�°������ϲʹ�������

Save the Children has today released a report which found that children attending a high quality nursery with an early years teacher are almost 10% more likely to reach the expected level of development at age five.

 

The report, ‘Untapped Potential’, follows STC’s earlier study which claimed that boys are nearly twice as likely to start school behind as girls.

 

While STC said that progress has been made, it has urged the government to take action on three key points: to create a workforce quality supplement for the early years, to invest £65 million a year for the next five years in the 20% most deprived areas in the country and to set out a workforce strategy to address challenges in the sector.

 

Neil Leitch, Alliance chief executive, agreed that all children should have access to high quality early years care and education, and said that investing in the early years workforce plays a vital role in achieving this.

 

However, Neil said that he was concerned when the report then went on to suggest that private, voluntary and independent (PVI) providers are delivering substandard early years provision.

 

“While it is by now well-established that graduate-led provision has a positive impact on children’s outcomes, that is not the same as saying that non-graduate-led provision is of poor quality,” Neil said.

 

“86% of PVI providers are currently rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by �°������ϲʹ�������, while the report itself highlights that whether or not a child attends an early years provision has far more impact than whether or not the provision they attend is graduate-led.”

 

He concluded that some of the best early years practitioners don’t have a degree, but have expertise, passion and an in-depth understanding of how children learn and develop.

 

“These are skills to be valued, not dismissed,” Neil said.