Exclusive: Knocking down barriers

One of my last meetings before the Christmas break was a very important one: a ‘virtual visit’ with children from St Matthew’s Primary School & Nursery to chat about how much fun they had been having being with their friends and teachers – and, of course, about the Covid-safe measures Santa would be taking to get to their homes.

Their joy was testament to the incredible spirit of nursery staff all over the country, who have continued that vital early education for the youngest in society through what has been a turbulent and often traumatic year for everyone. That resilience and dedication across the sector are what makes me enormously proud of my role in Government, and why I have been so determined to ensure that children in those vital early years were able to continue their education in person and as safely as possible.

CURRENT CONCERNS

Our nurseries and childminders have played a pivotal role in the country’s response to the pandemic. I’ve been reassured to see how many children have been attending childcare and I am certain that I echo the sentiment of parents in thanking early years staff for putting a smile on children’s faces while we navigated through the past 12 months.

I fought hard to make sure staff were able to access asymptomatic testing via the education testing programme. As of 22 March, tests have been distributed to the early years sector, including childminders who now have more options available to them, including being able to order home testing kits online or collect home test kits from a nearby collection site. Testing is an extra precaution and provides that extra layer of reassurance for both staff and families.

Having spoken to early years staff and parents during the pandemic, I know we all agree how important it is that our children have the best start in life, but we cannot ignore the disruptions the pandemic has had on children’s education and well-being. Research conducted in January 2021 shows that around two-thirds (68 per cent) of parents of birth to four-year-olds said they were concerned about the impact of the current national lockdown on their child(ren)’s social and educational development.

Over recent years there has been a great improvement in early years education and nearly three out of four children are achieving a good level of development at the end of Reception year, compared with around one in two children eight years ago. While the attainment gap between those from better-off backgrounds and those from less-well-off households has narrowed, children from disadvantaged backgrounds do still underperform against their peers. As Minister, but as a parent too, I am more determined than ever to continue to do all I can to knock down those barriers.

Children develop at their own pace, but we always want to support them throughout their progress as much as possible, and early intervention is of course most effective the earlier it can begin. As part of our new education recovery package to provide extra support to children who need it, we are investing £18 million to support language development in the early years.

INVESTMENT

This means a further £8 million next academic year to deliver Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) to improve children’s early language skills in Reception year. Some 40 per cent of primary schools have signed up for the programme this year, bolstering thousands of children’s development. Next year’s investment means that children currently in pre-Reception settings will benefit from the programme next year.

We will also be investing £10 million next academic year in a pre-Reception early language catch-up programme, to support early years staff in settings to work with disadvantaged children.

I know how hard the past year has been for this sector. That’s why we continue to support families with childcare costs and to ensure the sector is able to access the extensive business support available, including the furlough scheme.

We are providing top-up funding for councils who saw a rising demand of free childcare entitlements over the spring term, capped at 85 per cent of their census level in January 2020.

We are also temporarily adapting how we fund local authorities over the next financial year to reflect the changing circumstances and in recognition that it can be difficult to plan ahead.

We will fund councils based on their termly attendance counts in the summer and autumn terms to help protect funding incomes and provide extra reassurance.

I have long been an advocate of better safety online. A year of working and learning remotely has demonstrated the huge benefits of technology – from sharing important information online to holding virtual meetings with parents – but also its limitations and dangers. The National Cyber Security Centre has created bespoke guidance to help early years and childcare providers communicate with children, families and staff safely, ensuring their own security and data protection is robust, as well as offering practical tips on how to keep data and devices secure. I encourage as many people as possible to look over this guidance and adopt its advice.

Like everyone, I am looking forward to the unlocking of society, via our cautious but steady roadmap out of the pandemic. I offer my sincere thanks for your hard work, and your close working with myself and my officials at the Department for Education to ensure we operate safely and effectively for our youngest children.