Policy and Politics
Government scraps full daycare rule for children's centres and stops CWDC funding
Children's centres in deprived areas will no longer have to offer full-time childcare, under Government plans announced Tuesday. The Children's Workforce Development Council is to lose its investment and status as a Non-Departmental Public Body, with key functions moving into the Department for Education (DfE).
CWDC's chief executive Jane Haywood
The DfE said that removing the requirement for children’s centres in the 30 per cent most disadvantaged areas to provide full-time daycare would give settings more flexibility and help them to target their resources at the most disadvantaged.
Children’s centres in disadvantaged areas will still be able to offer full-time daycare but they should build their services around the free entitlement for two-, three- and four-year olds and tailor services to meet local demand, the DfE said.
The Government also revealed plans to introduce legislation to guarantee disadvantaged two-year-olds 15 hours a week of free childcare from 2013 and to remove the requirement for Sure Start Children’s Centres to hire both a qualified teacher and an Early Years Professional, which it said would reduce bureaucracy.
It confirmed that the Children’s Workforce Development Council will lose its government funding and NDPB status, and that its work will be taken over by the DfE.
Jane Haywood, chief executive of the CWDC, said, 'We are naturally very disappointed with this decision. We have achieved much to be proud of over the last five years and our legacy will be a long one. It is our intention to continue to support the children's workforce as a sector skills body.'
Children’s minister Sarah Teather said, ‘Early years support for all families is important, but our reform must benefit the most disadvantaged families first and foremost. We need to end cycles of deprivation by reaching children from as young as two, therefore giving them the best chance to learn and develop. These reforms are vital because we know that high quality early education can have a dramatic impact on a child’s life chances in the longer term.
She added, ‘Local authorities and professionals need the freedom to tailor support to suit local needs. There is no one-size-fits-all in early years. Every community, every parent, every child and every setting differs and it is time for Government to support a much more flexible approach to early years. The Government will be much less prescriptive about the services children’s centres must provide in return for a commitment from providers to improve the quality of outcomes for the most disadvantaged children.’
