Extending the free entitlement for two-year-olds
Joyce Connor
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Offering free early education to disadvantaged two-year-olds raises questions over availability and quality of provision, says Joyce Connor, Programme Director Early Years at National Children's Bureau
There will be considerable challenges to be met when the programme to provide free early education to 23,000 disadvantaged children is replaced in 2013 by a legal entitlement for all disadvantaged two-year olds to receive the support.
This is a conclusion of qualitative research conducted by leading children’s charity the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) and the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) in to the programme of free early education for disadvantaged two-year-olds. The programme aims to improve children’s social and cognitive learning so that they are better able to take advantage of school at age five.
Particular challenges, involving investment of time and resources, would be in finding childcare arrangements that suit families, are in the best interests of children and are financially viable for providers. Also crucial would be ensuring that these arrangements provide high-quality early education experiences. The report also indicates factors that may facilitate the successful recruitment and support of high-quality providers, such as using existing networks to introduce the programme to new providers, and enabling quality assessments to be seen as a business benefit.
Typically, the offer is implemented locally on a part-time basis for ten to 15 hours a week during term time. The research found that this might be a barrier to recruiting some providers reluctant to make this part of their all year round service. It is likely that this will need to be addressed to avoid disruption for children and to meet the needs of their families.
The research found that local authorities also valued flexibility in using funding for the programme as it allowed them to find ways to make it more attractive to local childcare providers and parents, for example by funding training and specialist support or funding places during school holidays.
One challenge highlighted in the report is finding sufficient providers meeting quality requirements (and defining what is meant by high quality). We know from research evidence1 that only high-quality early learning has a major and lasting positive impact on all children. This is especially the case for poor children. Going forward there needs to be consideration of how much variation in quality is acceptable and how to measure it.
The study also found that local authorities did not appear to be relying on Ofsted’s ratings but were also using a range of quality assurance schemes to assess the quality of providers. This begs questions about whether or not there should be a list of approved quality schemes, or should local authorities be required to follow national guidelines such as the quality assurance principles developed by the National Quality Improvement Network2.
HOME LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
We also know that effective strategies to improve the outcomes for vulnerable children include improving the home learning environment by providing culturally sensitive outreach and family support3. However, the research shows that childcare providers’ engagement with family support varies considerably and to meet the needs of vulnerable children some would require considerable training to ensure they had the capacity and confidence to deliver the programme of education to disadvantaged two-year-olds.
It is also not just what family support is delivered but how it is delivered that makes a difference. In her foreword to ‘Principles for engaging with families’4, the NQIN principles to support working in partnership with families, Dame Gillian Pugh stresses that ‘partnership should be based on a ‘principled’ approach that recognises and builds on parents’ expertise, where professionals and parents really listen to and learn from each other in ways that are valued and evaluated by parents themselves.’
The report highlights the key role played by children’s centres in providing and coordinating family support. This is backed up by research evidence from C4EO5 which describes children’s centres as having an important role in offering, for example, drop-in sessions, mother and toddler groups, and father’s groups, which are all designed to build a relationship between the parent and child that encourages parental involvement in their children’s education.
Children’s centres also work with professionals delivering a universal service, for example health visitors, who will know where local disadvantaged families with very young children are. This use of ‘local intelligence ‘and professionals’ knowledge was found by interviewed authorities to be the most effective strategy for reaching and engaging families in the programme of free education.
The report acknowledges that while working with vulnerable children presented considerable challenges, it also provided opportunities in the form of staff development and training (usually provided by the local authority), and more effective cross-agency working.
TRAINING
We know that children’s centres have increasingly accessed training to equip them to work in this way, and that helps them to identify families that need support or who find it harder to engage with services. For example, family support workers in children’s centres have seen considerable investment in training towards a qualification - the Award in Work with Parents6.
Many children’s centres have accessed PEAL training7 that offers a self-assessment resource which can be used by workers from across agencies to examine whether they are working effectively together. They are asked to consider what their setting or team does with parents already, including rating themselves as to how well they know the make-up of their local community and families (for example, ethnicity, languages spoken, religion practised); and how well they liaise so that they visit all families with new births. This would be valuable in addressing issues raised in the report such as difficulties in identifying eligible families in remote rural areas or in engaging children in temporary accommodation.
There have been many developments in delivering early education since free early education for disadvantaged two-year-olds was first piloted in 2006. The programme aims to provide good quality early education combined with support for parents, for example by improving their confidence in supporting their children’s learning and to access support for possible complex needs.
Achieving this will require consideration of the challenges and opportunities highlighted in this report. To enable the large increase in provision in 2013 when every disadvantaged two-year-old will have a legal entitlement to part-time early education, the developments in how early education is delivered, especially the crucial role played by children’s centres, will need to be acknowledged and built upon.
The full report is available from www.education.gov.uk/publications/RSG/AllRsgPublications/Page1/DFE-RR131
FOOTNOTES
1 C4EO (2010) Full Knowledge Review, Early Years Theme. Available at www.c4eo.org.uk/themes/earlyyears/ntg/files/c4eo_narrowing_the_gap_full_knowledge_review.pdf
2 Quality Improvement Principles A framework for Local Authorities and National Organisations to Improve Quality Outcomes for Children and Young People - National Quality Improvement Network, 2008, NCB
3 C4EO (2010) Full Knowledge Review, Early Years Theme. Available at www.c4eo.org.uk/themes/earlyyears/ntg/files/c4eo_narrowing_the_gap_full_knowledge_review.pdf
4 National Quality Improvement Network (NQIN) (2010) Principles for engaging with families – A framework for local authorities and national organisations to evaluate and improve engagement with families, NCB. Available at: www.ncb.org.uk/pdf/imqu_fami_webready.pdf
5 C4EO (2009) Early Years Progress Map Summary, Number 2, version 1, Jan 2009 www.c4eo.org.uk/themes/earlyyears/familybasedsupport/files/c4eo_family_based_support_progress_map_summary_1.pdf
6 City and Guilds Award in Work with Parents www.cityandguilds.com/48811.html?s=2
7 Wheeler H and Connor J (2006) Parents, Early Years and Learning, Activities (revised 2010) www.peal.org.uk
This is a conclusion of qualitative research conducted by leading children’s charity the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) and the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) in to the programme of free early education for disadvantaged two-year-olds. The programme aims to improve children’s social and cognitive learning so that they are better able to take advantage of school at age five.
Particular challenges, involving investment of time and resources, would be in finding childcare arrangements that suit families, are in the best interests of children and are financially viable for providers. Also crucial would be ensuring that these arrangements provide high-quality early education experiences. The report also indicates factors that may facilitate the successful recruitment and support of high-quality providers, such as using existing networks to introduce the programme to new providers, and enabling quality assessments to be seen as a business benefit.
Typically, the offer is implemented locally on a part-time basis for ten to 15 hours a week during term time. The research found that this might be a barrier to recruiting some providers reluctant to make this part of their all year round service. It is likely that this will need to be addressed to avoid disruption for children and to meet the needs of their families.
The research found that local authorities also valued flexibility in using funding for the programme as it allowed them to find ways to make it more attractive to local childcare providers and parents, for example by funding training and specialist support or funding places during school holidays.
One challenge highlighted in the report is finding sufficient providers meeting quality requirements (and defining what is meant by high quality). We know from research evidence1 that only high-quality early learning has a major and lasting positive impact on all children. This is especially the case for poor children. Going forward there needs to be consideration of how much variation in quality is acceptable and how to measure it.
The study also found that local authorities did not appear to be relying on Ofsted’s ratings but were also using a range of quality assurance schemes to assess the quality of providers. This begs questions about whether or not there should be a list of approved quality schemes, or should local authorities be required to follow national guidelines such as the quality assurance principles developed by the National Quality Improvement Network2.
HOME LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
We also know that effective strategies to improve the outcomes for vulnerable children include improving the home learning environment by providing culturally sensitive outreach and family support3. However, the research shows that childcare providers’ engagement with family support varies considerably and to meet the needs of vulnerable children some would require considerable training to ensure they had the capacity and confidence to deliver the programme of education to disadvantaged two-year-olds.
It is also not just what family support is delivered but how it is delivered that makes a difference. In her foreword to ‘Principles for engaging with families’4, the NQIN principles to support working in partnership with families, Dame Gillian Pugh stresses that ‘partnership should be based on a ‘principled’ approach that recognises and builds on parents’ expertise, where professionals and parents really listen to and learn from each other in ways that are valued and evaluated by parents themselves.’
The report highlights the key role played by children’s centres in providing and coordinating family support. This is backed up by research evidence from C4EO5 which describes children’s centres as having an important role in offering, for example, drop-in sessions, mother and toddler groups, and father’s groups, which are all designed to build a relationship between the parent and child that encourages parental involvement in their children’s education.
Children’s centres also work with professionals delivering a universal service, for example health visitors, who will know where local disadvantaged families with very young children are. This use of ‘local intelligence ‘and professionals’ knowledge was found by interviewed authorities to be the most effective strategy for reaching and engaging families in the programme of free education.
The report acknowledges that while working with vulnerable children presented considerable challenges, it also provided opportunities in the form of staff development and training (usually provided by the local authority), and more effective cross-agency working.
TRAINING
We know that children’s centres have increasingly accessed training to equip them to work in this way, and that helps them to identify families that need support or who find it harder to engage with services. For example, family support workers in children’s centres have seen considerable investment in training towards a qualification - the Award in Work with Parents6.
Many children’s centres have accessed PEAL training7 that offers a self-assessment resource which can be used by workers from across agencies to examine whether they are working effectively together. They are asked to consider what their setting or team does with parents already, including rating themselves as to how well they know the make-up of their local community and families (for example, ethnicity, languages spoken, religion practised); and how well they liaise so that they visit all families with new births. This would be valuable in addressing issues raised in the report such as difficulties in identifying eligible families in remote rural areas or in engaging children in temporary accommodation.
There have been many developments in delivering early education since free early education for disadvantaged two-year-olds was first piloted in 2006. The programme aims to provide good quality early education combined with support for parents, for example by improving their confidence in supporting their children’s learning and to access support for possible complex needs.
Achieving this will require consideration of the challenges and opportunities highlighted in this report. To enable the large increase in provision in 2013 when every disadvantaged two-year-old will have a legal entitlement to part-time early education, the developments in how early education is delivered, especially the crucial role played by children’s centres, will need to be acknowledged and built upon.
The full report is available from www.education.gov.uk/publications/RSG/AllRsgPublications/Page1/DFE-RR131
FOOTNOTES
1 C4EO (2010) Full Knowledge Review, Early Years Theme. Available at www.c4eo.org.uk/themes/earlyyears/ntg/files/c4eo_narrowing_the_gap_full_knowledge_review.pdf
2 Quality Improvement Principles A framework for Local Authorities and National Organisations to Improve Quality Outcomes for Children and Young People - National Quality Improvement Network, 2008, NCB
3 C4EO (2010) Full Knowledge Review, Early Years Theme. Available at www.c4eo.org.uk/themes/earlyyears/ntg/files/c4eo_narrowing_the_gap_full_knowledge_review.pdf
4 National Quality Improvement Network (NQIN) (2010) Principles for engaging with families – A framework for local authorities and national organisations to evaluate and improve engagement with families, NCB. Available at: www.ncb.org.uk/pdf/imqu_fami_webready.pdf
5 C4EO (2009) Early Years Progress Map Summary, Number 2, version 1, Jan 2009 www.c4eo.org.uk/themes/earlyyears/familybasedsupport/files/c4eo_family_based_support_progress_map_summary_1.pdf
6 City and Guilds Award in Work with Parents www.cityandguilds.com/48811.html?s=2
7 Wheeler H and Connor J (2006) Parents, Early Years and Learning, Activities (revised 2010) www.peal.org.uk
