Disadvantaged children set to miss out despite increased early years investment, report finds
By Shannon Pite
The planned 拢4bn increase in government investment into early years disproportionately benefit higher-income families, according to a new report from two charity
According to research from Coram Family and Childcare and Joseph Rowntree Foundation, even with the extra investment announced at the Spring Budget, children will miss out on the high-quality early years care and education that supports their development.
The report, Tackling Disadvantage Through Childcare, also found that a low-earning parent or carer takes home around 拢4 per hour worked after early years costs and once the Universal Credit taper rate has been applied, effectively eroding over half of their earnings.
Calls for early years reform
The organisations are calling for a complete reform of the early years system, including:
- Investment in and focus on improving quality, including better pay for professionals and higher levels of qualifications
- Government directly funding early years places, as they do for school places
- A simple, affordable, means-tested payment system for parents
- 15 hours per week for all two-year-olds and 30 hours for all three- and four-year-olds to make sure all children get equal access to free early education
- Integration with wider support services
- Partnerships between parents and childcare professionals to help spread learning between the home and early years setting
"England's early years system is fundamentally broken..."
Megan Jarvie, Head of Coram Family and Childcare, said:
鈥淒isadvantaged children are falling behind before they even start school. A well designed and functioning childcare system can be a key tool in tackling this disadvantage. But instead, families are stuck in poverty and children are missing out on early education that could better prepare them for school.
鈥淲e urgently need to rebalance the childcare and early years system to better serve the children who stand to benefit the most. We have set out a reformed system to better meet the needs of all families and children, and to level the playing field for disadvantaged children.鈥
Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said:
鈥淲e know that quality early years provision has a particularly positive impact on the early learning and development of children from more disadvantaged backgrounds. As such, today's report from Coram and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation is deeply concerning, and once again shows that, at its core, England's early years system is fundamentally broken."
鈥淣ot only are provider numbers plummeting at an alarming rate but, as the report shows, children from disadvantaged backgrounds,- those that will benefit the most from early education and care - continue to find it extremely challenging to access. Put simply, it is completely unacceptable.
鈥淔amilies from disadvantaged backgrounds should be at the heart of any early years policies but for years they have been pushed to the sidelines and, as the research shows ,this oversight is having and will continue to have serious repercussions on their development, unless proper action is taken.
鈥淣ow, when the government is looking at how it will implement the 30-hour-offer expansion, it is essential that it communicates, listens and funds the sector to ensure that, at the very least, the capacity is there to ensure that every child, no matter their background can access and benefit from early education.鈥