Labour urged not to ignore PVI nursery sector in childcare expansion plans

The call comes as it was revealed over the weekend that councils in England would be encouraged to open ‘more high-quality maintained nurseries’ as part of ambitious Labour plans to transform childcare and ease pressure on struggling parents.

The proposals are part of the party’s wider ambition to build a system of high-quality, affordable childcare and to make the issue an election pledge.

Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson visited Estonia last week to look at childcare and early years education.

The latest plan follows an announcement in September that a Labour government would offer fully-funded breakfast clubs for all primary school children in England.

‘We need a system that better reflects the needs of modern families and the way they live their lives now,’ Phillipson told The Guardian during her visit to Estonia. ‘I don’t think you can talk about growing your economy unless you’ve got a childcare system that supports parents.

‘It’s clear to me that we need to see a real transformation in the early education and childcare that’s available to parents, that’s brought together in one system that provides seamless support from the end of parental leave to the end of primary school.’

On 31 October, Phillipson tweeted a photo of herself with the British ambassador to Estonia, Ross Allen, saying, ‘I’m excited to be here visiting early years providers and schools to see what we can learn from Estonia's education system.’

According to reports, in Estonia all children are guaranteed a place in state-run kindergartens from the age of 18 months until they go to school at seven, and parents pay just €70 a month or less.

In response to Labour’s plans to expand state nursery provision, the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) has urged ‘all political parties…not to pick and choose’ one part of the sector over the others.

Private and voluntary nurseries and pre-schools deliver around 85 per cent of childcare places in England.

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive NDNA, said, ‘The early years sector is in crisis due to years of Government underfunding, this should be everyone’s focus. With soaring inflation, this shortfall has become more pronounced for nurseries and childcare providers. Estonia has been put forward as an example, but they already invest more per child in early education and care then we do in the UK, according to OECD data.

‘Children should be at the heart of this area of policy, but the system should support all children’s early education and care irrespective of the type of provider.’

Commenting that the Government already spends more on maintained nursery schools than private and voluntary sector providers, she added that children should not have access to more resources ‘purely on the type of setting they attend.’

‘The PVI sector delivers the majority of childcare places in this country and the mixed economy contributes to the delivery of high quality early education and childcare across the board.

‘We would urge all political parties to acknowledge the fantastic work that all childcare providers do across different parts of the sector and not pick and choose one part over the others. The right investment at the earliest stage will ensure all children get the best start in life.’

Labour has been approached for a comment.