NDNA sets out vision for the next five years at 25th anniversary conference

Surrounded by hundreds of nursery owners, managers and practitioners from across the country, chief executive Purnima Tanuku outlined the key objectives of the early years organisation's new manifesto, Make the first five years count, weeks ahead of the next general election.

It's a ‘call to arms’ for political parties who want to form the next government, she said.

‘We will keep banging the drum so that all candidates, future MPs, ministers and Prime Ministers know what our children need,’ she added.

NDNA launched its Blueprint for Early Education and Care which sets out it vision for the future, last October.

The new manifesto, which will be launched ‘shortly’, contains the key principles from the blueprint and sets out the sector’s priorities for the next government. The five main recommendations focus on funding, staffing, supporting children with additional needs, business rates and VAT and regulation.

Speaking about the challenges facing the sector, Tanuku said that the general election ‘gives us the best chance to shout about the changes our children, and you, as providers need’.
Policy priorities for immediate action include:

• launching a national commission into the future of early education and care
• establishing a national data collection across education, health and social care for all children to support a holistic approach to the first five years
• consulting with the sector on any plans to use school premises for early years places to ensure provision is age appropriate and flexible to meet children’s and families’ needs

Key manifesto pledges

Funding issues remain at the fore, with current provider rates ‘not allowing’ settings to generate the income they need to invest in staff training, improve their learning environments, or cover business rates.

‘We want to see rates which keep pace with rising costs so [settings] can focus on delivering high quality care and education,’ Tanuku said.

The manifesto will also call for reform of the current ‘complex and a burdensome’ funding system, which often results in lower take-up by parents, large budget underspends, and funding ‘not reaching the frontline’.

NDNA plans to launch a new Childcare Passport system to ensure funding for a child’s early years follows the child all the way through to the provider, reducing admin time and effort.

High turnover of staff is also a burden on settings, ‘disrupting continuity and quality of care’. NDNA wants to see a ‘clear workforce strategy with qualifications and CPD’.

Reform within Ofsted is another manifesto pledge that will be put forward by NDNA.

‘We want to see effective, supportive and proportionate regulation. We know that members have had mixed experiences of Ofsted inspections in the last few years, and we need to ensure fairness and equity for everyone,’ Tanuku said.

What’s next?

In the run up to the next general election, NDNA is calling for a ‘bold, radical rethink on a long-term strategy that is fit for purpose’.

‘What we don’t want is a patchwork of policies built on a system that is already failing children, families and providers,’ Tanuku said.

'Recently, we have seen early education and childcare rise to be a key priority for all political parties. A study by the Institute for Public Policy research (IPPR) found that childcare is among the top three priorities of just over one in 10 swing voters and they are 1.3 times more likely to prioritise lowering the cost of childcare and boosting its availability than an average voter,’ she added.

NDNA’s manifesto will give providers a toolkit for talking to local candidates with template letters, and an interactive election tool that provides all the local data relating to nurseries. 

Tanuku said, ‘Potential candidates are already speaking up for nurseries across the country, but we’ll support you in speaking to them, meeting them and getting them to visit your settings – if they see the amazing things you do, they will stand up for you and the issues you face.

‘Make the First Five Years Count is about a groundswell of support that cannot be ignored by any political parties, let’s work together to make our voices heard,’ she concluded.