I think a little more clarity on the Government’s plans for early education is necessary. The idea of ‘hope’ is in quite short supply since the election – it does feel that the old ghosts of governments past are proving difficult to shake.
It’s obvious the current system is literally creaking under the strain of a lack of vision. The whole sector has been operating in a fog of uncertainty, broken promises and half-baked election bait for so long now it’s a miracle it still exists.
The recent study by the charity Working Families shows how stark the impact is on the wider economy, and with nurseries under more demand to meet the increased childcare hours, it results in services stretched to a breaking point. Settings are unable to find quality staff and relying on goodwill. It really is time to get a grip. I can’t see why it isn’t one of the top priorities for urgent reform and change.
Everyone is calling this out: local authorities, the Children’s Commissioner; even Ofsted with its newly polished, smiling, ‘trust us’ persona agrees that the early years ‘is too important to be left to chance’. Why then is an entire sector under-resourced, with poorly paid staff and a complete absence of a sensible plan? It’s no mystery why some children lack ‘foundational knowledge’ when starting school.
I’ll lay out a few truths…
Sort out the overall funding, pay and qualifications through a national pay scale (as teachers have), sort out the ridiculous two-tier approach to schools and the early years sector (including inspection), use experts wisely, prioritise the quality of relationships and bring back high-quality early intervention to stop early years settings from having to take the blame for all of life’s inequalities. Find sufficient, local hands-on teams to support settings by actually visiting them (the loss of local authority expertise was shameful). And one of the biggest: sort out support for SEND, make paediatric teams work hand-in-glove with the early years sector and stop the islands of expertise – locate them in settings and schools, because that’s where the children are. Expensive, yes of course, but a lot cheaper than not doing it.
Of course, this is just the start, but the constant ricochet of policy and priority must stop. Develop a plan and go with it. Put it in the hands of people who actually do the job (not the DfE) and commit. Early years should not be a secondary thought in the education system but the bedrock of it.
