NEWS

Speaking at an evidence session for the Education Committee’s review of childcare and the early years, Coutinho said that the Department for Education (DfE) plans to launch a consultation on how funding for the expanded hours will be distributed to early years providers.

The DfE also plans to consult on its plans to increase early years funding rates for 2024/25, as well as plans for distributing funding for two-year-old places and rates for 2023/24.

Commenting on the session, Alliance CEO Neil Leitch said: “While it is positive to hear that the minister is eager to properly consult with the early years sector before the funding increases and the expansion of the 30-hour offer, given the government’s recent track record, providers are right to be sceptical about what this will actually mean in practice.

“There’s no question that it would have been much more beneficial if they engaged and consulted with the sector before announcing the expansion in the Budget. If they had, they would have realised the extreme pressure it was likely to place on a sector already under considerable strain. “And, as the outcome of the ratios consultation shows, the government must not just listen to the sector’s concerns and still charge ahead with changes regardless, but make sure that any sector-specific plans reflect what is best for the sector and, importantly, the child.

“Of course, as the minister noted, it is right that the importance of the sector and its educators are valued and recognised, but words alone are simply not enough. It is vital, therefore, that in the coming weeks and months the early years sector plays a central role in shaping the expansion plans and we look forward to supporting this in any way we can.”

Around eight in ten (79%) nurseries, pre-schools and childminders said they were stressed about Ofsted inspections ‘fairly’ or ‘very often’, according to a new survey from the Early Years Alliance.

The survey, which received 1,910 responses and was carried out online between 29 March and 27 April, explored the mental health challenges facing the sector and what impact the current Ofsted inspection regime is having.

Nearly half of respondents (45%) have had a negative Ofsted experience, while one in five (21%) have filed a formal complaint, and most believed that inspections failed to have a positive impact on the provision of quality care and education. Only 14% of respondents said the current Ofsted inspection regime had a positive impact on the provision of quality care and education while more than a third (37%) strongly disagreed and a quarter (26%) somewhat disagreed with the statement.

An overwhelming majority (77%) supported the removal of the single- word Ofsted grade, with almost three in five (58%) strongly supporting this.

Recently, questions have been raised over the impact of Ofsted inspections, especially on workforce wellbeing and mental health, following the death of headteacher Ruth Perry. In April, ‘Beyond Ofsted’, an inquiry into the inspection system, was launched. However, the inquiry does not currently include early years settings within its scope.

The survey also revealed that most respondents (81%) have regularly been stressed about a work-related issue in the past month, with sector specific government policy and pay listed as the most common causes of stress behind Ofsted inspections.

For most, this has had a significant impact on their physical health. In the past year, nearly seven in ten (65%) suffered with anxiety, fatigue (67%) and loss of motivation (64%). More than one in ten (14%) have experienced panic attacks, while 3% said they have had thoughts of taking their own life.

Overall, nearly six in 10 (59%) educators said they felt negatively about working in the sector. A third (35%) said they were considering leaving the sector due to stress and mental health difficulties.

This is an increase compared to the immediate aftermath of the pandemic, which saw just 37% of children getting the recommended amount of physical activity each week. However, the current statistics show that the majority of children are still not getting enough physical activity each week.

The study also showed that children are still more sedentary during the week than they were before the pandemic – with children spending an average of 13 extra minutes a day being inactive than before 2020.

Funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, the study measured children’s physical activity for seven months, asking children and their carers to wear accelerometers to measure their levels of activity. The study also found that parents and carers were getting an average of eight more minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity at the weekend than they were before the pandemic.

The study’s lead author Russ Jago, professor of physical activity and public health, said: “It’s encouraging that on average children’s physical activity levels are back to where they were before the pandemic. But it’s taken nearly a year since the last public lockdown was lifted, and children’s increased sedentary time during the week has persisted, which is an area of concern for policy makers, schools, and parents.”

While young children remain at a low risk of developing severe illnesses from Covid-19, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says that those in this age group with underlying medical conditions are seven times more likely to be admitted to paediatric intensive care units as a result of Covid-19.

The UKHSA also noted that more than one million children aged between six months and four years old in the US have received at least one dose of the vaccine since June 2022. Vaccinations will be offered to eligible children from mid-June onward. Parents and carers are advised to wait to be contacted rather than coming forward to make an appointment.

Eligible vulnerable children will be offered two doses of the vaccine, with a gap of eight to 12 weeks between the two doses. The JCVI does not currently advise that children in this age group who are not clinically vulnerable should be offered the vaccine.

Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at the UKHSA, said: “Covid-19 is still in circulation, with thousands of new cases reported every week. The extra protection offered by the vaccine could be important for young children in clinical risk groups, who are at greater risk of severe illness. The virus is not going away so I would encourage all parents to bring their child forward if they are eligible. Parents should wait to be contacted by their local health professionals.”

The review will also look at the impact of food insecurity on children’s educational outcomes, as the BNF has warned that children who skip meals are also at risk of short- and long-term health problems.

The joint project will be funded by grants from commercial companies Arla, Hein and Quaker. Last year, Magic Breakfast revealed that three million children in the UK were starting school on an empty stomach in its Hidden Hunger Report. The research also found that most schools in England currently charge parents for children’s breakfast. It also found that just one in four children in the country’s most deprived areas were benefitting from the government’s school breakfast funding.

Commenting on the announcement, Elaine Hindal, chief executive of the British Nutrition Foundation said, “As a nutrition charity, we are acutely aware of the impact a healthy diet can have on children’s health and wellbeing, and the challenges that many families currently face in being able to provide the food their children need. We are delighted to partner with Magic Breakfast to look at the science behind breakfast and children’s health and how we can use this to make a real difference to children’s lives.”

Currently, the inquiry makes no mention of education settings other than schools. It does not mention early years settings, which are also subject to Ofsted registration and inspection. Early years settings also currently receive the same single-word Ofsted judgments as schools. The Alliance has called for the scope of the inquiry to be widened to include early years settings as well.

Commenting, Neil Leitch, CEO of the Alliance, said: “Inspection should be about working collaboratively and supportively with education settings to ensure that children and young people receive the best possible quality of provision. However, we know that there are increasing concerns that under the current system, this is simply not the case and as such, it is absolutely right that questions are being asked about whether the existing inspection regime is fit for purpose.

“But the education system doesn’t begin and end with schools. Nurseries, pre-schools and childminding professionals are all required to register with, and be regularly inspected by, Ofsted, and we know that many share the same concerns as their school colleagues: that the current system – and in particular, the single-word grading approach – has created a culture of fear and stress within the sector that is simply not sustainable.

“It is incredibly disappointing, therefore, that the new inquiry currently focuses so narrowly on schools, with no mention of the early years. We urge those leading this review to meet with early years representatives, including the Alliance, with a view to urgently widening the scope of the inquiry. We’re clear that any reform of the inspection system must apply to the entirety of the education sector, and not just part of it.”

Parents on lower incomes are struggling to afford early new survey by Working Families. The charity found that four in 10 parents with a total household income of £50,000 or less had gone into debt in order to pay for early education and childcare. More than half of working parents on lower incomes had reduced their working hours to manage these costs. Parents on lower incomes had significantly less access to hybrid working models than those on higher incomes.

Jane Van Zyl, chief executive of Working Families, commented: “This research reveals what we suspected, that for many parents on lower incomes, work simply isn’t working. No parent should have to reduce their hours, leave the workforce altogether or get into debt to pay for childcare. No parent should be prevented from accessing flexible working because they don’t work at a desk in a knowledge-based industry. It is clear that flexible working is no longer a nice to-have, it is a must have, particularly for those at the sharp end of the cost-of-living crisis.”