NEWS

18–20-year-olds will increase 16.3% to £10 per hour. The government also confirmed its intention to move toward a single adult wage rate.

The Chancellor also confirmed that employer national insurance contributions will increase from 13.8% to 15% from 6 April 2025, with the per-employee threshold at which employers start to pay National Insurance reduced from £9,100 to £5,000 per year.

Other key announcements included the following: 

• From April 2025, the national minimum wage for both under-18s and apprentices will increase from £6.40 to £7.55 (an 18% increase).
  
  
• Employment Allowance will increase from £5,000 to £10,500, while the £100,000 threshold for eligibility will be removed and expanded to all eligible employers with employer National Insurance contribution bills from April 2025.
  
  
• £1 billion in funding will be allocated for SEND provision – though no detail has been provided on what this will mean in practice and whether this will include early years SEND provision.
  

While the government has confirmed that early years spending priorities will be protected, it is yet to confirm future increases to early years funding.

Commenting, Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said: “At the Alliance, we wholeheartedly believe that early educators should be paid fairly for the vital work they do – and so, in theory, confirmation of significant rises to the national living and minimum wages should be positive news for the sector.

“And yet, given that staffing costs account for around three-quarters of setting outgoings, the reality is that the combination of wage increases and rises to employer national insurance contributions will make it increasingly difficult for early years providers to remain viable unless these rises are matched by increases in early years funding - particularly given the government’s plans to move towards a single minimum wage for all adults.”

A range of barriers are preventing disadvantaged children in England from taking up their entitlement to 15 hours of funded early education, a new study has warned.

The report – funded by the Nuffield Foundation and undertaken by the Centre for Evidence and Implementation, UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities, Coram Family and Childcare, and early years expert Ivana La Valle – explores why some families do not take up their entitlements, and sets out actions that can be taken to increase take-up and to reduce inequalities in early education.

According to the research, many parents find the different entitlements confusing and difficult to navigate, with councils saying that lengthy application processes and complex systems make accessing funded childcare difficult for parents, particularly those with English as an additional language or with low literacy or digital skills, as well as creating a high administrative burden for providers. It adds that the additional phased roll-out of childcare entitlements for working families have complicated the picture further, with “conflicting and confusing messages” to parents about eligibility and the purpose of different entitlements, as well as adding to the administrative burden for providers.

The report also highlights concerns from early years providers about the adequacy of funding for the three- and four-year-old entitlement and inadequate funding to support disadvantaged children, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

It further warns that the way that the delivery of funded hours is regulated has triggered responses from providers that create further barriers to take-up, such as constraining the number and structure of funded places offered, and asking parents to pay additional charges, meaning that in some cases, a two-tier system of provision is emerging.

The research did, however, identify where local action can change this picture for disadvantaged families, noting that take-up is higher where councils make early education a key priority for children’s outcomes and wellbeing, and where they have a relentless focus on removing barriers to take-up among disadvantaged families.

Commenting, Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said: “We know that access to early education has a proven impact on a child’s development and life chances, particularly for children from more deprived backgrounds – and yet, as these findings show, many disadvantaged families continue to face an unnecessarily complex and confusing system which is making it increasingly difficult for them to access early years places.

“Add to this the fact that continued underfunding for the three- and four-year-old offer is still leaving many providers with no option but to increase fees and additional charges, and it’s clear that the current approach to early years policy is at risk of failing those families most in need of support.

“We’re clear that every child, regardless of background, should be able to access affordable, quality early education and care – and yet, even the current early entitlement expansion is aimed solely at working families, leaving those from most disadvantaged backgrounds excluded entirely.

“For years now, we’ve talked of the need to ‘close the gap’, while rolling out early years policies that do the exact opposite. It is vital therefore that, going forward, ensuring that ensuring equity of access to early years places is made a key government priority. After all, education – in the early years and beyond – is not a luxury; it is a universal right.”

have been impacted more by decreased access. Other key findings from the research:

• The change in early education access has not been evenly spread across the country.
  
  
• Parts of the country that experience persistently low access to childcare are those that are disproportionately deprived and have lower than average incomes.
  
  
• Parts of the country experiencing consistently high access to childcare tend to be advantaged areas with higher household incomes
  

Ofsted analysis of the data states: “In the past decade, the number of childcare providers in England has fallen by a third. This is concerning for parents as well as policymakers, because a reduction in childcare accessibility will hinder early childhood development in the areas affected. Parents, and mothers especially, will also find it more difficult to work when they cannot easily access childcare.”

The analysis only includes Ofsted-registered childcare places at nurseries and other group settings, as well as childminders. Around 300,000 (19%) of places are school-based and are not considered in this analysis.

Commenting, Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said: “This research from Ofsted and the ONS makes for a deeply concerning read. Not only is it now more difficult for families to access early years provision than it was four years ago, but those from disadvantaged backgrounds are the most likely to struggle to find a place.

"Given that, alongside this, the vast majority of entitlements are now geared towards working families, it’s clear that we are in danger of creating of a two-tier early years system where those most in need – who we know benefit the most from early education – are unable to access it. At a time when there is so much rhetoric about the need to ‘close the gap’, this is simply unacceptable.

“Make no mistake, these findings show exactly what happens to a system when it faces year upon year of neglect and underfunding. As such, it has never been more important for the new government to listen to and work with the sector to deliver meaningful long-term policies that ensure that every child – regardless of their background, household income or circumstances – can benefit from the quality care and education they deserve.”

The third and final part of its Best Start in Life research, centred around early years education and published on 8 October 2024, focuses on what progress for pre-school-aged children should look like in four specific areas of learning: literacy, mathematics, understanding the world, and expressive arts and design.

A high-quality early years curriculum is important as not all children get the same start in life, Ofsted has stated in a new report.

Part three of the report highlights how “the four specific areas of learning give breadth and richness to the early years curriculum, and show how early learning is connected”.

“A strong foundation in literacy and mathematics gives children lifelong benefits and is crucial to their future success.”

The report continued to say: “A strong foundation in literacy and mathematics gives children lifelong benefits and is crucial to their future success. Early literacy development helps with children’s language and vocabulary and can support their emotional understanding. It adds that effective early mathematical learning and encouraging positive attitudes to numbers and maths “are crucial to children’s later achievement”; expressive arts “provide children with opportunities to learn new skills and be creative”; and understanding the world “is a broad area and, for babies and young children, learning needs to be connected so they can build on their pre-existing knowledge to learn new ideas in the familiar contexts around them”.

The report goes on: “To deliver a high-quality early years curriculum, practitioners need to understand how children develop and learn, so they can plan the next steps in their learning. Teaching in the specific areas should also offer children opportunities to develop their executive function skills, which are one of the best predictors of a child’s later success.”

Four in 10 mothers were forced to take 12 weeks or less of maternity leave as a result of low maternity pay, according to a new survey carried out by charity Pregnant Then Screwed survey.

The charity, which carried out the research along with Women in Data, describes the UK’s rate of maternity pay as “measly” and is calling on the government to increase the rate of statutory maternity pay and maternity allowance.

Statutory maternity pay currently sits at 43% of the national living wage – £184 a week after the first six weeks – which, according to the charity, is causing “many families to experience financial hardship”.

The research also found that three-quarters (76%) of mothers have had to go into debt or withdraw money from their savings as a result of low statutory maternity pay. According to Pregnant Then Screwed, this has resulted in mothers reporting struggling to bond with their babies in the crucial early months due to money and debt-related stress.

The research is based upon weighted findings from a survey of 35,800 respondents. Of those, a nationally representative sample of, 5,870 respondents were selected. The sample is nationally representative across the UK population along gender, region, social grade and ethnicity. Weighting is based on the latest census and population estimations published by the ONS, NISRA and NRS.

Joeli Brearley, chief executive and founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, commented: “Maternity pay is an abomination. How is anyone meant to survive on £184 a week, which is less than half the minimum wage – the lowest amount someone can live on. The perinatal period is critically important to the health and wellbeing of a mother and her child, and I think we should all be deeply concerned that due to severe hardship, we are now seeing a degeneration and a degradation of this vital period. Ultimately, it is a false economy to not pay parental leave at a rate on which families can survive and thrive.

“We need a government that will listen to parents, creating policies which ensure they can survive and thrive, particularly in those early days. Right now, we are falling way behind our European counterparts, and it is not only this generation that is suffering the consequences, but it will be the next.”

The Department for Education (DfE) has confirmed that it will now refer to the early entitlement offers as ‘government-funded’ rather than ‘free’ in government communications.

A new DfE presentation, which has been shared in the Department’s recent early years provider roadshows, states that the DfE has “replaced [the] use of ‘free’ with ‘government-funded’” in its communications, in response to provider feedback that using the word ‘free’ to describe the entitlements is “misleading and unhelpful”.

Commenting, Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said: “We welcome the news that the word ‘free’ will be replaced with ‘government-funded’ in communications going forward.

“We know that for many years now, the use of the word ‘free’ has created unrealistic expectations among parents, putting early years providers – many of whom continue to struggle to keep fees low in the face of chronic underfunding – in an incredibly difficult position.

“Of course, we’re clear that a change in terminology in and of itself is not enough to address the financial challenges facing the sector, and it remains critical that the government looks to address the ongoing shortfalls in early years funding as a matter of urgency.

“That said, the fact that this change has been made in response to sector feedback is still undoubtedly positive, and we hope that this welcome approach to sector engagement will continue going forward.”

charges on top of the funded entitlement hours”, including mandatory extra charges for additional extras like nappies, lunch or other ‘consumables’, which it says “should not be made a condition of accessing a funded place”.

In the coming months, the government plans to engage with local authorities and providers to clarify statutory guidance on charging – including on ‘top up fees’ – and consider how to better support local authorities in “protecting parents from overcharging”.

The announcement comes shortly after confirmation from the Department for Education that it will refer to the early entitlement offers as ‘government-funded’, rather than ‘free’, going forward, something that sector leaders have highlighted as contradictory.

Commenting, Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said: “We fully agree that it is important that providers are clear and transparent with parents on any additional fees and charges being issued beyond the funded hours. That said, many in the sector will be understandably frustrated at the mixed messages coming out from government: while the Department for Education recently confirmed that going forward it will refer to the early entitlements as ‘government-funded’ rather than ‘free’, under DfE guidance, providers are still not allowed to ask parents to subsidise the insufficient rates they receive from government.

“At the Alliance, we believe that every family, regardless of their income, should be able to access affordable and high-quality early years provision – and we know that nurseries, pre-schools and childminders do their best to keep costs low. The reality is, however, that years of underfunding have made it impossible for the vast majority to stay afloat without introducing some form of additional charges.

“Ultimately, the only way to ensure that early education is genuinely affordable for all is to ensure that sector funding reflects the true cost of delivering high-quality early years provision, both now and in the future. Without this, all the guidance clarity in the world won’t actually help make places more affordable for parents.”