The Minister's View - Making a difference
Sarah Teather, Children's minister
Friday, June 22, 2012
Ensuring that early education and childcare professionals have the right skills is vitally important. That is why I commissioned a comprehensive review of qualifications last year.
The result, a report published by Professor Cathy Nutbrown earlier this month, is a thoughtful and thorough study that has 19 recommendations to point the way towards a more skilled profession that attracts bright people to a sector that is essential for the well-being of future generations.
I share Professor Nutbrown's commitment to making early years education a career that continues to attract good professionals of the kind I have met across the country. I want the best to be replicated elsewhere.
Professor Nutbrown's report shows that poor children particularly benefit from quality early education. And she wants to improve qualifications, so that they are more rigorous and demanding, and have a stronger focus on child development.
Her report will help to inform the work we do with you to improve the early education and childcare sector. The Government will now look at her recommendations with care, and I would welcome your input.
We live in tough times, but we are already doing a lot to help families. The increased investment we are making, along with our determination to drive out unnecessary burdens, is also helping to sustain nurseries, some of which I know are reporting falling occupancy.
With Maria Miller, of the Department for Work and Pensions, I am taking a careful look at childcare costs and quality, and the scope for further reducing burdens on providers.
We want to free you up to do your jobs. We have made a big start in doing that with changes to EYFS which will begin to take effect from this September. We are going to see if there are other ways of doing that without jeopardising quality or safety.
Different countries have different cultures, and different ways of bringing up children too. But Maria and I will be looking at international examples, to see what we can learn from countries like France and Sweden which are often cited when childcare is discussed.
We will be talking to the childcare professionals in coming months to see how we can make a difference for hard-working parents, without compromising on the quality or safety of the children in our care. I want your constructive suggestions and views; this is your opportunity to make a positive impact.
