In a new report out today, Anne Longfield is calling for a new cross-government strategy led by a Cabinet minister for the early years.
The children’s commissioner said that too many disadvantaged children are already behind before they start school and is calling for a ‘Best Beginnings’ programme, with an expansion of 30 hours funded childcare, for all children two-to four-year-olds and 15 hours for all one-year-olds ‘so that early years education is seen as part of ordinary life, in the same way that school is. This would be backed by an ambitious plan to match the investment other countries achieve in their early years, and ensure quality is high,’ the report said.
‘To achieve this, Government should undertake a review of early education and childcare funding to ensure it is working as effectively as possible to help children and families who need it most.’
This would set out how a revitalised and extended Healthy Child Programme, the Early Years Foundation Stage, Children and Family Hubs, antenatal services and the Troubled Families Programme would work together.
Early years settings are facing huge financial losses, as a result of coronavirus, and research predicts that one in four could close this year.
Government statistics show that only around a quarter of children that usually attend early years settings have returned since nurseries and childminders have been able to reopen to more children.
The children's commissioner's report said that the Government must also ‘immediately establish an emergency recovery package for those childcare providers whose finances have been worst affected by Covid-19. Government should also review how Universal Credit funding makes it particularly hard for lower earning families to get help with childcare, as parents have to pay costs upfront and then wait to be repaid.’
Other recommendations in the Best Beginnings report include:
- A Family Guarantee of support for under-fives and their families delivered by health visitors, early help and Troubled Families workers, family nurses or family support workers based in Family Hubs.
- A national infrastructure of Children and Family Hubs. These would be a centre point of support for children and families and act as a gateway to multiple services. Each hub would be a base for universal services so that every child is reached.
- A Government review of early education and childcare funding to ensure it is working as effectively as possible to help children and families who need it most.
- A single system for supporting families with early years education and childcare, with fees charged in relation to families’ incomes as they are in Sweden and Norway.
- A national workforce strategy for the early years, focusing on staffing across existing health, local government and early years settings.
- Better sharing of data between different services, so children who need help do not fall through the gaps or go unidentified. This should include more effective use of a child’s NHS number and Unique Pupil Number so it is possible to match children in different databases.
According to the report, every year 82,000 children in England start school significantly behind where they should be at the age of five, equivalent to 1 in 7 children, or four children in every classroom.
‘Their life chances can already be undermined at this point, if there is no joined up system of early support to help them get ready to learn,’ Ms Longfield said.
The commissioner’s office analysed data on all children in England who had not met the expected level on half of their early learning goals at the age of five and tracked them through to the end of primary school. These children were:
- five times as likely to end up being excluded by age 10
- twice as likely to have had contact with children’s social care by age 11
- three times more likely to be struggling with reading at age 11
- four times more likely to be struggling with writing at age 11.
Recent research also shows these children are more likely to leave school with no GCSEs, more likely to suffer some form of mental ill health and more likely to be obese.
‘Nurseries and early years support play a vital role in helping children prepare for school, but Coronavirus and lockdown have put many at risk of closure. The consequences could be thousands of children missing out on vital support that sets them on a path to a good education and better prospects,' Ms Longfield said.
‘At the same time, any economic recovery will need parents to able to return to work full time. Nursery closures could put a dent in plans to get the economy back on track.
‘In the immediate term, we need an emergency Government rescue package to stop nurseries going under – but there is much more to do beyond that.
‘The Government must make the early years a priority and drive reforms so that all children start school ready and able to learn and progress. Alongside high-quality early education, this means making sure that every family is guaranteed the support they need to help their young child to thrive, and to prevent early challenges turning into serious problems.
‘This “Best Beginnings” guarantee should make early years a central building block of the national recovery plan to level up children’s life chances, support families and boost the economy.’
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, welcomed the report but urged caution on expanding funded hours, which would place more pressure on the struggling system, unless underfunding issues were addressed first.
‘The children's commissioner is absolutely right to call for a wholesale review of the Government's approach to the early years.
‘For years, nurseries, pre-schools and childminders have faced a fight for survival as a result of wholly inadequate funding levels. With the coronavirus pandemic placing even more pressure on provider finances, the fact is that many settings simply won't survive if the Government doesn't take urgent action.'
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) said, ‘We warmly welcome the report and recommendations that the children’s commissioner has published today which call for the Government to put young children at the heart of its recovery plans.
‘Although emergency funding is absolutely crucial now to prevent nurseries from closing en masse, the whole process of government funded childcare places must be comprehensively reviewed.’
Liz Bayram, PACEY's chief executive, said she 'wholeheartedly' supported the children’s commissioner's report.
'She has joined hundreds of individuals and organisations in calling for a long-term and increased investment in childcare and early years. We believe childminders, nurseries and pre-schools should be considered core infrastructure services for families, supporting all children to get the best start in life and helping to close the gap for our most disadvantaged children. Furthermore, our economic recovery is unlikely to succeed without childcare support for working parents.'
Max Stanford, head of early childhood education and care at the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF), said, ‘The commissioner’s emphasis on improved coordination and connection across the system that supports young children and families is crucial. In particular, we welcome the call for a cross-government strategy, to establish clear pathways of support and ensure children cannot fall through the gaps between services.
‘As well as the focus on achieving consistent checks throughout a child’s pre-school years, including making health and education checks before the age of five more joined up, so that families can get a more complete picture of their child’s development. Ensuring children are school-ready in all areas of their development, and supporting families whose children face developmental risks, is crucial to the recovery from Covid-19.’
Councillor Judith Blake, chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, said, 'Councils support calls for a review of the early years system and we are pleased the commissioner is reinforcing our calls for long-term investment in councils’ public health and early intervention services. With long-term sustainable funding, councils can ensure that every child has the best possible start in life, protect children’s health and reduce widening health inequalities resulting from COVID-19.
'The current offer does not give parents clarity about the best options for their children and there are growing concerns about the provision for disadvantaged children, those with special needs, and significant challenges facing the workforce. Covid-19 has also exacerbated the financial challenges facing early years providers and there remains an urgent need for additional funding to support them.'
Tulip Siddiq MP, Labour’s shadow minister for children and early years, said, 'This report confirms that the Government's chronic underfunding of early years has hit disadvantaged children the hardest. The childcare sector is now on the brink of collapse due to Covid-19, and we know that it is nurseries in deprived areas that are most likely to close.
‘The Government must urgently provide targeted support for the childcare sector to prevent a wave of nursery closures, which would devastate working families and set back our economic recovery.’
A Department for Education spokesperson said, ‘Our fantastic nurseries, childminders and pre-schools provide crucial support for children and families. That’s why this Government has always championed the early years sector and why we are continuing to back early years entitlements with £3.6 billion this year.
‘Alongside this we have protected early years settings throughout the pandemic with significant financial and business support, including through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
‘We are investing in early years organisations to help them boost disadvantaged children’s development, with grants targeted at improving outcomes for young children at risk of falling behind by age five, and for those with special educational needs.’
