MPs hear from the early years

Barry Sheerman made his comments during an extra meeting of the Select Committee in Portcullis House, Westminster. The committee heard that many early years workers earn around 7,000 a year. Committee member Charlotte Atkins said the low pay and status meant that nursery nurses 'do not feel valued and don't value themselves'.

The committee had reconvened for an extra session to take further evidence from early years representatives after its report on the sector earlier this year (News, 18 January). It also gave them a chance to comment on the Government's response to the report before equal opportunities and employment minister Margaret Hodge came before it on 2 May.

Margy Whalley, director of the Pen Green Centre for Under-Fives in Corby, Northants, called for childcare to be given higher status and for morale in the sector to be addressed. Gill Haynes, chief executive of the National Childminding Association, said she was delighted the report had highlighted the committee's opposition to childminders being allowed to smack and smoke soon after the Government had announced it intended to let them do so. She said, 'It was very welcome at a time when many of our members felt completely flattened by the Government separating childminders from other childcarers.'

Pam Bolton, manager of Handsworth Community Nursery in Sheffield, said financial problems due in part to losing four-year-olds to schools had forced the nursery to cut its hours and she had taken a pay cut to help keep it open. She said multi-agency involvement was important in daycare, with health visitors attached to settings.

Rosemary Roberts, director of the Peers Early Education Partnership project, said the report fell short in addressing provision for children aged nought to three. 'At this age children spend most of their time with their main carer at home. Despite this, the Government places an emphasis on settings, while only half of nought to twos in any kind of daycare are there for only one session a week,' she said.

Dr Helen Penn, professor of early childhood at the University of East London, was admonished during her evidence for being too negative about Labour's early years policies. Mr Sheerman said that since it came to power '7bn had been pumped into the pre-school sector'. But Dr Penn said that the Government's accounting should be scrutinised more carefully and that she was in talks with the Social Market Foundation to conduct an investigation into how much had really been spent on the sector.

* See 'In my view', p34.