Government publishes its strategy “Giving every child the best start in life”
The new £1.5bn strategy aims to support all children particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds or with additional needs. It includes more support for families and “more accessible early education and childcare”.
Among the initiatives will be a consultation on the funding formula, more powers to local authorities to ensure sufficient childcare places, more frequent Ofsted inspections and measures to promote inclusion.
The strategy will also support quality and the workforce including looking at making sure each setting has at least one teacher and more funding for early interventions such as NDNA’s Maths Champions programme.
Purnima Tanuku CBE, Executive Chair of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), said: “Before last year’s election we called for a proper strategy for early education and care in this country so today’s announcement is very positive news. The first five years of a child’s life are crucial, so having a coherent strategy across Government can help ensure everyone working with these children feels part of a bigger system.
“For the strategy to be successful it has to be backed up with proper support and engagement with the sector. For too long early years providers and the professionals working in the sector have felt that things are done to them, not with them. By working in genuine partnership everyone can focus on our shared priority – achieving better outcomes for children.
“Plans to increase the numbers of early years teachers will only work when the fundamental inequality between early education and the school system are addressed. That’s how we make sure our early educators are given the status and recognition they are due.
“The ambitions to reform how early years funding and support is delivered should make a very complex system more accessible for parents and less of an administrative burden for providers. While aiming for an early years teacher in every setting is commendable, there is a lot of work to do to make sure there are sufficient people taking up the qualifications and to ensure that funding covers staffing costs to include these roles.
“We will continue to work with Ministers and officials to ensure that this strategic vision turns into tangible actions to support children, families and providers. Our Maths Champions programme will support more practitioners to boost their early maths teaching skills and the Institute of Early Education will continue to support the personal and professional development of anyone working in early years.”
Here’s the strategy main headlines:
Best start family hubs – all local authorities will get some funding for best start family hubs.
Health commitments will include:
- Improving maternity care
- Strengthening home visits
- Tackling tooth decay
More accessible early education and childcare:
- Funded hours for working parents – continued
- 3,000 school-based nurseries
- More funding to promote inclusion – EYPP increased
- Improve access to children with additional needs
- Consult on the distribution of early years funding through the EYNFF by next summer
- Ensure the market is well supported – give LAs and Mayoral authorities powers to ensure more spaces
- Financial transparency for largest providers to ensure confidence in sustainability and role of private equity
- More frequent inspections from Ofsted – and assurances around quality of Ofsted inspections – with a move to inspections every four years
- All new early years providers within 18 months of opening
- One to one coaching following inspections to support settings to improve
Quality and Workforce
- New professional register for the early years workforce
- Promote the workforce
- More highly qualified staff where they are needed most
- More progression opportunities
- All early years settings to have at least one early years teacher – currently only around one in ten settings have a teacher according to the Government
- Financial incentives to keep EY teachers in most deprived areas
- Shared practice and information between EY settings and schools
- Boosting early maths and literacy including funding for Maths Champions programme
- Doubling stronger practice hubs and new school-nursery partnership to ensure smooth transitions
The DfE also wants to appoint a “best start in life champion” to cross all relevant government departments.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said:
“My driving mission is to make sure every child has the chance to succeed no matter their background – and this new strategy will help give our youngest children the very best start in life.
“The best way of reducing inequalities is by tackling them early: that’s why we’re joining up family support services through our Best Start Family Hubs, driving up quality in our early years system and strengthening support for children as they enter primary school.
“These aren’t luxuries. They are the essentials, and that is what this government will deliver as we fulfil our Plan for Change.”
Read the strategy here.
- England
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