Tory gives backing for principle of EYFS
The Conservative Party is committed to the Early Years Foundation Stage, shadow universities secretary David Willetts has said.
David Willetts at the conference
Speaking at the Daycare Trust's annual conference in London last week, he said the party was committed to the EYFS and would look into how it could ease the process for providers.
Mr Willetts acknowledged to Nursery World that there had been a 'softening' in Conservative comments on the framework.
Only four months ago he claimed that too much emphasis had been put on the early years and that early years work was being 'over-educationalised' (News, 9 July).
Mr Willetts, who has special responsibility for family policy in his party, reiterated his commitment to Sure Start children's centres and said he would love to see more childminders based at the centres.
He also revealed Tory plans to boost apprenticeships at Level 3, with 100 per cent of the training costs for 19to 24-year-olds funded by the Government through Train to Gain.
Currently, the National Apprenticeship Service covers 50 per cent of the training for apprentices aged 19 to 24. Employers have to fund the other half.
Mr Willetts hinted that advanced apprenticeships would contribute towards UCAS points, enabling greater access to an early years degree and the possibility of introducing university scholarships for the workforce.
Responding to a delegate's question, he said that the Tory party would consider providing more free places for younger children if resources were available. He said he wished to see a greater number of children have access to free childcare, but this was hard to deliver in practice.
Speaking after the conference, Julian Grenier, head of Kate Greenaway Nursery School and Children's Centre in London, said, 'While it would not be appropriate for me to comment on party politics, at a general level I expect that most people in the early years will feel that there has been a great deal of reform and change in recent years.
'Early years education would be ill-served by a sudden withdrawal of the EYFS and a period of uncertainty about its replacement. Simply abandoning the framework would leave children and families in an unregulated market, in which the most vulnerable would be likely to suffer the most.'
Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats, who spoke at the conference, said that his party's proposals would prioritise the early years.
He announced the Liberal Democrats' plans to deal with what he called existing 'anomalies', including extending the period that parents receive Working Tax Credits after they lose their job from four weeks to 12 weeks to give them more time to find work.
He said he would also look at ways to help parents who work less than 16 hours a week and do not qualify for WTC, as well as ensuring that parents who work 16 hours-plus could receive more than 12.5 hours of free childcare a week.
Other proposals included introducing interchangeable leave between mothers and fathers, which Mr Clegg said would make a dramatic difference to the first year of a child's life.
