respond appropriately to the pandemic, we are keeping our plans for the funding of spring term 2021 under close review and further details will be announced as soon as possible.'
- Download the report, Covid-19 series: Briefing on early years, November 2020, here
