Sector responds to free places for poorest two-year-olds

The free places, which will be offered to the 20 per cent most disadvantaged two-year-olds - 130,000 children - are part of Government plans to spend £7bn over four years on the Liberal Democrats' pledge of a 'pupil premium' while children are at school and a 'student premium' to help them while they are at university.

The free entitlement for disadvantaged two-year-olds was piloted under the former Labour Government, which aimed to extend the scheme to 15 per cent of the most disadvantaged two-year-olds in every local authority.

An evaluation of the pilot found that the scheme did not significantly improve children's cognitive or social development, but it did have a positive impact on language ability and the relationship between parents and children.

Only one-fifth of settings that took part in the pilots achieved a 'good' rating, while 79 per cent of settings were offering provision rated as 'adequate' or worse, prompting the then-Government to rule that only settings graded 'good' or 'outstanding' would be able to offer the free provision.

Mr Clegg, who revealed the plans at Spires Junior School in Chesterfield on Friday, said, 'In the Spending Review we will provide extra funds - a total of £7bn over the spending review period - for a "fairness premium" stretching from the age of two to the age of 20: from a child's first shoes to an adult's first suit. This is more than £7bn spent on giving the poorest children a better start in life. All disadvantaged two-year-olds will have an entitlement to 15 hours a week of pre-school education, in addition to the 15 hours already available to them at three and four years of age.

'By offering more help at an earlier age to the most disadvantaged children, we will directly tackle the gaps in attainment that open up the critical early years of life.'

He said that, by the end of the four-year period, money allocated to the pupil premium would rise to £2.5bn a year, about £300m would go towards early years support for two-year-olds from disadvantaged backgrounds, and about £150m a year would be spent on children 'who otherwise would not be going to university'.

The free entitlement for two-year-olds will be offered to the 20 per cent of families who are eligible for free school meals, raising questions about how the Government will assess families whose children are all below school age.

One pre-school provider wrote on a blog called Though Cowards Flinch, 'Two-year-olds have never been to school, and are not yet eligible for free school meals. The Government will therefore need to set up a new mechanism to draw forward the eligibility testing process and to integrate this with a system of pre-school provision which crosses the state, private and voluntary sectors, creating problems both for local authorities administering the scheme and for providers now expected to disaggregate claims to the authority from fee payments from other families of two-year-olds.'

THE SECTOR'S RESPONSE

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association, said, 'While nurseries will welcome the benefits of more free places for needy children, many will be worried about the impact this will have on their viability. Currently, nurseries face huge issues with funding levels for the free places for threeand four-year-olds and this is impacting on the sustainability of the sector. The word "free" is a misconception, as a significant proportion of nurseries are having to subsidise these places so that parents receive them for free, which impacts on their ability to invest in areas and to minimise any fee increases for parents.'

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said, 'This is a good place to start, but the direction of travel should be towards a universal offer for all two-year-olds. All two-year-olds deserve access to quality childcare and we hope that this is the beginning of a move towards an extension of the universal provision so that it covers all children aged two to four and will not be at the expense of the universal offer for threeand four-year-olds.'

Sue Coates, director of communications at the National Childminding Association (NCMA), said, 'We welcome the Government's announcement that they are extending the free entitlement to two-year-olds from the most disadvantaged communities. However, in many areas, registered childminders do not have access to an accredited childminding network, which would enable them to deliver the free entitlement. NCMA urges the Government to ensure every local authority has a network to give all families access to a wide choice of childcare options.'

Russell Hobby, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said, 'Obviously we welcome the additional funding and are delighted that many more children will enjoy the benefit of free nursery education. But let's be clear, this is just the start of what we need if we are to transform social mobility in this country. All aspects of education need sufficient resources if all children are to get the best start they deserve. That means money for teaching training and continuing professional development so children can be adequately supported; it means ensuring that the school workforce are remunerated in a way that attracts and retains the very best so children can enjoy first-class teaching; it means funding for decent school buildings and facilities so children can feel safe and valued and have access to sufficient space and technology to learn and develop; it means funding to ensure schools have access to health and social services when it looks like there are problems developing.

'If we are serious about tackling inequality and improving the life chances of disadvantaged young people, it can't be done on the cheap.'