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by Jess Gibson

The Education Policy Institute (EPI) has released analysis of the key manifesto pledges for education, highlighting their lack of focus on key issues affecting the early years sector.  

The EPI report – produced with Nuffield Education – concludes that the party manifestos fail to focus on ongoing issues, such as improving access to early education and care for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. 

The report states: “Across all manifestos, there is a concerning lack of engagement with some of the key issues relating to early childhood education and care.” 

The key concerns affecting the sector include what the report describes as a “complex and insufficient” funding system, where ongoing financial pressures risk “squeezing out disadvantaged children from early childhood education and care”. 

It also highlights challenges around: 

• settings’ capacity and availability 

• SEND identification and funding levels  

• recruitment and retention.  

The report notes that, due to these challenges, the benefits of early education and care are not being realised, particularly for the most disadvantaged in society. 

The analysis also concludes that while some pledges are beneficial and based on EPI recommendations – such as the Liberal Democrats’ plan to almost triple early years pupil premium funding and additional entitlement hours for disadvantaged three- and four-year-olds – they may not be realised in practice if provider capacity and recruitment and retention challenges aren’t effectively addressed. 

Further EPI recommendations in the report regarding the early years sector include to: 

• simplify early years funding  

• weight early years funding much more heavily towards children from low-income families and children with SEND by increasing the early years pupil premium to be commensurate with the pupil premium in later school years, increasing the disability access fund (DAF) to reflect the costs of quality education and care for children with disabilities, and simplifying access to the DAF. The EPI argues that entitlement to the DAF should not be restricted (as it is presently) to only children in receipt of disability living allowance (DLA), as not all children with disabilities in the early years are in receipt of DLA. 

• strengthen the family hub model or return to the original Sure Start model to ensure a family-focused and integrated system of care, education and wider holistic support for young children and their parents/carers.  

• publish an early years strategy setting out plans to: improve accessibility for disadvantaged children in particular; create a sustainable model for providers while also affordable for families; and provide a clear strategy for ensuring a high-quality workforce.  

Commenting Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said:  "Today’s EPI report is absolutely right to highlight the lack of manifesto commitments to addressing the disadvantage gap that exists within early education and childcare.   

"We all know that early education not only has a significant impact on a child’s development, and in turn their chances in later life, but that children from disadvantaged backgrounds have the most to gain from this. Yet, regardless of which party forms the next government, it looks likely that many will continue to be frozen out of being able to access places.  

“Now, with just over a fortnight until the election, a strategy to support disadvantaged children and families must be a central focus for all parties. No family should be prevented from benefitting from early education and support just because of the circumstances they are facing.”