Further reforms and increased investment are needed if the National Childcare Strategy is to reach its aims of providing accessible, affordable, good-quality childcare to all parents who want it, according to early years organisations. Launched in May 1998 by the year-old Labour Government, the strategy - which covers England only, as powers regulating childcare have passed to the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland assemblies under devolution - has many of its targets fixed to deadlines in 2004. At the halfway mark in its first phase of implementation, the verdict from childcare campaigners is: so far so good, but more needs to be done.
The Daycare Trust, for example, wants to see a children's centre in every neighbourhood standing as a beacon for 'appropriate, affordable, quality childcare' for every child aged 0-14. In a policy paper, Quality Matters: Ensuring childcare benefits children, the Trust also stresses, 'it is vital that children receive stable and continuous care.' And it quotes a MORI poll this year that found that for 70 per cent of parents the most important factor in the provision of high-quality childcare was the availability of trained, experienced staff, but it concedes that high staff turnover because of poor pay and conditions, and lack of training and status, do nothing to develop a high-quality child-centred workforce.
The National Day Nurseries Association agrees, and says that to overcome this problem the Government must rethink its funding. Chief executive Rosemary Murphy says, 'For too long, staff in private and voluntary early years settings have been subsidising childcare by working for low pay. Managers know if they increase the wages they will have to raise fees to levels that parents cannot afford.' She argues that the Government must help parents meet the true costs of childcare and thus enable settings to pay staff more.
Anne Longfield, chief executive of the Kids' Clubs Network, says that 'the seeds of a national system of childcare have been sown. However, to meet demand we need to see continued investment both for start-up costs and sustainability, with fast-track support for training and quality'. Since 1997 the number of out-of-school clubs has doubled to 7,000, offering 240,000 places, but Anne Longfield says that 'demand is enormous and waiting lists are often long. We need to see a club near every school'.
Two of the Network's key aims - getting schools to open their premises to local communities, and more out-of school provision for 12-to 14-year-olds - have recently been adopted by the Government.
For its part, the National Childminding Association is calling for equality of treatment for its members alongside other childcare providers. A spokesman for the association says, 'If you are an employer setting up childcare provision and if you contract to have the provision on the site, it is tax deductible, but if you have a contract with a childminding network it is not tax deductible. This is not fair and it goes against the Government's stated aim of providing parental choice.' NW
