Cameron's life chances made a cross-party priority

The cross-party group of interested MPs, including childcare minister Sam Gyimah, thrashed out how the Government’s promised investment in the sector might be maximised to address inequality and improve school readiness for deprived children.

A key topic was the need for high quality provision, which it was hoped will be boosted by the Department for Education’s to-be-published workforce strategy, with one Labour MP lambasting Mr Gyimah for the delay.

When the minister listed the ‘good work going on in early years’, Labour MP Alex Cunningham, who sat on last year’s Childcare Bill committee, reminded the room of the flip-side.

‘It’s tremendous you’re putting all these resources in,’ said Mr Cunningham, ‘But universities are withdrawing their early years teaching courses because they can’t attract applicants and the public accounts committee says the DfE has no robust plan to ensure there are sufficient quality early years staff so providers can continue to offer high quality education.

‘What’s he going to do about that?

‘We can throw as much resources as we like at the problem, but if we don’t have the people being trained to do the job we won’t be able to deliver his ambition and mine.’

Mr Gyimah referred to the ‘six billion a year’ being invested from 2019, but highlighted the limitations of government control, stating, ‘By funding providers the providers can pay the quality staff that they need and attract and retain them.

‘We don’t have the system where we can control the staff like schools. Most are private and voluntary.’

‘But if we can’t get the people in?’ asked Mr Cunningham.

‘As I’ve said, we’ll be publishing a workforce strategy later on this year,’ continued the minister.

‘It will focus on removing barriers, attracting, retaining and promoting staff.’

Continuing to stress the Government’s achievements on early years, Mr Gyimah added, ‘The direction of travel is positive,’ pointing out that the workforce is 87 per cent qualified to at least Level 3, compared to 81 per cent in 2010.

Regarding take-up of the free entitlement, he described the high rates as ‘remarkable’, and added that the DfE has worked to find ‘innovative ways’ of marketing to harder to reach parents, such as making sure the ‘colour of the envelope’ was not brown like a utility bill.

Mr Cunningham had earlier in the debate called for a ‘new measure of child development at age five’, to ‘remove uncertainty’ around what outcomes the sector should be delivering in terms of school readiness.

He said, ‘I recognise policy changes take time to have an impact, but I still have reservations about whether the world of childcare out there is able to deliver what the Government says is needed.’

The MP called for ‘ambitious goals’ focusing on those children whose life chances are ‘being blighted from the earliest years’.

He said that ‘high quality early education, specifically nurseries lead by graduate teachers’ have the most significant impact for children from most disadvantaged backgrounds.

‘Therein lies the cruelty of the current system. Childcare settings in disadvantaged areas are the least likely to be high quality.

‘That’s why I argued specifically during the childcare bill committee for the Government to have both the power and responsibility to ensure our children are all cared for and taught by highly qualified professionals.

‘Instead we have a situation where nurseries are unable to pay wages necessary to attract early years teachers to work for them because of the chronic underfunding of the free educational entitlement from this government.

‘At the same time universities are withdrawing their early years courses because they can’t attract the applicants.

‘I ask the minister when will his long awaited early years workforce strategy appear?

‘Will it include an assessment of level of provision available and likely to be available within the next few months?

‘And what is he doing to ensure all children have access to that high quality care delivered by those high quality professionals?’

Child poverty

Labour MP Dan Jarvis announced he was bringing a Private Member’s Bill to legislate for a child poverty reduction target.

Mr Jarvis said that there ‘is no doubt’ that some of the Government’s measures over the last six years ‘have contributed to some of the children in my constituency remaining in or falling into poverty’.

The Government would need to be ‘bolder to tackle the root causes of child poverty’ if it was serious about stopping children falling behind in the crucial early years, he added.

‘I had hoped that a step towards the bolder approach would be delivered in the life chances strategy which we were told would be forthcoming after the EU referendum,’ he continued.

‘I’m disappointed to learn that the announcement of this strategy has now been pushed back and I would urge the Government to now bring this strategy forward at the earliest opportunity.’

Following Tuesday’s parliamentary debate, the NDNA's chief executive Purnima Tanuku, welcomed the attention being paid to the subject, but called for 'adequate investment in the workforce'.

She added, 'We are keen to work with the Minister and the Department for Education on the workforce strategy but following our most recent workforce survey, we have recommended that there are clear pathways to generate the levels needed to deliver the 30 hour entitlement.'

The debate was secured by Tory MP James Berry, whose parents the panel heard were both teachers, and his mother having worked as a special educational needs co-ordinator.

After introducing the motion, that the house considered ‘children’s early years development and school readiness’, he recorded his ‘profound sadness’ at the death of the late MP Jo Cox, who had planned to take part.

‘Jo was one of the signatories on the application for this debate.

‘I know it’s something that meant a lot to her and she would have made a very valuable contribution were she here with us.’

Elsewhere in Westminster on the same day, David Cameron used his 215th and final cabinet meeting as prime minister to express hope his life chances strategy will survive the change in government.

The subject of improving opportunities for the most disadvantaged was on the agenda for the meeting, attended by Theresa May, who took part for the last time as home secretary.

Mr Cameron’s official spokeswoman reportedly said he concluded that it was now for Mrs May, ‘to take forward finalising the strategy and publication in due course’.

The prime minister seemed to confirm the issue would be a priority as part of social reform.