Setting out his hopes for the development of holistic 'children's spaces', Peter Moss, professor of early childhood provision at the Thomas Coram Research Unit, says that in ten years time children's centres could be recognised as 'a world-class system of services for all our children'.
In his paper Setting the Scene: A vision of universal children's spaces, Professor Moss imagines 2006 as 'a key year' when the Government would publish 'its final, most comprehensive and most carefully considered review of early childhood policies'.
He posits, 'The Government's aim is to offer an entitlement to a place in a children's centre or with a family daycarer (childminder) in a network for all children from 12 months of age.' He adds, 'Once having started at children's centres, children enjoy continuity of attendance until they start school at six.'
He describes childcare as 'a contentious concept' and 'a private commodity'
which has been sold to individual consumers, working parents or employers.
He foresees private for-profit early years services 'becoming akin to private schools and hospitals, used by a small proportion of rich parents who choose not to send their children to the widely available and well-run public services'.
Professor Moss says that in his vision, by 2015 few schools would have nursery and reception classes for four- and five- year-olds and private day nurseries and part-time playgroups would have become 'uncommon'. The number of childminders would also drop and those remaining would be largely organised in networks and make extensive use of the facilities at children's centres.
Professor Moss envisages that children would be able to attend the centres free for four hours a day, with their parents paying an income-related contribution for longer periods of attendance. The free period would then be extended to six hours a day by 2020, equivalent to a compulsory school day.
Tax credits could be replaced in 2006 by 'secure funding of services', helped by the CBI's acceptance in 2009 that there should be increased business taxes to help fund children's centres.
The paper is part of A new era for universal childcare?, the first in a series of policy papers, 'Leading the vision', published by the Daycare Trust at 10 (tel: 020 7840 3350).
