Early Education as Vital Social Infrastructure
Lucie Stephens
Like healthcare, transport, or the broader education system, early education is essential for the functioning of society and the economy. Research, such as the Royal Foundation’s “Shaping Us” campaign, highlights that the first five years of life are crucial for brain development, with 80% of brain growth occurring in the first 1,001 days. High-quality early years provision supports children during their most critical developmental period.
Quality early education contributes significantly to a child’s cognitive, physical, and emotional development. It also provides parents with tools to support their children’s learning and fosters creativity and curiosity in young minds. The positive impact of high-quality early education is particularly profound for children from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Access to early education is a key factor in leveling the playing field, giving all children the opportunity to thrive.
A stable and affordable childcare system is also crucial for economic productivity. Parents need to feel confident that their children are in a safe and supportive environment to be reliable employees. A quality childcare system boosts economic productivity, diversifies the labor market, and supports families in balancing work and care responsibilities.
Challenges Facing the Early Education and Childcare Sector
Despite its importance, the early education and childcare sector is fragile. Rising operational costs and insufficient government funding are forcing many providers, particularly in disadvantaged areas, to close. This is exacerbated by the workforce crisis the sector is facing, with 57% of nursery staff and 38% of childminders considering leaving their jobs in the next 12 months.
The “free hours” scheme, intended to make childcare more accessible, is flawed. Only 20% of families in the bottom third of the income distribution are eligible for the 30-hour offer for three- and four-year-old’s. This excludes many parents from accessing work and leaves children without early education opportunities. Furthermore, 1.5 million children in England live in “childcare deserts,” where the availability of childcare places is severely limited.Children with SEND are particularly affected by the lack of accessible childcare. Just 6% of local authorities have enough provision for these children, leading to families being turned away from services. The financial strain on families of children with SEND is significant, with only 16% of mothers of disabled children able to work compared to 61% of their peers.
The Path Forward: Rescue and Reform
The EECC outlines a two-pronged approach to address the current crisis and lay the foundation for long-term reform. The first step to improving access to early education and childcare is an urgent rescue intervention to stabilize the sector. This includes acting quickly to plug the funding gap, address staffing challenges, and widen access to government schemes.
Plugging the funding gap: Improving accessibility and affordability for families hinges on increasing and reforming funding. As government funding is set to cover 80% of all pre-school childcare hours by 2025, it’s crucial that the impact of taxpayer investment is evaluated beyond just economic cost-effectiveness. International examples show that tying expectations to public funding can address recruitment, retention, and access challenges. Effective reform requires the government to collaborate with stakeholders, including sector experts, unions, parent groups, and providers. Initial interventions should include
- Boosting funding for children with SEND and simplifying the funding application process
- Unlinking Disability Access Funding from Disability Living Allowance and ring-fencing high needs block funding for the early years.
- Removing business rates on a similar basis to Scotland and Wales, whilst conducting a wider review of the business rates system.
To support wider reform an independent Early Education and Childcare Funding Review Body is needed to undertake transparent annual reviews of funding rates. This body would consider crucial factors such as workforce pay scales, cost-of-living increases, and the costs of providing high-quality nutritious meals for all children before making recommendations to the government on fair funding rates.
Addressing staffing challenges: a comprehensive workforce strategy is essential to attract, retain, and respect professionals, including childminders. Urgent action is needed to address pay, conditions, and recognition. Long-term reforms should align early educators with the wider education sector, including national salary scales and inclusion in education initiatives. Areas of urgent initial activity include
- Establishing a sector-led career development hub that can work with government to develop evidence led interventions that will support the workforce to stabilise and thrive, ensuring the career hub is accessible to all group settings and childminders.
- Funding mandatory early intervention training for all early years professionals to support early SEND diagnosis and speech and language interventions – initially prioritising areas of greatest need.
Longer-term reforms require national standards for fair terms and conditions for early years professionals including national pay rates linked to qualifications and continuing professional development.
Widening access to government schemes: Every family should be able to access affordable, high-quality childcare in their local area, regardless of background or children’s additional needs. This should begin by
- Bringing the early years pupil premium in line with the primary pupil premium and making it easier to access.
- Widening eligibility for the 30 funded hours to include parents in education and training and those with no recourse to public funds.
- Implementing a phased expansion of the “free hours” scheme from 38 weeks a year to 48 weeks a year. This must be supported by fair funding rates and start by targeting the families that will benefit most.
Reforms must ensure that access to government-funded schemes is equalised for all children regardless of their parents’ employment or immigration status. This will require a universal guarantee that all children can access affordable, high-quality provision in their local area irrespective of who they are, where they are from, or any additional support needs they may have.
Conclusion
The EECC is committed to creating a sustainable, high-quality early education and childcare system that benefits all children, parents, and the economy. We know that it’s not just about the type of reform that is delivered but the way that it is done. Progress lies in partnership. For those of us working in policy, the true test of our interventions is whether we can ensure all stakeholder voices are actively engaged in designing and delivering the changes that are needed. The coalition includes the voices of many experienced and committed individuals are organisations who are all ready and able to co-produce the future of early education and childcare in England.
For more detail on our wider work and the policies that we developed in our ‘Rescue and Reform’ manifesto please see our website.