NEWS

PAC’s inquiry found that, though the DfE “made good progress in getting the programme off the ground”, it now “faces huge challenges in increasing the number of places available for children”.

This is in light of DfE estimations suggesting that the early years workforce needs to grow by 40,000 between now and September 2025 – a 12% increase compared to July 2023.

In addition, the DfE also estimates that the early years sector will need to create 84,500 new places for children by September 2025 – with a fifth of local authorities having to increase hours by 20% or more.

Some of these recommendations include the DfE:

• continuously monitoring the impact of the extended entitlement on the quality of early education and childcare provision.

• taking a “holistic approach” to growing the early years workforce, including developing and publishing a long-term strategy and delivery plan to address recruitment and retention challenges.

• making plans to track how impactful the new entitlements are in terms of access to places – as well as the attainment of disadvantaged children and those with SEN – clear.

Commenting, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said: “The Public Accounts Committee is absolutely right to warn of the serious risks of the planned early entitlement extension.

“We’re told that an additional 40,000 staff are required to deliver the additional places needed for younger children, and yet, the sector is already in the midst of one of the worse staffing crises in its history – so where exactly are these extra educators expected to come from?

“As the Committee rightly highlights, attempts to increase capacity in the sector by reducing qualifications requirements and relaxing ratios are likely to put the quality of early years provision at risk, something that we know would have a particularly detrimental impact on the children who need the most support, such as those from low-income backgrounds and those with additional needs.

“It’s clear, therefore, that whoever is in power after the next election must ensure that a comprehensive workforce strategy is absolutely central to their plans for the early years. Without this, it’s hard to see how the planned expansion can have any hope of succeeding in the long term.”

Prioritising the early years has the potential to benefit the UK’s economy, according to a new report.

The Royal Foundation Business Taskforce for Early Childhood’s report – Prioritising early childhood for a happier, healthier society – sets out the business case for investing in early childhood in the workplace, community and wider society.

The Taskforce, established by The Princess of Wales in March 2023, features members such as Aviva, The Co-operative Group and The LEGO Group, among others, all of whom have worked together to identify the scale of opportunity and the role that business can play.

Produced by Deloitte on behalf of the Taskforce, the report details how investing in early childhood could generate at least £45.5 billion for the national economy per annum.

The report also highlights five areas in which the business community can do more as a whole to make the greatest impact for children under five and wider society:

• Building a culture that prioritises early childhood within businesses, local communities, and wider society.
  

• Helping families facing the greatest challenges access the basic support and essentials they need.
  

• Offering parents and carers greater support, resources, choice, and flexibility with their work.
  

• Prioritising and nurturing social and emotional skills in young children and the adults in their lives.
  

• Supporting initiatives which increase access to quality, affordable and reliable early childhood education and care.
  

The report’s release was followed by the announcement of a number of new business initiatives for the early years sector, including funding for early years apprenticeships and leadership programmes, increased support for baby banks, and creating welcoming spaces for families with young children.

The Centre for Early Childhood and Taskforce members will be speaking to business leaders across the UK throughout the year to encourage businesses of all sizes to join the movement.

Commenting, Neil Leitch CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said: “We welcome this report from the Royal Foundation Business Taskforce, which further proves that investing in the early years is not just incredibly beneficial for the children who use it, but for wider society.

“For far too long, early education has been dismissed as childcare and educators as simply babysitters. It is therefore extremely positive to see the businesses in this taskforce come together and highlight just how far-reaching the benefits of early education truly are.

“On top of this, we welcome the initial steps that businesses within the taskforce have taken to ensure that early education is prioritised both within the workplace and the economy, and we hope it inspires others to follow suit.

“At a time when the sector is already in the spotlight, we hope that this report will not only give ministers real pause for thought, but also act as a reminder that the benefits highlighted by the taskforce cannot come close to being realised without funding that reflects the cost of delivering high-quality early education – both now and in the future.”

 been issued to families, 211,027 have been validated by early years providers.

Commenting, children and families minister David Johnston said: “Every hard-working parent deserves affordable access to high-quality childcare, and that’s exactly what this government is delivering.

“As these figures show, 211,027 two-year-olds are already benefitting from the first stage of our huge expansion of childcare – giving parents a helping hand in their working lives, safe in the knowledge their children are well looked after by our brilliant early years workforce. “With applications for working parents of children from 9 months old opening at the weekend, I’d urge all parents to check their eligibility for what’s on offer via our Childcare Choices website.”

The research, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, also reveals that, in some areas of the country, as many as one in four early years places were lost during this period, including: a 23.2 drop in Sunderland; a 19.9% fall in Telford and Wrekin; and an 18.9% decrease in Darlington. In total, four in five areas in England have seen a fall in the number of early education places available since 2019.

According to the research, the number of early years providers has also dropped by a fifth since 2019, from 61,162 to 48,143 over the same period.

The south-east saw the largest decline in the number of providers of any region, with 2,332 lost since 2019.

The findings have led to concerns about the deliverability of the early entitlement expansion – which government figures have indicated will require an additional 70,000 places by the end of the rollout – and caused Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Munira Wilson to brand some areas of the country “childcare deserts”.

The research follows the opening of applications for the second phase of the government’s early entitlement expansion, which is for eligible parents of children aged between 9 and 23 months old by 31 August.

Liberal Democrat Education spokesperson Munira Wilson MP said:

“This Conservative government has created childcare deserts through their years of neglect. This stark postcode lottery means that parents in many areas of the country are left completely without options.

“Free hours are no good if parents can’t find a good nursery or childminder for their child – and thanks to this Conservative government’s underfunding millions of parents now face the almost impossible task of finding childcare.

“There are fewer providers, less choice for parents and no guarantee they will find a place for their child at all.

“The government urgently needs to review the rates it pays providers to ensure they cover the actual costs of delivering high-quality childcare and early years education.”

The second phase of the government’s early entitlement expansion opened on Sunday 12 May, sparking fresh concerns about the early years sector’s capacity to accommodate demand.

Eligible working parents of children aged between 9 and 23 months old by 31 August can now apply for a code to access 15 hours of government-funded early education and childcare per week from September 2024.

The government has urged parents to check their eligibility at childcarechoices.gov.uk and secure places with providers.

However, with the Department for Education predicting that a further 15,000 places will be required by September to meet demand, there are concerns remaining in the early years sector around whether it will have the capacity needed.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: “Last month, we successfully delivered on our promise to expand free childcare to two-year-olds, with over 210,000 families now feeling the benefits.

“Last year, just two thirds of local authorities felt confident they could deliver the rollout for April, but with our support, 100% have done so.

“That was only the beginning, and we will continue to support the sector so that every eligible parent can access the high-quality childcare they deserve.”

Commenting Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said: “As applications for the second phase of the early entitlement expansion open, we remain entirely unconvinced that the government will be able to keep the huge promise it has made to parents.

“With the recent National Audit Office report raising serious concerns about future phases of the expansion, and the Department for Education itself describing delivering enough places to meet demand as ‘problematic’, it’s clear that significant challenges lay ahead for government.

“Yet, should this really come as a surprise? Long before the expansion rollout began, the early years sector was suffering from the effects of years of severe underfunding and an acute staffing crisis, both of which – so far – have failed to be adequately addressed.

“So, rather than pretending that this application launch is a cause for celebration, ministers should acknowledge the scale of the challenge ahead of them and take the action needed to safeguard the future of the sector – that is, adequate funding and a comprehensive workforce strategy. Only then can this policy have any hope of succeeding in the long term.”

The Early Education and Childcare Coalition (EECC) has launched its new manifesto, which sets out proposals to ‘rescue and reform’ England’s early education and childcare sector.

The Rescue and Reform manifesto highlights three key priorities for the next government, including guaranteeing that all children can access inclusive, high-quality provision that’s affordable for parents.

In addition, the Coalition has released new research undertaken by More in Common alongside the Rescue and Reform manifesto, which assesses the importance of childcare reform to voters in England.

The research data reveals that over half of voters (53%) are concerned about the availability of early education and childcare in England, with 40% saying it’s difficult to find provision and 49% saying it is unaffordable.

The data also highlights that:

• 71% of voters say children should have a right to access early education and childcare regardless of their parents’ employment status.

• 67% of voters say investing in early education and childcare benefits the whole country.

However, under the current early entitlement expansion, only children whose parents earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours per week at national minimum or living wage are entitled to the new 15- and 30-hours offers being phased in.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has previously found that the poorest third of children would not directly benefit from this expansion, while the National Audit Office (NAO) raised concerns about the expansion’s potential to widen the educational attainment gap between the poorest children and their peers.

Director of the Early Education and Childcare Coalition, Sarah Ronan said: “Our polling shows that voters are simply not convinced by recent policy changes. Whether they are parents or not, whether they work or not, they recognise that investing in early education and childcare is good for all of us, especially children, and they want to see progressive policies to support that. Our manifesto sets out what that reform needs to look like.

“There is widespread agreement that this is the way forward – for children and parents, for providers and early years professionals, but also for the whole of society. It sends a strong and clear message to all political parties that continuing with the current flawed model is simply not an option, particularly if we want to improve outcomes for all children and the health of the sector.”