Analysis: Early Years Sector, 2011: Hopes and fears

KAREN WALKER, head of children's services, London Early Years Foundation

'My greatest hope is that everyone fully engages with the idea of "early intervention" and the impact it can have on young children. My biggest fear is that local authorities do not commit to preserving the very best that Children's Centres have to offer to young children and their families.'

SARAH STEEL, managing director, the Old Station Nursery Group

'My greatest hope for 2011 is that the Government will actually have the **** to sort out the funding for the free entitlement. This elephant has sat in the corner for too many years and is having a very real and detrimental effect on the sector. Before they roll out further funding for two-year-olds, they must sort out the discrepancy in the funding and stop expecting providers and parents of full-timers or under-threes to subsidise Government policy.

'My fears are that they will avoid this decision again and that we will see more nurseries going out of business as margins reduce further in all but the highest income areas. On a more light-hearted note, hopefully the snow and freezing weather that seems to be a feature of our winters will lead to a rise in the birth rate as everyone stays in and gets cosy!'

NEIL LEITCH, chief executive, Pre-school Learning Alliance

'2011 is significant for the Pre-school Learning Alliance, as it is our 50th anniversary year. In the coming 12 months we will be celebrating the amazing social change brought about by Belle Tutaev, our founder, who started the pre-school movement in England. I hope we can continue to grow and build on Belle's valuable legacy.

'From 1961, the Alliance has grown from 150 members to more than 14,000 members today and is now the largest voluntary sector provider of childcare and education in England. For 50 years, the Alliance and its members have provided community-led services to benefit young children living in deprived communities. Yet, at a time when the Coalition Government is acknowledging the value of the voluntary sector in delivering its Big Society agenda, some local authorities across the country have announced reductions in funding for early years services of up to 60 per cent. The best birthday present we could ask from the Government is long-term commitment and real support to the voluntary sector.'

ROBIN BALBERNIE, consultant child psychotherapist at Gloucestershire CAMHS

'My hope is for more early intervention services in the near future - and by that I mean services starting at pregnancy and going to age three and available on the basis of risk and vulnerability, rather than waiting for problems to manifest.

'Part of the Coalition Government does appear to have taken seriously this need for helping families with very young children. This is a fantastic opportunity that builds on all the groundwork acheived by the Sure Start initiative, where locally provided services were frequently based on creating and sustaining relationship-based organisations that could support and nurture vulunerable families over an extended period of time. However, both the Graham Allan and Frank Field reviews, in contrast, are in danger of missing the whole point if they get hooked on parenting classes - brilliant for those who have been relatively well parented themselves but the social equivalent of the "worried well" who clog up GPs' surgeries.

'The idea that it takes only instruction to change parenting is dangerously naive. As we all know, it is relationships, not classes, that are at the heart of helping vulnerable families; who you are is more important than what you do or what you know.'

SAFFIA FARR, director, Bristol Childcare

'At Bristol Childcare, our greatest hope is that the Government addresses the VAT status of childcare providers, especially in the light of the January increase, which will have a significant effect on the whole sector.

'Our greatest fear is that the Single Funding Formula is not workable and does not go any way towards reflecting the fact that pre-school free entitlement is not "free" and is actually heavily subsidised. We are concerned that if quality improvement schemes, such as graduate leader funding, do not continue, the overall mismatch between funding arrangements and the desire to improve the quality of the sector will increase.'

JENNIE LINDON, author and early years consultant

'During 2011 I really hope that early years providers will be left in peace to strengthen the good practice that has developed around child-initiated learning and a respect for nurture.

'My fear for the coming year is that the Government will impose a view that early years is only important for "getting children ready for school" in the most narrow-minded interpretation.'

SUSANNA DAWSON, chair of the National Childminding Association and registered childminder

'The Government's commitment to the early years through the free entitlement will give a bright start to 2011, enabling even more children to get the best start in life. However, it's vital that they fill in the other half of the jigsaw by investing in the professional development of the workforce. Better qualified practitioners will deliver better outcomes for children, and all families should have the chance to access the level of care provided by a highly qualified childminder.

'While I and fellow childminders remain positive about the future of the profession, we are also facing local authority funding cuts and a continuing recession. Supporting childminders to remain sustainable must be a key priority for both local authorities and Government to ensure they can deliver on their commitment to improving children's life chances and helping parents back into work.'

PAMELA CALDER, chair of Early Childhood Studies Degrees Network and Honorary Visiting Research Fellow, London South Bank University

'My hope is that this Government will live up to their promises of supporting high-quality early years provision. But my greatest hope would be to have affordable and free and accessible high-quality provision for young children from birth. My greatest fear is that there will be no funding for any provision at all.'

JANE HARRISON, owner of Red Hen Children's Day Nursery, Lincolnshire

'My worst fear is that there will be a move towards formalising early years education, especially reading and writing, despite evidence from past theorists and the increasing knowledge of brain development.

'If we are to ensure childhood is revered, the early years profession needs to remain resolute in its commitment to facilitating meaningful opportunities that promote children's innate development and give them sound foundations to fulfil their individual potential in the future. We should not submit them to the formality of school education too early.

'My greatest hope is for sustainability for high-quality settings while ensuring decent wages for our valuable staff and affordability for parents - in all, a balance that is a challenge to achieve.

PURNIMA TANUKU, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association

'Our greatest hope for 2011 is that the Government continues to develop its focus on the importance of early years. We have already seen some positive signs, including details of the Early Intervention Grant, a focus on child poverty, an entitlement for disadvantaged two-year-olds and a confirmation that free nursery education for threeand four-year-olds will continue. Now we hope this commitment will translate into funding that reaches nurseries, including through ensuring that settings are paid a rate more in line with costs for free nursery education.

'Linked to this, our greatest fear is that the money intended to support children in their early years will end up being spent elsewhere as local authorities struggle to balance their books during these difficult financial times. We also fear the impact of an offer for two-year-olds upon sustainability while there are ongoing issues with places for threeand four-year-olds.'

KATHRYN SOLLY, headteacher and headlearner, Chelsea Open Air Nursery School and Children's Centre, London

'My hope is that young children's rights are really respected and that they are given the highest-quality nursery education and care in the premier calibre settings, with plenty of time to be nurtured and to develop normally without being "microwaved" into the fast track in order to satisfy some arbitrary and often highly inappropriate externally set target not suited to their interests, needs or stage of development. Bring back childhood - it is there for a reason!

'My fear is that the mainstay of the highest English nursery education and care, the maintained nursery schools and children's centres, will disappear across England without trace or will be so restricted by savings that they will be unable to provide leadership and quality pedagogy to the vulnerable, needy and ordinary families in local communities who have nowhere else to go, while also acting as beacons for training and professional development in early years provision.'

LAURA HENRY, managing director of the Childcare Consultancy and UK representative for the World Forum on Early Care and Education

'The ongoing cuts within the sector make it imperative that all early years professionals work together and think closely about how the cuts will impact on children's long-term development and outcomes and how we can protect services so they have a positive and lasting influence on children and their families.

'On a global level, I am feeling very optimistic about how we can share, debate and discuss topical early years issues with international colleagues and how this may benefit our children in the UK.'

ROOPAL GORDON, owner, St Joseph's Pre-school Playgroup, Brighton

'My greatest hope is that all the good work in improving quality in settings through the raising of qualifications and status of the early years workforce will be continued, that the Graduate Leader Fund used to support settings in recruiting and retaining graduates will be renewed, and that the promise of funding for deprived two-year-olds nationwide will be honoured.

'My worst fear is that local authority cuts will have a devastating effect on Sure Start services and early years provision, the funding for neither of which is ringfenced.'

COURTENEY DONALDSON, director of specialist property agent and adviser, Christie & Co

'My greatest hope for 2011 would be for global economic conditions to improve, thus supporting and advancing recovery of the UK's economic climate. I would also hope to see improvements in the number of nurseries, and regional nursery groups, entering into confidential sales processes, to meet the increases in demand from well-funded, acquisitive nursery business purchasers. For nursery owners that successfully sell their nursery businesses, I would hope to see an increase in the yield and price that they achieve for the sale of their businesses.

'My greatest fear for 2011 is that we are likely to see an increase in the number of nurseries that cease trading. Nurseries that will be most susceptible to closure could include those that have historically been highly reliant on sustainability grants; those that are reliant on trade derived from public sector employees; and those that are poorly managed or over-geared. Having proved generally supportive in 2010, banks are likely to become less sympathetic towards nurseries that breach their banking covenants and are more likely to seek buyers for non-performing businesses.'

SALLY EATON, education director, the Childcare Company

'My greatest hope for 2011 is that the new Children and Young People's Workforce Certificate and Diploma receives the positive reception it deserves and will have the maximum impact on providing high-quality childcare. My fear is that confusion will continue to surround the definition of a full and valid qualification and funding will be more difficult to obtain, making it difficult for practitioners and managers to plan their career progressions.'

ANNE LONGFIELD, chief executive, 4Children

'We hope families get the recognition they deserve in 2011 and all national and local decisions pass our Family Test with flying colours. That means that decisions should strengthen, not weaken families.

'Our greatest fear is that families come at the bottom of the pile when it comes to spending cuts and that their precious support is lost in a blizzard of short-term funding decisions. An example of this would be local authorities cutting frontline services for families without talking to other organisations who may be able to step in to help.'

SIAN NISBETT, director of Dizzy Ducks Day Nursery, which owns four nurseries in Essex

'My main concern for 2011 is the rise in VAT to 20 per cent and how this will affect sustainability. Smaller settings may be forced to reduce their overheads, but any cut is likely to impact on the quality of their provision, whether they spend less on equipment, for example, or employ less well qualified staff. The VAT rise will also affect rents, so larger settings in rented premises may have to raise their fees to offset the increase. Parents, in turn, will have to pay more for childcare at a time when tax credit limits are being squeezed or leave the nursery if they can't afford the place, causing occupancy levels to drop. However settings respond, the increase is going to have a negative impact on the whole sector.'

SUE ANDREWS, regional director, Childbase

'My hopes and fears are related to the same thing: the EYFS review. My hope is that the strengths of the EYFS will remain, namely the four clear themes in the "Principles into Practice" guidance. They allow practitioners to continually reflect and review their practice on a daily basis and so strive for continual improvement in the outcomes for our youngest children.

'I do agree that parts need to be adjusted to make the EYFS more appropriate for the under-fives and more user-friendly, but my fear is that the document will be changed too much, just as practitioners are becoming familiar with it. However, we have been reassured that this will not be the case in the EYFS consultation meetings, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

CHRIS LAWRENCE, principal, the Chiltern College

'My hope for our sector in 2011 is that the strong focus the early years has been given over the past five to ten years continues to have the priority it deserves. My concern is that with the threat of budget cuts in the coming year, this important focus will be lost and the under-fives will be forgotten. My other hope for 2011 is that the current confusion regarding Level 3 qualifications is satisfactorily resolved and that we are all able to provide well-respected early years qualifications.'

TERESA STROUD, head of curriculum, Health & Care, Aylesbury College

'My hope is that we can continue the drive to train highly skilled and appropriately qualified individuals who can meet the sector's needs. I hope, too, for special consideration for people who want to train to work in the childcare workforce, particularly those for whom personal funding may prohibit access and progression.

'I fear that funding cuts will hit adults who want to train to work in the sector or develop their qualifications, and the children and families who may be affected by staff unable to access continuous professional development. My other concern is that the withdrawal of EMA grants may discourage young adults in continuing with further education.'

CAROL JENKINS, managing director, Places for Children

'My fears are that local authorities will continue to apply varying and unfair interpretations of the 15-hour free entitlement, leading to a continued unequal operating environment and real hardship for many operators. My hopes for the year are that all children receive the childhood they deserve, free from fear, abuse, poverty and neglect.

CHRISTOPHER PRICE, co-owner, Merton Court School, Sidcup, Kent

My main fear is that this Government will continue with the insanity of the nursery education grant. At the moment, Bexley Council gives us £3.50 per hour, when our costs are more than double that. My view is, either end universal provision - which is unlikely, given we have a Coalition Government - or fund the damn thing properly, which, again, is unlikely. Reading the document we've just received from the London Borough of Bexley, I think the implosion of the entire system is imminent.'

JOOLS PAGE, programme director for MA in Early Childhood Education, University of Sheffield

'My greatest hope is that our very youngest children are visible to those who have the greatest influence in their lives, in order for their voices to be heard. Babies and young children have much to tell us if we are prepared to stop, to look and to listen. I hope the role of the Key Person will be retained in the EYFS as a statutory duty. My greatest fear is that the role of the Key Person will be deregulated and the opportunity to foster close reciprocal relationships between the child, the Key Person and the family will be lost forever.