Queen's speech 2021: children's early years identified as a priority

Speaking in the House of Lords today about the Government's priorities for the year ahead, the Queen said, ‘Measures will be brought forward to ensure that children have the best start in life, prioritising their early years. My ministers will address lost learning during the pandemic and ensure every child has a high-quality education and is able to fulfil their potential.'

The background briefing notes to the Queen’s Speech 2021 states the Government is:

• Delivering on its manifesto commitment to roll out Family Hubs, which bring services together.
• Encouraging all local authorities to publish a clear Start for Life offer for parents and carers, showing families what support they can expect to receive during the 1,001 critical days, published on 25 March 2021.
• Designing digital, virtual and telephone services around the needs of families with babies, including digitising the Personal Child Health Record – commonly known as the Red Book – by April 2023.
• Developing a modern, skilled workforce to meet the changing needs of families with babies, looking at new ways to support, train and retain skilled professionals.
• Implementing a wide range of policies to improve child health including a childhood obesity plan, transformation of children’s mental health and maternity services.
• Putting together a package of measures to ensure no child is left behind as result of the education and extracurricular activities they may have missed out on.

Sector reaction

The National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) welcomed the pledge to make children’s early years a priority, however stressed that plans must include financial support for recovering childcare providers.

Chief executive Purnima Tanuku said, ‘After a year of upheaval for young children, their families and childcare providers, the inclusion of the pledge to give children the best start in life, which will focus on their early years, is really welcome.

‘It is absolutely crucial that any educational recovery plans have a real focus on early years because high-quality early education can make the biggest impact in a child’s life and reduce the attainment gap. However, this must also include financial recovery for private and voluntary childcare provider§§s. Nurseries and other settings have been open throughout the pandemic but are struggling to remain sustainable while supporting our youngest children’s development and learning.

‘Now we need to see actions back up today’s speech. The Government must work with the sector to follow through on promises of support and investment, while making sure any proposals can be delivered sustainably.'

Commenting, Early Years Alliance chief executive, Neil Leitch, said, 'While we warmly welcome the reference to new early years measures in today’s Queen’s Speech, it remains to be seen what these will look like in practical terms.

'The Government has made clear its intention to provide greater support to new parents and children in the first 1,001 days, but if we are ever to close the disadvantage gap and make sure that all children are given the best possible start in life, ministers must also commit to ensuring that early education providers are given the funding they need to deliver affordable, sustainable, high-quality care and education over the long term.

'Many early years professionals remain deeply concerned about the impact of the pandemic on young children’s social and emotional development. As such, it’s vital that the measures announced today include a significant uplift in the amount of recovery funding afforded to under-fives – the majority of which attend PVI settings – if we are to offer every child of the pandemic the same chance to succeed as those born at any other time.'

The National Children’s Bureau (NCB) however criticised the Queen’s speech for ignoring children and young people.

Chief executive Anna Feuchtwang said, ‘Measures to improve integration between the NHS and adult social care, boost home ownership and encourage adult education will do little to assure the next generation that they will be able to play their part in society, reach their potential or enjoy good life chances.

‘The Government assures us that the levelling up agenda applies to all those who are disadvantaged, yet the perception remains that it’s skewed towards communities in the Midlands and the North of England. With glaring levels of child poverty within communities across the length and breadth of the country, the Queen’s Speech should have done more to reassure those on low incomes that they won’t be overlooked wherever they live. We urgently need a cross-government strategy for all children, targeting all aspects of their lives, not just those in living in certain places.’

The National Education Union (NEU) urged the Government to invest properly in education.

Joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said, ‘The Government has only set aside £250 per pupil, which compares poorly with other nations such as the Netherlands and the United States who are investing £2,500 and £1,600 per pupil respectively.

‘In addition, schools have had to shoulder most of the costs of managing coronavirus, whether it be additional supply costs, or cleaning and lost income, and are now struggling financially. On top of which, the Government have imposed a stealth cut on schools by moving the census date, taking £150m out of school budgets at a stroke. None of this inspires confidence that schools will have the necessary resources to support pupils to recover and build strong learning. The Government must prioritise education in the forthcoming Spending Review so that schools can increase the number of properly-qualified teachers on staff and bring down our historically high class-sizes.’